Monday's Butler Eagle contained more news about vandalism of vehicles. The latest round of reports dealt with incidents in Summit, Jefferson, Penn, Franklin and Center townships.

People who must leave their vehicles parked outside have to be getting edgy, considering the rash of such incidents that have occurred both in the City of Butler and in outlying communities over the past few weeks.

If police have any potential suspects, they are not saying so publicly.

What the current situation demands is that people become more vigilant, both at home and while traveling county roadways. As an incident at 9:45 p.m. Saturday in Jefferson Township revealed, that approaching vehicle could be the "launching pad" for a foreign object.

Jeffrey Held of Prospect can attest to that. His 2005-model car was damaged by a box of cookies thrown from an unidentified passing vehicle in Saturday night's Jefferson incident.

The person who threw the box of cookies might have gotten his or her laughs from the incident, but that person could have been facing felony charges if what occurred had triggered a crash in which someone was killed or seriously injured.

Hopefully that box of cookies will provide some help in apprehending the perpetrator, if police were able to "lift" some fingerprints from the box.

Perhaps the time is right for a reward fund to be established for information leading to the arrest and conviction of persons responsible for the incidents. A number of the incidents have enough similarities for police to conclude that they were committed by the same person or persons.

Even without a reward fund, it is reasonable to conclude that those involved have boasted about their involvement in the incidents to others. Law enforcement officials would be grateful to receive such information, even under conditions of anonymity.

A shred or two of information could be the key to police being able to put the perpetrators under surveillance or to interrogate them.

Meanwhile, when possible, police should reveal the time window when incidents occurred. That could help people, especially those living in the areas that have been the scene of such crimes, be more vigilant, although, understandably, that vigilance could prove to be an exhausting task without any guarantee that it will be fruitful.

The perpetrator or perpetrators will make a mistake; that's a virtual certainty. The question at this juncture is how much more damage will be inflicted and how much more monetary loss and inconvenience will be shouldered until the moment occurs.

Regardless, the criminal justice system should settle for nothing less than full restitution and other punishment that will serve as a warning to others who have carried out or contemplated such "entertainment."