Too often in this country, children disappear. They vanish. They are abducted. Unfortunately, many are never seen again.

Today, however, would-be kidnappers have been put on notice by law enforcement in Alabama: Don't take a child.

The AMBER alert program, a national initiative to rapidly respond to a child abduction, is officially on-line statewide today. It's design is simple: to disseminate information about an abductor as rapidly as possible so that child can be recovered safely and quickly.

The whole program is a joint effort between law enforcement and broadcasters. After police verify an abduction, an emergency message is sent to commercial broadcast stations. That message is immediately rebroadcast on the airwaves so that as many people as possible can be on the lookout for, say, the abductor's car.

The measure will save lives – young lives, and we commend the Pike County Sheriff's Department, the Troy Police Department and our local broadcasters for voluntarily participating in this program.

It's another example of how, working together, we make Pike County a better place to live.