By Glenda Lewis
Web produced by Christine Lasek
November 10, 2005
One leader in Warren took action to silence the problems of blaring car stereos and boom boxes, but not all members of City Council were on board with the proposal.
Stephanie Steele, one resident of Warren, was cranked up about City Council’s discussion to keep down the music. "I do not like it [the noise]," Steele explained. "Not only do I think that it’s just inappropriate and unnecessary."
According to councilwoman Mindy Moore, she has received numerous complaints about loud music blaring from cars and boom boxes. "People driving down the street and they can’t hear themselves think because of the boom boom boom," Moore explained.
But City Council President James Fauts argued that the proposal is too vague, and it would be impossible to draw the line between what is acceptable noise and noise that is in violation of the new proposed ordinance. "Are we going to arrest all the cheerleaders?" President Fauts asked, as an example. "Are we going to stop the football game at 10:00 and say, ‘That’s it! This is too noisy.’ I mean, and by the way, let me go back to the bigger question, who’s going to determine what is a violation of the noise ordinance?"
(Note: We wrote to Mr. Fauts to explain the following: Noise -- like any other stimulus, from lasers to fisticuffs -- is unacceptable when it has no social benefit and it interferes with another's quality of life or health and they are unable to escape it. Would Mr. Fouts argue that? You see, Mr. Fouts, unlike going to a ballgame on your own free will, where you know there is going to be cheering, and where you can STILL LEAVE if you do not like it, boom cars invade our days, our nights, our homes, our schools, our health, our real estate values, and our quality of life. I don't know where we get so many spineless politicians who refuse to stand up to the number one complaint in
Under the new proposal, violators would be ticketed and could face fines of up to $1,000.