October 1, 2008
Noise Free America
For immediate release
Contact:
Robert Carillo
330-393-4448
[email protected]
Contact:
Ted Rueter
877-NOISE-NO
[email protected]
Madison: Warren, Ohio has won this month’s Noisy Dozen award from Noise Free America for tolerating excessive noise from boom cars, leaf blowers, lawn equipment, loud truck traffic, illegally modified car exhausts, and mufflers falling off cars and trucks. Each form of noise is completely out of control.
Warren, a city of about 45,000 people in northeastern Ohio, has levels of noise disproportionate to its size. Constant car booming rattles body parts and house windows. Trucks rumble through town, on their way to Youngstown, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland. The town is full of motorcyclists, showing off their “manhood” by making extreme noise. Many cars have ragged exhaust systems which fall off. Plenty of Warren residents obsess about their lawns, with constant noise from gas-powered leaf blowers, edgers, and trimmers.
Robert Carillo, a long-time Warren resident, notes that “the fact that there is no enforcement of noise issues in this town has made it a great place for lawless and inconsiderate people to live. It has definitely dragged down Warren’s quality of life. I have been doing all a resident can do to get someone to solve this problem.”
Carillo notes that Warren’s constant noise severely damages the town’s quality of life: “Our noise problem is driving good people out of town. Noise allows the bad people to take over and destroys a community’s quality of life. Constant noise makes daily life almost unbearable. My corner has always had a lot of traffic–but nothing like now.”
Worse yet, he notes, city officials have done nothing: “Warren residents who desire peace and quiet feel helpless. There is absolutely no noise enforcement in Warren. The boom cars and motorcycles are out of control. They ride around knowing that the cops will do nothing. In Warren, we have a council, safety director, and police chief who refuse to do anything about our severe noise problem. They do nothing. And yet they admit that noise is the number one complaint of people in Warren.”
“And now,” Carillo continued, “the local high school is contributing to the noise problem, with its blasting of cannon fire at games for every gain on the field. Whatever happened to people simply cheering? Why does every celebration have to turn into a noise-fest?”
According to Carillo, “I’ve spoken to many residents who feel the same way. However, they are so used to nothing being done around here that they just give up. But just because people do not come forward does not mean that a problem does not exist. In Warren, excessive noise has come to be accepted. It is really disturbing that elected officials cannot see that excessive noise contributes to many other problems–such as crime, drugs, and declining property values.”
Carillo concluded, “This city needs to address its noise problem. We are becoming a haven for noise lovers. Once a community starts deteriorating, it falls rapidly. Warren is in danger of becoming another Youngstown. We need a stronger noise ordinance, and we need much tougher noise enforcement. Otherwise, this place will go straight to hell.”
Noise Free America is a national citizens organization opposed to noise pollution. Its web site is www.noisefree.org. Past “winners” of the Noisy Dozen award include Youngstown, Pioneer Electronics, and Harley-Davidson.