Noise problem must be solved by mayors, police; won't go away by itself

Noise problem must be solved by mayors, police; won't go away by itself
EDITOR:
In response to the excellent Feb. 10 article by JoAnne Viviano, "Woman sounds off on noise," I express my 100 percent agreement with the woman quoted in the article. Youngstown indeed has a noise problem. As someone who travels extensively for my career, I believe that Youngstown is indeed one of the 12 noisiest cities. That is, unless you are hearing impaired or simply do not care.
This city is plagued by what some refer to as "boomers," those who play car stereos with huge bass systems, some of which take up a car's entire trunk. Many of the offenders are young rapper want-to-bes who call attention to themselves at our expense. We have all heard them coming from 1,000 yards away or sat next to them at a red light with our windows rattling. And, contrary to the comments of YPD Capt. Mike Vodilko in the article, I have yet to observe one being pulled over by law enforcement. Matter of fact, I observe that they do not even turn down the volume when in the vicinity of a police cruiser.
If local mayors, chiefs of police and township administrators do not think this is a chronic problem, I would be happy to take the time to show them. I can pick three areas where they could ticket several boomers per hour. Spring time is coming and our city will be filled with boomers roaming unabated through Mill Creek Park and out to all corners.
Although I reside here, as a 30's professional I am one of so many who would never consider investing in a home in or near the city, nor in Girard, Austintown or most of Boardman -- mainly because of this problem.
And our leaders are wondering why we have an eroding tax base?
Canfield and Poland have so much less of this problem because, in my opinion, they enforce the law. Park in downtown Canfield and see how many boomers go by.
I can only plead with our leaders to make eliminating this problem a key objective of their administrations. Raise revenue for our city by ticketing offenders, with more severe punishment for repeat offenders. Ticket the motorcycles that are modified to be loud. Ticket for unsafe vehicles and lack of insurance while you're at it. Enforce the laws and make our community a better place to live.
I encourage others who are as fed up as me with this problem to take the time to express their opinion. We do not have to live with this scourge. As supporting members of the community, we are entitled to peace and order. Let's be proactive and improve this city, maybe a few of us will take a chance and invest in it, instead of giving up and moving to the suburbs.
JEFF BYCE
Youngstown
Sawyer's vote on NAFTA insults Valley workers
EDITOR:
When I read in your paper that Tom Sawyer wants to represent the Mahoning Valley in Congress I didn't think much one way or another. Then I read farther in the article that he had voted for NAFTA.
Some politicians just have no shame.
GERALD MILLER
Niles