What A Mess
- Mar 6, 2024
- 4 min read
If you watched or attended the last 25 minutes of Tuesday night’s Camden County Commission Meeting, you saw exactly what is wrong with our local government.
First, I applaud the County Commissioners for their belated attempt to solve the Two Rivers County Gun Range noise problem.
But last night demonstrated beyond a doubt that our elected officials and their hired County Administrator have no clue about how to solve problems. Among many similar problems, that is why we need millions in Covid ARPA funds to restore our dilapidated parks, and why the Gun Range remains a noisy nuisance for years after it opened. This discussion is about the tens of thousands of TAXPAYER dollars the commissioners discussed last night that would go to yet another consultant who will be unlikely to fix the Gun Range problem.
Last night’s meeting started with Ricky Manning discussing the difference between “sound” and “Noise.” Later, during the Commissioners’ discussion, you will notice they use the words “sound” and “Noise” interchangeably. That’s why the consulting approach they are investigating will fail. They don’t seem to understand that Sound and Noise are very different:
The commissioners and County Administrator Shawn Boatright already know something about the sound generated by the Two Rivers Gun Range:
Wind direction affects where the Noise will be heard. When the wind is blowing from the north, Ricky and the folks north of the gun range won’t hear it as much, or at all.
When the wind is blowing from the Southeast, those same folks get double-barrel Noise.
There’s no gun range Noise on Mondays or at night when the gun range is closed.
Different calibers make different amounts of Noise.
The range was built with some Noise abatement devices, others have been added, but they’ve learned that reducing the Two Rivers Gun Range Noise will be expensive.
For the Two Rivers Gun Range to stop losing money, there will have to be more shooting, and consequently, more Noise.
Here's what the Noise sounds like. Adjust the volume to match the speed and direction of the wind and the density or lack of trees between your home and the range:
What are some negative effects of Noise?
Noise doesn’t necessarily have to be loud to affect someone’s health. For example, a squeaky door may not be loud but can be extremely annoying as can be someone who blows their nose often during church! Some negative effects of unwanted Noise may include:
You feel more stressed than usual
Your heart beats faster than usual
You sweat more than usual
You are unable to sleep well
You get angry or annoyed by the smallest things
You feel anxious and uneasy
In some extreme cases, people who are exposed to frequent, irregular Noises can end up with cardiovascular disorders, such as heart attacks or heart disease. A resident’s pets and livestock have similar reactions to Noise. Someone training a birddog will first have to get the dog acclimated to not fear gun Noise.
Not all sound is harmful.
The loud sound of an ambulance siren means help is near.
The Noise of gunfire means danger is nearby.
Two River Gun Range produces gunfire Noise, not ambulance siren Noise.
What makes it worse for residents of the area is that they don't know if the gunfire comes from the range, or represents risk to their family from nearby shooting.
The County’s approach so far is like that used training birddogs. The County assumes we can all be trained to accept gunfire – just like many, but not all, dogs.
The takeaway is that hunters and recreational shooters have gotten accustomed to gunfire, while many Camden citizens sense fear when they hear gun Noise.
County Administrator Shawn Boatright, who was the gun range construction project manager, should have learned the sound study was not fully representative of what needed to be known about Noise, appears to be taking a defensive position while trying to figure out how much Noise the Commissioners' constituents will tolerate. The Commissioners know the Noise is a nuisance. They’re just trying to find out how not to ruin the birddog -- whoops -- I mean taxpayer/voter.
This is simply all wrong. They built a gun range that is not as quiet as it should be when built in a quiet rural community where resident families have raised their families for decades. The County succumbed to grant money. Because they did not know enough about sound and Noise, they built the range with insufficient Noise abatement conveniently fitting it within their budget. In fact, much of the discussion last night was about spending tens of thousands just to find out how much mitigation is really needed.
It’s simply Too Little, Too Late to get by on the cheap.
Advise to Commissioners:
Fix it right so it is no longer Noisy, or shut it down. If you don’t, the county will be subject to dozens of lawsuits for diminished property values and personal damages due to adverse health impacts caused by the Camden County Two Rivers Gun Range. There are plenty of billboard attorneys who work cases like this.
And every taxpayer will start making a lot of Noise.
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