Town electeds need to hear from you about how the obsolete Neptune City town horn causes you harm and that your professional opinion is that is should be stopped. Are you a teacher, healthcare worker or other first responder, are you a parent or pet parent, do you train others in emergency response or are you an expert of another training? Speak truth to power from your expertise!

Neighbors are people with knowledge and expertise, put that knowledge to work on this important town issue. 

After signing and sharing the unity petition, write an email to Neptune City Mayor McGreevy and Fire Commissioner Councilperson Thomas with your personal story about how you are harmed by the obsolete noise device and tell them from your expertise why it must stop. 

The only good use of the horn is a community evacuation order with clear instructions of what community members should do when it sounds. The rest is just noise.

Here is an example shared by a member of the community, they hope it will inspire you to write your own:

Dear Mayor McGreevy,

As a resident of Neptune City, I respectfully call on you to stop use of the town horn immediately. 

As a former American Red Cross Instructor in First Aid/CPR/AED, I have trained thousands in first aid response and in our nationally recognized training injury prevention was of high importance. Whether it is preventative measures to reduce transmissible disease from exposure, prevention measures to avoid heat and cold related injury, or simply keeping hallways clear to avoid trips and falls, many emergencies can be avoided and are preventable. It is the best practice of leaders to enact prevention as a first and important step in eliminating hazards from our environment.

Preventative practices are important because the likelihood of incidents and injury decrease significantly when preventative measures are taken. It is my professional opinion that the Neptune City town horn is a hazard that should be removed in order to reduce the exposure of community residents, town and area workforce, first responders and volunteer squads to an increased risk of injury caused by the horn itself as well as related injury and potential emergency due to reaction to the high decibel wail. 

When the Neptune City town horn blares at decibel levels universally accepted as unhealthy, the community experiences an unexpected loud noise loud enough to cause a startle reaction in the brain and nervous system increasing potential injury in an instant in homes and in public space. When the loud noise from the town horn happens, it releases cortisol in the bodies of all who can hear it. Cortisol is known as the stress hormone and affects nearly every organ of your body with high levels that are hazardous to our health. Neptune City's use of the town alert horn actually increases the chance of incident and injury. It should be eliminated and replaced with a better communication system that does not cause harm.

While there is a library of education, training, and proven science to support this, I offer you the following example. 

Just last week I was home, cleaning my gutters. While I was adjusting my ladder, the town horn blared, startled me and I jumped, nearly knocking me off of my feet. Because the horn blew, the likelihood of me injuring myself by falling off the ladder skyrockets and I am more likely to be injured from a height, which could result in a head, spinal injury or worse. 

Picture your child learning to play the trumpet. You may ask your child to not blow the trumpet at a high volume next to you unexpectedly while you are on your ladder as this may cause you to fall. It seems commonsensical, but this small example relates to how a serious injury or death can be prevented. This applies to all in our community. Whether it's falling off a ladder, a driver making a sudden and unexpected move on the road because they react to the noise with panic or aggression, or cutting bread for the family meal and your knife slips because you jumped as a result of the horn and you cut your finger. 

The Neptune City town horn is a hazard which can be prevented. Take that preventative action now.

Meanwhile, there is a lot of research proving that loud noise is bad for your health and causes hearing loss. 

Below is a clip to a short video on the hazard of loud noise and noise induced hearing loss from the Defense Health Agency under the United States Department of Defense. Respectfully, stopping the use of the horn will demonstrate noise hazard precautions to protect us from noise induced hearing loss, one of the many health conditions caused and made worse by the Neptune City town horn. To put this obsolete noise device in perspective, please look at the included clip.

https://hearing.health.mil/Prevention/Dangers-of-Loud-Noise

It is time to listen to the residents being negatively impacted by an outdated practice and support first responders while on the job by updating the town call system to meet the communication needs of the teams without causing preventable and serious harm to the lives of those who live and enjoy our town with updated technology and practices. As you yourself presented in the most recent town council meeting, prevention is where we can stop abuse of children and families. 

Stop the unnecessary horn and reduce the risk of incident and injury among our community. 

In Peace and Unity!