We are writing to express our appreciation to the District Court for Kent County for making clear that violating noise ordinances in residential neighborhoods such as ours is not a trivial matter and will be taken seriously by the authorities.
For the past two years, the Washington Avenue Neighborhood Association (WANA) has been pressing the Town to enforce local ordinances against noisy tenants, mostly students, in otherwise quiet family neighborhoods. The situation has been reported in the local media many times over recent years. Happily, since the academic year began last fall, the Town police and Washington College have been working together on this issue to some effect. However, on October 10, 2015, civil citations for noise violations were issued to two student houses on Washington Avenue. One house chose to pay the fine. The other asked for a trial. That trial was held last Monday, February 22. We, along with another neighbor, were summoned as witnesses.
The assistant state’s attorney, who seemed to consider it a trivial incident, offered the student 25 hours of community service in lieu of the $500 fine. The student demurred. When the deal was re-offered in the presence of the Honorable John Nunn III, it was the judge who demurred. “That’s not a deal I will accept,” roared Judge Nunn. Judge Nunn had a new offer: 50 hours of community service by May 1 and an order to obey all laws including the noise ordinance for one year or be brought back before the court. The student agreed. We three witnesses were extremely happy that at last our situation was being taken seriously by the authorities.
On behalf of the residents of Washington Avenue, we express our sincere thanks to the Chestertown police, to Washington College, and now to Judge Nunn for recognizing that the residents of the town have the right to live in a peaceful neighborhood where students lodging there obey the laws established by the town to protect that right.
Yours truly,
Barbara Jorgenson and David Bowering
joe diamond says
Still,
I remember a weekend…on a planet far away……………..Washington D.C. , NE. The year was 1966 & I was living a quiet neighborhood near Catholic University. Many of my runnin’ buddies were jazzers. Next door lived several vocal musicians. One night we were invited over to help extinguish an extra case of Country Club Malt Liquor…and br ing out horns. Thus the Spades & Rainbows was born.
Little kids were dancing in the alley. Cops blocked traffic because there was a concert going on. Mothers came around with cookies and a child….”could you show him how you did that?”
The music was loud! IT only happened a few times. My skills would not let me follow the neighbors into the clubs of D.C……….did play at the Bohemian Caverns once and another one under the Whitehurst Freeway….name escapes me.
Then I put the horn away.
Still I remember neighbors who could rock and horns that would scream into the night.
Joe