LESS TALKING, MORE LISTENING NEEDED HERE

Noise pollution is a problem in Cape Girardeau. We've all heard car stereos turned up so loud they actually vibrate our own cars.

And noise pollution in south Cape apparently is the favorite cause of two city councilmen, Richard Eggimann and Jay Purcell, who keep discussing it at council meetings. They take potshots at police chief Rick Hetzel, claiming the city's noise ordinance isn't being properly enforced.

The biggest part of the problem, they admit, isn't in either of their wards. They haven't bothered to attend a single neighborhood meeting on the subject although the mayor and police chief both have done so. And they're critical of a police chief who retired Friday to take a job in hospital public relations, where he will have no power to enforce any sort of noise law.

Councilman Tom Neumeyer, who represents the south side, makes a good point. Eggimann and Purcell should attend a neighborhood meeting and learn about the problem before they offer opinions on how to address it.