Council bans jingles from ice cream vans

Local residents plagued by the repetitive jingles amplified from the ice cream vendor trucks during peaceful summer days won't have much to worry about this June.         The Township Council agrees Tuesday night to ban the electronic music played by the ice cream vendors while peddling their wares through area neighborhoods.         Mayor Carl Block cast the deciding vote in favor of the ordinance, which permits bells as the sole advertising mechanism for the vendors.         Council President Fred Seeber and Councilwoman Jeanne DiPaola voted against the measure. Councilwoman Marie Bogdanski was absent for medical reasons.         Under the ordinance, ice cream vendors are also required to secure food handlers' and vending permits.         None of the 35 residents in attendance at Tuesday's council meeting complained about the permit requirement. Many, however, asked council to reject the proposal to ban the music.         "I love the ice cream music," said 8-year-old B.J. Pallone during the meeting. "When you guys were kids, didn't you like the music too? ...It's not fair."         B.J.'s mother, Jennifer Pallone argued that ringing bells could force the vendors to drive with one hand, an unsafe condition that could potentially endanger neighborhood children.         "I think that's putting our kids in more danger," she said. "The music can be annoying. But it's a safety issue."         Ice cream vendor Jeffery Cabaniss begged the council to reject the ordinance, saying his summer business would be ruined.         But many residents criticized Cabaniss and the music he and others play constantly.         "Obviously, I'm opposed to the load music and the amplification of the music," resident Olivio Giardella said, "We need to keep children safe but not to the abusiveness of the quietness of Beach Haven West."         Seeber suggested using the current noise ordinance - already on the books - to appease residents like Giardella, rather than pass a new measure.         "We have a way to stop this without intruding on the people's business," Seeber said.         DiPaola appeared to agree with Seeber in theory. While the issue sounds silly, she said, "How far government moves in to control individual rights... it's really the guts of government."         Block told Cabaniss that an amendment could be added to allow a toned-down version of the music played by the vendors.

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