GIBBON, Neb. - A big debate is growing in the small town of Gibbon, centered around a sound that some say is a safety essential, with others thinking it's an unnecessary disruption.

At the heart of the controversy is the town's emergency whistles. At their most recent city council meeting, Gibbon board members heard from local residents.

For some, the town's emergency whistles are a vital call to service, and for others, they can become a distraction.

"I've spoken with many people in Gibbon who do not like the whistles," said one concerned citizen. "I've heard things such as they wake up their children during the night and at nap times. They make their children feel unsafe or scared- they affect their trips to the park or they just feel they're unnecessary and many similar frustrations," she added.

Emotions ran high at this week's city meeting where residents voiced frustrations on the matter, but not everyone agrees that they should be removed.

One residents urged the community to come together despite their differences saying, "My major concern is that, whatever the issues are, we don't divide this community. We've got a really good community here and I think that all of us in this room need to take a step back from being PO'd and there needs to be rational conversations about where things are headed and what decisions need to be made."

The Gibbon volunteer fire department showed up in big numbers in support of the whistles and said they aren't used for tradition- they're a critical backup system for the town's firefighters and they also alert citizens of incoming first responders.

"Taking away the whistles is just detrimental to the community and to my volunteers that are responding," said Gibbon Fire Chief Rick Brown. "We hear the whistle and that's our call to go, somebody needs us.  We're going to CPR in progress and our mindset is 'how are we going to save this person,' not (about) people walking across the road. We have to slow down, and some people just get tunnel vision," added Brown.

The City Council previously eliminated three scheduled times for whistles, but they did not vote or make any policy changes about the remaining whistles during this Tuesday's meeting.

The topic will come back at a future agenda if formally proposed, with local residents on both sides of the issue saying they're more than ready to continue the discussion.