Millinocket council to vote on ‘safe zones’

MILLINOCKET – If the Town Council approves the notion on Thursday, several town parks and other areas popular with youth will be designated drug-free “safe zones,” Town Manager Eugene Conlogue said Monday.

Following the lead of Lincoln, Newport and a handful of other state municipalities, the town’s proposed safe zone order would put Millinocket in line with a state law that went into effect Sept. 17 that expands the protection already offered schools to include parks and other areas children frequent.

Under the law, misdemeanor offenses which result in no more than one year’s imprisonment, such as marijuana possession, become felonies punishable with maximum sentences of as much as five years’ imprisonment.

Police Chief Donald Bolduc hopes the order would be enacted. In concert with the Police Department’s recent hiring of new officers, filling the department’s roster for the first time in 21/2 years, the ordinance would help police crack down on drug use and sales, he said.

“It’s another great tool that we can utilize,” Bolduc said Monday of the ordinance, “and we are trying to send a message that we are not going to tolerate drug activity in Millinocket. We are looking to be much more proactive against drugs now that we’re at full strength.”

Conlogue and council Chairman David Nelson agreed.

“It’s highly workable,” Conlogue said of the order. “Any reasonable thing that can protect our children from drug abuse is a good thing.”

The council, which will meet at 4:30 p.m., wholly supported the initiative when Bolduc discussed it at a council meeting a few weeks ago, Nelson said.

“I do expect it will pass on Thursday,” Nelson said Monday.

Cottage Road, Pines and Little Italy playgrounds; Panola and Veterans Memorial parks; the town Little League field and the Jerry Pond Recreation Complex will become safe zones under the town’s proposed order, Bolduc said.

The order will become enforceable 10 days after the council passes it, Conlogue said.

Lincoln’s Town Council passed their version of the ordinance, as proposed by Lincoln police Officer Richard York, with a 6-1 vote on March 13. Millinocket won’t need an ordinance to comply with state law, merely an order for police and Penobscot County prosecutors to follow, Conlogue said.

Town police already have ordered safe zone signs, Bolduc said.