News in brief ORONO: DRUG-FREE ZONES OK’D

The Town Council on Monday approved creating some 10 drug-free safe zones in town. The Police Department and Community Development Committee recommended the safe zones, which will be marked with signs possibly as soon as next week. Safe zones are treated similarly to a drug-free school zone in that drug dealing within 1,000 feet of them subjects the dealer to an enhanced penalty. Signs will be posted at the high school athletic fields, the town pool, Marden, Nadeau-Savoy, Webster and Brownie’s parks, the playgrounds and basketball court at Talmar Woods housing development, the Boy Scout meeting house on North Main Avenue, the community center, and the town’s parks and recreation building. The council also approved the purchase of two digital video camera systems to be installed in police cruisers for the department for a total of $9,840.