NEWPORT EXPANDS DRUG-FREE SAFE ZONES

Penalties Higher For Possessing, Selling Illegal Paraphernalia In
Certain Sections

NEWPORT - A decade ago, Maine's schools and grounds were designated
drug-free zones, areas where drug dealers would face significantly
higher punishments if caught and convicted.

The idea has been so successful, said police Chief Leonard Macdaid,
that Newport is expanding those safe zones to include town parks,
athletic fields, and other areas where children gather.

"The idea is to make the punishment more severe and deter this type
of drug activity from these areas," Macdaid told selectmen on Wednesday night.

Town Manager James Ricker explained that if a person is caught
outside a safe zone with illegal pills, for example, the charge may
be a Class D misdemeanor. But caught in a school zone or safety
zone, the charge is elevated to a Class C felony.

The board wholeheartedly agreed and set five safe zones.

They include the Grove Street playground and ball field, the
Sebasticook Valley Community Center, the Sebasticook Lake public
beachfront, the public boat launch and the gazebo in the Main Street Park.

Entrepreneur Greg Lovley also has requested that his Newport
Entertainment Center and encompassing parking area be included, and
Ricker said he is checking into the legality of adding private
property to the safe zone list.

In other business, the board approved a new lease agreement for $1 a
year to provide public parking on Main Street at the former Key Bank
block. The new agreement was necessary because the block has been
sold by Goodwin Gilman to Joshua Tardy.

Ricker also notified the selectmen that Code Enforcement Officer
Fred Hickey has served notice to 15 property owners for land use
violations. Ricker said these notices involve unsafe and unsightly properties.

"He is working with five of the owners and two have already started
cleanup," Ricker said.

The board also was informed that Penquis CAP, which has been leasing
the town's former recreation center building on West Street, has
relocated its Head Start program to Newport Elementary School.

"After June, the fate of that property will be up to you," Ricker said.

Ricker is currently researching conditions of the property's
donation, which he believes specify that its use must benefit
children, and said if the land and building is sold, the profit
could be used to fund playground equipment or benefit the Newport
Cultural Center.