HOWLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER)-- Tuesday night's town meeting in Howland was attended by so many people that the meeting had to be moved from the town office, to Hichborn Middle School.
A couple hundred people showed up for the meeting. Residents spoke about their safety concerns after several incidents that have taken place in Howland including an assault that sent four men to jail and two men to the hospital.
Penobscot County Sheriff Glenn Ross and Maine State Police explained to citizens what rights they have and what they should do if they notice someone breaking the law. A few people at the meeting said they have safety concerns and they are hoping the town will find ways to make the community feel safer.
"I'm hoping that maybe we can have a neighborhood watch, have some more patrol. There's no patrolling in the late nights from 2-5 a.m. in the morning, there's a lot of activity out there at night," Howland resident Debora Dube said.," Howland resident Debora Dube said.
"This is step one, which is to get people together to express their concerns, their fears, to ask law enforcement officials what they feel is appropriate at this point," Howland Town Manager Jane Jones said.
The crowd gave a number of suggestions that included asking for more patrolling from law enforcement and even look at establishing a nightly curfew.
NEWS CENTER