To the editor:

To let you all know, we have received a letter from Watertown DOT (the Region 7 office of the state Department of Transportation) regarding the sidewalk on Route 30 in Tupper Lake. First, if any of you folks on the board read, I will quote what Plato and Schopenhauer and various other philosophers had said about adversity, but it was the former President Bill Clinton who said it best: “If you live long enough, you will make mistakes.”

We have a letter from Steven Kokkoris, PE, regional director of DOT in Watertown, stating that there is a law, (state Highway Law) Section 140, that says the town of Tupper Lake is responsible for maintaining the sidewalks that are located within its boundaries and adjacent to state highways. A copy of this letter is also included with this letter to the editor (although not published here).

This whole thing could be corrected if the sidewalk was cleaned up and patched; then people could walk to the corner, cross the road and go to Sunmount for water exercise if they wish to. At the apartment next to us, the senior tenants have to play hopscotch on the sidewalk to avoid falling to get on the senior bus so they don’t fall.

In conclusion, why don’t you stop all this nonsense before someone gets hurt? The town is responsible for the sidewalk, and you have known this for three years now.

We are 80 years old, and you seem to think that you can push us to the wayside on this issue. That will never happen. Just do your job, Mrs. Littlefield.

John Klimm

Barbara Close

Tupper Lake