To the editor:

The massive investment in Lake Placid downtown and the Olympic legacy sites seem to be paying off, as they look like the world-class facilities they should be and, based on what I saw last week, are drawing healthy crowds for tours.

Meanwhile, the Olympic cauldron at the North Elba Show Grounds is an embarrassment. What should be a showpiece has been neglected and is decaying, as if it’s ready for the scrap heap. The cauldron should be — as it once was — the centerpiece of the Olympic venues. For comparatively little cost, the cauldron itself could be burnished, the podium refurbished and adorned with proper landscaping, and a small plaza built in front that is lined with flags and informational markers and photos.

The cauldron should be marketed along with all of the other Olympic facilities. And its flame should burn brightly during all Olympic Games. It would be a popular (and highly photographed) attraction.

Nobody cares whether restoring the poor cauldron is the province of the state Olympic Regional Development Authority, the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism, the state of New York, the town of North Elba, or the village of Lake Placid. Put your heads together, folks and get it done.

Joe Weinert

Galloway, New Jersey