By JIMMY LAWTON

OSWEGATCHIE -- St. Lawrence County Legislator Joseph Lightfoot will seek guidance from the county attorney on how to address Heuvelton’s horse manure problem.

Heuvelton’s village board received complaints from residents regarding Amish horse manure being left in front of homes, in parking lots and in village streets.

“Poor Heuvelton has got to have one of the largest populations of Amish families in all of New York State. The amount of manure being deposited in the street is becoming a problem and the village is looking for a solution.”

Lightfoot, who represents Oswegatchie, said he plans to take a look to see if laws have been passed in other municipalities or counties to address the issue.

He said that he is not interested in pursuing a law that would encompass country roads, but said there may be a solution for villages, which are more compact.

He said villages have storefronts and people are going to approach the manure problem by avoiding the businesses, walking around or tracking it in.

“I for one don’t want to see the county get involved in passing a law,” he said. “(The village) asked me to see if the county attorney’s office could do a little research and that’s what I’m going to do,” he said.

Lightfoot said asking the Amish to cleanup after the horses would not be a safe option when the manure lands in the roadway.

Lightfoot also acknowledged that Amish aren’t the only people leave manure or mud in the roadways. He said that farmers, especially in the spring can also leave behind waste.

“I think that you will find that agriculturally speaking there are some regulations that prohibit enforcement of mud or manure that stays on tire,” he said.

The St. Lawrence County Legislature will meet again in September.