Great picture of Leopold Soucy shoveling his apartment sidewalk on Walnut Street in Lewiston (Feb. 13). The man obviously takes tremendous pride in ensuring his part of the world is presentable and safe.

Soucy is a throwback to the old days of residents taking pride in their properties. As an avid walker of the downtown Lewiston area, I can attest to an overall lack of proper snow removal of its sidewalks, therefore forcing all walkers into unsafe walking conditions along the streets. From my perspective, residential and business properties are guilty of that lack of civic duty. Certainly, not all are irresponsible; some take the time to do proper clean-ups and I am grateful

The city’s sidewalk cleaners do an adequate job. It is up to the rest of us to get our able bodies out there to clean up and make sidewalks safe.

It would be nice to see all sidewalks presentable for everyone to enjoy the beauty that Lewiston has to offer. Some of us like to get exercise; some to frequent historical buildings, do shopping or simply to get from point A to point B. Getting there safely shouldn’t be the problem.

I hope Soucy keeps up the good work. He has inspired more downtown area residents, young and old alike, to grab a shovel and take pride in their walkways.

Mark Vasiliauskas, Greene