Last week, Lansford Mayor James Romankow complained to the borough council about icy sidewalks at a bus stop on Bertsch Street.

The bus stop is at the former Lansford High School, now a privately owned building which reportedly may soon be sold at a tax sale.The property owner isn't taking care of the sidewalks.The borough won't because this is private property. Borough officials said if it attempts to maintain the sidewalks, the borough will be assumed responsible if any incidents happen that result in liability.Never mind that the front of the school is on Patterson Street, a part of the town's business section.Panther Valley School District will be advised of the bus stop situation, but we don't see school officials running around and clearing areas.Meanwhile, as long as the weather stays cold, children at that bus stop and their parents and grandparents will continue to risk falling on the icy pavement while waiting for school buses.These situations don't only occur in Lansford.In Summit Hill, a bus stop at Ludlow Park is owned by the borough. After the last ice storm, no clearing was done for students using the bus stop.We're sure such conditions exist in other towns.Understandably we can't control the weather.But we can control the aftermath by putting materials onto icy sidewalks and shoveling snow to make the bus stops safer.Young children and adults accompanying them have a difficult time when proper maintenance of the sidewalks doesn't happen in the winter.Often such neglect isn't intentional. Borough work crews have small staffs and a lot of other priorities. It's easy for them to overlook bus stop clearance.In Lansford's case, if the property owner doesn't maintain the sidewalks, either someone else should step up to the plate or the bus stop should be moved.There's a liability issue for Lansford if the town steps on the private property. Isn't there a liability concern already since the borough approved the site as a bus stop?The main concern should be to protect our children in every way possible. Allowing ice and snow to exist at bus stops is a hazard, not a protection.By RON GOWERrgower@tnonline.com