The amount of manure being dropped by horses in parking lots and along village streets is raising a stink in Gouverneur.

Some folks we spoke with say the amount of horse droppings left behind by the Amish in their horse-drawn buggies is getting out of hand.

"I think the Amish should pick it up. They're the ones who put it here," said Lawrence Kerr of Gouverneur.

The village has proposed a law that would require horse owners to put manure-catching diapers on their animals and to clean up all manure droppings.

The penalty for failing to comply would be up to $250 in fines or 15 days in jail.

"If you need to clean up, then you need to clean up and everyone needs to be responsible for that," said village Mayor Chris Miller.

The law would also require the owners to place lighted lamps and bright orange reflective "slow moving vehicle" signs on their buggies.

For Sam Shetler, an Amish resident of Dekalb, the local law could be more than an inconvenience.

"If they force it on us, we will probably stop coming here. We will have to go to jail because it's against our religion to put anything on our buggies," said Shetler.
 
Some businesses worry about how the Amish will react if pushed by village leaders on the manure and buggy issues.
 
Store officials at the local Dollar General store tell us the Amish do a lot of business in the community and at the store.

If the Amish boycotted Gouverneur because of the restrictions, it could hurt the economy, they said.
 
Other people we spoke with, who declined to appear on camera, say the Amish are being discriminated against and should be left alone.
 
A public hearing on the law will be held February 9 at 6 p.m. in the village board room.