Post office needs cooperation during wintertime

By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — Now that we’ve had our first taste of snow, Postmaster Fred Workman is reminding  customers that letter carriers need assistance from residents in town and rural areas to keep a clear path to the mailbox to ensure timely deliveries and the safety of the letter carriers.
    In the event of serious snow, especially like last year’s events, Workman says please make sure your mailbox is accessible if it is knocked down by snowdrifts or plow trucks. In the past, some customers, says Workman picked up their mail for the duration of the winter after a mailbox had been knocked down. The post office, he says, can no longer make that accommodation. And he is asking that the path to the mailbox of a temporary receptacle be cleared of ice and snow.
    If the ground is frozen and the resident cannot dig a new hole to re-stake the mailbox, says the postmaster, regulations clearly allow a temporary mailbox or receptacle. “I’m in the business to give them the mail in a timely manner and keep my employees safe. That’s all I want.”
Rural curbside delivery
    The  carrier, says Workman, needs to be able to deliver mail by driving up to the mailbox without leaving the vehicle in rural areas. The post office will send out snow notices asking customers to put up a temporary mailbox to avoid suspension of deliveries. If necessary, Workman says customers can make a temporary mail receptacle by putting a mailbox on top of a pole or stake and place it in a bucket with sand, a wheelbarrow or other device. He says he will do everything possible to avoid returning mail as undeliverable.
    “What I’m asking is that we cooperate together, that they keep their trail and their path clear so we can get to the box and they keep their box serviceable. And, if their box does happen to be damaged during a snowstorm, that they have other options including temporary mail receptacles.” An example of a temporary mailbox will be on display in the lobby of the Houlton Post Office on Court Street. Workman says he is available to answer questions at 532-3506 to ensure timely delivery of mail.