OTTUMWA —
The word is out. The Postmaster General has announced his intentions to stop Saturday mail delivery, except for packages.
Pauline Jelinek of the Associated Press reported the “struggling” U.S. Postal Service will stop delivering mail on Saturdays but continue to disburse packages six days a week.
Jelinek also noted “it’s regrettable that the Postal Service is caught up in a political crisis caused by an uncooperative Congress.”
Richard Watkins, corporate communications spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service in Kansas City, said he “can’t give specifics,” but the service “won’t need as many employees” to deliver the mail.
Lance Coles of the Federation of Labor said no mail delivery on Saturday will cause undue hardship on the economy, impact rural Iowans and increase the workload on the letter carriers.
“We’re not sorting as much mail as we did ... so we want to match the work force with the declining work load,” Watkins said. “I can’t give you specifics, but we won’t need as many employees for delivering the mail.”
Congressman Dave Loebsack said Wednesday that inaction by Congress has real-life consequences for Iowans.
“By requiring the Postal Service to pre-fund retirement health benefits to the tune of over $50 billion over 10 years, which no other agency or business has to do, Congress is tying their hands,” Loebsack said. “The USPS wouldn’t be in the dire situation it is today if it hadn’t been required to pre-pay these funds.”
Loebsack also claimed the legislation to address the USPS problem was introduced last Congress, but House leadership refused to bring it up.
“I can’t think of a less partisan issue than the postal service. It is past time Congress works to find a solution to this problem,” he added.
Ken Sagar, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, said no mail delivery on Saturday will cause undue hardship on the economy, impact rural Iowans, and increase workload on the letter carriers — especially on Mondays and delivery days after a holiday.
This action will impact over 22,000 postal employees and millions of Americans from small business to the elderly and the disabled, according to Sagar.
A few Ottumwans offered some comments about the mail delivery.
Bettie Mae Wymore said the only thing the change would do to her is cause slowness in mailing her provider’s claim to the Iowa Department of Human Services.
“I’m all for the country and the postal service if it would help,” Wymore said.
Kelly Spurgeon is the county auditor, and the change would affect her work mail every other year because of the two Saturdays before the general election. She picks up the mail for the whole courthouse and worries about missing any absentee requests and ballots.
Wes Westmoreland said he was concerned about delays in important mail and possible bigger problems at Christmastime. He also wondered about the court system’s correspondence and how that could slow down a court case.
Ottumwa
February 7, 2013
Will Saturday mail service survive?
- Ottumwa
-
-
Stabbing trial pushed back
OTTUMWA -- The trial of an Ottumwa man accused of stabbing another man to death has been pushed back. Twenty-year-old Brandon Seim was charged in November 2011, when he was 18, with the stabbing death of Andy Madren, 34. When officers arrived at the
- Downtown beautification supplemented with utility vehicle OTTUMWA -- A new utility vehicle will soon be zooming around downtown, making sure the rights-of-way remain in pristine condition. At Tuesday's city council meeting, council members approved the purchase of a city-owned vehicle to maintain downtown l
- Tornado creates local questions OTTUMWA — If there's a tornado in Wapello County, where would I go afterwards? It isn't hard to understand why local callers are asking Wapello County Emergency Management that question. Josh Stevens, emergency coordinator for the county, said since
-
Training goes beyond fires
OTTUMWA — Our firefighters aren't afraid to run into a fire, said one official, but when it comes to a Hazmat situation, they walk. On Wednesday, the Ottumwa Fire Department was on the grounds of Cargill Meat Solutions, training as realistically as p
- Veterinary clinic rezoned to commercial OTTUMWA -- The Ottumwa Veterinary Clinic is now officially a commercial district. At Tuesday's city council meeting, members voted 4-1 to approve the rezoning of the clinic from R-1 Single Family Residential to C-1 Commercial District, with Councilma
- Ottumwa lands 2015 Iowa Tourism Conference OTTUMWA — It takes two southeast Iowa communities to yank the opportunity to host the Iowa Tourism Conference from Des Moines. Ottumwa Area Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director Mark Eckman was stunned by how quickly the Iowa Tourism Offi
-
Barber shows no signs of cutting career short
OTTUMWA -- Darrell Smith's hands are steady and sure as he picks up his clippers and straight razor to begin his first haircut and shave of the day. Smith, 88, has cut hair for 62 years and has owned Smitty's Barber Shop on Albia Road for the past 58
- Roaring winds Southeast Iowa in clean-up mode after storm passes through OTTUMWA — Work crews in and around Wapello County put in a lot of hours. And they were ready to do it again. “We had the storms roll through there last night,” said Ryan Stensland, a spokesman for Alliant Energy. “Down in southeast part of the state,
-
Flood debris removal up for consideration
OTTUMWA — A month after heavy rainfall caused rivers and streams to flood Ottumwa streets and homes, the city council will solidify a plan to remove the debris left behind. At the council's meeting tonight, members will consider awarding the $12,500
-
Reviving downtown's upper stories
Building by building, the upper stories of downtown Ottumwa are coming back to life after some have sat empty for half a century.
- More Ottumwa Headlines
-
