USPS Is Suspending Services in These Places, Effective Immediately
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For most of us, getting the mail every day is just a quick trip from the front door to the mailbox and back. But there are plenty of occasions when you do have to visit your local post office , whether you keep your own P.O. Box or you need to mail out a larger package. In these instances, there’s nothing worse than arriving and finding your post office unexpectedly closed. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is required to shutter these facilities from time to time—and now, the agency has done just that, affecting post offices in two states. Read on to find out where the USPS is suspending services now.
RELATED: USPS Is Making These Changes to Your Mail .
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According to a service alert posted Aug. 7, the Baring Post Office , located at 400 Main St. in Baring, Missouri, is temporarily closed. In an Aug. 5 press release announcing the closure, the agency confirmed the post office suffered structural damage and is undergoing repairs.
Both delivery and retail operations, as well as P.O. Box mail services, were moved to the Edina Post Office in Edina, Missouri.
“The Postal Service apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause our customers as repairs are taking place,” the press release reads.
RELATED: See a Sticker on Your Mailbox? Don’t Touch It, USPS Says .
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Another post office in Missouri was temporarily shut down. According to a separate press release from Aug. 3, the Bell City Post Office , located at 25233 Walnut St., was shuttered due to flooding conditions. Retail operations and P.O. Box mail services were moved to the nearby Perkins Post Office in Perkins, Missouri.
The agency issued a statement similar to the one for the Baring Post Office, apologizing for any inconvenience while repairs are underway.
Best Life reached out to the USPS for more details and potential reopening dates, but Mark Inglett , strategic communications specialist for the USPS, confirmed there is no additional information at this time.
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The San Pierre Post Office , located at 104 Eliza St. in San Pierre, Indiana, was temporarily closed as of Aug. 8, per another press release. The USPS cited “safety concerns regarding the building conditions.”
The agency confirmed that street and P.O. Box delivery aren’t going to be impacted, but retail services and package pickup have been moved to the LaCrosse Post Office at 16. W. Main Street. Customers can also head to the North Judson Post Office for retail services.
“Currently, there is no information on when repairs to the San Pierre Post Office will be complete,” the release reads.
When contacted by Best Life for comment, Susan W. Wright of USPS Corporate Communications said there is no additional information at this time.
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San Pierre isn’t the only Indiana town where the USPS recently suspended services, however. In late July, the Wheeler Post Office and the Swayzee Post Offices in Indiana were temporarily closed “due to safety concerns.”
The Wheeler Post Office was closed “ for building repairs .” As USPS spokesperson Desai Abdul-Razzaaq previously told Best Life , the repairs were prompted by plumbing issues in the building.
No additional details were provided regarding the Swayzee closure, but according to the Service Alerts page, both post offices remain closed.
- Source: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/residential/missouri.htm
- Source: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/local-releases/mo/2023/0805-baring-mo-po-will-be-temporarily-closed.htm
- Source: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/local-releases/mo/2023/0803-bell-city-po-will-be-temporarily-closed.htm
- Source: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/local-releases/in/2023/0807-san-pierre-post-office-to-temporarily-close.htm
- Source: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/local-releases/in/2023/0719-wheeler-post-office-to-close-temporarily.htm
See a Sticker on Your Mailbox? Don’t Touch It, USPS Says
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Your mailbox serves a very simple purpose: receiving mail and leaving outgoing mail for a carrier to pick up. Still, some of us enjoy sprucing up our mailboxes, adding personal flair, color, or even decals to help an otherwise standard mailbox stand out. But if you notice a paw print sticker on your mailbox that you didn’t add, don’t start peeling it off just yet—it’s likely part of a program run by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to help keep carriers safe. Read on to find out what these stickers mean and why you shouldn’t remove them.
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In 2023, more than 5,800 Postal Service workers were attacked by dogs while delivering mail, up from 5,300 in 2022, according to a USPS press release.
Larger cities had the highest numbers of attacks, with Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, St. Louis, and Cleveland claiming the top five spots.
“Even though a customer’s dog is friendly to most people, it can always have a bad day,” said letter carrier Tara Snyder . “I know, from experience, even when a dog is in the house, customers need to make sure their door is secure so their dog can’t push it open and bite the letter carrier.”
To her point, the USPS writes that “all dogs can bite, even those perceived as nonaggressive.” In fact, many of the attacks that letter carriers report are by dogs whose owners told them, “My dog won’t bite.”
Such an attack can result in consequences for the homeowner, too. According to data from the Insurance Information Institute, the average cost per insurance claim for a dog bite is $64,555, the USPS states.
“When a postal employee suffers an injury, the owner could be responsible for medical bills, lost wages, uniform replacement costs, and pain and suffering for the employee,” they explain.
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To combat dog bites, the Postal Service shared tips on how pet owners can “support safe mail delivery.” These include keeping dogs inside the house or behind a fence, away from the door or in another room, or on a leash.
“Pet owners also should remind children not to take mail directly from a letter carrier as the dog may view the carrier as a threat to the child,” they state.
Mail carriers also follow protocol to keep them aware of areas where dogs might be present, and they’re equipped with scanners to remind them of possible dog hazards, as well as dog warning cards that are added during mail sorting.
In 2020, the USPS added another preventive measure: the PAWS Program . First introduced in Pennsylvania, the program uses mailbox stickers to keep carriers safe.
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The PAWS Program uses color-coded stickers affixed to mailboxes to inform mail carriers about dogs in the area. An orange sticker with a black paw print tells carriers that there is a dog at this home, while a yellow sticker with a black paw print tells them there is a dog at the next house.
Citizens are informed ahead of time that the stickers may appear on their mailboxes. In a notice sent to Lakewood, Ohio, residents, the Postal Service wrote, “Carriers will soon be placing a paw sticker on mailboxes to indicate that a dog or dogs live in the area —yellow indicates dog nearby/orange indicates dog at residence. The sticker will act as a reminder to the carrier that they should proceed with caution, especially when delivering packages to the door.”
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Removing these stickers may do more harm than good, as your mail service can be halted if your carrier feels unsafe. Not only does this affect the home of the dog owner, but it also applies to the entire neighborhood, the USPS said in a previous press release . Service isn’t restored in these instances “until the aggressive dog is properly restrained.”
At the end of the day, these stickers are put in place to “reduce the risk of dog bites and attacks that occur while delivering mail,” which is just another reason you should leave the sticker on your mailbox.
“We all love our dogs,” Kimberly Tilley , acting postmaster for Winston-Salem, told WGHP. “We love our animals, but we … have to take responsibility to protect the carrier and the people around us as well from our animals.”
Tilley added that dog bites are more common than you think, and they can be traumatic for carriers. “Once a carrier has been bit, it sets some fear in them long term for the rest of their life,” she told the outlet.
However, although these stickers are strongly recommended, if you object to having a sticker placed on your mailbox, you can opt out , Kyle Stevens , Southwest Carrier Annex station manager in South Dakota, told KELO in 2021. To do so, the first step would be to contact your local post office.
This story has been updated to include additional entries, fact-checking, and copy-editing.
