USPS Is Suspending Services in These Places, Effective Now
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Many of us have come to expect a certain level of service from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). But with millions of households to deliver to and tens of thousands of post offices to run across the country, the agency isn’t always able to uphold its regular standards for every state all the time. From hazardous weather to building issues, unexpected disruptions may pop up and force the Postal Service to pause operations in certain areas. In fact, customers in separate parts of the U.S. are dealing with this right now. Read on to find out more about where the USPS is currently suspending services.
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People in one part of Pennsylvania are now dealing with a new service disruption. In an Aug. 10 local press release , the Postal Service announced that it was planning to shutter a facility in Windber, Pennsylvania, in the coming days.
“Postal operations at the Windber Post Office, 1600 Graham Avenue, will be temporarily suspended at the close of business Saturday, Aug. 12,” the USPS stated in its alert.
The Windber Post Office is closing in order to “conduct repairs to the facility’s floor,” according to the agency. When Best Life reached out to the USPS to find out why the floor needs to be fixed, a spokesperson said the agency has “no further information” on the closure.
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The Postal Service has provided the affected Pennsylvania customers with an estimated timeframe for the closure. “Repairs in Windber are anticipated to last approximately 1 month,” the USPS noted in its release. “We appreciate the patience of our valued customers during this time as we look forward to returning to Windber as soon as possible.”
During this closure, the agency is relocating services to a nearby facility in Elton, Pennsylvania. “Windber P.O. Box customers may claim their mail at the Elton Post Office,” the Postal Service said. “Windber residents who receive street delivery will report to the Elton Post Office if they need to claim packages or signature requested items that were not able to be delivered by their carrier.”
RELATED: See a Sticker on Your Mailbox? Don’t Touch It, USPS Says .
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It’s not just postal customers in Pennsylvania who are currently dealing with new service suspensions, however. In an Aug. 15 update to its Service Alerts website , the USPS confirmed that a facility in Bethune, Colorado, is also “temporarily closed” right now.
But unlike with the Windber Post Office, the agency hasn’t provided any explanation for why it has shuttered the Bethune Post Office. Best Life has reached out to the USPS for more information on this closure, and we will update this story with their response.
However, the Postal Service did give Bethune Post Office customers direction on an alternative facility to use for the time being. “During this closure, customers’ mail and retail services will be available at Burlington Post Office,” the agency stated in its alert. “Customers are reminded to bring proper photo identification for mail and package pickups.”
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These are just two of the newest closures being added to the Postal Service’s ongoing list of service suspensions. In fact, the agency just recently alerted Colorado customers to another closure in the state before the Bethune alert. According to an earlier Aug. 9 update to the Service Alerts website, a facility in Thornton, Colorado, is also temporarily closed right now.
USPS spokesperson James Boxrud previously told Best Life that the lease for the Thornton Post Office had ended, and the building’s owner “has chosen to redevelop the location” instead of making a new agreement with the Postal Service. “Our colleagues have been communicating for some time with the city in advance of this change, and we are working to find retail space nearby,” Boxrud said.
- Source: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/local-releases/pa/2023/0810-windber-po-to-temporarily-close.htm
- Source: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/residential/welcome.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.
