Through rain and sleet (but not big snow piles)

Through rain and sleet (but not big snow piles)
By David Nelson
The Herald Journal
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6832281/

Postal Service stops delivery at some mailboxes Since Jan. 8, Jerry Jorgenson of Logan has seen UPS delivery drivers, garbage trucks and snowplows make the rounds through his west Logan neighborhood.
He hasn't, however, seen any letters, bills or advertisements make their way into to his white mailbox, nor has he heard from the Postal Service about why nothing has arrived.

"All these other people manage to get their jobs done in the snow," Jorgenson said, standing next to the box emblazoned with his last name and sticking out of a 3-foot-deep pile of packed snow just off the sidewalk.
Jorgenson is not alone, as mailboxes at hundreds of Cache Valley residences were blocked by snow this week. And just like Jorgenson, many people called their local post offices wondering where their mail was.

"Even if it's junk, they want it," said Matthew Adams, carrier supervisor at the Logan post office, where two overflowing trays of mail sit on the floor labeled "Boxes are down/snow blockages" with a black marker.
Adams said the Postal Service can't afford to alert every customer who may have mail service postponed after a snowstorm. Safety is the priority for rural drivers, he said, and decisions about whether to deliver mail are left to individual drivers when they make the rounds among the piles of snow shoveled from driveways, sidewalks and streets.

He urged customers to help make carriers' jobs easier by keeping paths to mailboxes or doors clear. He said residents can use their judgment to determine whether mail will arrive or not.
"If you can drive up and get mail out of your box, then we can drive up and put mail in it. That's one of the best indicators," said Adams.

Adams estimated that at least 40 rural customers served by the Logan office had their mail stored at the downtown office this week because of snow blockages. Other Cache Valley communities reported similar problems for rural drivers, including Richmond, which held mail for about a dozen customers, and Hyrum, which was unable to reach the mailboxes of roughly 100 residents by truck.
"To have to hop out for every box, there's no way they can finish in time," said Sue Tibbetts, a clerk at the Hyrum Post Office, who said some days this week the mail didn't arrive until nearly 5 p.m. on rural routes because of snow-related delays.

Tibbetts said some residents actually called the post office to request their mail be held when the storm hit, although she also experienced phone calls similar to those Adams has been receiving all week. Adams said Saturday's mail will be delivered by hand to customers with inaccessible boxes, with a reminder that the blockage must be removed by Tuesday to resume service.

If the snow has already frozen around boxes on rural routes, Adams said residents can use creativity to get mail delivered on time. He recommended customers extend pieces of wood from their roadside boxes and leave buckets on the end. And then, he said, "do the drive-by test," or check whether mail trucks can make the delivery.

"Look at where your carrier comes from," said Adams. "If he can't walk that route, you probably won't get your mail."