Cheers for Gilroy Postmaster Penny Yates who has swiftly
reversed course and let letter carriers know that not delivering
the mail because of curbside obstructions is not an option.
Cheers for Gilroy Postmaster Penny Yates who has swiftly reversed course and let letter carriers know that not delivering the mail because of curbside obstructions is not an option.
That should relieve Gilroy residents who wondered about the now-celebrated “Do not dismount” order from Postmaster Yates. Now that it’s been officially rescinded, Gilroyans will no longer have to puzzle over empty mailboxes.
Since the news story, The Dispatch has received letters from numerous mail carriers across the country. Many of them, like Donna Cissell from Shepherdsville, KY, made the point that people aren’t cooperating with letter carriers when it comes to obstructions. Cissell wrote that garbage cans, bags of yard waste and such should be removed from the path of the letter carrier as a simple act of consideration for the carrier on the job.
That makes perfect sense. Perhaps Postmaster Yates can draft a new letter – a friendly reminder to residents who have mailboxes that are often blocked – that asks for simple cooperation. A knock on the door and a personal delivery of that day’s mail with the reminder, might go a long way toward accomplishing the goal of mail delivery that’s dependable and efficient.
Yates might also enlist the help of Manager Phil Couchee from South Valley Disposal. The local waste company would probably be happy to include a notice with the garbage bills about keeping them away from mailboxes whenever possible.
Hopefully, this episode will be completely resolved without further trauma at the Gilroy Post Office. Residents who have letter carriers who simply followed Yates’ ill-advised order should not hold it against their delivery person. And hopefully, Yates will recognize that numerous carriers have bumped trash receptacles along the route. We don’t need a witch hunt on this issue, just a little common sense and an effort to elicit cooperation between the carriers and residents.
Gilroy can certainly manage that with good spirit.
