(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - The United States Postal Service (USPS ) made the decision in September to change its longstanding practice of processing mail at the Ketchikan Post Office.

According to Ernie Swanson, a USPS Communications Specialist for the Alaska region, the decision to sort the Ketchikan's mail in Juneau was made after the breakdown of a 30 year-old mail sorting machine at the Ketchikan Post Office.

Swanson said because of the age of the sorting machine, replacements spare parts were no longer available and the machine is no longer made. Swanson said it was impractical to replace the machinery and that service to Ketchikan would not be significantly impacted by sending the local mail to Juneau to be sorted. "In order to replace it we would have to purchase similar kind of equipment which is much larger and would actually not fit in the Ketchikan Post Office." He said, "That prompted our decision to send the mail to Juneau."

He said the mail is flown to Juneau for sorting at night then returned to Ketchikan the next morning. If there are any delays in mail delivery in Ketchikan it would be the result of weather preventing a flight to land or because an address is not correct. An old habit of just writing local on a envelop instead of Ketchikan, AK 99901, would result in a delivery delay.

However, shipping mail to Juneau is nothing new said Swanson. He said the Post Office has been flying mail between Juneau and Ketchikan for years.

In a letter Monday to U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, U.S. Senator Mark Begich (D-AK) said the decision to change how Ketchikan mail is sorted was made several months ago with apparently no public notice. At that time the USPS decided to transport all mail deposited at the Ketchikan post office over 200 miles by air to Juneau where it would be sorted. The Ketchikan-destined mail is then returned by air to Ketchikan. A plan which Begich says is inefficient and does not take Southeast Alaska weather delays into account.

“Unfortunately, it does not appear that those responsible for the decision had an adequate understanding of the weather in Southeast Alaska, which can cause flight delays and cancellations during much of the year, nor did they take into account the possibility of mechanical breakdowns of aircraft used by the USPS contractor.  The result is that my office has received numerous complaints from local governments and businesses concerned about timely delivery of bills and receipt of payments for taxes, utilities, goods, and services.”

Swanson said shipping mail deposited at the Ketchikan Post Office to Juneau for processing will continue. He said locally mailed parcel packages are still sorted in Ketchikan.

Related News:

New Mail-Sorting Process Causing Unnecessary Delays in Ketchikan By MARY KAUFFMAN

 

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