PEYTON — People in Peyton and Falcon say there's been a delay with their mail getting delivered to their homes. Now, the United States Postal Service is sending mail carriers to the area to help resolve the issues.
In some cases, people are waiting a few days for their mail to arrive, and also waiting days for mail to be picked up from their home to be delivered. Neighbors say it’s been an on-going issue since December.
“I am concerned, especially because it's tax time, and everybody needs all their 1099's and whatever else they have. Medications, I don't order online or through the post office, but that would be a concern too,” said Andy Barnes, a Peyton resident.
Barnes was picking up his mail from the post office on Tuesday afternoon.
“I just figured that this is the easiest way to do it rather than coming in here and pitching a fit. I just ask for my mail and I get it. But today is a good thing because they said they were delivering it today,” said Barnes.”
Others like Tom Grady have even bought a P.O. Box. so he could get his mail in a more timely manner.
“Then we can come in every day and get it, or on the weekends and get our mail. Yes, it's a little expensive, but it was worth it,” said Grady.
James Boxrud is a spokesperson with the Postal Service. He says they know they're behind and they're sorry for the inconvenience.
“First I’d like to apologize,” said Boxrud. “We haven't met our service commitments out there in Peyton.
Boxrud says a growing population in the area, paired with losing some staff members are partly to blame. The issues also began around the holidays when many more packages were being delivered.
“Peyton is really growing so we kind of struggled. We lost a couple of people, we're having trouble staffing that office, and we just started falling behind,” said Boxrud.
The post office did add four mail carriers from surrounding areas to help the community out. Mail carriers will be working in the area for about a month, and the postal service will reevaluate the situation in a few weeks.
Boxrud reassured that they’re doing all they can to get caught up. He added that this is usually a slower time of year, so they hope they will be caught up soon.
“All the mail is going out, they got routes covered, they're still working lots of hours out there,” said Boxrud.
While some neighbors have shared their concerns, many others are also understanding.
“Absolutely, I’ll give these guys a break. They're good people in there, and this isn't their fault. So just everybody be nice,” said Barnes.
Boxrud said they’re looking to hire four mail carriers in Peyton. Pay starts at around $24 an hour.
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