Mailbox vandalism generates controversy
An issue of safety has run head-on with a family fed up with vandalism with neither side ready to give as a Doyle Frazier Road couple is taking on Morrison Post Office.
“I have to drive several miles now to pick up my mail,” said Donna Reid, regarding the impasse which has stopped delivery of her mail since July 25. “We just got sick and tired of our mailbox being knocked down all the time so we moved it to where it was originally. Now they won’t deliver our mail.”
The Reids, who reside at the corner of Doyle Frazier Road and Old Shelbyville Road, say their mailbox was located first on Doyle Frazier Road, but they agreed to move it to accommodate the mail carrier. The post office maintains it was in the wrong place to begin with.
However, over the years, the box on Old Shelbyville Road has been knocked down by vandals and hit-and-run drivers several times, with the repeated incidents prompting them to move their box back to Doyle Frazier, about a quarter mile off the main road.
“It all comes down to a safety factor,” said Morrison Post Office employee Ron Corley. “About 90 percent of the accidents reported by our carriers happen while backing up, so we try to minimize situations where our carriers have to back out. In this case, the carrier has expressed concerns about backing out.”
Corley said he has offered ideas on how to correct the situation to the Reids but at this point the sides cannot come to an agreement.
“If we moved a mailbox to accommodate everyone, we’d never get the mail delivered,” Corley said. “In addition to the safety issue, the carrier would have to travel a round trip of a half mile every day down the road, going out of the line of travel. We take time making these routes. We just don’t throw them together overnight.”
Reid has taken her complaint up through the ranks, even contacting the office of Sen. Bill Frist.
As a result, a safety officer will conduct an inspection of the area to determine if anything can be done about making the change onto Doyle Frazier Road. However, Corley noted the carrier has been firm about safety issues associated with backing out.
Should the safety officer not make a recommendation to change the route, the Reids could be stuck either having to pick up their mail at the post office or having to place the mailbox back onto Old Shelbyville Road.