Post office prepared for holiday blitz

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Postal employees Jeff Stevens and Eddie Solomon sort Christmas cards and letters Monday on a day which saw McMinnville Post Office handle an estimated 100,000 pieces of mail during what has been a vigorous Christmas season.

The North Pole has nothing on the U.S. Postal Service during the Christmas season as employees at McMinnville Post Office started their work week processing more than 100,000 pieces of mail on Monday alone.

“It stays busy here during the Christmas season,” said Postmaster Charles Bogle of the upsurge in holiday business. “But, we have the best employees anywhere working here so we don’t have to worry about who’s going to call in. Our folks are always here, ready to work.”

Bogle said the overall business is down just a bit from last year, mostly due to the fact the 278th is home this year whereas they were in Iraq last Christmas. The deployment of so many local residents made for a significant increase in mail and parcels, many of which were sent early to ensure they arrived in time overseas.

On the flip side, Bogle said parcel business is showing an increase this year, partly due to eBay shoppers and the U.S. Postal Service’s agreement with a major online auction firm.

As for deliveries from now until Christmas, Bogle said items can be sent as late as Wednesday as priority mail and have a good chance of making their destination in time for Christmas. However, Bogle said the only way to guarantee delivery at this late date, especially those sending items Thursday, is the post office’s premium overnight service. The premium service starts out at $13.65 for items up to eight ounces and increases with weight. Bogle said some employees will actually be working on Christmas attempting to deliver premium overnight mail.

While the passing of Christmas will lead to a drop in the number of items being handled by the postal service, Bogle predicted mailing will remain more vigorous than normal up until Jan. 8 when the first rate increase in years takes affect.

“The rate increase from 37 cents to 39 cents for first class mail will go into effect on Jan. 8 so a lot of people may take advantage of mailing items under the present rate, which we encourage,” Bogle said.

“This will be the first rate increase in some time,” Bogle added. “Just like everybody, we have higher fuel costs.”