Published: May 21, 2008 02:05 pm            

WEDNESDAY: Postal Service asking homeowners to inspect mailboxes (2:05 p.m.)

Mailbox Improvement Week is here in time for spring cleaning and the U.S. Postal Service wants all homeowners to add “mailbox” on the to-do list.

The U.S. Postal Service is asking all Lockport homeowners to inspect and repair their mailboxes during Mailbox Improvement Week, June 1 to 7.

“Repairing suburban and rural mailboxes improves the appearance of our community and makes delivering and receiving mail safer for our carriers and customers,” said Lockport Postmaster Roselle Murrell. “The Postal Service makes this annual request because of the wear and tear that occurs to mailboxes every year, especially during the winter. Inclement weather and snow plowing usually takes a toll on the mailbox.”

Some of the typical activities that may need to be done to post and house-mounted boxes include: Replacing loose hinges on a mailbox door, repainting a mailbox that may have rusted or started peeling, remounting a mailbox post if loosened or replacing or adding house numbers.

“If a homeowner plans to install a new mailbox or replace a worn one, he or she must use only Postal Service-approved traditional, contemporary, or locking full and limited service mailboxes,” Murrell said. “Customers should be careful when purchasing curbside mail receptacles because the use of unapproved boxes is prohibited. Customers may use a custom built mailbox, but they must consult with my office to ensure it conforms to guidelines applying to flag, size, strength, and quality of construction.”

For more information on the use of names or numbers on mailboxes, or answers to any other questions, contact the Lockport Post Office at 716-434-1440.

        

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