Mail delivery and garbage collection services were disrupted in Fulton this week by a blizzard that dumped more than a foot of snow on the city.
Roger Bounds, Fulton postmaster, said there was no mail delivery on Wednesday because the post office received no mail from the regional post office.
Bounds said normal delivery attempts resumed Thursday but have been delayed because of the deep snow.
"We cannot deliver mail if there is no clear path to the box. The box might be at the curb or at the door of a residence. But if we can't get there safely we cannot deliver the mail," Bounds said.
When delivery is at the curb at a mailbox, Bounds said the mail will not be delivered if the snow is not cleared away enough for the mailman to drive up to the box and make a delivery without getting out of the mail delivery vehicle. He said drivers with such routes often have 500 deliveries to make each day and they don't have enough time to get out of the vehicle and walk to the mailbox, especially if there is deep snow around it.
Most of the mail deliveries at mailboxes are in newer areas of the city such as North Westminster, Bartley Lane and the Wood Street area.
Most parts of the city have mail deliveries for boxes at the door of residences.
But if a clear path is not shoveled to the door, mail cannot be delivered, Bounds said.
"Today has been a nightmare. The phone has been ringing off the hook. People want to come in here and pick up their mail. We can do that if they want us to hold their mail here. But that is going to cause a lot of problems here with too many people coming into the office. We ask for cooperation and understanding of the public. I would rather they clear a path to their mailbox, whether at the curb or at the door of their residence," Bounds said.
The Fulton Post Office phone number is 573-642-2857. But Bounds said the phone number has been extremely busy and it may be difficult for people to reach someone at the post office at that number.
Bounds urged neighbors to volunteer to shovel a path to the mailboxes of elderly and handicapped persons living in the city.
Bounds said extra people have been hired to concentrate in an area to deliver mail because it takes longer than normal to make the rounds. A lot of duplicated effort also occurs when mail is boxed and taken out for delivery and has to be brought back to the post office and reassembled for delivery the next day.
Garbage collection service in Fulton resumed Thursday after it was suspended on Tuesday and Wednesday because the heavy snow made it impossible for trucks to make the rounds.
J.C. Miller, Fulton Solid Waste manager, said collection crews plan to work extra hours on Thursday and Friday of this week to make up for a lack of service on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Miller said garbage collection crews made their normal collections on Thursday and then went back to pick up areas where they normally collect on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"There were not a lot of garbage cans out," Miller said. He added collection crews will check back again on Friday in the areas normally picked up on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"Anyone whose garbage pickup was missed can call here at 642-3421 on Monday and let us know and we will come out and pick up the garbage. We hope more of the snow will be cleared away by then. We want to get back on track with everything," Miller said.
Miller said the snow is so deep many people are having difficulty trying to push garbage cans to the curb.