U.S. Postal Service Continues to Dig Out

Many Post Offices Still Operating in the Dark

LOUISVILLE, KY – Like many residents and businesses, the U.S. Postal Service was hit hard by last week’s fierce ice storm in Kentucky and Indiana.

As of today, 39 Post Offices are still without power, 20 Post Offices have no phone or internet service, and three Post Offices have no running water.

The good news is all offices in the Kentuckiana District are operational and delivering mail, despite the fact northeastern Kentucky was hit by another 4 inches of snow overnight.

“Generators have been set up at our offices with no power to help ease some of the burden,” said Kentuckiana District Manager Chris Christenbury. “Despite having no power, the mail continues to move thanks to our diligent employees.”

Stories have been pouring into the district office in Louisville about Postal Service employees who went above and beyond during the recent storm:

• In Bee Spring, KY, Highway Contract Driver Missy Britt was delivering mail when a power line fell causing 14 others to follow, trapping her in between. There was no cell phone service so she started going door to door to find a phone that worked. She also found someone with a 4-wheel drive vehicle who helped her put all of the mail in garbage bags, loaded it in their truck and then drove Britt and the mail across fields to get it back to the Post Office.
• In offices throughout the district, Postmasters who didn’t have access to generators worked mail in temperatures of 20 degrees or less.
• Three of the seven processing plants in the district were without power last week. Despite the outage, the managers and employees worked with flashlights.
• Not a single employee in Sturgis, KY, missed a day of work despite having no power or water at home or at the office.

“Postal Service employees are a special breed,” added Christenbury. “The stories I’m hearing are pretty amazing. Employees are committed to getting the mail through for their customers.”