Some Issues With Local Mail Weather-Related, Hellertown Postmaster Says

Hellertown Postmaster Theresa Nebbia said Tuesday afternoon that at least some of the recent mail delivery issues being reported by local residents on Patch's Facebook page—which Patch showed her during a visit to the post office—are related to the wintry weather the Saucon Valley's recently experienced.

She said that in some cases, mail was returned to the post office by carriers if they determined that conditions for delivery to a door or mailbox were unsafe.

For example, if sidewalks have not been cleared of snow and ice, Nebbia said letter carriers have the prerogative to forgo delivery due to unsafe conditions.

A clerk working at the Hellertown post office said mail delivery has been delayed throughout the country due to the widespread wintry weather, and acknowledged that there have been complaints as a result of the disruptions.

She stressed that the disruptions are not unique or isolated to the Saucon Valley. 

Nebbia, who said she has been off for the past two weeks while tending to a family matter, told Patch she plans to investigate the dozens of complaints about missing mail and other delivery-related issues.

She encouraged residents who have experienced delivery issues to report them by calling the Hellertown Post Office at 610-838-9351 and asking to speak to her.

Below is a sampling of the complaints readers shared on Facebook Monday:

—Susan Yale: "No mail for me today [Monday] and I am in town."

—Alicia Kichline: "We did not get mail on Friday."

—Jess Miller: "I haven't had mail since Thursday. I'm expecting a package and it said attempted/notice left and I never got anything. I called the post office this morning and tried to explain but they rushed me off the phone and said check today... I got no mail today."

—Jennifer Sparks: "We live above a business and the other day our mail and the business' mail were all jumbled together and left on our stairs, not even in the same part of the building as the mailbox."

—Debi Barrett: "Dave, our carrier in Lower Saucon, retired at the end of the year. It will take somebody a while to fill his shoes. The 2500 block of Easton Road is a mess but he knew whose mail went where. I could always tell when he was on vacation."

—Amanda Kichline: "Lately we have been finding our mail in the snow, across the street blowing around, and all crumbled up."

—Star Yardumian: "I live on Delaware...ONE BLOCK up from the post office...no mail today, nor did my neighbor get any. I find it hard to believe that 2 [people] on one block would not get any mail in the same day. The other day while at the Post Office some one mentioned how he is not getting his mail and was told there are 4 carriers for 7 routes."

Several readers commented that they think the Hellertown post office is short-handed, as a result of recent retirements.

Photo: Mail trucks are parked behind the Hellertown branch of the United States Postal Service at 660 Delaware Ave., Hellertown