Last week, Link alerted readers to a new postmaster general biography added to the postal history section on usps.com.
Nathan Kelsey Hall, who served from 1850-1852 under President Millard Fillmore, was known as a man of great integrity who railed against the misuse of franking privileges, called for tough penalties for equipment theft, and was scrupulously even-handed about awarding contracts.
The Hall bio joins several other biographies of former postmasters general recently added to usps.com: Francis Granger, Charles Wickliffe, Cave Johnson and Jacob Collamer.
Link also shared reminders on the proper disposal of fire extinguishers; the ethics rules surrounding fundraising; the Aug. 5 deadline for ordering semipostal T-shirts from Tee Luv; and the new “Mailin’ It!” podcast, which explains Free Matter for the Blind, a partnership between USPS and the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled.
In the latest cautionary tale shared by the USPS Office of Inspector General, we reported on a retail clerk who set aside packages of cocaine that came in the mailstream and was paid for passing them on to an associate. The clerk was sentenced to 2 ½ years in federal prison.
And in an article adapted from The Eagle magazine, we spotlighted Stacy Douglas, a Sioux Falls, SD, letter carrier who volunteers with Sleep in Heavenly Peace. The charitable group builds, assembles and delivers beds, sheets and pillows for children in need.
“The effect it has on these kids is remarkable,” said Douglas, who’s heard of children sleeping on the floor, air mattresses, pool floats — even a bathtub — before the group was able to help.
Finally, “Heroes” told the story of Charles Koontz, a Lexington, NC, letter carrier who heard someone calling for help while delivering his route.
He ran to the customer, who was standing next to a car. A car seat strap had gotten entangled around her distraught grandson’s neck.
After calling 911, the USPS employee attempted to cut the strap with a knife, which was unsuccessful, but was able to free the child after obtaining a pair of scissors.
He waited with the family until paramedics arrived. The child was not injured.
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