Hayward Letter Carriers Met, Married and Retire While Working at Same Post Office
HAYWARD — It was a match made in Hayward’s Post Office more than 30 years ago. Ron McMahan spied Peggy standing at the time clock, ready to begin work. “Would you go out sometime?” he asked. “I would if someone asked me. You can call me,” she replied. “That stopped him for a moment,” Peggy recalled, “because it was a long–distance call. I told him he could call collect.” Ron called. But not collect.
Fast–forward three decades. The couple, both letter carriers at Hayward Post Office (Ron has 43 years of service, Peggy 36), have decided to hang up their mail bags and deliver their appointed rounds for the last time when they report to work at 7:30 a.m., on Friday, July 2, 2010.
After dating for nine months, Ron popped the marriage question at Columbia State Park. “Let me think about it,” Peggy said.
Their first retirement plan is to head for the Caribbean on the Oasis of the Sea. After that, “Guess we’ll have to go fishing,” Peggy grumbled, good–naturedly. “She likes to fish, but only when they’re biting,” Ron explained.
Ron said he’s ‘worked’ for the post office in Hayward since he was nine. “My dad started as a postal worker in 1957 at the Cypress Annex. I’d hang out in the swing room and play, waiting for him to get off from work. Then, in 1967, I joined him working here.”
Between the two of them, the McMahans have over 80 years of service credit, including sick leave hours. They are both Million Mile drivers, a prestigious driver–safety record denoting zero motor vehicle accidents while driving over a million miles respectively during their postal careers. Together, they have driven the equivalent of driving coast–to–coast 668 times without ever leaving the city limits.
They are the only known married couple in the Postal Service to achieve a million miles of safe driving, and to retire on the same day.
They agree that their customers are like family. “We’ve watched as families have grown, as children have been born,” Ron said. “And we keep an eye out for whatever is going on in the neighborhood.” Peggy works in a residential area with many retirees. The McMahans have heard the same refrain from customers: “Please don’t retire! ”
“Our customers share their lives with us,” Peggy said. “We’re all one big family,” Ron added.
source: USPS
Postal Service Needs Help Preventing Dog Bites
Letter Carriers, Victims, Doctors Promote National Dog Bite Prevention Week
CHICAGO, May 13 – Fifty-four Chicago U.S. Postal Service letter carriers were among the 2,863 postal employees attacked by dogs last year, yet that pales in comparison to the 4.7 million Americans bitten annually — the majority of whom were children.
According to the City of Chicago’s Commission on Animal Care and Control, nearly 2,000 Chicagoans are bitten annually. Fortunately, dog bites are preventable through training, proper control of dogs and education.
These statistics are part of the reason the Postal Service recognizes National Dog Bite Prevention Week®, an annual event designed to provide consumers with information on how to be responsible pet owners while increasing awareness of a public health issue.
“We often hear two tall tales at the Postal Service — ‘the check’s in the mail,’ and ‘don’t worry, my dog won’t bite,’” said Delores Killette, Postal Service vice president and Consumer Advocate. “Given the right circumstances, any dog can bite. Working with animal behavior experts, we’ve developed tips to avoid dog attacks, and for dog owners, tips for practicing responsible pet ownership.”
To spread the word that dog bites are preventable, the Postal Service is working with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Other organizations include the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons (ASMS) the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery (ASRM) and Prevent The Bite.
“Warm and wonderful relationships are shared between more than 72 million pet dogs and their owners in the United States,” said Dr. Gail C. Golab, director of the AVMA’s Animal Welfare Division. “To protect those relationships, everyone must take responsibility for preventing dog bite injuries.”
“Any dog can bite,” Golab added. “Even the gentlest dog, if it is physically or mentally unhealthy, is in pain, feels threatened, or is protecting its food or a favorite toy, can bite. Not only is it important to understand how dogs behave, it is important to understand how our behavior may be interpreted by a dog. To prevent dog bites, we need to find a common language. Finding that common language is the focus of effective dog bite prevention educational efforts.”
“Half of all children will be bitten by a dog by the time they’re high school seniors,” said Dr. Alison Tothy, chair of the committee on injury and poison prevention of AAP’s Illinois chapter. “It’s so important for parents to supervise young children around dogs at all times, and it’s just as important for children to be taught from an early age how to keep from being bitten.”
Plastic surgeon Loren Schechter of Morton Grove, IL, knows all too well how devastating injuries from dog attacks can be. “More than 30,000 reconstructive procedures after dog bites were performed last year, up eight percent since 2008. Unfortunately, many of these surgeries were performed on children,” said Schechter, member of the ASPS, ASRM and ASMS. “Children are frequently bitten on the face, which can result in severe lacerations, infection or scarring.”
Kelly Voigt, 18, was the victim of a savage dog attack when she was seven years old, and needed 100 stitches to her face as part of her recovery.
“Dog bite prevention education cannot begin early enough,” said Voigt. The experience was the catalyst behind the creation of Prevent The Bite, a non-profit organization that promotes dog bite prevention to young children. To date, Voigt has spoken before more than 10,000 elementary school students.
To help educate the public about dog bites, the AVMA developed a brochure, “What you should know about dog bite prevention,” offering tips on how to avoid being bitten, what dog owners can do to prevent their dogs from biting and how to treat dog bites.
Tips include: Pick a dog that is a good match for your home, consult your veterinarian for details, socialize your pet and avoid aggressive games with your pet. To access the brochure online, visit www.avma.org/press/publichealth/dogbite/mediakit.asp.
The Postal Service places the safety of its employees as a top priority. Letter carriers fearing for their safety due to a loose or unrestrained pet may curtail delivery and ask homeowners to pick up their mail at the Post Office until the carrier is assured the pet is restrained. In cases where carriers see the dog roaming, delivery could be curtailed to the neighborhood.
The Postal Service offers these tips as well:
How to Avoid Being Bitten
* Don’t run past a dog. The dog’s natural instinct is to chase and catch prey.
* If a dog threatens you, don’t scream. Avoid eye contact. Try to remain motionless until the dog leaves, then back away slowly until the dog is out of sight.
* Don’t approach a strange dog, especially one that’s tethered or confined.
* While letter carriers are discouraged from petting animals, people who choose to pet dogs should always let a dog see and sniff them before petting the animal.
* If you believe a dog is about to attack you, try to place something between yourself and the dog, such as a backpack or a bicycle.
How to Be a Responsible Dog Owner
* Obedience training can teach dogs proper behavior and help owners control their dogs.
* When a carrier comes to your home, keep your dog inside, away from the door in another room.
* Don’t let your child take mail from the carrier in the presence of your dog. Your dog’s instinct is to protect the family.
* Spay or neuter your dog. Neutered dogs are less likely to bite.
* Dogs that receive little attention or handling, or are left tied up for long periods of time, frequently turn into biters.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no direct support from taxpayers. With 36,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $68 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 28th in the 2009 Fortune 500.
National Dog Bite Prevention Week® is a registered trademark of the American Veterinary Medical Association and is licensed for use to the United States Postal Service, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons, and the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery.
SOURCE U.S. Postal Service
Congressman To USPS OIG: New Documents Show Wage Theft In New Hampshire Post Offices Continues
Washington, D.C. – Today, Paul Hodes and Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter are demanding an investigation into a new round of allegations that letter carriers at even more post offices have been shortchanged on their paychecks. In documents obtained by Hodes, post offices in Dover and Salem, New Hampshire are shown to have manipulated letter carriers’ time sheets to remove overtime pay and earned wages.
“Cheating workers out of their pay is a very serious offense and threatens the livelihood of these hardworking New Hampshire families,” said Hodes. “These troubling allegations must be investigated thoroughly, and any stolen pay should be immediately reimbursed to these workers.”
“The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has already found time sheet tampering of letter carriers throughout the State and these actions cannot continue,” said Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter. “After taking a close look at these new documents, I believe it is appropriate for the OIG to investigate these new incidents.”
Never before seen evidence of manipulated timesheets has been sent to the chief investigator for fraud at the US Postal Service. Hodes and Shea-Porter have demanded an investigation into these documents and the alleged wage theft against New Hampshire workers.
Last year, Hodes spurred similar investigations at several New Hampshire post offices which led to thousand of dollars in repaid wages for workers. The investigations concluded that managers at five New Hampshire postal stations were found to be cheating workers out of rightfully earned wages. In total, previous investigations have uncovered 103 employees who were shortchanged, and the Hodes investigation has already led to $37,600 in wages being returned.
The full text of the investigation request is below:
Dear Inspector General Williams:
We have received reports of time adjustment tampering at two additional United States Post Offices in New Hampshire—Dover and Salem. We urge an Office of Inspector General investigation into the alleged theft of letter carriers’ hours in these post offices.
These new reports of time tampering are troubling, since it has already been determined that New Hampshire letter carriers were cheated out of their wages in an investigation that the Office of Inspector General completed in October, 2009. Your office found improper and inappropriate time adjustments in four post offices in New Hampshire: Milford, Manchester South Station, Somersworth and Salem.
We enclosed for your consideration copies of adjusted time schedules in Dover and Salem that we received from the New Hampshire branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers. The documents include allegations of improper moving of codes, deleted times from carriers, and deleting “no lunch.” In Salem, we urge an expansion of your previous investigation to examine the enclosed data that may include inappropriate reductions in carriers’ overtime.
We encourage a swift review of and report on the allegations of wage theft. If the allegations prove true, we must stop the pattern of unethical and inappropriate underpayments of hard working letter carriers in New Hampshire’s post offices.
Louisiana Man Indicted For Assaulting Letter Carrier
March 11, 2010
CHRISTOPHER ISAAC, age 20, of Marrero, Louisiana, was charged in a one count indictment by a Federal Grand Jury with Assault on a Federal Officer, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten.
According to the indictment, ISAAC used a dangerous weapon to forcibly assault a United States Postal Service letter while the Postal letter carrier was engaged in his official duties.
ISAAC faces a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty (20) years, a fine of $250,000.00 and three (3) years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.
U. S. Attorney Letten reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case is being investigated by United States Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Loan “Mimi” Nguyen
source: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana
New Math Equals Prison Time for Former Part-Time Postal Letter Carrier
From the USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG):
When a Part-Time Flexible (PTF) Carrier in Pennsylvania kept calling his office on his day off to determine if four Express Mail packages had arrived from Arizona, the manager became suspicious. Aware that such packages had been part of marijuana trafficking networks from Arizona, the manager notified the Office of Inspector General (OIG). After identifying the packages as containing marijuana – 57 pounds of it – OIG Special Agents tailed the PTF Carrier as he picked up the parcels and delivered them to a third party. The PTF and his associate were arrested. End of story, right? Not so fast . . .
In a separate incident, an OIG investigative analyst reviewing Voyager fuel credit card transactions identified suspicious charges at several gas stations involving two cards assigned to the same Post Office as the PTF Carrier. The vehicle used in this suspicious activity was identified through a review of the gas stations’ video surveillance tapes. OIG Agents staked-out the station and when the vehicle showed up, they asked the vehicle operator who provided him with Voyager cards and PINs to use the cards.
The source? The same PTF Carrier. The vehicle operator admitted he used the cards to buy gas for himself and to sell to others at a cash discount, sharing the cash with the PTF carrier. They charged about $21,000 worth of gas on the cards.
A federal grand jury indicted the PTF Carrier for Possession with the Intent to Distribute Marijuana and Conspiracy; a superseding indictment charged the PTF Carrier with Theft of Government Property and also charged the associate as a co-conspirator in the case. The PTF Carrier lost his job, was found guilty and was sentenced to 46 months in prison, followed by three years of probation. His associate received a six-month sentence, three years’ probation and both were ordered to jointly make restitution to the Postal Service of $17,061. So, 4 + 57 + 2 also equals $17,061. Go figure.
Illinois Letter Carrier Celebrating 50 Years of Delivering Mail
Glenview, IL, Letter Carrier Joe Kraus is celebrating 50 years of delivering the mail. Nothing has slowed him down.
He’s a rarity. Most people change jobs many times. But for Kraus, delivering the mail in his hometown was an excellent fit. “My parents bought a new house in 1940 when I was a boy,” he says. “I grew up on the west side of town back when there was a lot of open space.”
The letter carrier has enjoyed the opportunity to work directly with the public. “I like being with people,” says Kraus. “This job gives me a chance to help others every day.”
Kraus has become so well-known on his route, people offer him tea or coffee when it’s cold outside and water and lemonade when it’s hot. “I’ve been lucky,” he says. “I’ve had no major injuries and everyone has been very good to me.”
When asked if he plans to retire soon, Kraus says “I could have left a while ago. But I thought I would stay on for the work, my co-workers and the customers.”
After a celebratory cake and good wishes marking his anniversary, a co-worker asked, “What’s your secret?”
“I just keep going,” said Kraus.
source: USPS
Obama: Mail Carriers To Deliver Medical Countermeasures
Executive Order — Medical Countermeasures Following a Biological Attack
ESTABLISHING FEDERAL CAPABILITY FOR THE TIMELY PROVISION OF MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES FOLLOWING A BIOLOGICAL ATTACK
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to plan and prepare for the timely provision of medical countermeasures to the American people in the event of a biological attack in the United States through a rapid Federal response in coordination with State, local, territorial, and tribal governments.
This policy would seek to: (1) mitigate illness and prevent death; (2) sustain critical infrastructure; and (3) complement and supplement State, local, territorial, and tribal government medical countermeasure distribution capacity.
Sec. 2. United States Postal Service Delivery of Medical Countermeasures. (a) The U.S. Postal Service has the capacity for rapid residential delivery of medical countermeasures for self administration across all communities in the United States. The Federal Government shall pursue a national U.S. Postal Service medical countermeasures dispensing model to respond to a large-scale biological attack.
(b) The Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, in coordination with the U.S. Postal Service, within 180 days of the date of this order, shall establish a national U.S. Postal Service medical countermeasures dispensing model for U.S. cities to respond to a large-scale biological attack, with anthrax as the primary threat consideration.
(c) In support of the national U.S. Postal Service model, the Secretaries of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and Defense, and the Attorney General, in coordination with the U.S. Postal Service, and in consultation with State and local public health, emergency management, and law enforcement officials, within 180 days of the date of this order, shall develop an accompanying plan for supplementing local law enforcement personnel, as necessary and appropriate, with local Federal law enforcement, as well as other appropriate personnel, to escort U.S. Postal workers delivering medical countermeasures.
Sec. 3. Federal Rapid Response. (a) The Federal Government must develop the capacity to anticipate and immediately supplement the capabilities of affected jurisdictions to rapidly distribute medical countermeasures following a biological attack. Implementation of a Federal strategy to rapidly dispense medical countermeasures requires establishment of a Federal rapid response capability.
(b) The Secretaries of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, within 90 days of the date of this order, shall develop a concept of operations and establish requirements for a Federal rapid response to dispense medical countermeasures to an affected population following a large-scale biological attack.
Sec. 4. Continuity of Operations. (a) The Federal Government must establish mechanisms for the provision of medical countermeasures to personnel performing missionessential functions to ensure that mission-essential functions of Federal agencies continue to be performed following a biological attack.
(b) The Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, within 180 days of the date of this order, shall develop a plan for the provision of medical countermeasures to ensure that mission-essential functions of executive branch departments and agencies continue to be performed following a large-scale biological attack.
Sec. 5. General Provisions.
(a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
BARACK OBAMA
THE WHITE HOUSE,
December 30, 2009.