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Carriers draw line in construction zone Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Carolann Hennen is among the Oak Grove Road residents who are upset by a U.S. Postal Service decision to stop delivering mail to boxes on their road. Postal officials say a summer-long road-widening project has made the road unsafe for their carriers. Oak Grove Road residents told to move mailboxes or go to town By Jessica Smith They�ll deliver in rain, snow and sleet. But Medford mail carriers have drawn the line on Oak Grove Road, the site of a summer-long widening project. Residents there say they�ve gone days without getting the usual bills from creditors and letters from loved ones. Now they�re being told to move their post boxes down the road or drive across town to collect mail. "It�s ludicrous," lamented Carolann Hennen, one of about 50 residents on Oak Grove, a mile-long county road just outside Medford between Highway 238 and Stewart Avenue. "If the U.S. Postal Service can deliver mail by mule to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, why can�t a Medford mail carrier walk this route, for God�s sake," Hennen asked. "Someone doesn�t want to be inconvenienced and that�s not right," she added. The problem, according to local postal officials, is that construction on Oak Grove has made delivering mail difficult for carriers. Mail boxes have been moved from their permanent locations and work crews routinely delay deliveries, they say. On Saturday, a postal service letter alerted Oak Grove residents to the agency�s decision to hold mail at the Biddle Road transfer center. To residents who insist on street delivery, the agency suggested moving mail boxes to the corner of Oak Grove and Madrona Lane. Neither option is a good solution, said Oak Grove resident Leroy Davidson. "For us older people, why, it�s a hardship to get our mail," he said. "And it�s a hardship to go clear across town and have to wait in line." If the postal service won�t deliver to homes, resident Lila Butler said she�ll likely have to rent a mail box at the post office or one of the local commercial mailing outfits. "I might have to choose between the Mail Tribune and my mail box," said Butler, who priced mail box rentals and found they ran about the same as her newspaper subscription. Concern for the safety of the mail and its carriers is what prompted Terry Wood, a customer service supervisor, to institute the new delivery guidelines. He said regular service would resume when road construction ends in September. "I don�t want the mail carrier to have to walk down around there," Wood said. "The machines are not going to look out for him and I don�t want him playing dodge-the-machine." But a county engineer who is overseeing the Oak Grove project said he�s directed crews to work with the mail carriers to ensure delivery. Supervisors have met with the carrier and offered to provide an escort. "The flaggers and everybody on my end were given notice to do everything they can to help the mail carrier," said Tim Hurn. "We feel we�ve bent over backwards to accommodate the post office." Hurn said he tried to contact the postal service Monday to discuss mail delivery for Oak Grove residents but that he was unable to reach anyone. He said his department is willing to work with the postal service to resolve the situation. "If I was one of the people out there not receiving my mail, I�d be very upset," Hurn said. Meanwhile, Hennen said she plans to enlist her neighbors in a letter-writing campaign urging the postal service to reconsider its decision. "I know it�s a small thing, but it�s very important to all the people who live up and down this street," Hennen said. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA