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Mail handlers here take extra precautions at work Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell A Jackson County worker processes mail using gloves. Mail handlers at the jail wear even more protection and process the mail in a closed room in case of a mishap. Most feel some measures make everyone more comfortable, even if the risk is low By DANI DODGE With deadly anthrax being sent through the U.S. Postal Service, people are taking a second look at what the mailman brings. That goes for individuals, businesses and government agencies. At the Jackson County Jail, the three people who open jail and inmate mail are doing it in a tiny interview room with gloves on their hands and masks over their noses and mouths. "We didn't start this until we started seeing things about anthrax in the mail," said Lt. Jim Warren, jail commander. "The potential for something like that here is real remote, but we needed something to develop a little comfort level." So far anthrax has caused the death of two postal workers in New Jersey and a tabloid photo editor in Florida. There have been at least nine other confirmed infections. Mail handling guidelines have been issued by the Post Service, the state and the county and most public employees are getting mail that is being handled much more carefully than before. The range of precautions that businesses and governmental agencies take varies. And many agencies, including local post offices and the federal courthouse, declined to comment on their procedures. In Ashland, city department heads talked to their employees about how to handle mail safely and each employee is using personal judgment about whether a piece of mail looks suspicious. If it does, that employee calls police, said Ashland City Administrator Greg Scoles. The city of Medford is taking a similar approach. Instead of employees suiting up with gloves and masks, they are being alert to problems and calling in police if those problems occur. "We'd rather leave it to the experts," said Medford Deputy City Manager Jef Faw. "Our police officers are already equipped." John Miele, a management assistant at Crater Lake National Park, said employees there have been following Postal Service guidelines downloaded from the Internet. He said one letter was suspiciously wet when it arrived at the park recently. "He didn't open it. He followed the procedures and they ultimately determined it was legitimate," Miele said. "We never figured out why it was wet, but we took precautions." At Jackson County government's central mail handling facility, where about 1,500 pieces of mail come in each day, employees are already wearing gloves and are expect to get masks soon. Biohazard containment containers are on order. "We feel we are at a low level of risk in the county, but we want to be prepared," said Lorrie Kovell, who is in charge of the mail. Businesses big and small also are looking at safety procedures. Bill Ihle, corporate relations manager at Bear Creek Corp., said employees are reviewing procedures and following federal guidelines. At Abby's Pizza in Eagle Point, manager Lucinda Dent carefully examines thick envelopes more carefully and makes sure they are from the corporate office before she opens them. "But I haven't received anything that's weird," she said. Last week, though, she did witness some extremes of mail handling. She dropped off her sewer bill at the city of Shady Cove and heard an officer telling workers how to watch for suspicious packages. Then she went to get her mail at the post office and saw a woman scooping mail from a post office box with rubber gloves into a garbage bag. "She saw me staring and explained that her husband won't let her touch the mail without wearing gloves," Dent said. "It blew my mind, but then later I thought, who knows what kind of business her husband does. Maybe he's in the service and they are more at risk." At the jail where gloves and masks are the norm, Warren said he doesn't expect to be a target of an anthrax-laced letter, but precautions can't hurt. "It's not a viable threat in Medford," Warren said. "What's there to disrupt here? If you are going to do disruption, it will be federal government or money centers." Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.