Darrington post office’s limited access has residents peeved

DARRINGTON — A steady rainfall melted the dusting of overnight snow as customers waited outside the Darrington Post Office earlier this week.

In the town of 1,500, where mail doesn’t get delivered, customers now must retrieve their mail or complete a retail transaction with postal workers on weekdays between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the building’s side door.

Since early October, the post office’s lobby, including all access to P.O. boxes, has been closed due to water damage and mold, after adverse September weather.

A sign on the front door said the post office is “closed until further notice due to building repairs,” but residents say they haven’t seen anyone working on the space and United States Postal Service officials had no answers for when the issues may be resolved.

Lines wavered from only two or three customers to nearly a dozen on Tuesday morning. Some residents made small talk as they waited. An occasional grumble could be heard as people voiced their frustration with the closure.

“This is crazy,” one man said to another as they lined up.

“I should be in and out already,” Jim Wicklander said as he waited.

Ahead of the holiday season, Wicklander said he has gifts to send and packages he expects, and he doesn’t feel like anything is being done to solve the problem.

“Nothing has started,” said Ernie Swanson, a USPS spokesperson. “It’s the responsibility of the landlord to get someone in there to make the repairs. We don’t have a schedule, we don’t know when that can start or how long it might take.”

Swanson said conversations are ongoing between the local postal service officials, the landlord and government agency’s facility management team in Denver, but he offered no explanation for the delay.

Outside the post office, Celina Espinoza rifled through mail she picked up for the first time in a month. She works the graveyard shift and hasn’t had time to pick up her mail during the limited hours of operation.

“I had to stay up almost 20 hours just to get my mail during the time that they are open,” she said.

Extending the hours of operation at the post office, including adding weekend hours, is under consideration by management, Swanson said. However, he was unsure where the request is in the approval process.

“Cold,” is how Christine Rimer described her experience with the post office in the last month.

She said it’s a pain having to wait outside, but her concerns were for her senior neighbors.

“Winter’s coming, the snow is going to get really deep, we are going to stand out here and freeze,” she said. “It’s hard for the elderly to get their mail.”

Nancy Green was more sympathetic. She said staff are doing good, efficient work considering the unfortunate circumstances.

“I think they are doing the best that they can,” Green said. “They can’t help what happened.”

Swanson asked customers to bare with them. He understands people are frustrated by the inconvenience and assured locals that the postal service wants the issue resolved, too.

“We are just (in a) holding pattern at the moment,” he said.

Ian Davis-Leonard: 425-339-3448; idavisleonard@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @IanDavisLeonard.

Ian Davis-Leonard reports on working class issues through Report for America, a national service program that places emerging journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. To support Ian’s work at The Daily Herald with a tax-deductible donation, go to www.heraldnet.com/support.