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Post Offices Pegged for Closure

By JENNIFER LEVITZ
 
Some 3,653 post offices, mostly in small communities, are targeted for possible closure this year under a plan expected to be released by the U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday.

The post offices, on a list that that will be made public Tuesday by Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, were chosen because they get the “least amount of foot traffic and retail sales” and because there may be local businesses that could provide some postal services to the community, said agency spokeswoman Sue Brennan.

See a list of post offices the U.S. Postal Service said it was closing starting at the end of 2010.

“Most of them are in smaller communities, but not all of them,” she said, adding that the post offices, about 11% of the total, are spread across the nation.

Moves to close post offices are often unpopular, since many people see them as connecting rural areas and small towns to the rest of the nation. Doctors on the South Dakota plains deliver medicine through post offices, while towns in rural Kentucky and Iowa and elsewhere rely on their post offices as local gathering spots. The postal agency already has closed 100 post offices since January, prompting uproar in many of the affected communities.

Continued, link to article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903999904576467921947248738.html?mod=e2tw

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Postal Solutions is the nation’s leader in the collegiate mail management industry, for both on- and off-campus mail management services. For more information regarding assistance with outsourcing your collegiate mail management needs, please call us today at (866) 378-8157 or visit us online at www.uspostalsolutions.com to save your student rental community or university money.

 

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Suspicious package in COS mailroom destroyed; police investigate

The Tulare County consolidated bomb squad responded to a suspicious package found in College of the Sequoias’ mailroom Wednesday.

The bomb squad rendered the package safe with a water cannon and, together with COS police, are investigating where it was sent from and what was inside, said Kevin McCusker, COS spokesman.

No injuries were reported.

X-rays of the package couldn’t rule out a possible explosive because they showed screws and pieces of metal, McCusker said.

The Blue Oak building, which houses the mailroom and campus police, was evacuated as a precaution until 2 p.m.

No students were on campus since COS no longer runs summer school.

Continued, link to article: http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20110609/NEWS01/106090319/Suspicious-package-COS-mailroom-destroyed-police-investigate?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage

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Postal Solutions is the nation’s leader in the collegiate mail management industry, for both on- and off-campus mail management services. For more information regarding assistance with outsourcing your collegiate mail management needs, please call us today at (866) 378-8157 or visit us online at www.uspostalsolutions.com to save your student rental community or university money.

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MU mail service change saves money for campus

A year after limiting its office hours, the University of Missouri’s Campus Mail Service has realized more savings than expected without significantly affecting service, a spokeswoman said.

Since May 2010, the mail service’s Hitt Street parking garage walk-in location has been open from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. That’s a switch from the previous business hours that spanned 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every weekday.

Staff this year did, however, make accommodations for faculty and staff who needed the office open at other times, said Karlan Seville, spokeswoman for Campus Facilities, which oversees the mail operation.

“There were really no complaints about the time change,” she said. “About once a week, they’d get a phone call from someone who couldn’t make it, so mail services would accommodate them.”

Although reducing office hours was the result of a drop in the volume of “snail mail,” the move also resulted in some cost savings. By eliminating four positions last spring, Campus Facilities saved $143,500 in its mail services operation, Seville said. That’s slightly more than the $142,000 the university predicted last year.

Other than outgoing packages, the decline in paper mail continued this year. In April, mail services handled 178,078 pieces of bulk mail, down from 210,044 bulk mail pieces in April 2010, and handled 135,208 pieces of incoming and intercampus mail, down from 154,646 pieces of individual mail in April 2010. Outgoing packages increased in April, with 253,678 items being sent out compared to 215,692 pieces in April 2010. The numbers come from Seville and MU spokesman Christian Basi.

Campus Mail Service handles mailing for MU and UM System offices but does not handle student mail. Letters and packages sent to residential halls are delivered through the U.S. Postal Service.

Link to article: http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2011/may/12/mu-mail-service-change-saves-money-for-campus/

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Postal Solutions is the nation’s leader in the collegiate mail management industry, for both on- and off-campus mail management services. For more information regarding assistance with outsourcing your collegiate mail management needs, please call us today at (866) 378-8157 or visit us online at www.uspostalsolutions.com to save your student rental community or university money.

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Mailroom catches up with package backlog

Tasting a warm pistachio muffin from the Blue Room, shopping for that perfect fourth class, running into everyone you know in the Sharpe Refectory — these are a few of the nice things about returning to campus for spring semester. Waiting in line in the mailroom for 25 minutes to pick up a box of textbooks is not one of them.

The mailroom faced an unusually large backlog and longer lines this semester due to weather complications and an increased influx of packages, said Fred Yattaw, manager of University Mail Services. Mail Services processed 17,148 packages between Jan. 24 and Feb. 17, compared to 15,816 during the same period last year, according to data provided by Yattaw.

Mariah Gonzales ’13 waited over a week to pick up a package because the line in J. Walter Wilson was consistently excessive, she said.

“I actually made my brother pick up a package for me because the line was so long,” she said, adding, “I think he thought he was going to get something out of it because the package was from my mom.”

Link to article: http://www.browndailyherald.com/mailroom-catches-up-with-package-backlog-1.2480115

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Postal Solutions is the nation’s leader in the collegiate mail management industry, for both on- and off-campus mail management services. For more information regarding assistance with outsourcing your collegiate mail management needs, please call us today at (866) 378-8157 or visit us online at www.uspostalsolutions.com to save your university money.

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Electronic notifications alert students of packages

Charity Hulon

The outdated system of notifying by paper has been replaced with an e-mail system that saves time.
E-mail updates replace yellow slips to improve mailroom communication

A new mailroom system in the University of South Carolina Post Office has caused a stir on campus. On Feb. 11, the old system of placing yellow package notification slips in students’ mailboxes was replaced with an e-mail update.

Barry Meyers, the director of the USC Postal Services, is excited about the new method of package distribution. He said that, in January, 10,050 packages were delivered to resident students via the mail center. With the old system of paper notification slips, much of mailroom employees’ time and energy was spent printing, labeling and delivering the yellow slips.

The e-mail system allows the mailroom to process the packages through an internal tracking system and digitally assign them a shelf location based on the student’s name and the shipping carrier type. The e-mail is then sent, and students can receive their packages by scanning their CarolinaCards at the package pick-up desk.

Meyers noted that it is important for students to check their “junk” e-mail if they are expecting a package notification, and add the address noreply@sgbx.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to a “safe sender” list.

Link to article: http://www.dailygamecock.com/news/item/662-electronic-notifications-alert-students-of-packages

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Postal Solutions is the nation’s leader in the collegiate mail management industry, for both on- and off-campus mail management services. For more information regarding assistance with outsourcing your collegiate mail management needs, please call us today at (866) 378-8157 or visit us online at www.uspostalsolutions.com to save your university money.

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