Neither snow nor rain ... but a scarcity of workers, that's another thing

A Rochester Post Office truck plies a snowy city street last winter. (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - Kathleen Kelley Sanford of Rochester said she and her husband look forward to getting his payroll check in the mail every month, especially at Christmastime, but in the past several weeks there have been many days when no mail carrier delivered on Laura Drive.
"For almost two months now mail deliveries here have been sporadic," she told The Rochester Voice on Wednesday.
Sanford said one of the paychecks they were waiting for came three days late.
She said she checked with neighbors to confirm it wasn't just her not getting mail, and also with an acquaintance on Lowell Street who expressed the same concerns.
Some are waiting for medicines, some are waiting for gift packages and some are waiting for bills that aren't getting through on time, but Steve Doherty, Strategic Communications Specialist for the USPS Atlantic Division, told The Voice they are doing everything they can to fill the gaps.
"We've recently converted more than 100,000 employees from pre-career to full time career status and are aggressively hiring for the holidays and beyond," he said. "But the current low unemployment rate in New Hampshire makes this a challenge as there are many companies hiring and fewer available job seekers."
Doherty noted that in recent years, while the volumes of cards, letters and advertising mail has dropped slightly, the volume of packages being delivered has grown exponentially.
He said despite their best efforts, it's been tough to keep up.
"The current hiring strain, combined with holiday volumes, can cause us to stretch our capacity beyond its limit and result in pockets of delays in our delivery network," he noted in a statement sent The Voice on Thursday.