Tough Winter Notwithstanding––

Postal Workers Cited For Getting The Mail Through

By Kaaren Valenta 

  Not bitterly cold temperatures, snowfalls that were measured in feet rather than inches, ice storms, nor subzero wind chills stopped the US Postal Service mail carriers from driving their routes during the winter of 2002.

  Eight of these postal carriers received special honors on March 27 in a ceremony held at the Newtown Post Office on Commerce Road.

  “I am very proud of the employees and the job they did during the winter,” said Newtown Postmaster Paul Marciniak. “It snowed from Thanksgiving until this week –– the length of the winter was phenomenal.”

 John Stavola, Stanley Kryzskiewicz, and Max Blatt were honored for not missing a single day of work during 2002.

  Mr Stavola, Mr Kryzskiewicz, David Sabia, John Ogrinc, Lukasz Baran, Stephen Collins, Walter Gasiewski, and Steven Turbert, Sr, were recognized for perfect attendance from September through March as well as not having had a motor vehicle or industrial accident despite the winter conditions.

  US Senator Joseph Lieberman wrote a letter to the postal service employees, praising them for their diligence in getting out the mail not only during the past winter but also in the events surrounding September 11, 2001, and the bioterrorism incidents that killed several postal workers later that year.

  “Dedication is something we have come to expect from the US Postal Service,” Sen Lieberman said. “Not because of the famous inscription of ‘Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night…,’ but because we all have witnessed your dedication day after day, year after year, and challenge after challenge.”

A proclamation from the Connecticut General Assembly honored the postal service employees, who also received individual plaques with “winter heroes” stamps. Mr Marciniak also presented a plaque to Newtown First Selectman Herb Rosenthal for the town’s highway department employees for their work in clearing the roads.

  Mr Marciniak said the postal carriers were out six days a week despite storms that left a lot of snow and ice on the sides of the road and made it difficult for many homeowners to clear paths to their mailboxes.

  “The carriers have 450 stops [on each route] so they have to be able to reach the mailboxes from their vehicles,” the postmaster explained. “They can’t get out of the vehicle to reach the mailboxes or they wouldn’t get through their routes until 8 at night. On the worst day, when there was an 18-inch snowfall, about 20 percent of the mail was brought back to the post office because the carriers couldn’t get to the residential boxes, but they attempted to get to every single box every single day. I’m so proud of the job they did.”

  The postmaster also honored his staff by providing a breakfast that was catered by Newtown Deli.