By Kirk Kern
There is almost nothing that isn’t enjoyable about putting this newspaper together.
Talking to people for articles. Great.
Laying out the issue on an InDesign file. Fun.
Even selling ads, which is something I didn’t go to school for and never thought I would ever have to do. Not bad.
Bookkeeping and collections. Not always fun, but feels OK when the money comes in.
But even having to do that is a hoot compared to my dealings with the post office the last couple of weeks.
It all started when I received an email from someone who wnted to advertise. I sent him all the information and he was generally interested.
But then he told me lives in Skye Canyon but hadn’t gotten any of the issues in the mail.
I told him, “Well I pay the post office to deliver to every single home in Skye Canyon.”
He gave me his address and I did some research. First, I went to my printer, who also handles the mailing. He verified that this specific address should definitely get the paper.
Then I went to the post office on Jones at the 215. I waited in line, got to the counter and explained what is happening.
The clerk got a manager for me.
I explained the situation again and gave him the address. He knew this tract of homes well.
The manager said this small gated community has a contractor who handles delivery, but he doesn’t go into this development. Instead, he returns the mail to the post office and the managers deliver it.
But when he returns the mail, he doesn’t include my newspapers.
The manager said he would make a note and make sure the contractor returns the newspapers along with the regular mail.
The June issue came out. Still no papers in this community.
I went back to the post office and talked with another manager. I even gave him extra copies I had and he said he would put them in the mailboxes the next day.
I checked a few days later, still no deliveries. So I made a fourth trip to the post office. This time, I asked for a manager but none came up to talk to me. I left my phone number. Still waiting for a call back.