Postal Service

Dislcaimer: This press release is a statement provided by the elected official's office.   WASHINGTON, D.C. - An amendment to the 21 st Century Postal Service Act of 2011 authored by U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) that would require the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to set minimum standards of service and consider alternatives to closure prior to closing any post office, was adopted today by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

"There are some who are Amish.  How are they going to use their computer to go online and buy stamps?" wonders Dedra Sawatzky. "I'm not a fan of it," Chy Miller says. "The people obviously are upset," the U.S. Postal Service's Dan Wishall says. People in Yoder are reacting to the news that their post office will continue to be open--but only half as much. "It's happening because of the financial situation of the Postal Service," Wishall says.  "Until we get some help--either through generating more retail or finding new ways to cut--this is part of our plan to reduce costs overall.

The town of Geuda Springs is a small one, less than a hundred people live there. But everyday, more than 200 who live in the area come to the town to get their mail and see their friends. Last week, the residents received a letter for the postal service informing them that their post office might be closing. The reasons for closing the post office outlined in the letter include declining demand and that the office does not have a post master. The last one retired in 2008. Many residents of Geuda Springs and the surrounding areas get their mail from post office boxes because they live outside of the delivery route.

The U.S. Postal Service kicks off National Stamp Collecting Month in October by issuing "Earthscapes" Forever stamps. "Earthscapes" depict American landscapes from several hundred feet to several hundred miles above the earth. The images were taken from ultra-light planes to satellites. Two of the stamp images -- "Volcanic Crater" and "Center-Pivot Irrigation" -- were taken by the NASA/U.S. Geological Survey Landsat 7 satellite. The "Center-Pivot Irrigation" image was taken above Kansas.

The United States Postal Service says the Wichita's Munger Station will fully reopen next week. An electrical fire last year badly damaged the post office at 1314 N. Oliver. The June 2011 fire caused at least $300,000 in damage. Post Office Box operations returned to Munger Station last week. Munger letter carriers returned this week. Customers can once again pick up left-notice mail at the Munger Station. Retail operations are expected to return in full on Tuesday, April 10. Retail hours will be from eight o'clock to five o'clock Monday thru Friday and from 8:30 to noon on Saturdays.

Are you mailing packages, cards or letters for the Christmas? You'll want to get them in the mail soon. The Wichita Post Office released a list of suggested mail-by dates to ensure your parcels make it to their destinations on time. Cards and packages sent to military addresses in Afghanistan should have been mailed by December 3, but the deadline for mail for all other military addresses is December 10. For international destinations, mail-by dates vary from December 3 to December 13. Global Express Guaranteed service is available through December 19 for most countries (December 20 for Canada & Mexico)

Geography Surveyed: Kansas Data Collected: 03/30/2010 Release Date: 03/30/2010 20:40 ET Sponsor: KWCH-TV Wichita     1. Do you think the Postal Service should continue to deliver mail on Saturdays? Or end Saturday delivery? 49% Continue 46% End   5% Not Sure Asked of 500 Adults Margin of Sampling Error for this question = ± 4.5% 2. Should gun owners with licenses to carry concealed weapons be allowed to carry weapons into courthouses?

The Golf Warehouse will ship out more than 7,000 packages Friday. That's almost more than double what they normally turn out. "We are real busy are trying to fill as many orders as we can," said Chief Executive Officer of The Golf Warehouse, Brad Wolansky. It's part of their annual holiday rush for this local on-line retailer as employees work to get orders out, officials say the rush won't slow down until the last possible minute. "This is when it comes down to the wire.

As the U.S. Postal Service continues to deal with money trouble, it's now looking at further mail processing consolidations in Kansas. Our news partners at The Salina Journal report that the U.S.P.S. announced Monday it has finished an initial study of moving mail processing from Salina to Wichita. The study projects savings of around $1 million a year. The move comes after previous mail processing consolidations in Kansas, which included moving processing from Colby and Hays to Salina, Hutchinson and Independence to Wichita and Fort Scott and Topeka to Kansas City.

The thought of losing a post office is devastating for many small Kansas towns.  134 across the state face the possibility of a shut down. While the change may not be ideal, it could spur new business. Norwich lost its post office in 2000 and today it's back in business with the hardware store. In a town of about 500, there are few places left on Main Street. But there's one storefront in Norwich that keeps people coming. "This is easy for me," said resident Aletha Russell.