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Postage Stamps to Increase to 58 Cents in August

Published on in News/wyoming economy
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By Jimmy Orr, Cowboy State Daily

The cost of sending a letter from Meeteetse to Wamsutter is going to cost a bit more starting in August.

The U.S. Postal Service announced on Friday that the cost of a postage stamp is going up again. This time it’s a 7% increase going from 55 cents to 58 cents.

And, of course, this affects more than just residents of Meeteetse or Wamsutter. It’s an increase for everyone who still uses the Postal Service.

While most people have switched over to the Internet to pay bills, 18% of Americans still use the physical mailbox to pay up monthly debts like credit cards, rent payments, or monthly subscriptions.

The reason? Same thing the Postal Service has said for years: they’re losing billions of dollars because fewer people are paying for the service.

Mail volume has declined 47% over the last 10 years. Meanwhile, service has become markedly worse.

According to a report from the Lexington Institute, a public policy think tank based in Arlington, Virginia, only 78% of first-class mail was delivered on time from January through March of 2021 — which is a decrease from 92% from the same time a year ago.

“It’s disappointing, and it’s quite low by historic standards,” a spokesman for the think tank told CBS News. “It means a lot of stuff isn’t getting delivered on time. I would pay your credit card at least a week before it’s due. It means if you are expecting rent checks or have to pay a rent check, you better give yourself some extra time.”

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Wyoming Mail Carrier Faces Jail After Allegedly Throwing Away Voter Guides

Published on in elections/News/Crime
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By Jim Angell, Cowboy State Daily

A mail carrier in Fremont County faces up to two years in jail after being accused of throwing away mail, including voter guides, sent to residents of South Pass City and Atlantic City.

Zecharia Morgan is charged with knowingly destroying mail and “desertion of mails” after allegedly dumping voter guides prepared by the Wyoming League of Women Voters into a trash can in South Pass in September.

According to documents filed in U.S. District Court, Morgan delivered mail to the communities for a contractor of the U.S. Postal Service.

An affidavit filed by Christopher Lucas, a U.S. Postal inspector, said a South Pass resident called the postmaster in Lander in mid-September to report she had seen a mail carrier “discarding mail in a trash can.”

On Oct. 1, another postal customer called the Lander postmaster to complain that she had not received a the League of Women Voters election guide sent to all postal customers in the communities by “Every Door Direct Mail.”

The first postal customer told the inspector “she also remembered seeing the Voter’s Guide in the trash can” and had seen other bulk mail pieces in the trash as well in the past, the affidavit said.

“The customer empties the trash can and has seen bundles of magazines and other (direct mail) in the trash can,” the affidavit said. “The customer stated she was aware of three or four times when bundles of mail were discovered in the trash can.”

Morgan told the Lander postmaster that he did not deliver the voter guides because “the boxes are always stuffed full.”

When interviewed by the inspector, Morgan admitted to throwing away the voter guides and to disposing of other direct mail as well between six and eight times since he had been employed in May, the affidavit said.

The affidavit said Morgan reported he did not throw away any first class mail sent to specific recipients except for some pornographic material.

“Morgan stated he had also thrown away pornographic material in the past, as he was not comfortable delivering it,” the affidavit said.

The charges of destruction of mail and “desertion of mails” both carry sentences of up to one year in jail and fines of up to $100,000.

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Wyoming letter carriers participate in ‘Stamp Out Hunger’

Published on in Community
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By Cowboy State Daily

Letter carriers across Wyoming will be taking part Saturday in what is believed to be the biggest one-day food drive in the country.

Letter carriers are leaving blue plastic bags inside mailboxes for “Stamp Out Hunger,” a nationwide effort to collect food for the hungry.

People are asked to fill the bags with food items and leave those bags at their mailboxes Saturday. The food will then be distributed to local food banks and pantries, such as Cheyenne’s Needs Inc. and the Salvation Army.

Barbara Fecht, executive director of Needs Inc., said the donations will help feed the 12 percent of Laramie County residents who live below the poverty level.

Fecht and Salvation Army Lt. Mistie Lamb said the need for donated food is constant.

“I think we have a lot of people who are working really hard, but wages are low, rent is high, the cost of living is high,” Lamb said. “Money goes to … keeping a roof over their head, to keeping their heat on, to keeping kids clothed … instead of buying food.”

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