Decatur Rural Carrier Denise Warren Spots Burning House

Taken from DecaturDaily.com:

Fire damages Decatur home

Substitute mail carrier praised for calling
9-1-1

By Catherine Godbey
Staff Writer

Denise Warren turned onto 21st Avenue Southwest, mail stacked on the passenger’s seat. It was 9:30 a.m. and so far an uneventful morning for the mail carrier who was subbing for the regular carrier.

But then she passed by 1311 21st Ave. S.W.


“I saw smoke and thought someone was burning something in their backyard; that’s what it looked like,” said Warren. “When I came back by, I knew something was wrong.”


The blue-uniformed mail carrier turned into an emergency responder and rescue worker. Warren called 911 and alerted Henry Tucker, a neighbor and brother of the home owner.



“We went in and I searched on the bed where he sleeps. Thank goodness he wasn’t there. There is no way anyone could get out of that,” said Warren, who had trouble breathing as she turned onto 22nd Avenue, returning to her normal duties.

Heavy smoke billowed from the brick house as Decatur Fire and Rescue arrived. Ladder 4 and Engines 1, 2 and 5 responded.

Forrest Tucker stood solemnly, watching firefighters through a blackened window as they rushed through his childhood home.

“I was born in that place,” said Forrest Tucker, the home owner who was at a neighbor’s house when the fire started. “They say it started in the loft and then spread. I don’t know how it could have started.”


“I thought he was in there. It was the worst feeling. I hated that. I just hated that,” Henry Tucker added.


Deputy Fire Marshal Lt. Danny Engle said the entire house sustained smoke and heat damage.


“It wasn’t a total loss, some things inside the house were salvageable, but there was heavy fire damage in half of the house,” Engle said.


Firefighters battled the fire for an hour, eliminating all of the hot spots.


This is the second fire to damage the home where Forrest Tucker and his seven siblings lived. According to Felice Tucker, a sister, the first fire occurred about 25 years ago. The family never learned what caused the fire.


“We were able to save the house that time and our father remodeled the home after that fire,” Henry Tucker said. “But we may not be able to save it this time. It may be a total loss.”


Engle classified Wednesday’s event as an electrical fire. The fire started in the front of the house and spread to the attic, he said.


Henry Tucker believes the fire could have spread and caused more damage, if not for Warren.


“I am certainly thankful the mail lady stopped,” he said. “Who would have thought, the mail lady.”

Note: Postmarks thanks Lisa Carter for bringing this story to our attention.

Roanoke and Woodland, AL: 1,800 Pounds of Food Collected

Taken from The Randolph Leader:

Employees from the Roanoke and Woodland post offices participated in the U.S. Postal Service's annual Stamp Out Hunger Day food drive on Saturday and were overwhelmed by the response from postal customers, who left non-perishable food items beside their mailboxes for mail carriers to pick up during their mail delivery rounds. The two county post offices collected more than 1,800 pounds of food that was distributed to the Christian Service Center, Community Life Food Bank and Lighthouse Soup Kitchen.

This was the Roanoke Post Office's first year to participate, but the local employees plan to make this an annual event for the community. Since the program began in 1993 it has become the nation's largest single day food drive. This year the program was projected to surpass 1 billion pounds of food collected nationally since it began.

Local postal employees and food bank coordinators thank all who donated and made this project such a success.

Proudly displaying some of the food collected on postal routes Saturday on the loading dock of the Roanoke Post Office are (front row, from left) Ed Halsey, Carolyn Goode, Greg Benefield, (back row) Abbey Phipps of the Christian Service Center, Linda Hurst of Lighthouse Soup Kitchen, Jeannie Volpe of Community Life Food Bank, Greg Rampey, Shelia Holloway, Tonya Fuller, and Deannie Lambert. Roanoke food drive participants not pictured are Angel Hatcher, Deleatha Witteveen, Tina Lovelace, Karron Cantrell, Jasmine Lambert, Keith Mitchum and Postmaster Rick Cadle.

Auburn/Opelika Carriers Collect over 30,000 Pounds of Food

Taken from oanow.com.

Stamp of Approval: Food Drive a Success for Local Food Bank
By Donathan Prater

Published: May 11, 2010

To say that the community “delivered” might be an understatement.


Local postal carriers picked up 30,832 pounds of food during Saturday’s Stamp Out Hunger! Food Drive, said Food Bank of East Alabama executive director Martha Henk. Donations collected in Auburn, Opelika, Dadeville, Tuskegee and Waverly post offices benefitted the Food Bank of East Alabama.

The annual food drive, now in its 18th year, was conducted nationwide and is the largest one-day food collection event in the country.

As part of the “Stamp Out Hunger! Food Drive,” both Auburn and Opelika letter carriers left plastic bags during the week prior to the drive in which residents were asked to place whatever canned goods and non-perishable food items they could give and place by their mailboxes. Letter carriers then picked up the canned goods as they ran their Saturday mail routes.

One area in Auburn (Sanders Street and Cedarbrook Drive) had so much food out for pick up that the post office had to send out an additional truck just to get the donations, Henk said. “I think the key to the success of this drive was that the letter carriers made it so easy-all we had to do is remember to put the food out.”

The Food Bank of East Alabama distributes an average of 12 tractor-trailer loads of food each month to more than 150 agencies.

“This food will have a tremendous impact on our ability to serve agencies and feed people in need during the summer months,” Henk said.

The Food Bank of East Alabama accepts donations year-round.

According to the food bank’s website, http://www.foodbankofeastalabama.com, food donations may be delivered to The Food Bank of East Alabama at 375 Industry Drive any time. A drop box is available for donations after hours. Financial donations may be mailed to: The Food Bank of East Alabama, 375 Industry Drive, Auburn, AL 36832.

PA Postal Worker Wins Lottery: WFMZ Allentown

Local Couple Wins Lottery - News Story - WFMZ Allentown:


SPRING TWP., Pa. -- What would you do with $225,000?

That's what a couple from Sinking Spring, Berks County is trying to decide.

Lee and Cindy Michalowski won the money by matching five numbers in the Cash Five game last month.

Lee works for the U.S. Postal Service. Cindy also works as a school bus driver.

They bought the winning ticket at Ronco's Pharmacy in Spring Township, where Cindy also works part-time.

He said take that extra ticket, that bonus ticket I play now and then, and play that one, said Cindy. And that's the one that hit.

We're gonna pay off the mortgage, a couple little bills, give some money to the family, and enjoy the rest, said Lee.

The odds of winning the Cash Five jackpot are one in more than 962,000.


Click here to watch a video. 

Do Dah Day and Pet Cachet

Postmarks invites everyone to join us Saturday, May 15, at Caldwell and Rhodes Parks in Birmingham for the 31st annual Do Dah Day Festival. There will be food, music, and of course the pet parade, which starts at 11:01. Participation is free, so bring your pets and the kids. We'll have so much fun, and the proceeds go towards animal rescue and adoption.

What makes this year even more exciting is that the Alabama District will join in the festivities at a Postal booth. Dress your pet in Postal garb and meet us there, where we will be taking pictures, showing off our own pets, selling the new pet adoption stamps, and introducing the Do Dah Day pet cachet, which will be on sale for the very first time. Once again, Postmarks' Marvin Owens designed the cachet, which will be printed on silk and contains a specially-made postmark. Here's a preview:

Pet Adoption Stamp Purrr-ty in Calera

The Calera, Alabama Post Office held a pet adoption event today to help promote the new pet adoption stamps. The Shelby County Humane Society presented several adorable kittens who were all looking for permanent, loving homes and also provided information about their spay/neuter program (cats are spayed/neutered for free in Calera).


Once again, the cute animals attracted customers and gave clerks many opportunities to show the public the new stamps and to inform them about how a portion of each sale goes towards the goal of feeding 1 million shelter animals.

Pictured left to right are the two Retail Associates who planned and conducted the event, Rachel Barone and Vicki Holden, along with the Calera Postmaster Harvey Watts.

Note: If you live in Shelby County, the Humane Society needs donations of newspapers, canned puppy/kitten food, paper towels, bleach, laundry detergent, cat litter, copy paper, Dawn dish detergent, dry cat food, AAA batteries, and shoe boxes. Supplies can be dropped off at their main location at 381 McDow Rd., Columbiana, AL 35051

Caught Making a Difference: Stamping Out Hunger in Birmingham

Postmarks was able to visit just a few of our many hard-working carriers this afternoon as they brought back food collected on their routes. Thank you all for your dedication and service.

Woodlawn carriers Margaret Campbell and Alfreida Spencer take a short break from hours of delivering mail and unloading food.

Tubs filled with donated cans are much heavier than ones filled with paper.

Postmarks stopped Woodlawn carrier and NALC shop steward Robert Chantler while he was making deliveries on his route and asked him to slow down for just a second so that we could snap his picture. The towel that he is carrying had been on his head; although it was a beautiful day, carrying both mail and food is hot, exhausting work.

Bessemer carrier Marvel J. Robinson loads a hamper with food that he collected.

Bessemer carriers: Rennic Moore helps Erskine Smith unload food from his LLV.

Bessemer RCA Scott Sensmeier proudly holds up just a small portion of the food that he collected this afternoon.

Bessemer RCA Shanta Self  unloads her first bag of collected food.

Bessemer carrier Jayne Fields returns with a heavy load.

Marvel J. Robinson helps her lift it onto to the dock. All of the tubs next to him are filled with food.

LLV's beginning to line up for unloading at the food bank in Birmingham, Alabama.

At the food bank: Carrier and NALC steward Kathy Steward, TD Green, and Carrier Kim Humphrey

At the food bank: carrier Ray Lawrence catches his breath after a long day. "It's a lot of work, but it's worth it."

Hoover carriers Quannis Moses, Brenda Anderson, and Joe Cash at the food bank.

Several other volunteer organization participated, too. This group helping to unload Postal vehicles arriving with food is Homewood High School Men of Distinction Pride Club.