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What a Brown County man's fight with the U.S. Postal Service could mean for rural delivery

Chuck Klein
Courtesy of Chuck Klein
Chuck Klein

For more than two years, Chuck Klein got his mail delivered to a mailbox on his property line in Brown County.

When packages were too big to fit in the box, the mail carrier brought them to Klein’s house.

But Klein says after his former neighbor had a confrontation with the mail carrier, delivery stopped. Klein says the U.S. Postal Service told him the road was dangerous and he needed to move his mailbox to a cluster of mailboxes farther from his property.

“After two-and-a-half years they’ve been delivering and all of a sudden the road’s unsafe?” he says. “That seems arbitrary and capricious to me.”

Klein has filed a federal lawsuit against the postal service, and the outcome of his case could have broad implications.

On Cincinnati Edition, we discuss Klein’s case, the challenges of rural mail delivery, and the role of the postal service in American history.

Guests:

Cincinnati Edition extended an invitation to the U.S. Postal Service to be on the program. The postal service declined but sent this statement:

"The Postal Service takes great pride in delivering the mail to every customer in a safe manner. Our policy is to protect our employees, customers, and property by avoiding unsafe situations. These situations include, but are not limited to, inadequate roadways and lack of turnaround locations to avoid unnecessary backing at delivery points.  

"USPS identified safety concerns with the request for a mailbox placement on Hillman Ridge Road. It has been deemed unsafe due to the roadway being too narrow and raises concerns addressed above."

This segment includes select music from Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue).

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  • Listen on-demand. Audio for this segment will be uploaded to this page by 4 p.m. ET., or subscribe to our podcast.

 

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