USPS employee Wes Brinegar delivers a package to a jubilant Pam Caudill, who received a long-awaited package at the Sparta Post Office. This month marks the busiest time of the year for the post office, with about 42,000 pieces of mail sent out from Sparta last week alone.

Mailing last-minute gifts and cards? There's still time

With Christmas less than two weeks away, the final opportunity to send items, including gifts and Christmas cards, is fast approaching. Donna Greene, who serves as the officer in charge at the Sparta Post Office, recommends sending items via priority mail, which would typically mean they arrive at their destination in two or three business days.

"I would definitely recommend priority mail," she said. "Our priority mail goes by air. If it's going to California, it can get there in a couple of days. (Meanwhile,) parcel post goes by truck, that can take seven to nine days to get to California." December 18 is the deadline for first class mail to be dropped out at the post office in order for it to be received by Christmas, while

Dec. 20 is the deadline for priority mail. For those who are last- minute mailers, including those who mail items Dec. 22 or 23, should send their items via express mail. Greene stated express mail is a service that guarantees overnight mail service—to most places. Greene pointed out if the item is being delivered to a smaller area,

"It could take two days to get there. But for most places, it's overnight guaranteed. It's the only guaranteed mail we have."

During the Season

Greene received information Tuesday that stated 20 billion pieces of mail will pass through the U.S. Postal Service during the holidays. On a local level, Sparta's post office had about 42,000 pieces of mail incoming last week alone.

"This week will probably be more," she said, adding the busiest mailing day thus far was Monday (Dec. 11) and she anticipates another really busy day to be next Monday (Dec. 18). She explained Mondays are typically busy because the post office receives packages from those who shopped over the weekend.

"It took three of us to run the front (counter) yesterday and we still had lines," she said. "It was hopping. I had a couple of customers ask me, ‘What's the best time to come in?' I said, ‘Tuesday,'" Greene said with a laugh. "Don't come in on Monday...if you don't want to wait in line."

According to Greene, the period around the election and the period following Thanksgiving through the month of December are the busiest times of the year. The postal service also sees high volumes of mail during the federal tax-filing period, especially around the filing deadline, April 15.

As packages are brought to the post office, employees are required to ask if the parcel contains anything liquid, is fragile, perishable or is potentially hazardous. This serves as a means to ensure that packages potentially containing hazardous materials to be handled properly.

According to information provided to the local post office, hazardous materials can be found in several items and should not be sent via mail. These include shipments of liquor, wine or beer; electronic equipment containing batteries; cosmetics, including perfumes, hair products, body and bath oils, etc.; consumer products containing petroleum products, such as, but not limited to, chain saws and string trimmers; packages with markings of ORM-D or ORM-D-Air; shipments of food packed in dry ice; packages with a DOT hazard class nine label; and fireworks and sparklers.

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