USPS halts mail service to Sparks neighborhood for more than 3 weeks due to pest problem
SPARKS, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — Homeowners on Miranda Court in Sparks are furious that mail hasn't been delivered to their mailboxes for nearly a month.
Homeowner Frank Cancemi tells News 4- Fox 11 that he checks his mail every day. He noticed that his mail service stopped on April 20th.
He went to his local post office a few days later, which is about 20 minutes away, to find out why he stopped receiving mail.
A supervisor told him that the carrier had complained about wasps at the mailboxes, so they stopped delivering.
Now, more than three weeks later, Cancemi and his neighbors still are not receiving their mail.
"I can see it taking a week," Cancemi said. "Not a month. Come on. Does anybody there know what they're doing?"
Cancemi said he is also frustrated because USPS did not inform him of the issue.
One of Cancemi's neighbors found out that mail delivery had stopped the hard way.
The neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said he was sent to collections because a medical bill wasn't delivered to his home. Instead, it was delivered to the post office for pick-up. He said he had no idea.
USPS Response
USPS spokesman Rod Spurgeon said the original work order was submitted on April 29th. The work order was denied because maintenance "doesn't handle insect issues".
Spurgeon said the matter was referred to Ecolab, which removed a small nest located in the outgoing mail slot.
He said a supervisor was sent out last week and on Tuesday to check for wasps. None were found either time.
"The situation could have turned into an unwelcome encounter for a customer or our carrier had the nest been allowed to remain where it was," Spurgeon tells News 4- Fox 11 in an email.
In an email to News 4-Fox 11, the spokesman apologized to homeowners for the delay in fixing the problem.
We investigated the cluster box this afternoon and determined it to be safe for delivery. Mail service will be resumed immediately. We apologize for the delay in resolving this issue.
Anyone with issues with their USPS mail delivery service can call 1-800-ASK-USPS to get help.
UPDATE: Mail service resumed Wednesday for homeowners
