The U.S. Postal Service released a statement on Friday regarding complaints of mail delays in Good Hope.

During Monday evening’s council meeting, Mayor Jerry Bartlett said he had been contacted by residents who had “stopped getting their mail” on along the recently paved Beech Grove Road.

Homebound resident Nicholas Lee told The Times he noticed the lack of mail being delivered about a week and a half ago.

Lee, who receives his daily medications via the post-office said he was told by an employee of United States Postal Service that until the shoulder was fixed, there would be no mail delivery and that customers would be able to pick it up from the USPS office located on Main Avenue.

Officials at the Cullman post office declined to comment on the record.

On Friday, Debra Jean Fetterly, Public Information Officer, Alabama-Mississippi District for the U.S. Postal Service, sent a statement to The Times.

“The U.S. Postal Service takes very seriously the safety of our employees and our customers in the communities we serve. Our letter carriers make every effort to deliver mail, provided they safely may do so. Regarding your recent March 17 news article about alleged mail delays in Good Hope, we would like to provide some information to clarify the issue. As a result of some recent road work in the area of Beechgrove Road, our carrier was unable to safely park their vehicle off the roadway, in order to deliver to 14 residential mailboxes. To ensure continued service, temporary arrangements were made to allow these customers to pick up their mail at the Cullman Post Office, located at 500 Main Ave SW.”

Currently, the Postmaster is working with local elected officials to resolve the safety issues. We look forward to a speedy resolution to this issue.

We appreciate our customers’ patience as we continue in striving to resolve their concerns. The Cullman Post office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. On Sunday, the Post Office is closed. However, Post Office Box customers have 24-hour access, seven days a week, to pick up their mail. All customers are reminded that, if they need assistance with mailing or shipping concerns, they have a variety of options for reaching us, including contacting a manager or supervisor at their local Post Office, calling 1-800-ASK-USPS (1800-275-8777) or visiting our website at https://www.usps.com/help/contact-us.htm.”

On Tuesday, crews added gravel to serve as a temporary shoulder in front of mailboxes. Lee was able to verify that he did receive mail on Wednesday.