"The men and women of the United States Postal Service provide an essential public service and bind the nation together as a part of the country's critical infrastructure. At least six days per week, and in some instances seven, Postal Service employees accept, process, transport, and deliver vital mail and packages like medicine, products that sustain us, benefits checks, and important information, in every community, to every home and residence, and we will continue to do so. As Americans are urged to stay home, the importance of the mail will only grow as people, including those in rural areas and senior citizens, will need access to vital communications, essential packages and other necessities.

We are at a critical juncture in the life of the Postal Service. ..

The United States Post Service is once again in the cross-hairs of the government that most of us persist in thinking it is a part of. It is. And it isn't. It depends on who you ask. And why you're asking.

The Postal Service suffers intermittently at the hands of elected officials that don't seem to want to ever understand or acknowledge that mail delivery is a government service. Unlike other government agencies, the VA, Health and Human Services, Transportation, the USPS is required to be profitable.

It's a "quasi-governmental" agency. That equates the USPS status to a factory floor temp - all the work of permanent employees, but few of the benefits.

(Clinton KY April 14, 2020) The story that follows are 12 of my fears for what may happen if President Trump is successful in "auctioning off" the assets and operations of the Postal System into very private corporate hands.

Many of these points have already been discussed within the past five years.

Marie Edwards- service with a smile even in the snow and cold

The Good: People and Tradition at Their Best

....And then there was Marie. I saw her, a lone figure in uniform, walking up and down the street.

She is our mail lady. Each day somewhere between 9:30 am and 10:15 am, she makes the rounds of our part of the universe... No matter the weather, rain, snow, and extreme heat or like today, perfect 50 degrees with bright sunshine, she always has a kind word for you and a warm felt smile...

The Bad: Failure of Command, a Modern Day Fable

...The post office, like an aging battleship, is seeking a safe port in the storm. Of course the era of great battleships is long gone. But in their day, they ruled the oceans with their power and national pride. Progress and technical innovation (aircraft carriers) did them in.

Much of the same problem confronts the modern day post office...

Ivan and Mary Potter shopping in Hazel KY

Meet the husband and wife team responsible for West Kentucky Journal.

Editor's Note: Updated - Ivan Potter retired from the Clinton City Council as of January 1, 2017.

WKJ now has over 6000 articles and 2.5 million yearly views.