Ready for the rush

By Staff
Post office gears up for busiest time of the year
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
The Christmas mail rush is under way at Hartselle Post Office and no letup is expected until after Dec. 25, according to Jane Harper, postmaster.
"This is by far our busiest time of the year," Harper said. "From now until Christmas our personnel will handle thousands and thousands of gift packages, letters and greeting cards."
She said the busiest day for outgoing mail will be the Monday after the last weekend before Christmas. The reason is a lot of people wait until then to mail their greeting cards.
"This is something we expect and we work hard to be ready," she pointed out. "Our goal is to offer our customers prompt, efficient service for outgoing mail and consistent on-time delivery of incoming mail."
"We are encouraging our patrons to mail early," she added.
She suggested using the following guidelines to ensure that outgoing mail is delivered by Christmas Day:
City welcomes new postmaster
Jane Harper, a native of Jefferson County and a 26-year veteran employee of the U. S. Postal Service, is Hartselle's new postmaster.
She assumed the position Oct.15 after serving in the same position for 12 years at post offices in Madison, Marshall and Tuscaloosa counties. She relocated to Hartselle from Northport.
She joined the Postal Service as a clerk and later served as a carrier and a supervisor.
She and her family moved to Hartselle in 1993 after she was elevated to the position of postmaster in Madison County.
"I'm glad to be back home," Harper said. "Hartselle has a lot of nice people and I know some of the staff and I feel comfortable in the job."
She said her mission is to make sure the post office has consistent, on-time mail delivery and a minimum of missed deliveries to patrons.
Harper has a daughter, Randi Allen and her husband, Jason, of Hartselle, a granddaughter, Wendy Gober of Tuscaloosa, and three step-grandchildren.