State officials urged residents to stay off the roads during Thursday’s blizzard, but that didn’t stop the United States Postal Service from delivering Rhode Islanders’ mail. Postal workers could be seen driving and walking their routes mid-storm and will do so again Friday. Rhode Island USPS spokesperson Christine Dugas says employees do their best in times of inclement weather.
“We try to deliver the mail wherever we can or where it’s safe,” said Dugas. “And when I say where we can, you know sometimes you might not be able to get down the street because it hasn’t yet been plowed- they can’t do all the streets at once.”
Christine said that USPS has a strict protocol for times like these and no postal worker would ever be asked to put themselves at risk. In the case of a state of emergency, delivery would have been suspended.
For a storm like Niko, postal workers were instructed to return no later than 5 p.m. Thursday, resuming delivery Friday morning.
When asked if this policy had anything to do with USPS’ “neither snow, nor rain” motto, Dugas made a significant correction. USPS takes mail delivery seriously but “neither snow, nor rain” is not their slogan.
“It is a saying that describes the Greek messengers back in the day, and it was carved in the postal service building in New York City when it was built, and ever since then people think it’s our motto,” said Dugan.
Was Thursday the worst weather Dugas and couriers have experienced?
“No, no. I think the blizzard of ’78 has this beat,” said Dugas, laughing.
