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Lumby mailboxes vandalized

Residents offer security warning to other potential thieves
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Vandalized community mailboxes on Albers Road in Lumby. Photo credit: Contributed

A trio of vandalized Canada Post mailboxes in Lumby has caught the attention of local residents.

Photos of the community mailboxes have been circulated on social media, and one resident has posted a warning for potential thieves.

“To the people breaking into mailboxes be warned that we the people stepped up our game to keep our mail safe. There’s cameras pointed at mailboxes now plus people are keeping an eye out for suspicious activity,” posted Jarrett Cox on Thursday.

Mailboxes on Rawlings Road, along Highway 6 and Albers Road were all broken into between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.

A Canada Post official said the public is encouraged to contact the post office when mailbox vandalism occurs, and mail service is halted until the boxes are repaired. The contact number is 1-866-607-6301.

Usually postal carriers will notice when damage like that occurs and will contact the maintenance people to respond, said the spokesperson.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is on record has voicing its concerns about the loss of door-to-door delivery in favour of community mailboxes.

“Since Canada Post first planned to replace door-to-door home delivery by installing community mailboxes, we warned that it would not only be a loss of precious public service needed for so many but also that it would jeopardize the privacy and safety of Canadians. This is what’s happening now,” said CUPW national president Mike Palecek in June of this year.

CUPW is also waiting on the federal government to follow up its election campaign promise to restore home-to-home delivery.

But a Canada Post official insisted last year in an interview with CBC that the mailboxes were safe.

“Thieves are determined regardless of the target,” said Canada Post spokesperson Anick Losier. “It takes an equal level of determination to deter and stop those who commit property crimes and we are committed to do everything possible to support the police in their efforts to do so.”

Canada Post offers several tips to the public to help prevent vandalism and theft of community mailboxes:

•Pick up your mail every day and as soon as possible after it has been delivered•if you’re planning a holiday or are unable to retrieve your mail, have someone pick up your mail for you or use Canada Post’s hold mail service

• deposit your outgoing mail close to the scheduled pickup time posted on the mailbox


 


newsroom@vernonmorningstar.com

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Barry Gerding

About the Author: Barry Gerding

Senior regional reporter for Black Press Media in the Okanagan. I have been a journalist in the B.C. community newspaper field for 37 years...
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