KTUU.com | Alaska's news and information source | Congressional delegation to take on Postal Service over North Pole
Member Center:
The Santa Claus House in North Pole, Alaska is a headquarters for letters to Santa. (File/KTUU-DT)
A new Postal Service regulation says that this Santa won't receive any more letters from children. (File/KTUU-DT)
North Pole Mayor Doug Isaacson says it's like the Postal Service is the Grinch stealing Christmas. (Kyle Stalder/KTUU-DT)by Megan Baldino
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A letter is in the works from Alaska's Congressional delegation to the U.S. Postal Service regarding recent changes to policy that will have an impact on post offices in North Pole, Alaska.
The postal service says from now on mail won't be post-marked in North Pole, but sent to Anchorage instead.
That means the hundreds of thousands of people who want a North Pole postmark for the holidays will have to send their mail to Alaska's biggest city.
The postal service also said that letters to Santa will no longer be processed in North Pole, but recycled.
Mayor Doug Isaacson says the postal service didn't even bother to inform the city of the changes.
He says it's a big part of the city's identity.
“This is the Grinch loading Christmas on his sleigh, stealing it from the kids, and unless something will melt his heart, the postal service’s heart, and open it up to the spirit of Christmas again, it's going to be devastating to many people,” Isaacson said.
The postal service says North Pole's “Santa's Helpers” program, which responds to many of the letters sent to Santa, is a security issue because the wrong people were gaining access to the addresses of children around the world. That's one reason they say the letters will no longer be processed.
Contact Megan Baldino at mbaldino@ktuu.com
Comments Terms of Use: We welcome your participation in our community. Please keep your comments civil and on point. You must be at least 13 years of age to post comments. By submitting a comment, you agree to these
Terms of Service
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Login or register See all comments |
