Latest News – December 20

Holiday Packages Hit Deadlines for Delivery 

The Post Office crew at Leadville, 80461 is at your service for holiday cards andpackages. Photo: Leadville Today/Kathy Bedell

Still need to mail those holiday packages? Today could very well be the busiest day of the year for the United States Postal Service as it marks the deadline for First Class Mail to be guaranteed delivery by Christmas, December 25. But if you live in Leadville Today, you’re in luck because the #80461 postal crew is the best!

Accordinging to Leadville Post Master Greg Sandoval: “We will start having soft openings as we get busier, meaning we will open the doors early if someone is waiting, and drag our feet on closing the doors if there are customers who need it.”

Leadville Postmaster Greg Sandoval (right) and postal clerk Sue Ann are ready to serve Leadville 80461 through the holiday season.

The United States Postal Service will handle approximately 750 million packages this holiday season, an increase of more than 12 percent over last year. Americans are expected to ship a record number of packages during the 2016 Holiday Season and the U.S. Postal Service, the largest e-commerce deliverer, is ready to deliver.

To make sure that process goes as smoothly as possible, Leadville Postmaster Greg Sandoval wants to remind Leadville and Lake County residents of some important mailing deadlines: 

• Dec. 09 – Military APO/FPO/DPO Priority Mail & APO / FPO First-Class Mail
• Dec. 15 – USPS Retail Ground (domestic)
• Dec. 16 – Military APO/FPO/DPO Priority Mail Express
• Dec. 20 – First-Class Mail Cards and Letters
• Dec. 21 – Priority Mail
• Dec. 23 – Priority Mail Express 

Holiday Facts and Figures

• About 16 billion total pieces of mail & packages will be delivered from Thanksgiving to New Year’s.
• The Busiest MAILING day for greeting cards & packages is Monday, Dec 19.  More than 611 million pieces of mail will be processed. 
• The Busiest DELIVERY day for greeting cards & packages is Thursday, Dec 22. More than 30 million packages will be delivered. 
• Dec. 19 will also be the busiest day for usps.com with more than 7 million customers predicted to visit on that day alone. 37 million visits will be logged during the holidays and 3 million of those people will Click and Ship their package.

While most Leadville residents don’t mind going to the local PO, as it’s a community meeting place for friends and neighbors, for those wanting a stress-free holiday without leaving the comforts of home, the Postal Service offers solutions on usps.com that make gift-shipping easy and convenient. 

• Order free flat-rate USPS Priority boxes at usps.com/freeboxes – delivered to any home or business.
• Skip the trip with Click-N-Ship. Create mailing labels with USPS Tracking and print postage online at usps.com/ship.
• Free package pickup when the carrier delivers the mail.

So there you have it, be prepared and be sure to get those packages down to Leadville 80461 as soon as you can! They are ready to serve!

Leadville Legacy Christmas Brings Smiles to Kids

Last Thursday, Dec. 15 Santa and Mrs. Claus, with the help of the Leadville Legacy Foundation delivered a load of gifts to Lake County’s pre-school children.

The pre-school children at The Center in Leadville anxiously wait for the “okay” from Santa Claus to open their presents made possible by the Leadville Trail 100 Legacy Foundation. Photo: Leadville Today/Brennan Ruegg.

Class by class, they filed into the library at Margaret J. Pitts Elementary School and patiently waited while all of their classmates received a special gift selected just for them with help from teachers and school staff elves! Once Santa and Mrs. Claus gave the “okay” the kids tore open the wrapping paper to discover just the toys they were hoping to receive for Christmas. This is a tradition the Leadville Legacy Foundation has kept alive every Christmas since 2002. The foundation  is made possible through generous contributions from the Leadville Trail 100 runners, bikers and crew.

Here’s the  video from Leadville Today Contributor Brenna Ruegg
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Candlelight Vigil Honors Fallen Leadville Marine

Dozens of Leadville residents gathered at the Lake County Veterans Memorial last Friday, Dec. 16 for a Candlelight Vigil to honor Marine Lance Corporal Nick Palmer. This December marked the 10 year Anniversary of Palmer’s death while serving his country in Iraq. READ FULL STORY.

The Palmer family gathered with friends and family to commemmorate the 10th Anniversary of US Marine Lance Corporal Nicklas Palmer’s death in service to his country on December 16, 2006. MORE Photos: Leadville Today/Kathy Bedell