More than 100 Encampment and Riverside residents packed Town Hall Thursday night, all prepared to testify against the behavior and disservice of the postmaster.
Residents spent more than an hour in the meeting sharing stories about and lack of service from Wendell O’Connell, who has served as the town’s postmaster for several months, in hopes for immediate action.
Wyoming Representative of House District 47 Jerry Paxton called for the meeting after sending a petition to Wyoming representatives asking for the dismissal of O’Connell.
Paxton said he realized this is a highly emotionally charged situation and asked the audience to be as civil as they ccould. “We would like to see some changes in our post office.”
Paxton read a letter he sent with the petition to Wyoming senators and representative. In the letter Paxton said, “(O’Connell) immediately began to take an efficient, well-run post office and turned it into a bureaucratic mess that could be a poster child for the decline of the US Postal Service.”
Representatives for US Senators John Barasso and Mike Enzi and US Rep. Cynthia Lummis attended the meeting.
Acting Manager of Postal Operations in Wyoming Curt Artery also attended the meeting Thursday night, but said he was not in a position to dismiss or transfer O’Connell from the Encampment Post Office, adding he could not “fire any postmaster anywhere.”
the Encampment Post Office, adding he could not “fire any postmaster anywhere.”
Artery said his purpose for attending the meeting was to listen to complaints, report to his superiors, who are located in the district office in Denver, and try to improve services in Encampment by talking to O’Connell.
“I am here to listen to your concerns and try to resolve any issues,” Artery said. “I have to write all of this stuff down and I have to report it to my superiors.”
Those who attended shared stories about dealings with O’Connell. So many attended, Paxton, who was moderating the meeting, had to limit everyone to three minutes for comments. Those who did not have an opportunity to speak were asked to write their complaints down for the record.
Encampment resident Jane Hill said her lifestyle, and her two sons’ futures were affected by O’Connell, because he returned several articles of mail.
She said her son, who was elected to be a senate page, did not get a packet to apply for federal identification, so the family had to pay for an overnight passport that cost more than $200.
Hill said her oldest son, who was in the Naval Academy, could not get his military mail because of a change to a physical address O’Connell recommended, since Hill lives in Riverside.
Another resident, John Farr, said his post office box was unexpectedly shut because he did not pay the bill. Farr said he was never invoiced and did not get notice that the box would be shut. Farr said he relies on the post office to get medication he orders through Amazon.
He said he attempted to reason with O’Connell to get his medication after settling the box dilemma, but O’Connell was evasive.
“This is his attitude. This is what he does. He doesn’t care,” Farr said.
Resident Bob Herring said he also failed to get his medication from the Veterans Administration Hospital in Cheyenne because O’Connell returned the mail.
Others testified that they were getting the wrong mail.
One person said he uses the US Post Office to legally mail firearms. When he attempted to send a rifle, O’Connell said the patron had to send two packages, one for the firing pin and the other for the firearm. The man replied saying he knew the law, and O’Connell should not spread falsehoods.
The most common complaint in the meeting, however, was against O’Connell’s attitude and the way he spoke to residents.
“What I find disturbing is just the disrespect he shows and the attitude he shows,” said Encampment resident Kim MacDonald.
Artery said he has investigated complaints filed against O’Connell in the past, but found no misconduct.
Artery said he spoke to O’Connell about sending mail back to Cheyenne, and that O’Connell agreed he would not send mail back unless he could not absolutely find the address.
“(O’Connell) has assured me that’s happening,” Artery said.
Many residents protested saying they were still not getting mail.
Artery said he could look into the situation further, and start investigating other complaints he had heard the first time that night, Artery said, even though he could not dismiss or transfer O’Connell, he could work with him to improve service.
“I can’t fire him, but I can improve service,” Artery said. “I can resolve some issues.”
Artery said O’Connell will receive additional training, and he will get an extra employee to help him. In the past, the Encampment Post Office was allowed three employees, but US Post Office regulations now say the Encampment Post Office can only have two employees.
“We are going to try and help him all we can …,” Artery said.
Many residents again protested, saying he should have already been trained.
Artery said, if the situation was not resolved from Thursday night’s discussions, another meeting was scheduled for Sept. 26. Artery said US Post Office representatives from Denver would be present at that meeting.
Artery said he first wanted to talk with O’Connell and see if he could improve service without replacing him.
“If I can get him turned around in the things I talked about, then that will work. If I can’t, then there may be other actions to go to,” Artery said.
Paxton ended the meeting by sharing his own accounts with O’Connell, and stating he wanted a decision maker at the next meeting.
“One of the things that we really want, if it’s going to be worth any of us showing up to that meeting (Sept. 26), is somebody in a decision-making capacity. ... We don’t want ‘it’s not my job, I have to report that to somebody else,’ and maybe that’s not possible in a bureaucracy, but I can tell you right now, the level of frustration is just going to go up if we don’t get somebody that can say where the buck stops,” Paxton said.
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