USPS – C-VILLE Weekly

Careful construction

The Charlottesville Department of Parks and Recreation will begin remedial efforts at Oakwood Cemetery on May 13 following the conclusion of a forensic investigation and information sessions.

The investigation into conditions at the historic, 14-acre cemetery started in December 2023 when the city hired Line and Grade Civil Engineering to conduct a “comprehensive forensic investigation” into sinking, wet ground in a section of the site near Elliott Avenue and South First Street. Both hydrologic and hydraulic factors have contributed to the area’s dampness.

Affected areas of Oakwood Cemetery closely align with sections historically designated for the graves of non-white people, according to the city. “If left unmitigated, the land will swallow these gravesites, further obscuring the legacy of those who have been laid to rest,” shared the Department of Parks and Rec in an April 11 press release.

Further findings from the investigation indicate that the water-logged portion of the cemetery likely includes undocumented burial sites as well.

Prior to starting work in Oakwood Cemetery, the city held two information sessions aimed at sharing plans with residents and hearing feedback from those with loved ones buried at the site.

Mailing it in

While statewide mail issues have recently been in the spotlight, mail delivery in Charlottesville is operating as normal according to the United States Postal Service.

“All Charlottesville customers should be receiving normal mail delivery. Customers with delivery questions should contact their local Post Office,” said USPS media contact Philip Bogenberger in a comment via email. “In recent years, the Postal Service has made significant investments in our network, brought new products to market and continues to streamline operations with the goal of enhancing service to our customers.”

Despite assurances from USPS, Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have both spoken about persistent mail issues in Richmond and previous problems in Charlottesville.

According to Bogenberger, USPS is continuing its local hiring efforts, following previous problems with staffing in the Charlottesville area. The Postal Service is hosting weekly hiring fairs this May for full- and part-time positions at Virginia Career Works, with the next event set for Thursday, May 9 from 2-4pm.

Deadly crash

A privately owned twin-engine plane crashed in a wooded area near Miles Jackson Road the morning of Sunday, May 5, killing both pilot and passenger. The Fluvanna County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia Conservation Police, and Virginia State Police initially responded to a 911 call from Miles Jackson residents who claimed they heard an airplane overhead followed by the sound of an explosion. The remains of 63-year-old pilot John W. Latham of Haymarket and 73-year-old passenger Niiben C.A. Ayivorh of Burke were recovered from the wreckage and transported to Richmond for medical examination.

Playhouse raffle

Volunteers are on site at Piedmont CASA—Court Appointed Special Advocates—to build a playhouse which will be raffled off as a fundraiser for the organization. The raffle for last year’s playhouse, designed by Bushman Dreyfus Architects and constructed by Peter Johnson Builders, brought in more than $30,000 for the nonprofit, which works with local foster children. This year’s volunteer team from Robertson Renovations is working on a design by Hinge, with color to be added by Sun Painting. Raffle ticket sales close May 17, with the winner announced May 18. Visit pcasa.org/playhouse24 for more information.

Brush with fire

On May 2, Albemarle County Fire Rescue found between 25 and 30 individual brush fires covering miles of the county’s planned Biscuit Run Park. ACFR extinguished the fires in about three hours. The first phase of construction on the park began in March, which includes the installation of a parking lot and restrooms, and so the site is closed to the public. The Fire Marshal encourages anyone with information on the incident to contact the office at 296-5833.

Express distress: Locals say post office is not performing to the letter

From the Downtown Mall and beyond, some Charlottesville businesses and residents are concerned with their mail delivery—explicitly the lack thereof. A few have not received their mail until well into the evening, while others have gone days without any kind of postal service.

Verdigris owner Mazi Vogler says her postal service is irregular when it comes to shipping packages. When she needs to ship a package the same day, she says her postal carrier often does not return to pick up the boxes.

“I’m not even waiting for him,” Vogler says. “I’m running to the post office every day.”

Alakazam Toys and Gifts owner Cassandra Mathis has also had issues with mail delivery to her Downtown Mall toy shop. She says the consistency of her postal service has been getting worse since her business’ regular carrier retired about a year ago.

“Some days we don’t get any mail,” Mathis says.

Those days, Mathis says, pose significant problems for sending of bills and financial mail. The longest period of time she has gone without postal service is two days.

“It’s so unpredictable,” Mathis says. “I can’t rely on if the postal carrier is going to stop by.”

And when a postal carrier does deliver mail to Mathis’ store, it’s not always the same person.

Standing in contrast is a recent USPS commercial that communicates the company’s pride in its service to business owners, especially for e-commerce and online deliveries. The May 18 commercial emphasizes the important relationship between business owners and the USPS—a relationship with which Vogler and Mathis have been having a few trust issues.

But not every business on the mall has complaints with its mail service. Joan Fenton, owner of J. Fenton Too and Quilts Unlimited, says her postal service is “awesome.”

She says the store’s heavy volume of packages for online delivery sometimes slows mail service, but her USPS carrier is very accommodating in picking up the large number of packages.

Tension around mail service has even provoked rumors: One example is that the Southern Environmental Law Center had installed a camera to monitor its mail, although the center expressly denies this rumor and provides no complaints about its postal service.

The hit-or-miss service extends beyond the Downtown Mall. Matt Murray, who lives on Wayside Place, says he recently did not receive any mail at his home for three days straight, nor did his neighbors, a situation he says has never occurred before.

“It was one of those occasions when I was expecting something of importance, and I was wondering where it was,” Murray says. “It reminded me of how dependent we are upon a reliable postal service.”

When Murray’s mail service did resume, he says his carriers told him they were coming from outside of the area, from Troy to Bridgewater.

“I heard through the grapevine that 16 mail carriers had quit,” Murray says.

However, Freda Sauter, from USPS corporate communications, says, “There seems to be confusion and misinformation about staffing at the Charlottesville post office.” She says only one career letter carrier has recently retired, with two other employees currently out on requested leave.

“We do have transitional employees and that fluctuates,” Sauter says. “Typically the Postal Service employs a smaller supplemental workforce in the summer, when mail volumes are lower, and larger temporary staffing during the fall, our busiest time of the year.”

The Charlottesville post office currently lists openings for two part-time mail carriers on its website.

Charlottesville USPS Officer-In-Charge Victoria Brinkley did not respond to C-VILLE’s request for comment.