JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — People in one Jacksonville neighborhood are upset about their missing mailbox. A flat, concrete slab is all that's left in front of Robert Dewberry's house.
"A lady hit it. She backed into it twice and then drove off," Dewberry explained.
Since that happened, Dewberry says the people who live along Spring Branch Drive West have been without their community mailbox for about two months. He says the United States Postal Service came to pick up the damaged mailbox, which about 12 homes shared, but he says they didn't drop off a new one.
Now, Dewberry and his neighbors drive about five miles to the nearest post office to pick up their mail.
"We got a lot of elderly people who live here and they have to go down to the post office now to get their mail. You have to wait in line. A lot of times you go down there and not only do they end up waiting in line, they get their mail and other people's mail," Dewberry said.
Dewberry says, for weeks, he's contacted the post office for a timeline on when the mailbox will be replaced. But, it's been hard getting answers.
"Finally, they said it would be six weeks and then they said it would be 8 weeks and then they said it could be longer...so we don't know," Dewberry added.
Dewberry says the neighborhood even offered a solution to the problem.
"I mean we even offered to put it up ourselves. Just give it to us. We'll put it back up."
After this story aired on Thursday's 6 p.m. newscast, Dewberry said he came home to find a new mailbox installed. The United States Postal Service released a statement Thursday morning:
“The Postal Service strives to always provide the best possible service to our valued customers. We apologize for any inconvenience that may have been experienced, due to the damaged Cluster Box Unit (CBU) at this location. Local postal officials have taken steps to address the situation and at this time, we are working to complete repairs as quickly as possible. In the interim, customers may pick up their mail at their local post office during regular business hours. We appreciate the patience of our valued customers as we work to resolve this issue.”
If you have a problem you can't solve, you can email AskAnthony@firstcoastnews.com