KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — For more than a week, people across East Tennessee have said they faced mail delivery issues. A winter storm brought dangerous driving conditions, as well as a thick sheet of ice and several inches of snow, which prompted delays in mail delivery.
The U.S. Postal Service said it would deliver mail in areas where it was safe to do so during the winter storm. However, carriers would not travel on streets or walkways that were hazardous and the USPS warned customers may experience delays, including on shipments of medication or other vital deliveries.
On Wednesday, Rep. Tim Burchett (R - TN) spoke about the winter storm and the USPS delays.
"As everyone knows, I've had a running dispute with the management of the post office," he said. "My concern is completely with my constituents and folks who can't get their medicine, but I also understand the mailmen and women are doing everything they can. And, it's not gonna do us any good if one of them gets hurt."
The winter storm dropped temperatures dangerously low and kept roads frozen for several days, prompting schools across East Tennessee to close alongside businesses and administrative offices. Burchett also noted that school buses couldn't run safely, then neither could mail trucks.
"If we can't get school buses, you probably can't get mail trucks over there," he said. "We're kinda at the mercy of the weather. They really want to get out and do their jobs, and they do a really good job. I'm a big fan of the post office — the people there, not so much the management."
One East Tennessee veteran, Edward Updegraff, said he went around a week without his medicine because it could not be delivered.
"The medicine I'm on, I have PTSD and it, the medicine — I can go like, three days. After that, I start in my emotions and stuff will get gone," he said. "I said, 'This medicine is important.' Because, you know, some people can go so long and, you know, suicides happen because of this stuff."
He said he went to his local post office to try to pick it up, but he said workers told him they could not give it to him.
"Wouldn't look for it, wouldn't let me pick it up. So, you know, second trip back, somebody else is there, so I think, 'Well, maybe this person will feel a little more sensitive now,' and it's the same thing. Weren't able to help me," he said.
Eventually, the Department of Veteran's Affairs was able to transfer his medicine to a CVS pharmacy where he could pick it up.