Address confusion prompts Rutherford College to seek postal fix

Let’s see if we can keep all this straight.

The Rutherford College Town Hall, on Malcolm Boulevard in the heart of the small municipality, is in Rutherford College, right?

Where else would it be?

Well, according to the U.S. Postal Service, Town Hall’s address is 980 Malcolm Blvd., Connelly Springs, with a ZIP Code of 28612.

But, hold on there Pete, the Rutherford College Post Office is less than a quarter mile back up Malcolm Boulevard toward U.S. 70.

Is it in Rutherford College or Connelly Springs?

Yes and no for either way you want to answer that one.

Yes, it is within the town limits of Rutherford College. But, if we want to get technical here, no, because it too has a Connelly Springs physical address.

Confused yet?

Maybe this will clarify.

The Rutherford College Post Office, with a ZIP Code of 28671, has about 425 post office boxes rented, most of them to the tune of $39 for six months.

If you want to have a Rutherford College mailing address, you gotta rent a post office box. Put up a mailbox in front of your house, and the address will be Connelly Springs.

Unless, that is, you live on a street or two on the west side of town, and then you’ll have a Valdese mailing address.

Still confused, and likely to stay that way?

Well, the Rutherford College Town Council would like to clear things up and have called on our congressman, U.S. Rep. Tim Moore, to help.

Monday night, the council unanimously agreed to put their names on a letter to Moore asking his assistance in “establishing an official U.S. Postal Service mail route within our municipality jurisdiction.”

The council said not having a designated route for the municipality results in inconsistent delivery of mail and packages, and not just church newsletters and L.L. Bean catalogs.

Instead, they argue, the lack of a designated mail route can cause delays in the delivery of prescription medications, government and legal documents, and time-sensitive communications.

The letter to Moore also noted that the absence of a municipal USPS route has “created complications regarding standardized 911 addressing” and increasing response times for both EMS and fire services.

“It’s a little ridiculous,” said Mayor Yates Jensen. “We had a situation recently where a lady at our church (Abernethy Memorial) collapsed and there was some confusion about the address even though we’re basically in sight of the fire station.”

Moore took little time in responding to the plea from Rutherford College.

“I got pretty infuriated at first because I thought the USPS was trying to take away a service,” he said in a phone call from his office in Washington. “I made a call to the Postal Service immediately.”

By mid-afternoon on Wednesday, a letter bearing Moore’s signature had been sent to Postmaster General David Steiner stating, “I am writing to urge the creation of a designated postal route for Rutherford College and a formal recognition of Rutherford College as an acceptable mailing address.”

Moore’s letter made note of the potential delay in emergency services due to the address inconsistencies, saying, “When addresses cannot be properly verified, response times are delayed, and lives are put at risk.”

“We’ll keep pushing on this,” Moore told The Paper. “And we’ll get the White House involved if we need to.”

Shannon Raby, postmistress of the Rutherford College Post Office, said the building is small and has limited loading dock space, which could make difficult the transition to a facility that provides route service also.

“That’s the kind of decision that will be made by folks a whole lot higher up the food chain than me,” she said.