ST. MARTIN PARISH — “We need mailboxes, come on!" Yolanda White, a resident of Henderson for over 20 years exclaimed.
"We need something I mean anything other than driving back and forth to Breaux Bridge."
White lives just two blocks away from the old contract U.S. Post Office which is within waking distance from her home.
Now her designated post office is nearly eight miles away.
“It’s been really hard,” White said. “I don’t drive anymore because of my heath issues.”
White, who's had half of her foot amputated relies on her children to pick up her mail.
“My son and daughter, I have to ask them to go pick up my mail,” White said. “And they don’t go everyday and sometimes you know its once a week.”
But her greatest concern is for the elderly population who may not have means of transportation.
“For the other people you know the ones older than me that’s worse off than I am?” White asked. “Come on that’s disrespectful to our elderly, to me. I mean they are our past we got to take care of them."
In November Congressman Clay Higgins was working with Mayor Collette and U.S.P.S. officials for a new contract post office in Henderson at the old City Hall which never happened.
I reached out to Higgins who provided this statement on April 16th:
“The U.S. Postal Service functions under the executive branch, which reviews and makes operational decisions regarding postal units. My office has had extensive conversations with regional and state executive officials from the U.S. Postal Service to discuss the restoration of service for Henderson, LA. We facilitated outreach between the U.S. Postal Service and businesses interested in establishing a new contracted postal unit. However, those decisions are subject to review and selection by the U.S. Postal Service. In the meantime, mail services continue at the Breaux Bridge post office.
“Additionally, my office requested that the U.S. Postal Service extend local carrier routes to cover the impacted neighborhoods. We are currently awaiting data from the U.S. Postal Service’s rural route survey, which is required for the Postal Service to consider changes in carrier routes. My office remains in regular contact with the U.S. Postal Service, and we continue to advocate for convenient mail service for the citizens of Henderson.”
I also reached out to Senator Bill Cassidy’s Louisiana Communications Director and Service Academy Coordinator Shawn Hanscom asking for a statement from the senator. He provided this statement:
“We have followed up with the Postal Service to get an update on the progress they’ve made on this matter. When we have an update to share, we will provide it.”
White said she is for both mailboxes in the park, an option proposed in November by Collette and Higgins, or residential mailboxes, whichever gets her her mail.
“Either one. I’m not picky,” White said. “I mean you know it's sad. It’s getting really rough gas is expensive.”
Collette said he is currently working on getting Henderson their own zip code, as they currently use a Breaux Bridge zip code.
