Du Quoin postmaster offers mailbox tips

With summer just a month away, the Du Quoin's postmaster is asking all area homeowners to inspect and repair their mailboxes.<br />"Repairing suburban and rural mailboxes improves the appearance of our community and makes delivering and receiving mail safer for our carriers and customers," Du Quoin Postmaster Stephen Dinkins said.<br />The Postal Service publicizes this annually because of the wear and tear that occurs to mailboxes every year. <br />"This is especially important after the effects of last winter," Dinkins said.<br />Some of the typical activities that may need to be done include replacing loose hinges on a mailbox door, repainting a mailbox that may have rusted or started peeling, remounting a mailbox post if loosened, or replacing or adding house numbers.<br />"Customers should be careful when purchasing curbside mail receptacles because the use of unapproved boxes is prohibited," Dinkins said. "Customers may use a custom-built mailbox, but they must consult with my office to ensure it conforms to guidelines applying to flag, size, strength and quality of construction."<br />For more information on the use of names or numbers on mailboxes, or answers to any other questions, contact Dinkins at (618) 542-3933.