Snowplow prompts mailbox complaints

"A Honeymoon Bay Road resident claims a snowplow knocked down a lot of mailboxes last Friday as it was clearing the road early that morning.It was a whole series, all the way up Honeymoon Bay Road to the lake, said Rebecca Collins, who lives along the road. She said her own mailbox was knocked down and pretty well dented, even though it was attached to the pole with screws and two bolts. She estimated 40 mailboxes in all were knocked off their posts. A mail carrier told her he saw the same thing, she said.The road just north of Freeland is maintained by the Central District of the Island County Road Department. Its territory extends as far south as Woodard Road. Foreman Mark Green said he had heard about Collins' complaint, but his driver could remember only one or two mailbox casualties. Green inspected the area himself. I didn't see 40, he said, backing up his driver's account of only a few downed mailboxes.Green said the heavy snow can easily damage mailboxes, especially if they are mounted on old, rotting posts.We're not intentionally trying to do damage, he said. What's more important, (mailboxes) or the safety of the traveling public? Maintaining mailboxes is their owner's responsibility, he added. Green said his drivers go a maximum of 30 mph when clearing snow.Myron Gabelein, South Whidbey shop foreman, said his snowplow drivers knocked down only a couple of mailboxes, and he called the owners to tell them what happened. He limits his drivers to 25 mph when removing snow from the road. "

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