Alaska village in ‘dire need’ of postmaster

BETHEL, Alaska – Residents in the Alaska village of Napakiak are getting desperate for mail because the village’s postmaster has been on maternity leave for the past two weeks.

The village’s post office has been closed and the U.S. Postal Service has yet to find a replacement postmaster, KYUK-AM reported Tuesday.

“You might say we’re in dire need for a postmaster,” Napakiak City Administrator Leo Kusayak said.

Residents can’t get medications that are flown out from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation, pay bills through the mail, or get checks to pay for basic needs, he said.

The Anchorage U.S. Postal Service headquarters tried to fly out replacements from other villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, but bad weather cancelled those trips, Kusayak said.

A postal service spokesperson said they are trying to get a replacement out on Wednesday.

“We will continue to do so twice a week, weather permitting, until our staffing is back to normal,” the spokesperson said in an email.

Kusayak said it is unclear when Napakiak residents will be able to get their mail.

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Information from: KYUK-AM, http://www.kyuk.org