| Who’s
got mail?
I recently moved from Valley Junction to a
new residence west of Jordan Creek Town Center
about 84th and E.P. True Parkway. I discovered
that the people in this part of far West Des
Moines are missing one essential thing: mailboxes!
Mailing a letter here in the Jordan Creek area
is a real challenge. I am accustomed to finding
mailboxes in front of grocery stores. The Hy-Vee
at 555 S. 51st St. does not have one, nor does
the Target next door or the Wal-Mart down the
road on Mills Civic Parkway. One would think
that the largest mall in Iowa, Jordan Creek
Town Center, with all of its automobile traffic,
would have one convenient drive-up location
for the deposit of mail. No such luck. There
is a fixed mailbox on the north side near Younkers
and on the south side near Dillard’s. One must
park and exit the car to deposit a letter.
I discovered two drive-up mailboxes up by I-235,
both of them downright dangerous to use. There
is one off Vista Drive in front of the Wedgewood
office building. It’s on the right side of the
street. That is only convenient if there is
a passenger in the car. Otherwise, one must
turn around, drive on the wrong side of the
road and risk a head-on collision or a ticket
at the very least. The same is true of the Hy-Vee
at Jordan Creek Parkway and University Avenue.
Behind the fuel facility are three drive-up
boxes. Again, one must have a passenger in the
car to legally use the box or be forced to drive
on the wrong side of the road and violate the
law.
The postal station that services this area is
at 2135 N.W. 108th St. in Clive. It is far off
the road, not readily visible, and there are
no signs. I needed my GPS system to find it.
Those of us who live in the Jordan Creek area
of West Des Moines do not rate a post office
at all. The Clive location is NOT in this zip
code, NOT in this city and NOT even in this
county.
The U.S. Postal Service has not followed the
migration west and is failing to provide adequate
service for its patrons.
Gary Thelen
West Des Moines
Just wondering
So The Des Moines Register is moving to Capital
Square (“Civic Skinny,” June 28), and someone
is purchasing their building. Did the City of
Des Moines have a contract with the Register
after giving them several million dollars in
Tax Increment Financing that required that they
maintain a certain number of employees? Was
it established that if they moved to another
location, the Register might owe money back
to the City? Just wondering.
Jaclyn Fleming
Urbandale
Oil hoopla
Have you noticed the proliferation of oil company
ads on television these last few months? Much
propaganda against alternative energy. ExxonMobil
is proud of American teachers, but then you
will notice that the teachers mentioned teach
math and science. Technology is OK to teach,
also. Why these content areas and not art and
music? Simple. Art and music are not related
to the military and expenditures on more war.
The military needs oil, and war needs oil, which
in turn means more profit for ExxonMobil and
Shell and Chevron, etc. And did you notice how
beautiful and handsome and forthright and wonderfully
expressive the actors are? They could win over
disbelievers easily, and do.
John Hicks
Des Moines |
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