Postmaster leaving job after 17 years

After 17 years as postmaster of the Batavia Post Office, Jo Dee Cottrell will retire at the end of the month.

?Batavia people on the whole are just real nice people. I?m going to miss them,? Cottrell said.

She got her start with the United States Postal Service as a clerk in Lockridge. Cottrell started there working part time, also helping out in Ottumwa and Fairfield, sorting mail and working the window. She was a clerk for eight years and then was named the city?s postmaster, having scored well enough on her civil service exam.

Cottrell served Lockridge for another 10 years before becoming postmaster in Batavia.

Although e-mail and the ability to pay bills online has cut into the number of envelopes passing through the post office, Cottrell said the Batavia office still handles a ?pretty good amount of mail.? She said it?s a small office, but the two rural routes cover a wide area ? one reaches to Eldon and the other reaches to Libertyville.

She also said the city?s businesses help keep the post office going. She hopes people will continue to patronize the office and keep it vibrant.

?It?s been really nice working with the people here,? Cottrell said.

She couldn?t remember any unusual packages that have passed through her office, but could recall some surprises in the drop boxes.

For the complete article, see the Wednesday, July 21, 2010, printed edition of The Fairfield Ledger.