Remember, the United States Postal Service does not guarantee every piece of mail dropped into a mail drop box will be postmarked. As I understand the situation, the machine, whatever the machine is, doesn't postmark every envelope for whatever reason. Remember when an election is held and the Revised Code of Washington, or RCW, states the absentee ballot must be postmarked by a certain date, and it is not postmarked, those ballots not receiving a postmark have the possibility of being disqualified.

What's a voter to do? There is one way to make sure your main-in ballot is postmarked; physically take it to the post office counter and ask to have it hand stamped. The post office employee should hand stamp the envelope while you watch.

More on this troubling fact next week.

E-mail from Cheryl

Facts from the past gleaned from the Moses Lake Herald, Columbia Basin Herald and The Neppel Record by Cheryl (Driggs) Elkins:

From the Columbia Basin Herald on April 24, 1952:

Offices move after Warden hall is sold

New offices for the City of Warden were opened this week in the Jeske Electric Store, just across Main Street from the old city hall. The hall was sold April 15 to the new Warden State Bank for $7,500 net to the city and vacated last week. Clerk Reuben Jeske and city records are at the shop. Council meetings will be held in the fire hall for the time being.

Construction of a new city hall is in prospect, with the $7,500 received from the sale earmarked for the job. No final decisions have been made on the new building.

At the April 15 meeting, councilmen also received and read a letter from the Warden Women's Club protesting establishment of a trailer park on city park lands.

Stationery to Korea

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary recently voted to send stationery to servicemen in Korea whose names are turned in to auxiliary members or to Domestic Sewing Center.

Cleanup week for all rural mailboxes

Annually, the Post Office department asks all rural customers to check their mailboxes and ease work for rural mailmen.

April 27 to May 3 will be National Rural Mailbox Improvement Week, but postmaster Loren Harris and the mailmen, Mrs. Hattie Hinkle and Chris Johnson, will be happy to have them fixed up at any time.

In particular, they suggest that you drive your car up to the mailbox and try to put mail into it, the way a mailman does. If it isn't easy, fix the box, patch the street and move any rocks. Paint and identification are nice too. Standard height for boxes is 42 inches above the ground.

Softball League meeting May 1

Organization of a summer softball league will be discussed at a meeting to be held Thursday night, May 1, according to Bob Cole and Ron Anderson, promoters of the sport. They urged all individuals and organizations interested in entering teams to telephone them at 49 as soon as possible so tentative plans can be prepared and submitted at eh meeting. Place of the meeting will be announced later, they said.