Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night...

[cubby1223]

...but snakes!

Snakes, seen as workplace hazard, prevent mail delivery in Rogers Park
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-garter-snakes-rogers-park-mail-met-20160520-story.html

Since the end of March, Harris said her mail delivery has been spotty and she has gone almost 10 days without getting a single letter because her mail carrier is afraid of the garter snakes that have made a home on her block.
...
Harris said the supervisor told Harris that her yard, and any other yard with snakes, is a safety issue and that she and the other property owners are responsible for fixing the snake infestation.
...
Mark Reynolds, spokesman for the Chicago District Post Office, said mail carriers have the right to determine if an environment is unsafe and, if so, they are not forced to deliver mail to that area.

"In this case, the woman is terrified of snakes. When she saw them she freaked out," he said. "It is irrelevant if the snakes are dangerous or not. Our employees' safety is the utmost priority."
...
Chris Anchor, senior wildlife biologist for the Forest Preserves of Cook County, said garter snakes are the most common snakes in Chicago and are nothing to fear.
...
Anchor said having garter snakes in a person's yard is actually a sign that the environment is doing well, and says they shouldn't be removed.

"The more native species that you have, the healthier the support system is, and the support system in this case is the environment that we all share. It's a very good thing," he said.

It's interesting how in some situations government tells us it's okay if you unreasonably fear something, we will disrupt other people's lives as to accommodate and not fire you for your fears.

While in other situations government dictates that unreasonable fears are the worst attributes of a person and that person must lose their job, states must lose their funding of schools and highways for protecting people with unreasonable fears. Yea, I went there to make this interesting 😛

 

[Jeff7]

Hah, the related article link:
"Dogs really do bite mail carriers - thousands of them."


There's a much better chance that a dog will bite you. Garter snakes will bite if you step on the thing or try to pick it up. They're nonvenomous things. Even most venomous snakes will try to get away rather than fight.

Irrational fears are never easy to deal with. OTOH, if you can't do your job....

 

[pcgeek11]

I love your post title.

What a bunch of sissies. Garter snakes. LOL

 

[Moonbeam]

What utter bull shit. Show me what postal regulation says the carrier is allowed to determine what is safe and what not to deliver because I have an irrational fear of people and want to be paid not to deliver mail to them. People have a right to get their mail over anybody's right to an irrational fear. I can't see this no delivery surviving higher scrutiny because it makes the postal service look stupid.

 

[hal2kilo]

...but snakes!

Snakes, seen as workplace hazard, prevent mail delivery in Rogers Park
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-garter-snakes-rogers-park-mail-met-20160520-story.html


It's interesting how in some situations government tells us it's okay if you unreasonably fear something, we will disrupt other people's lives as to accommodate and not fire you for your fears.

While in other situations government dictates that unreasonable fears are the worst attributes of a person and that person must lose their job, states must lose their funding of schools and highways for protecting people with unreasonable fears. Yea, I went there to make this interesting 😛

Garter snakes, really. How silly. Tell that person to get over it or get another job. What's next, spider webs across the sidewalk.

I think this is a first for me. Posting in a cubby thread and agreeing.

 

[lxskllr]

They're nonvenomous things. Even most venomous snakes will try to get away rather than fight.

Garter snakes were long thought to be nonvenomous, but recent discoveries have revealed they do, in fact, produce a mild neurotoxic venom.[4] Garter snakes cannot kill humans with the small amounts of comparatively mild venom they produce, and they also lack an effective means of delivering it. They do have enlarged teeth in the back of their mouths,[5] but their gums are significantly larger.[6][7] The Duvernoy's gland of garters are posterior (to the rear) of the snake's eyes.[8] The mild venom is spread into wounds through a chewing action.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garter_snake#Venom

Doesn't take away from your point, but the more you know...

Saw a garter snake coiled on my woodpile yesterday. Wanted to get a closeup picture, but it ran slithered away while I fumbled with my phone.

 

[zinfamous]

wus mail carriers afraid of nonvenomous snakes? rather have the snakes than a rat and bunny infestation.