MONROE - Postal carrier Marty Schulz knew something was wrong on his route last week when he hadn't seen a 91-year-old resident in a few days.
Usually Schulz saw the man drive to and from a lunch date every day at the same time, like clockwork. Something wasn't right.
"I noticed that the gentleman's mail was building up," Schulz said. There was no answer at the door, either.
So on Tuesday he did what he's done twice before in his 20-year career as a postal carrier. He alerted his postmaster to call police and an ambulance for a welfare check on the man, J. Bernard Lee.
The call ended up saving the Lee's life, at least for another day. It gave his son, Jim Lee, enough time to drive up from his home in Chicago to be with his father before he died Wednesday.
"We appreciated it," Jim Lee said. "We appreciate having eyes and ears out there."
Schulz's life-saving call isn't unusual locally or nationally, according to Doug Crooks, postmaster for Monroe. Postal carriers are often the eyes and ears of a neighborhood.
"It's just something we do, keeping an eye on the community," Crooks said. "In the summertime, we keep an eye on the elderly and disabled, just as a courtesy. It's so standard for us, we don't even think about it."
Crooks estimates his postal carriers alert police to about four or five welfare checks in any given year. Nationwide, "there's probably an average of one a day."
Police Chief Fred Kelley considers postal carriers an "invaluable" resource. Besides welfare checks, carriers can alert police to unfriendly dogs and other neighborhood problems, he said. Like an officer assigned to a beat or shift, postal carriers are in the same areas every day at the same time and "can tell us who comes and goes."
If there is cause for concern, "we tap on doors," Crooks said. If someone answers, the carrier just hands over the mail.
Many times, he added, the resident doesn't even know they're being checked on.
Usually Schulz saw the man drive to and from a lunch date every day at the same time, like clockwork. Something wasn't right.
"I noticed that the gentleman's mail was building up," Schulz said. There was no answer at the door, either.
So on Tuesday he did what he's done twice before in his 20-year career as a postal carrier. He alerted his postmaster to call police and an ambulance for a welfare check on the man, J. Bernard Lee.
The call ended up saving the Lee's life, at least for another day. It gave his son, Jim Lee, enough time to drive up from his home in Chicago to be with his father before he died Wednesday.
"We appreciated it," Jim Lee said. "We appreciate having eyes and ears out there."
Schulz's life-saving call isn't unusual locally or nationally, according to Doug Crooks, postmaster for Monroe. Postal carriers are often the eyes and ears of a neighborhood.
"It's just something we do, keeping an eye on the community," Crooks said. "In the summertime, we keep an eye on the elderly and disabled, just as a courtesy. It's so standard for us, we don't even think about it."
Crooks estimates his postal carriers alert police to about four or five welfare checks in any given year. Nationwide, "there's probably an average of one a day."
Police Chief Fred Kelley considers postal carriers an "invaluable" resource. Besides welfare checks, carriers can alert police to unfriendly dogs and other neighborhood problems, he said. Like an officer assigned to a beat or shift, postal carriers are in the same areas every day at the same time and "can tell us who comes and goes."
If there is cause for concern, "we tap on doors," Crooks said. If someone answers, the carrier just hands over the mail.
Many times, he added, the resident doesn't even know they're being checked on.