This section will display information on Philatelic items in the News. To have an item added to this section, please submit it to the Webmaster.
|
Canada Post Gives Collector Of Rare Books Apology, Cheque CANWEST NEWS SERVICE OTTAWA
Canada Post has delivered a forthright apology and a compensation cheque to an Ottawa book collector one year after it lost his prized volume of 18th-century poetry. Daniel Bentley had been in search of the rare book— a 1789 edition of Alexander Pope's Collected Works, Volume Two — since he purchased an incomplete set in 1968. Last year, he found a copy at an online bookstore, bought it for 107 Euros (about $170) and arranged to have it shipped to Canada from France. However, Canada Post delivered it to the wrong address. A post office investigator suggested Benson submit a compensation claim. He did that three times, but was rebuffed on each occasion. So Bentley approached his member of Parliament, Conservative cabinet minister John Baird. Baird's office pursued the matter with the post office and, last month, Bentley received a letter from Canada Post CEO Moya Green. She apologized for the "non-delivery" of his book, but said the overseas sender must initiate any compensation claim. "While I know that nothing can replace the rare book," she added, "I am enclosing two booklets of stamps for your future use." Bentley was so outraged that he shared his story with the Ottawa Citizen, which last month published a story about his case. This week, an unexpected letter arrived at Bentley's suburban Ottawa home with a money order for $170 and an apology from Canada Post's vice-president of customer service.
From the Calgary Herald Saturday, November 28, 2009 Page A11 – Good News |
U.S. Post Reinstates Letters To Santa Program
ALLISON CROSS CANWEST NEWS SERVICE
The U.S. Postal Service announced Friday it would reverse a decision to cancel its annual Letters to Santa program because of security concerns. Earlier this week, the postal service announced it would axe the 55-year-old program, whereby children write letters to Santa Claus at the Alaska community of North Pole and receive responses written by volunteers. Last year, officials discovered a volunteer with the program was a registered sex offender and had to tighten its regulations and privacy requirements. The North Pole volunteers who open the letters and answer them each year were outraged at the cancellation. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska pleaded with the postal service to preserve the tradition. "We got a lot of feedback from the community and elected officials," said postal service spokesman Ernie Swanson. "We decided that because of all the interest, we would reinstitute it." But volunteers will have to follow tight security requirements, Swanson said. "We do not give out the kids' last name or address," he said. Volunteers will have to sign out letters to reply to them. Postal workers will then affix the full names and addresses of the children to the envelopes. John Caines, a spokesman for Canada Post, said its Christmas-letter program has never had a security issue. "The only people that respond to letters are employees of Canada Post, either current or former," he said. "All of our employees are screened when they are hired." The respondents undergo a training session before writing any letters and don't have access to individuals addresses, he said. Canada Post also has a system that tracks which volunteers responded to which letters, Caines said, in case there is a problem. Caines reminded children to include a return address on their envelopes if they want to receive a reply from Santa Claus.
From the Calgary Herald Saturday, November 21, 2009 Page A22 |
|
1851 Canada stamp fetches $318,744 NEW YORK • An unused, 158-year-old Canadian stamp that sold for 12 pennies when it was issued in 1851 was auctioned Thursday in the U.S. for $318,744 — the most ever paid for a single stamp from this country. The exquisitely preserved specimen, a rare "Twelve Penny Black" featuring a portrait of the young Queen Victoria, was the highlight of a New York auction in which a world-class collection of more than 100 treasures from Canadian postal history netted about $2.12 million. The auction, organized by the Spink Shreves Gallery, also featured an 1851 envelope with a cancelled Twelve Penny Black that sold to an unidentified Canadian collector for about $297,494. — Canwest News Service From the Calgary Herald Friday, November 20, 2009 Page A20 – World |
Sarkozy Keeps His Cool With Stamp Collecting
Nicolas Sarkozy has taken up stamp collecting to cultivate a calmer image as president of France. In the latest insight into the 54-year-old president's private life, it emerged that fellow heads of state, including the Queen, have helped him fill his albums. Sarkozy even sponsors the newly formed Elysee Philatelist Club, named after his official residence in Paris. Carla Bruni, his glamorous third wife, is delighted that Sarkozy, who is known to have a fierce temper, is enjoying the sedate pastime, according to sources close to the couple. Pride of place in the Sarkozy stamp collection is a set issued by the British postal service in 2004 to celebrate the centenary of the Entente Cordiale. They were a gift from the Queen when the Sarkozys stayed at Windsor Castle last year. Sarkozy was also given a leather album full of stamps by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bruni has confided to friends that she is glad Sarkozy no longer spends his evenings karaoke singing, as he used to in his bachelor days. From the Calgary Herald Wednesday, February 25, 2009 Page A2 – News Makers |
| PREVIOUS |