The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

Chinook has a new postmistress, and this one, in her words, is "here to stay." Kasha Jeide's first day on the job was April 27, and she expressed pleasure at being "back home in Montana."

Jeide began her career with the United States Postal Service in Lewistown, Montana, on February 6, 2007 as a Post Office Clerk, and she quickly climbed the corporate ladder.

After performing on the customer service side of the postal service in Lewistown, Jeide went on to serve in Deer Lodge and then Havre. While in Deer Lodge, she functioned as a postmistress and city carrier. Soon, she was doing "details," filling in for postmasters across Montana and North Dakota.

Her first position on the mail processing side of the postal service was in Missoula, where she managed 160 employees. "Working on that side is an entirely different culture. Even though we're still focused on moving the mail, my duties were more about managing human resources than serving customers," Jeide claims.

Most recently, she served as the Plant Manager at a mail processing center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where she supervised 900 employees.

"One of our biggest shippers, volume wise, was Nordstorms," Jeide said, "so it was not uncommon for 175,000 parcels to get processed every night. We moved a lot of mail through that facility!"

Regularly putting in 12-16 hour days, often seven days a week, for the past nine months left Jeide feeling a bit drained. This past February, she returned to Montana out of necessity to deal with some family issues and realized, "It's time to come home and have a life."

"I met some great people in the Lancaster area, which is not only quite diverse but where fruit and vegetable stands are accessible year-round with the Amish people providing produce. However, the traffic and population density were good incentives to escape the congestion," Jeide reported.

So when the postmaster position became vacant in Chinook, Jeide applied, not only because she was determined to "stop living to work and begin working to live," but because she wanted to be closer to her five grandchildren.

"I'm looking forward to having a life again-working closer to eight or ten hours a day and enjoying more family time," Jeide stated.

Although her two daughters and her grandchildren live in the Miles City and Lewistown areas, Jeide owns a home in Gildford, commuting the 50 miles to Chinook each day on Highway 2.

With construction projects underway, that drive can take well-over an hour, according to Jeide. East of Gildford to about nine miles west of Havre, the rumble strips are being milled after a chip sealing project, and approximately nine miles east of Havre to Chinook, crews are installing pipe culverts and hauling excavation materials to various locations on that stretch of road.

"It's all good," Jeide replied. "Fifty miles is nothing when I was 2200 miles from home before!"

Jeide, who defined her neighbors as "anyone in the 595 zip code," (which stretches east to west from Malta to Chester and north to south from Whitlash to Hays) is looking forward to providing stability to the Chinook facility, taking care of its customers, and moving the mail.

"The mail carriers and staff here are personable; they have integrity and trust, so I know I'm part of a good team," Jeide said.

Referring to Betty Zellmer and Ruth Hawley, Jeide added: "The girls in the office basically run the show, leaving me to operate on the admin side-managing operations, doing reports, and handling telecommunications."

When asked about her structured goals for the Chinook Post Office, Jeide responded: "We will continue to provide a safe, clean environment and take care of our customers. I'd also like to see us involved in some community activities. Although there is a limit on what we can do, being a federal facility and all, I'd like to see us take part in things like a customer appreciation day, for example. Even decorating the lobby to make the space less institutionalized would be good. It's all about the community and keeping it local."

About Jeide, Postal Clerk Hawley expressed, "She's smart. Her experience on the processing side of the United States Postal Service gives her a unique perspective that will really help us here."

That institutional knowledge will enable Jeide to advise customers about the best mail programs and the most efficient transportation avenues to use in sending out their mail.

This knowledgeable young woman is also adventuresome and self-sufficient with hobbies like gardening, bow hunting, and trout fishing. "I smoke and can the trout I catch, which are really just a poor man's salmon," Jeide stated.

When a friend recently asked whether she'd like to float the Smith River, Jeide eagerly accepted. Consequently, she took a brief leave beginning on May 20.

Noted for its spectacular scenery and renowned brown and rainbow trout fishing, the Smith River is often referred to as a "Mini Grand Canyon." From the float's launch site at Camp Baker, which is located about 35 miles Northwest of White Sulphur Springs, the excursion Jeide will take winds through ranch lands shadowed by the Belt Mountains of Central Montana. The Smith slices a sixty-three mile twisting path through the sheer rock walls of the mountains before eventually emptying into the Missouri River. The Smith moves quickly with sharp turns, rocky shallows, strong eddies, and several sections of class II whitewater rapids.

Those interested in this popular trip-so popular that a permit is required to float the Smith River-should be sure and ask Jeide about her adventure when she returns to the Chinook Post Office.