Polk County News
8A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • August 24, 2016
Fee Mail ready to be town’s ‘assistant’
Store offers shipping, copies, faxes, party supplies and personal mailboxes
By Emily Mentzer
Fee Mail
The Itemizer-Observer
EMILY MENTZER/ Itemizer-Observer
Traci Weston, manager at Fee Mail, shows off some of the furniture on display in the
store on Broad Street in Monmouth.
Benefit Concert
for the Polk County Food Bank
Sunday, August 28, 2016 • 12 - 2 pm
Dallas 1st Presbyterian Church
879 SW Levens St, Dallas, OR
Performance by
Cash & Co.
Luann Cash-Rits, Sally Clark,
Dan Apperson and Joan Coleman.
Come and enjoy the music and help our Food Bank and
the people who are supported by this facility.
Canned foods and/or cash donaions gladly accepted.
MONMOUTH — Need
shipping? Tablecloths for a
family party? Decorations
for that wedding or baby
shower?
How about a quick gift
shipped to a friend across
the country? Or a personal
mailbox?
Fee Mail on Broad Street
in Monmouth has you cov-
ered.
“We’re kind of the town’s
personal assistant,” said
manager Traci Weston. “You
have to pay us, but we’re
cheap. We care. We have
whatever you need done.”
The business fills a gap in
Monmouth and Independ-
ence, from UPS and FedEx
shipping to getting a copy
made or sending a fax, West-
on said.
Stepping into Fee Mail
doesn’t feel like walking into
a shipping store, with furni-
ture and knickknacks
Where: 169 S. Broad St.,
Monmouth.
Hours: Monday-Friday,
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
arranged around the shop.
Weston has six local vendors
offering their arts and crafts
for sale in the shop.
“We’re helping local peo-
ple make money so they can
keep it local,” Weston said.
“The ladies who sell their
stuff are all from the area.
This is how they make
money. They can still sell
their products online, or you
can walk in and buy it.”
The combination ship-
ping and handmade arts
and crafts means someone
can touch and feel a product
before buying it — unlike
online shopping websites.
Often the artist or crafter is
available to meet at the store
and talk with potential cus-
tomers in person.
Weston coordinates Toys
For Tots for Benton and Polk
counties each year, and will
make Fee Mail the head-
quarters for the annual toy
drive. Coming from a non-
profit background, Weston
has used her new job to find
other resources for those in
need.
“We had a young lady
come in and say, ‘We’re
going to be homeless; we
need to rent a private mail-
box,’” Weston said. “I re-
ferred her to several agen-
cies, but I was still frustrat-
ed, so I put it out there on
Facebook saying, can any-
body help.”
Another time, one of her
vendors needed a boost in
income to move to a new
house.
“She wasn’t asking for a
handout,” Weston said. “She
said, ‘I make stuff. I sell stuff.
Come shop.’ So I waived my
commission for that time
period knowing that she
needed last-minute help.”
Sojourn donates shampoo
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE —
While the American Red
Cross sends more help to
Louisiana — including de-
ployments from Polk County
— Sojourn International is
doing what it can to aid the
flood victims: donating
shampoo.
The hair-care manufac-
turing company based out
of Independence recently
established a distributor in
Baton Rouge, La.
“Debbie (Boulton) and I
got a phone call from the
owner of JKL Salon and Spa
in Baton Rouge, who said
i t ’s r e a l l y b a d ,” s a i d
Matthew Boulton, co-owner
of Sojourn. “People just
haven’t got their basic
needs.”
They’d just made a run of
shampoo, so they increased
the batch to donate 154 liters
to shelters in Baton Rouge to
help with basic hygiene.
Matthew said he is heading
to Louisiana Wednesday
(today) to help distribute the
bottles.
Thousands have been
evacuated because of the his-
toric flooding in Louisiana
and remain in shelters. Co-
owner Debbie Boulton said
Sojourn is happy to help in
whatever capacity they can.
Hot
outside?
We have AC!
Sunday
Monday
“If they have other
needs, that’s kind of what
we’re there for,” Debbie
said. “If we can help with
clean up or serving food,
we will. The fact that we’re
100 percent biodegradable
means if the drainage sys-
tem isn’t working properly,
nothing in our product is
going to compromise the
environment and make
things worse.”
Matthew said he is a bit
worried about getting
around once he lands in
Louisiana.
“This next week they’re
getting another huge set of
torrential rains,” Debbie
said.
Youth Leagues for
boys and girls,
ages 5 and up!
Friday Karaoke
Cosmic Night
7 pm - 10 pm
Cold and wet?
We keep you dry and warm
all season!
Birthday party
packages!
Fresh food. Family safe.
Climate controlled.
Wednesday
Tuesday
Fees are
subject
to change.
Thursday
Saturday
Fall/Winter adult leagues are
filling up fast! Call or stop in today!
394 Main St, Dallas
503-623-4267
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