Mailbox invention catches eye of television show
Park Hills inventor among those selected for a shot at prime time
By PAULA BARR\Daily Journal Staff Writer
Feb 21, 2006 - 10:59:32 CST
Park Hills inventor Jay Sutton says it is time to strike out the illegal practice of driving down the road, swinging a bat to destroy mailboxes.
To foil would-be vandals, Sutton has invented a moveable type of mailbox post that keeps the box safely away from swinging bats once the mail has been delivered. The Mailbox Saver Post caught the attention of the producers of a new show called “American Inventor” that is scheduled to begin airing in March. The show flew him to Los Angeles last month, where he competed in the final cut for the show.
“This is the first time someone outside my family has taken a look at one of my inventions, and they thought it was good!” Sutton said. “Your family will tell you it's good even when it isn't.”
The mailbox sits at the top of the post, which consists of a pair of hinged steel posts that can be bolted onto a post or platform. The post is designed to move the mailbox forward and backward with a slight push of the hand and without changing its pitch. The Mailbox Saver Post must be operated by hand, but Sutton plans to design a solar powered version that could be operated by remote control.
Sutton said homeowners can move the box to the road for delivery in the morning, then move it back when they retrieve their mail. That way, the mailbox is about 6 feet from the road at night, when “players” typically are on the prowl.
Federal offense
Destroying mailboxes is a federal offense, according to U.S. Postal Inspector Donald Obritsch.
“A mailbox is quasi-government property and is to be used only for deposit of mail, both incoming and outgoing,” said Obritsch, whose Kansas City office handles investigations in central and western Missouri and Kansas. “Under federal law, destroying mailboxes is a misdemeanor if the damage is under $100. If you damage one of the blue collection boxes or the silver neighborhood delivery units, however, it's a felony.”
Postal inspectors investigate damage, but usually let local police handle cases unless there is a string of incidents, he added.
Damage seems to come in spurts, said Dan Taylor, U.S. Postal Inspector and public information officer for the St. Louis, eastern Missouri and Illinois areas.
“We average about a dozen complaints a month, but I get the sense that's just the tip of the iceberg,” Taylor said.
Although some people believe the vandalism started in response to a scene in the movie, ‘Stand By Me,' Taylor said mailbox baseball was a problem long before that.
“Usually kids are doing it, and they don't understand they could be facing federal charges,” he said. “We've found that when someone is arrested, that shuts down the problem for another three or four years until the next batch of high school students comes along.”
St. Francois County Sheriff Dan Bullock has first-hand knowledge of the “mailbox baseball,” also called “mailbox tag,” vandalism that occurs in the county. About a year ago, vandals pulled his mailbox post out of the ground and towed the post and mailbox to a field about .8 miles up the road. He has to replace his mailbox about once every three months, Bullock estimated.
“We had several mailboxes destroyed two weeks ago,” Bullock said. “Sometimes they take 4-wheel trucks and run (mailboxes and posts) over.”
Vandals who are caught are usually prosecuted locally, but Bullock also relies on restorative justice principles to teach the culprits a lesson. After he caught some local high school boys damaging mailboxes, Bullock brought each home and talked to their parents.
After the boys received their next paycheck from their part-time jobs, Bullock took them to Wal-Mart, where the boys bought replacement mailboxes. They went to each homeowner, apologized, then installed the new mailboxes.
“I never had any trouble from those boys again,” Bullock said.
Lifelong hobby
Sutton, a Hillsboro native, has tinkered with inventions for years. He once designed a ping pong paddle that fit onto the player's hand. He sent that idea to China, but the invention failed to catch manufacturers' interest. Other inventions included an automatic pet waterer that worked but was not visually appealing enough for production.
He started driving a school bus 16 years ago in Hillsboro and noticed how often mailboxes along his route were smashed. He found some posts that allowed the mailbox to spin around when hit, which lessened the damage but did not prevent the vandalism. Sutton began developing prototypes for a post that would protect mailboxes from snowplows as well as from vandals. He scrapped 12 before developing The Mailbox Saver Post.
Last summer, he found a notice on the Internet about the invention contest for the new show. The closest city hosting a competition was Chicago. Sutton filled out the 36-page application and drove to Chicago in early December to compete.
“We stood in line from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. before getting in to take our turn,” he said. “It was worth every second.”
Inside, Sutton had two minutes to demonstrate his product. The show's producer played with the post and asked several questions, extending the two-minute limit to six minutes. He suggested Sutton patent the invention and said they would let him know in 6-8 weeks if he made the cut to go to the second round. He was sitting on the couch Jan. 7 when he received a call saying he and about 120 others of the 500 Chicago contestants would be flown to Los Angeles to compete for one of nine slots on the show. The winner will receive $1 million and a contract to produce the invention, Sutton said.
The show flew Sutton to California on Jan. 25, put him up in the Marriott Hotel, and provided meals and transportation. This time, his two-minute presentation was filmed, and Sutton could hear his nervousness in his voice. His invention was not one of the nine to be on the show, although his presentation might appear in the audition episodes.
Although Sutton did not make the final cut, he said the trip was well worth it.
“It was such an honor just to make it to the second round when you consider how many people applied,” Sutton said. “I was able to meet so many other inventors.”
Sutton hopes to find an area company to produce his post or he might sell his invention on E-bay, Sutton said. Meanwhile, he intends to continue developing new ideas.
“Anytime you can make things easier or safer for people, I think you have to,” he said.
Sutton does draw that line at some inventions. For example, his wife, Lorraine, has an idea that she wants him to develop.
“She told me I need to invent a toilet seat that goes down by itself,” he said, shaking his head. “I don't know about that.”
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