LAKESIDE PARK — His own Washington office's mail stopped a few weeks after anthrax was discovered in D.C. post offices, mail rooms and office complexes. Friday, Northern Kentucky's Congressman praised as “heroes” those who are keeping Tristate mail running.

        U.S. Rep. Ken Lucas toured a Kenton County post office to view new safety procedures, and committed his support to provide additional money to the U.S. Postal Service.

        Mr. Lucas, a Boone County Democrat, spent about 20 minutes touring the Coving ton-Dixie Branch Post Office in Lakeside Park with local postal officials. Reporters weren't allowed on the tour, but Mr. Lucas and postal officials answered questions immediately afterward.

        “Our postal employees are now on the front line of defense ... along with the firefighters and the police,” said Mr. Lucas, a two-term Congressman who represents Kentucky's Fourth Congressional District.

        “They are heroes,” he said.

        Bioterrorists using the postal system to mail anthrax have killed four people — including a Washington, D.C., postal worker — and sickened more than a dozen. Though there have been several scares, the lethal bacterium's spores have not been detected in Greater Cincinnati.

        Security for postal workers at the Lakeside Park post office, as well as other postal facilities in the region, has increased in the wake of the anthrax mailings, said Greg Gamble, acting district manager for the Postal Service in Greater Cincinnati.

        Employees are using gloves and wearing masks when handling mail, Mr. Gamble said. And fans are no longer used — a step taken to prevent anthrax or any other materials from spreading.

        “We've even changed the way we mop the floor,” Mr. Gamble said.

        Postmaster General John Potter has estimated losses could be between $3 billion and $7 billion or more.

        Mr. Lucas acknowledged that the chances of an anthrax-tainted letter being mailed in this area are remote. But he wants the increased security and safety precautions just in case it happens here.

        The Associated Press contributed to this report.
       

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