ELBERTA, Ala. — Elberta residents now have a regularly accessible place to dispose of their outdated medications. That’s because during last week’s Elberta Town Council Meeting, Elberta Post Master Kenneth Laurendine and Elberta Town Councilman John Conti presented a “Drug Take Back Box” to Elberta Police Chief Stan DeVane.

According to Conti, the box is a former postal box that has been repainted and refurbished for its new purpose.

“The street-collection mailbox was originally put in service in 1967 by the then U.S. Post Office Department and remained in service until last year when the now U.S. Postal Service removed it from service,” he said.

Conti and his wife Kim are honorary public relations officers for the Elberta PD, as well as founders and curators of the American Mobile Postal Museum. Through those endeavors, the couple learned of the Drug Take Back Program in neighboring Foley and Summerdale, which motivated them install the same program in at the Elberta PD.

“After many months of searching, Postmaster Laurendine was finally able to obtain an out of service mailbox in September from the Mobile, Ala. Postal Plant,” John Conti said. “Upon receiving the mailbox in Elberta, Postmaster Laurendine contacted the Contis and turned over the mailbox to them so that they could apply a new paint scheme, a new lock and the applicable markings identifying the old U.S.P.O.D. mailbox, as a new Elberta Police Department ‘Drug Take Back Box.’”

The box was donated by the U.S.Postal Service by way of the Elberta Post Office. to the Elberta PD through the American Mobile Postal Museum.

DeVane said the box would be permanently affixed to the front porch of the Elberta PD office.