by Shelby Levins - February 14, 2012

VALENTINE -- It's a Valentine's Day tradition that stretches far beyond West Texas -- having valentines stamped with a little extra love in Valentine, Texas.

This month, the tiny post office in Valentine saw more than 25,000 valentines, each envelope being marked by a "Love Station" stamp. But this could be the last Valentine's Day for the Valentine Post Office.

If Valentine's Day had a Santa Claus, it'd be Maria Carraso, the Postmaster of Valentine, Texas.

From every red accessory, down to every details, this cupid of Valentine does it all with a full heart.

"Valentine's Day to me means, the love of brother to sister, mom, dad, aunts, grandmothers, just the pure kind of love; the real love," Carrasco explains.

Over the past 21 years, Carrasco's hands have touched hundreds of thousands of valentines.

"I'm still surprised, I still am, because they come from all over," Carrasco says.

The special, red "cache" stamp is different each year, but since 1994, it's always been designed by a local student. The 2012 stamp is designed by Latham Garnsey a freshman in Valentine ISD.

Click here to read the rest of the story and watch Shelby's video report from Valentine.

by Amelia Santillan - February 15, 2012

On Sunday February 12, 2012, a Valentine's Day party was held by Mr. and Mrs. Calderon at the Valentine Community Complex. Of course, there has to be some kind of Valentine's day celebration in Valentine. It was a fun party, "A very enjoyable evening” said Mr. Chuy Calderon.

It was a good turnout for Valentine. About 50 people showed up to the celebration, including Justice of the Peace Freddy Granado. About 15 through 20 couples renewed their vows, and then were blessed by Father Orlando Fonseca who also attended the party. Then, Sister Margie gave grace and it was time to eat. It wouldn't be a party without music. A Marfa trio gathered and agreed to play music.

When there is a band there has to be some singers. People from the audience stood up to the challenge including Sister Luz, Valentine's own Israel Rangel and one of the visiting seminarians from Costa Rica who did a very entertaining yet funny version of "Rata De Dos Patas” by Paquita La Del Barrio.

Overall a very fun party for Valentine. "It was a lot of fun, everyone laughed.” said Mr. Calderon who was also celebrating his 39th anniversary of marriage to Mrs. Viola Calderon.

by Kimberly Morton - February 14, 2012

Valentine's Day is here and you know what that means! Mrs. Carrasco has been stamping about 650 stamps today and all together it has been over 28 THOUSAND!!! People from all over the world want their letters stamped and send their letters in advance to be sent out today. Mrs. Carrasco treats every card as if it was her own she was sending out, even Marfa elementary had a little field trip over to Valentine just to get their Valentines stamped. This has happened every year since 1983!! And even though we may be losing our post office we will NOT stop this tradition.

As you all know Latham Garnsey was this year's stamp winner and everyone just loves the new design! If you haven't already go get your Valentine's Day card stamped right away, the post office closes at 4!! Happy Love Day everyone <3

Kindergarten students form Marfa visit the Valentine Post Office on Valentines Day.

by Albert Cesare|Odessa American - February 12, 2012


VALENTINE Spanning less than half of one square mile and consisting of just around 200 people, Valentine, Texas, is, on most occasions, a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of town.

But drive through the town’s main road on Highway 90, and you’ll pass by a building known for spreading love all around the world.

Every year since 1983, the town’s post office has been famous worldwide for receiving thousands upon thousands of letters to be sent off with the official "Valentine, Texas” postmark just in time for Valentine’s Day.

"I was busy at Christmas but not like Valentine’s Day, and that’s truly amazing isn’t it?” Valentine Postmaster Maria Carrasco said.

In fact, Carrasco begins receiving Valentine’s Day mail beginning in December.

Most cards are sent pre-stamped inside a larger envelope addressed to the Valentine Postmaster.

Carrasco, recognized as the "cupid” of Valentine by Gov. Rick Perry, begins opening the packages on Feb. 1 and hand stamps the inner envelopes with a special "cachet” stamp designed this year by Latham Garnsey, a freshman at Valentine Independent School District.

If Carrasco sends the letters before Feb. 14, she stamps the "cachet” on the side of the outgoing envelope and uses the regular Valentine postmark to cancel out the postage. But from Feb. 14 to March 14, the student-designed stamp is used as the official Valentine postmark to cancel out postage.

Each envelope is handled with care by Carrasco, who sifts through piles of packages for most hours of the work days leading up to Feb. 14 and makes sure each outgoing letter has enough stamps to be sent off. Some packages come with mailing guidelines or a simple "thank you” note to the postmaster, all of which Carrasco reads through carefully.

For Carrasco, who has worked 21 years as Valentine’s postmaster, the time taken to sift and stamp Valentine’s Day mail is an honor and one that helped her through the hardest of heartaches.

"I went through a very traumatic thing in my life 12 years ago, and during the healing time I lost my husband. The first couple of years when this was happening, I asked myself, ‘What was I doing here?’ ” Carrasco recalled.

Click here to Read the Rest in the Odessa American

by Aaron Morton - February 13, 2012

During February, around Valentine's Day our town and post office tend to get a lot of attention. Especially, with the Valentine's Day cancellations our post office sends around the world. Friday, (Feb. 10) Shelby Levins (News Anchor) and Curtis (Cameraman) of KMID out of Midland, Odessa came to the small town of Valentine to check out the post office.

They interviewed Maria Carrasco and Leslie Williams about what it's like to work at the post office. They also ran into Mrs. Cook and interviewed her as well. "I was happy to do the the interview, but I wish someone who has lived in Valentine longer would've came in so they can give a clearer, more detailed description of what it's like in Valentine."

They also interviewed a Presbyterian Minister out of Alpine who comes every year to get all his valentine's marked with the student-drawn stamp. Shelby and Curtis had a really good visit in the small town of Valentine. "Being a news reporter, we tend to see a lot of horrible and depressing things, so coming to a pleasant place like this makes us happy to do our job.”, say Shelby Levins. The interveiws will be aired on February 14 at 6 PM.

Published: Feb. 12, 2012 at 8:23 PM

VALENTINE, Texas, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Romantics wanting a special Valentine's Day postmark from the town of Valentine, Texas, may soon be out of luck, as the Postal Service downsizes, officials say.

By virtue of its name, the ranching town's post office has applied a unique cancellation to mail, sought by stamp collectors and Valentines for decades. The design changes annually, and 2012's features several hearts, a sunset and the phrase "Love Sta. 79854", a reference to the town's Zip Code, the San Antonio (Texas) Express-News reported Sunday.

Click here to Read the Rest from UPI

by Daniel Garnsey - February 10, 2012

Mrs. Cook took a call over the telephone about the closing of the post office. The call came from Reuters all the way from Washington, D.C. They said that they saw Mrs. Cook's name in a newspaper from around this area. "They asked what the response of the people was and how long it was going to be until it closes,” said Mrs. Cook.

"They asked me when I was going to know when it was going to close, and I said I don't know, we don't KNOW. We're not even going to look at it until May.” Mrs. Cook said that the conversation wasn't a long one, just a few quick questions on how she felt about the whole issue. "It's devastating. The post office is where the community gets information. I mean, it's going to be really devastating.”

Reuters is an international news agency headquartered in London, United Kingdom.

by Daniel Garnsey - February 9, 2012


Today Ms. Rita Weigart got to travel to the blimp to see what it's purpose was. "It was me and a group of the surrounding fire departments,” said Ms. Weigart. "There was about 35 of us there. It's mainly used for surveillance, weather, and for drug trafficking. It has a radar that can detect whether an illegal immigrant is trying to cross over the border. When that sort of thing happens, they call the Border Patrol.” Ms. Weigart said that the blimp is over 200 ft. wide! That thing must be massive. Well, at least we know what the blimps many uses are. "I thought it just did the weather,” said Daniel Koch.

by Adriana Rangel - February 7, 2012

A Valentine's Day Party, in the heart of Texas! Come join us on Sunday, February 12, 2012. Mayor Jesus (Chuy) Calderon, is hosting a pot luck for three seminarians from Costa Rica that are attending the Sacred Heart Church. This will be their last weekend with us before they go back to Costa Rica.

The Pot luck – bring your favorite dish is for them, so they can try some good ol' Texas food. For a farewell gift they are getting the three seminarians, and Sister Margie and Sister Luz from Marfa Texas, an envelope with the post cancellation stamp that Latham Garnsey drew this year for the Valentine's Day postage stamp contest.

They are also asking the priest that gives the service at the Sacred Heart Church to come and bless all the couples for Valentine's Day. Mr. Calderon is also bringing down Jesse Granado from the Justice Of Peace, so if couples want to renew the their vows, they can do it there at the Valentine Community Complex.

The Valentine's Day Party is for everyone!! Come enjoy some wonderful food, music, friends, and more!! Hope everyone can attend!

by Kimberly Morton - February 6, 2012

The Valentine Public Library will have a set up so everyone can make beautiful Valentine's for their loved ones. Valentine's Day is all about love and what better way to show it than with an amazing hand made from the heart Valentine's Day card? Come on and join in with love! This will take place right after school on Friday AND Mrs. Navarrete will be serving cake for Enrique's 15th birthday, come sing to him! If all else fails you can make him a card for his birthday/Valentine's day.(:

by Jessie Garcia - January 26, 2012

On Wednesday day it snowed in Valentine but did not stick. But it was pretty neat to watch coming down. Later in the day I got the chance to see the mountains covered in snow. Snow in Valentine is always something to get excited about. I think the students would like to see a blizzard in Valentine so that we could get out of school for the day. Hopefully we can get more snow before spring comes. So everyone stay bundled up and stay warm, and drink a lot of hot chocolate.

by Daniel Garnsey - January 4, 2012

Worries over the closure of Valentine's Post Office has been put on hold temporarily. According to U.S. senators the U.S. Postal Service has agreed to a five-month moratorium on closures of post offices and processing facilities while lawmakers hammer out legislation to overhaul the cash-strapped mail carrier. "The House and the Senate have until May 15 to reach an agreement for postal reform which will bring the Postal Service to a financial status where they can continue and expand operations,” said Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois.

The Postal Service said in a statement that it will continue analyzing post offices and processing facilities for possible closure while it waits for Congress to act. "The Postal Service by law has been restricted in the ways that they can raise revenue,” said Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. "One of the areas that we are looking at is to give the Postal Service more flexibility for entrepreneurial capabilities in order to raise revenue and serve the needs of their constituents.”

The Postal Service was studying about 3,700 money-losing post offices for possible closure starting in February 2012, and considering closing hundreds of processing centers in April. Valentine just happened to be one of those 3,700 post offices. Maria Carrasco stated that she hopes that Congress is able to help the Postal Service because, she likes it here, and she could possibly lose her job.