<p>Since 1954, thousands of volunteers in the Christmas-crazy town of North Pole have run the heart-warming tradition of replying to letters addressed "Santa Claus, The North Pole" forwarded to them by the USPS. But no more.<br /><br />Officials cut the tradition after an "Operation Santa" volunteer working on the programme in Maryland was revealed last year to be a registered sex offender.<br /><br />Doug Isaacson, mayor of North Pole -- where streets have been given names like Santa Claus Lane or St Nicholas Drive -- slammed the move as "Grinch-like."<br /><br />He noted that in five decades the letters -- some 150,000 last year -- have been answered without incident.<br />"North Pole, Alaska, is known as the city where the spirit of Christmas lives year round," Isaacson lamented to CNN today.<br />The new policy is a privacy issue, safeguarding young children from their personal information being given out, said Postal Service spokesman Ernie Swanson.<br />"There's been concern on the part of outsiders about the Postal Service just handing out this information to people and what could happen," he told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.<br /><br />Isaacson said children could still get around the new policy by addressing letters to a specific address in his town of 2,100: "Santa Claus House, North Pole, Alaska" or even simply the city hall, and they will get a reply with a North Pole postmark.</p>
<p>Since 1954, thousands of volunteers in the Christmas-crazy town of North Pole have run the heart-warming tradition of replying to letters addressed "Santa Claus, The North Pole" forwarded to them by the USPS. But no more.<br /><br />Officials cut the tradition after an "Operation Santa" volunteer working on the programme in Maryland was revealed last year to be a registered sex offender.<br /><br />Doug Isaacson, mayor of North Pole -- where streets have been given names like Santa Claus Lane or St Nicholas Drive -- slammed the move as "Grinch-like."<br /><br />He noted that in five decades the letters -- some 150,000 last year -- have been answered without incident.<br />"North Pole, Alaska, is known as the city where the spirit of Christmas lives year round," Isaacson lamented to CNN today.<br />The new policy is a privacy issue, safeguarding young children from their personal information being given out, said Postal Service spokesman Ernie Swanson.<br />"There's been concern on the part of outsiders about the Postal Service just handing out this information to people and what could happen," he told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.<br /><br />Isaacson said children could still get around the new policy by addressing letters to a specific address in his town of 2,100: "Santa Claus House, North Pole, Alaska" or even simply the city hall, and they will get a reply with a North Pole postmark.</p>
