Several Local Post Offices Considered for Closing

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Updated: 9:48 AM Jul 27, 2011

Newsplex/AP

The Postal Service agency announced Tuesday that it will study 3,653 local offices, branches and stations for possible closing. At least five rural Central Virginia post offices have been included in the review.

Posted: 12:58 PM Jul 26, 2011
Reporter: Frankie Jupiter
Email Address: frankie.jupiter@newsplex.com

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July 26, 2011

The Postal Service is considering closing more than 1 in 10 of its retail outlets.

The financially-troubled agency announced Tuesday that it will study 3,653 local offices, branches and stations for possible closing. Most of the offices that face review are in rural areas and have low volumes of business.

Central Virginia post offices being reviewed include:

- Madison County: Hood, Oakpark, Radient, Rochelle, Syria, Wolftown

- Nelson County: Montebello

- Orange County: Burr Hill, Montpelier Station

"We're dismayed that it's even being considered," said Michael Quinn of the Montepelier Foundation. "We worked with the Postal Service and we definitely wanted to keep them. There has been a post office in this building since 1912; it's almost a century of service to this community."

Coming under review doesn't necessarily mean an office will close, although. The post office announced in January it was reviewing 1,400 offices for closing. So far 280 have been closed and 200 have finished the review process and will remain open.

Once an office is selected for a review, people served by that office will have 60 days to file their comments. If an office is to be closed, they will be able to appeal to the independent Postal
Regulatory Commission.

But many of those may be replaced by Village Post Offices in which postal services are offered in local stores, libraries or government offices.

"It's no secret that the Postal Service is looking to change the way we do a lot of things," Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said at a briefing. "We do feel that we are still relevant to the
American public and the economy, but we have to make some tough choices."

Currently the post office operates 31,871 retail outlets across the country, down from 38,000 a decade ago, but in recent years business has declined sharply as first-class mail moved to the Internet.

More than 90 Postal Service retail outlets in Virginia are being considered for closure. Other outlets in Virginia include six in Richmond, three in Norfolk, and two each in Alexandria, Roanoke and Hampton.

Click here for a complete list of Virginia post offices included in the review study.

Latest Comments

Posted by: jth on Jul 27, 2011 at 02:34 PM

It all depends on how much business the office does---the being nice factor is, well, nice, but that won't save an office without customers, nor should it.

Posted by: Scrivener Location: Charlottesville on Jul 27, 2011 at 11:43 AM

Charlottesville already had de facto alternate day mail delivery. Since the route slashing last month, the Dairy-Rugby area sees a postal truck every other day between 5 pm and 7. Used to be every day around midday. This is what the pitiful postmaster who was demoted here from somewhere else called "greater efficiency and service" in his press release. It's bad enough to do a lousy job as postmaster, but ever so much worse to deliberately lie about it.

Posted by: Gru on Jul 27, 2011 at 09:55 AM

I'd thought there was talk of eliminating Saturday delivery -- they should start with this, first, then maybe even drop down to M-W-F. We do nearly everything electronically now.

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