Letter: Support the Woody Creek post office

I am writing to encourage all community members to support keeping the Woody Creek post office open. The current threat is to lower the number of hours the window is open, making it a part-time post office, which then will leave it vulnerable to eventual closing altogether.

It’s understood that the U.S. Postal Service runs at a deficit, but rural parts of the country rely on their small post offices to a greater extent for mail delivery, shipping and community communication because of distances traveled to obtain services. I currently pay almost $1,000 per year to get adequate Internet access. It’s a lot of money, but because we run a business, we see it as a necessity. For many, that is a prohibitive expense. The post office still serves a very important function.

The Woody Creek post office has a wonderful, friendly postmistress who makes it a pleasure to buy stamps, ship a box and get a friendly greeting. I know many people go there despite having a post office closer just because of its attributes. There will be a caucus meeting at the Woody Creek Community Center next to the Woody Creek Tavern on July 31 at 6:30 p.m. with a post office administrator to discuss the issue. Please attend, if you can, to voice your support. Please fill out the survey form available at the Woody Creek post office with the request not to reduce the window hours. Anyone with a mailing address anywhere can fill out the form. Please write your county commissioners, state legislators, and congressional and Senate representatives encouraging support for keeping our rural post office open.

We will lose so much more than convenient hours if the Woody Creek post office closes.

Thank you.

Valerie Braun

Woody Creek