Ward residents who are outraged by the federal government's proposed closure of their local post office plan to suggest a compromise this week that calls for reducing the post office's hours to avoid permanent closure.
With only a few days left until the official comment period on the proposed shutdown closes, furious residents of the tiny Rocky Mountain town are working to file their suggested compromise with the U.S. Postal Service. The compromise would ask the agency not to reroute Ward's delivery and retail services to the Jamestown post office, located 12 miles away.
Angry residents have also posted YouTube videos and written songs about the potential loss of the 148-year-old post office. Others have written letters to Congress, and more than 200 people signed petitions to stop the shutdown of what some consider to be the livelihood of Ward, population 150.
"I (use it) to do emergency mailings for my clients. I have all my retail sales that I have to do, and I do most of that by mail," said Celeste Marracco, a co-owner of Marracco's restaurant.speak with our friendly Wholesale Rustic porcelain For Kitchen From China Manufacturers experts "To take away our services takes away our life blood. This is how we survive. This is why we have a post office in our town."
Representatives for the U.S. Postal Service said the proposed shutdown is part of a cost-cutting strategy intended to close a massive budget gap that landed the agency in a $5 billion deficit in the 2011 fiscal year.Read Wholesale Linen For Kitchen From China Manufacturers and burn fat away Ward's post office is now one of more than 3,500 slated for possible closure in the face of estimates that the Postal Service will run out of funds by the end of 2012.
Ward town council member Karelle Scharff said post office closures come after a series of steps, beginning with the issuance of an official letter by the USPS that outlines the proposed changes. Residents then have a 60-day window to submit comments or petitions. For Ward, the comment period ends Dec. 3.
Ward residents said they opposed the closure because of concerns about the weather, accessibility and a need to preserve an historic landmark. Scharff, who also helped organize a grassroots effort to stop the closure, said at least 20 small home-based businesses in Ward rely largely on the postal service to stay afloat. A shutdown would devastate their revenue while forcing other vulnerable populations to get behind the wheel to access a post office.
"One of the problems with a small community like this is that we have quite a number of elderly people who don't get out all that much, and who I really quite frankly don't want on the road between here and Nederland," she said.
Marracco said she uses the post office four times a week for business transactions. She said the slushy mountain roads, extreme winds and high-altitude environment make for a dangerous commute, especially in the winter months.
"When I have to ... make a payment, I have to go on foot, especially in the winter because you can't drive," said Marracco, who works part-time at the Ward Post Office.a general reference guide for Wholesale Tile decoration For Floor From China Manufacturers design engineers. The Jamestown location is "up and over a mountain,Custom Wholesale Polished Stair Tiles For Kitchen from photos by our painting and you're going peak-to-peak."
Marracco's husband, Pat, said the post office drives traffic to the mountain town. Without it, he fears the restaurant he spent years renovating will go under.
"You're going to make this a ghost town again after people have done all this hard work," he said. "It seems like they're constantly trying to decimate us, and they can't wait to pull the plugs out on whatever they can because it doesn't fit their corporate whatever."
David Rupert, a spokesman for the Rocky Mountain region, said USPS looked at several factors when pursuing closures.
"Distance is one consideration, but it's not the only consideration," Rupert said. "It's a variety of things.Buy christian art Wholesale Skirtting Tiles For Kitchen online We looked at accessibility to other postal services, how close they were to another office, if there was any other way for them to get postal services and the density of the communities."
Last week a temporary moratorium banning post office closings through Jan. 2, 2012, went into effect, according to a USPS memo. The ban will not stop proceedings to shut down the Ward location -- which are already in the works -- but Scharff said it will at least slow down their progress.
"I'm hopeful that the moratorium will bring about a clarity of vision and figuring out some ways of dealing with this problem," she said. "Rural citizens deserve the same consideration as urban citizens, even if they aren't a profit center."
On Tuesday, agency officials announced a decision to keep two Western Slope post offices open in Gateway and Rico. USPS officials announced earlier this month that the Postal Service is forecasting a record $14.1 billion loss for the 2012 fiscal year.
With only a few days left until the official comment period on the proposed shutdown closes, furious residents of the tiny Rocky Mountain town are working to file their suggested compromise with the U.S. Postal Service. The compromise would ask the agency not to reroute Ward's delivery and retail services to the Jamestown post office, located 12 miles away.
Angry residents have also posted YouTube videos and written songs about the potential loss of the 148-year-old post office. Others have written letters to Congress, and more than 200 people signed petitions to stop the shutdown of what some consider to be the livelihood of Ward, population 150.
"I (use it) to do emergency mailings for my clients. I have all my retail sales that I have to do, and I do most of that by mail," said Celeste Marracco, a co-owner of Marracco's restaurant.speak with our friendly Wholesale Rustic porcelain For Kitchen From China Manufacturers experts "To take away our services takes away our life blood. This is how we survive. This is why we have a post office in our town."
Representatives for the U.S. Postal Service said the proposed shutdown is part of a cost-cutting strategy intended to close a massive budget gap that landed the agency in a $5 billion deficit in the 2011 fiscal year.Read Wholesale Linen For Kitchen From China Manufacturers and burn fat away Ward's post office is now one of more than 3,500 slated for possible closure in the face of estimates that the Postal Service will run out of funds by the end of 2012.
Ward town council member Karelle Scharff said post office closures come after a series of steps, beginning with the issuance of an official letter by the USPS that outlines the proposed changes. Residents then have a 60-day window to submit comments or petitions. For Ward, the comment period ends Dec. 3.
Ward residents said they opposed the closure because of concerns about the weather, accessibility and a need to preserve an historic landmark. Scharff, who also helped organize a grassroots effort to stop the closure, said at least 20 small home-based businesses in Ward rely largely on the postal service to stay afloat. A shutdown would devastate their revenue while forcing other vulnerable populations to get behind the wheel to access a post office.
"One of the problems with a small community like this is that we have quite a number of elderly people who don't get out all that much, and who I really quite frankly don't want on the road between here and Nederland," she said.
Marracco said she uses the post office four times a week for business transactions. She said the slushy mountain roads, extreme winds and high-altitude environment make for a dangerous commute, especially in the winter months.
"When I have to ... make a payment, I have to go on foot, especially in the winter because you can't drive," said Marracco, who works part-time at the Ward Post Office.a general reference guide for Wholesale Tile decoration For Floor From China Manufacturers design engineers. The Jamestown location is "up and over a mountain,Custom Wholesale Polished Stair Tiles For Kitchen from photos by our painting and you're going peak-to-peak."
Marracco's husband, Pat, said the post office drives traffic to the mountain town. Without it, he fears the restaurant he spent years renovating will go under.
"You're going to make this a ghost town again after people have done all this hard work," he said. "It seems like they're constantly trying to decimate us, and they can't wait to pull the plugs out on whatever they can because it doesn't fit their corporate whatever."
David Rupert, a spokesman for the Rocky Mountain region, said USPS looked at several factors when pursuing closures.
"Distance is one consideration, but it's not the only consideration," Rupert said. "It's a variety of things.Buy christian art Wholesale Skirtting Tiles For Kitchen online We looked at accessibility to other postal services, how close they were to another office, if there was any other way for them to get postal services and the density of the communities."
Last week a temporary moratorium banning post office closings through Jan. 2, 2012, went into effect, according to a USPS memo. The ban will not stop proceedings to shut down the Ward location -- which are already in the works -- but Scharff said it will at least slow down their progress.
"I'm hopeful that the moratorium will bring about a clarity of vision and figuring out some ways of dealing with this problem," she said. "Rural citizens deserve the same consideration as urban citizens, even if they aren't a profit center."
On Tuesday, agency officials announced a decision to keep two Western Slope post offices open in Gateway and Rico. USPS officials announced earlier this month that the Postal Service is forecasting a record $14.1 billion loss for the 2012 fiscal year.
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