Measures to affect non-closure candidates, including Eagle Bay and Inlet P.O.s
A halt has been issued to the nationwide closure of 260 rural post offices that was scheduled to happen after May 15, and among those being saved are the offices in Woodgate, West Leyden and Martinsburg.
The plan will enact cost saving measures that include a reduction in hours of operation.
Also affected will be rural post offices that had not been targeted for closure, including those in Eagle Bay, Inlet and Ava, which will likely see reduced hours.
The postal service plans to reclassify many rural offices as stations, so they can be operated without postmasters.Woodgate and West Leyden post offices will have window hours in the future reduced to four hours per day, but lobby and access to post office box hours will remain the same.
Martinsburg will be reduced to two hours per day.
Woodgate has operated since 2009 with an officer in charge.
The decision was announced on Wednesday, May 9, by the United States Postal Service, which reversed direction following a year-long massive opposition by citizens and legislators from rural districts to stop the closure of 3,500 post offices.
The passage of a Senate postal reform bill saving rural offices also convinced the Postal Service to reform its plans.
John Isley, chairman of the Woodgate citizens Committee, said the measure will allow all postal services to continue at the Woodgate post office.
Alternate plans such as a community post office or expanded rural delivery would have removed many of the window services.
The Postal Service in February conducted an independent survey of users of rural offices and found that 57% of the people favored having a post office, 26% would accept a community post office concept, and 17% would accept expanded rural delivery.
Isley said that last year a petition with over 700 names opposing the closing of Woodgate was presented to the Postal Service. He said he was aware of only four people in favor of closing the office.
Isley said that Congressman Bill Owens played a major role in saving the office.
Owens visited Woodgate Post Office and the committee last June and was greeted by the Woodgate pony express.
The new postal plan will offer early retirement to Postmasters and cut transportation costs by reducing the number of mail deliveries to an office per day.
The plan will now be reviewed by the Postal Regulatory Commission whose chairperson Ruth W. Goldway has strongly supported the need for rural offices.
It is not yet known when the reduced hours will take effect.
