Area post offices will reduce hours

TRI-COUNTY AREA—With the recent decision to scale back the operating hours at the Lakemont Post Office, it has become one of several area post offices that will be shrinking their operating hours. With other forms of digital communication on the rise, the post office has had to shrink their operation due to lack of demand. This has resulted in several area post offices reducing their hours already, while others are still in the process of deciding how many hours are needed.
“[Other area post offices] are already reduced,” Dundee Postmaster Dan Leonard said. “Wayne was reduced in February. [Himrod] was reduced last year sometime, and so was Rock Stream last year.”
Leonard said the reason behind scaling back business hours amounts to less volume than in years past.
“The volume has declined,” Leonard said. “Between the Internet…email, social media, all that stuff, we don’t have quite as much volume. So therefore it reduces the amount of hours we need to work.”
Leonard said Tyrone Post Office is currently contemplating the issue and will not be coming to a decision on operating hours until January of next year. He said community involvement will still play a part in determining what is required to meet the demand.
“All the small offices around here are facing the same thing,” Leonard said. “Tyrone will be facing the same thing but not until January. I don’t know what the hours for that are at this time. It all depends on the community meetings.”
Leonard said there are no cuts to jobs at the present, but the downsizing may begin to affect jobs in January next year.
“There are too many different offices and too many different scenarios going on that are changing by the day,” Leonard said. “We have early outs people are looking at that people might take advantage of.”