Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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December 15, 2011

Rahall: Postal officials ‘vague’ about impact of reprieve on Bluefield facility

By KATE COIL Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — Despite the U.S. Postal Service’s announcement of a moratorium on postal facility and office closures, questions still linger about whether or not the Bluefield Mail Processing and Distribution Center will be given a six-month reprieve or closed as scheduled.

U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., said Wednesday postal officials have been “vague” with him about whether they intend to extend the six-month reprieve to the Bluefield facility.

“I am still collecting information from the postal service about what its moratorium means for our region,” Rahall said. “So far, the postal service has been vague about how the moratorium will impact our post offices and postal sorting facilities like the one in Bluefield. I hope this moratorium results in fewer closures, but, given the direction of the postal service, it may just result in the shuttering of postal facilities being pushed down the road. I have been fighting tooth and nail for months to get the postal service to see the light and to understand that West Virginians need and deserve our post offices. I have urged the Postmaster General to put a moratorium into place.”

Rahall encouraged Bluefield residents and residents of areas where the postal service has been undertaking closure studies to continue contacting postal officials to stress the importance of postal service in rural areas. Though there is a moratorium on office closures, the postal service announced they will continue to have public hearings and conduct expanded access studies to possibly close or consolidate offices.

 “We need to make our voices heard; every voice counts,” Rahall said.

“I encourage residents and businesses to participate in the postal service’s public meetings. I understand that some residents feel as though the postal service has already made up its mind but the recent moratorium I think is evidence that this fight is not over. The general public also needs to be reminded of their right to appeal any closures to the Postal Regulatory Commission. The postal service intends to postpone any post office closures while an appeal is ongoing. So there is some good news of late and I intend to keep up the fight to ensure that the views of residents and businesses in the area are heard by the postal service.”

Cathy Yarosky, spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service, said it may take some time before the postal service determines which facilities will be affected by the moratorium on closures.

“This moratorium effects facilities throughout the entire country,” Yarosky said. “We are trying to sort through each process and see where each facility is in that process. We have to go through each facility on an individual basis and see where they are and what we need to do. This is much more complicated than it may seem. We have to determine which phase each facility is in. We have to decide if this applies to a facility that is almost closed, one that is far along in the closure process, one that is halfway closed and a lot of other variables and factors. We are sorting through this and hope to have an answer about local facility closures as soon as possible.”

In a statement released Tuesday, the postal service said they would continue to evaluate distribution centers and post offices for closure, though there would be a moratorium on closures until May 15.

“Given the Postal Service’s financial situation and the loss of mail volume, the Postal Service must continue to take all steps necessary to reduce costs and increase revenue,” the statement said.

— Contact Kate Coil at

kcoil@bdtonline.com

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