Small towns fight to keep post offices

SIKESTON -- For some small-town residents, the post office is more than a place to retrieve their mail on a daily basis.

"When you think of the community, you think of the post office because that's where the community is," Canalou resident Donna Williams said.

Postal workers keep the community going, Williams said. She recalled a time she walked into the post office and the employee was helping an illiterate customer pay and mail his bills.

"She was stamping and filling out his bills for a man who can't read or write," Williams said.

Canalou is one of several towns in Southeast Missouri included the U.S. Postal Service's "discontinuance feasibility study."

Last month the Postal Service announced it would take the next step in right-sizing its network by conducting studies of approximately 3,700 retail offices to determine customer needs.

Area post offices included in the study list are Blodgett, Braggadocio, Canalou, Catron, Dutchtown, Grayridge, Kewanee, Perkins, Tallapoosa and Vanduser.

Many of the communities over the past week have participated in informational meetings with two U.S. Postal Service representatives.

Rich Watkins, Missouri media representative for the U.S. Postal Service, said the reason for the meetings is to explain what the U.S. Postal Service's options are.

"No decision has been made (to close post offices)," Watkins said.

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