Great Cacapon Post Office supported by commissioners

by Jazz Clark
The Morgan County Commissioners met with about 50 Great Cacapon area residents at the old Great Cacapon Elementary School last Thursday evening, November 1, to get public complaints on the record about proposed reduced hours for the Great Cacapon Post Office.

After talk of realigning and reducing hours, as well as citizen fears about losing acting postmaster Rick Dunn, all three commissioners put their support behind a resolution for the post office.

The resolution states that the county commission doesn’t support the changes in operation in Great Cacapon and urges the U.S. Postal Service to reverse its decision or at least suspend implementation until no other options are available.

The commissioners believe the Great Cacapon Post Office pays for itself on a regular basis and that any loss of service should be avoided.

The resolution and a cover letter will be sent to the U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission as well as to the county’s representatives in U.S. Congress.

Susan McConnell, however, said that if the choices are losing Saturday hours or the post office, weekend hours are not that necessary.

“In between keeping our postmaster with his half-hour lunch (instead of the proposed 1.15 hours), as well as removing Saturday hours, the reduction in time at the Post Office would be moot,” said McConnell.
Citizens are planning to put a petition at the post office to gather signatures and show support for the county’s resolution.

“There may be a lot of people that want to make a statement and join something in opposition to the postal service and what it is doing,” said Jerry Berman, a postal patron in Great Cacapon.

The commissioners are all in unanimous support of keeping the post office functional at its current
level.

“I appreciate you guys standing up for what you believe in,” said Commission President Stacy Dugan. “I certainly know they’ll remember Great Cacapon.”

At an earlier public meeting on October 24, a Postal Service representative said the outpouring of concern in Great Cacapon was far more than she had seen in other communities facing post office cutbacks. Over 150 people attended that first session.

Information packets
Since the earlier meeting, Commissioner Brenda Hutchinson has distributed more than 100 packets of information and letters to county citizens.

Postmaster Dunn said the Postal Service has responded to people pretty quickly. Feedback should be answered within a few weeks, he said.