MT. MESA, Calif. (KERO) — The closure of a post office in Mount Mesa has residents upset, especially since they say this is coming at a time right before the holidays when gas prices are higher than ever.
“Makes it very hard on seniors and this is the seniors valley up here,” said Mt. Mesa resident Jim Griffin.
Griffin has been visiting the local post office for over 2 decades. As a Vietnam veteran on disability, easy access to the local post office has been a necessity.
“My wife just passed away so I’m especially now I sent a lot of stuff out through this post office here in the family,” Griffin said.
Griffin, like many other residents local to the area, was upset to learn the post office was set to close December 1.
“Very distressing news. This post office is a little annex and it’s important to us,” said Howard Pasamanick, a Squirrel Valley resident and local business owner.
Pasamanick runs a photography business and says he always uses the Mt. Mesa Post Office for personal and business needs. But in November, he learned the contract station would be closing, after the Lake Isabella Postmaster sent out letters. The letter stated residents could elect for street delivery if the option was available, or inquire about services at the Lake Isabella Post Office.
23ABC reached out to the U.S. Postal Service for clarification, who provided the following:
"This temporary relocation was made necessary as the current provider decided to terminate the contract. The Postal Service is actively in the process of outreach in the local community for a new provider. PO Box customers normally served by the Mt. Mesa contract station will have no interruption in service and mail will be available at the Lake Isabella Post Office, December 1, 2022. New keys will be issued to existing PO Box holders for the new location. Customers are asked to present Photo I.D. for mail pick-up."
Residents, however, hope the station will return.
“This is something that needs to stay and I do hope they keep it open,” said Squirrel Valley Resident Lloyd Huckelberry. “We have to travel all the way into town to wait in lines in the main post office there’s also the price of gas these days to take into consideration and that’s a bit of a haul round-trip to town and back day after day.”
Most residents will now have to travel to Lake Isabella to get their mail. While the distance is only around 7 miles, many say the change will be difficult.
“To drive in to Lake Isabella seems easy for a young person but some of those people there, transportation is their scooter,” said Mt. Mesa resident Diane Holcombe.
Along with the imminent holidays and rising gas prices, community members are also concerned for their friends who work at the station.
“It’s hard to see the impact also and people that are also losing their job right before the holidays,” Holcombe said.
