HUMNOKE, Ark. (KTHV) - Rural America fights for its post office in Lonoke County Tuesday night. There was a face-to-face meeting in Humnoke with post office officials.
Tuesday's meeting was basically an informational meeting and a chance for residents to sound off on a potential post office closing in Humnoke. There were no final decisions. But we do know the town is one of 208 Arkansas communities on a current study list for post office closings.
You could say this post office box "runs in the family" for Linda Tyler of Humnoke.
"My in-laws had it and my husband and I picked it up when they passed away and they moved here in the 1960's," Tyler said.
Tyler prefers her daily trip to the curb. "I don't want a mailbox on the road, somebody might get into it," Tyler said.
There is a sense of security facing an uncertain future, based on signs around town. "I just hope it don't happen," Tyler said.
Signs around the town promoted a meeting Tuesday about possible closure.
"The reason we're studying this post office is the declining workload, the declining volume," a post office representative told the crowd.
Post office officials say, right now, the Humnoke Post Office does just under two hours of retail business a day. The fiscal year 2010 ended "in the red" at $55, 452.
"There are several options that we're looking at; this is not the only thing," the post office representative said.
"Tell your boss to let our people vote on this, it sounds like to me you're trying to take away every privilege that we've got, it's not right," Resident Randy Cates said.
Other folks questioned the real savings with closing rural post offices and had concern for elderly access to mail with a closure. With the bank closing last month, Tyler worries about Humnoke's future.
The nearest post office to Humnoke is England, about 12 miles away. If a closing happens, residents would either have to use that one or use rural mail.
We're told it could take up to a year for a final call on this. In the meantime, residents have 60 days to turn in written comments to the post office; that's all part of the study process.
As for any other options to closure, there were no real specifics mentioned at the meeting; just things in the past we've heard like ending Saturday delivery.
There's another meeting like this in Sherill in Jefferson County Friday at 5:30 at the fire station.