Wilsonville hopes to keep post office open

WILSONVILLE, Nebraska -- Wilsonville, Nebraska, residents plan two meetings in the hope of keeping their post office open.

The U.S. Postal Service is studying the closure of 26 rural post offices in Nebraska, including the one in Wilsonville.

The Southwest Star/Cambridge Clarion newspaper reports that Brian Sperry, a regional spokesman for the USPS, told the Grand Island Independent that the closures are being studied because the Postal Service lost $8.5 billion last year and forecasts a loss of $8 billion this year.

The building in which the Wilsonville post office is located, in the former school, is not owned by the Postal Service. Other "strikes" against the Wilsonville post office are declining population and decreasing mail volume.

The first community meeting is scheduled Tuesday, July 5, at 8 p.m., in the Wilsonville Community Building, during which representatives of the Retired Postmasters Association will share suggestions about keeping the Wilsonville post office open.

The second meeting, with government representatives, will be Thursday, July 7, also at 8 p.m. in the Community Building.

Wilsonville residents are encouraged to attend the meeting to voice their support for their post office.

Sperry said that when a post office is closed, customers receive mail through an alternative means, such as a rural carrier who could handle other transactions such as selling stamps and accepting packages.