Post Office Closings Clustered in Rural/Poor Areas

Rural areas are home to most of the nearly 100 closed post offices in the last five years. That can mean that residents need to drive 15 more miles to the nearest facility. One elderly man died en route to the next closes post office during a snow storm. Those facts, along with at least one handwritten three page letter from an 87 year old have led to investigations as to weather the Postal Service has been following the law regarding closures.

Also noteworthy: the importance of ZIP Codes in emergency response (even though they are not really supposed to be used for such things):

Officials in the historic resort town of Crescent Lake say the suspension of their post office and loss of their own ZIP code caused confusion for search-and-rescue personnel called in after a plane crash and forest fire. Both times, rescuers mixed up Crescent with Crescent Lake and set up bases far from the scene, community members say.

The Postal Service is in financial trouble, but rural post offices account for about 1% of its budget per one retired postmaster.

- AP