The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) tries to maintain regular service for us, but that's not always possible. From loose dogs to building damage, the agency is often forced to withdraw mail delivery or temporarily close post offices in certain areas in an effort to ensure the safety of both employees and customers. Normally these adjustments have to be made at the last moment, so not much notice can be given. But now, the USPS is warning that it's going to be suspending services for some residents starting Nov. 19—giving these individuals time to prepare. Read on to find out where the Postal Service is adjusting its operations later this month.
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The Postal Service alerts consumers when it adjusts operations.
ShutterstockIf your mail hasn't come on a regular delivery day or your local post office is closed during normal business hours, you should check the USPS Service Alerts website. In 2013, the agency changed its Mail Service Updates page to the USPS Service Alerts website in an effort to better keep consumers consistently up-to-date with any changes to their service. For nearly 10 years, this tool has been providing "customers with near real-time information about postal facility service disruptions due to weather-related issues and other natural disasters or events," according to the USPS.
"Feedback from residential customers and business mailers following natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy prompted us to take a close look at Mail Service Updates," USPS Consumer Advocate Krista Finazzo said in a 2013 statement. "We wanted more effective communication with our customers during service interruptions. Now, residential consumers and business mailers have an easy, online location to learn the operating status of Post Office and mail processing facilities.”
In line with this desire to provide service disruption information to customers in a more timely manner, the Postal Service is now letting some know about an operational suspension that will take place in just over two weeks.
The agency is suspending services later this month.
ShutterstockThe latest alert from the USPS regarding service disruption was posted to its Service Alerts website on Nov. 2. According to this update, the agency will soon be closing its post office in Cottonport, Louisiana, on a provisional basis.
"Operations at this facility will be temporarily suspended beginning Saturday, Nov. 19," the Postal Service stated. " All operations will be moved to Marksville Post Office."
USPS said it will be closing the post office "due to safety concerns."
iStockIn a separate local news release issued Nov. 2, the Postal Service divulged further information pertaining to the upcoming Cottonport Post Office closure. According to the USPS, all retail operations and PO Box services at this facility will be unavailable to the public, and this decision was made "due to safety concerns." The agency did not specify the exact problem at play, but it did note that the suspension will remain in place "until repairs can be made" at the facility.
While service is temporarily suspended, Cottonport customers will need to pick up their PO Box mail and utilize retail services at the post office in Marksville, Louisiana, according to the USPS. "We apologize for this inconvenience to our customers and hope to have the office open again as soon as possible," the agency said in its news release.
This is not the only facility that will be closed in Louisiana.
iStockThe Cottonport Post Office will join another facility in the state when it gets shuttered temporarily on Nov. 19. The USPS recently suspended operations at a post office in Evangeline, Louisiana. According to the agency, the Evangeline Post Office was closed on Oct. 28 because of safety concerns as well. As with the Cottonport closure, the Postal Service did not specify what those safety concerns are, but it did note that repairs needed to be "made to the postal facility."
There are a number of other post offices closed in the U.S. From the beginning of October, the Postal Service has alerted customers to temporary post office closures in Mosinee, Wisconsin; Grandview, Iowa; Pemberton, Ohio; Stanley, New York; and Birmingham, Alabama. All of these facilities were closed for different reasons from structural damage to building fires, and none appear to have been reopened yet.
