Mailing services are likely to look different this summer. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is gearing up for another price hike in July, as well as introducing new stamp designs and changing rules for mailing standards. But some customers have more immediate changes to worry about. In its latest alerts, the USPS revealed that it is suspending services in new places. Read on to find out about the latest post office closures.
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The USPS is suspending services in two states.
iStockThe Postal Service often adjusts its operations for any number of reasons. But it doesn't do so without informing those who will be affected.
Customers can go to the agency's Service Alerts website to "find out if mail is being delivered, or if their post offices are open," according to the USPS. This online tool is frequently-updated to provide the latest information about postal disruptions.
The most recent update from the Postal Service indicates that customers in two states are dealing with new suspensions: Florida and Vermont. On April 20, the USPS released alerts about service disruptions affecting the Clarcona Post Office in Florida and the Thetford Center facility in Vermont.
The Florida facility is already closed to customers.
ShutterstockAccording to the new alert, the USPS has suspended services at its facility in Clarcona, Florida, for safety reasons.
"Effective immediately, retail operations at the Post Office are temporarily suspended until further notice," the agency stated in a separate local press release posted April 2o.
The Postal Service did not elaborate on the specific safety concern at play but said it was done "in an abundance of caution, and to ensure the safety of both postal customers and employees." Best Life reached out to the agency for more information, but a spokesperson for the USPS declined to comment further.
During the closure, customers from the Clarcona Post Office are being directed to pick up their mail and access retail services at the nearby Apopka Post Office.
"The Postal Service will provide additional information when normal operations resume," the agency said in its release, adding that it "apologizes for any inconvenience these temporary suspensions may cause our customers."
The Vermont post office will shut down later this week.
ShutterstockOn the other hand, the Postal Service is giving customers advance notice of its suspension at a post office in Thetford, Vermont.
According to the alert, the Thetford Center facility will be closed temporarily starting April 28. This closure is the result of "scheduled maintenance," the USPS said.
Best Life reached out to the agency for more information on the suspension, but has not yet heard back.
"During this closure, P.O. Box customers’ mail will be available and retail services offered at the Thetford Post Office," the Postal Service said in its alert. "Customers are reminded to bring proper photo identification for mail and package pickups."
These are not the only facilities facing ongoing suspensions.
iStockThe new suspensions in Florida and Vermont are the most recent alerts from the USPS, but there are more facilities that are currently closed to customers.
On April 17, the Postal Service announced that it would be suspending operations at a different Florida facility—this time in Trilby. According to a separate local press release, the temporary closure of the Trilby Post Office is also "due to safety concerns."
That same day, the USPS also informed customers that two post offices in the Kansas City area of Missouri will be "inaccessible to the public" from April 22 to May 1.
A spokesperson for the agency previously told Best Life that the Kansas City Main Office and the Kansas City Main Retail Office will be temporarily inaccessible "due to surrounding area closures" ahead of the 2023 National Football League (NFL) Draft, which is being held in the area from April 27 to 29.
