Tiny town protests closing of post office

WELLERSBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Residents of this town of just 180 residents are protesting the U.S. Postal Service's plan to close the tiny blue shed where they have picked up mail, and met their neighbors, for as long as anyone can remember.
Head postal clerk Peggy Leonard suffered a stroke recently and was forced to cancel the contract she has had since 1966 to operate the post office in Somerset County with more than 100 rental boxes.
As a result, the postal service sent residents a letter three weeks ago telling them that the post office would close Friday, leaving Wellersburg without one for the first time in 166 years.
"Why would they want to come down here and close our post office?" said resident Alfretta Blank. "They don't even know where we're at!"
The postal service said the closure is "tentative" if rural delivery to mailboxes at their homes doesn't prove to be efficient.
Residents are signing petitions that they hope will persuade the postal service to let them keep their post office, which also serves as one of the few gathering points in the area.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.