[Stardust]

Struggling financially nationally, the U.S. Postal Service is looking at possibly closing Northern Kentucky branches in Fort Thomas and Kenton County.

The agency, which lost $8 billion last year, said Tuesday it will study 3,653 local offices, branches and stations for possible closing, including the ones along Fort

Thomas Avenue and Decoursey Pike in southern Kenton County. An office in College Hill in Cincinnati was also listed.

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Many of those might be replaced by village post offices in which postal services are offered in stores, libraries or government offices.

In May, the USPS announced plans to close its Spence Station in Newport and another location in Dayton, Ky.

“It’s no secret that the postal service is looking to change the way we do a lot of things,” Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said at a briefing. The USPS operates 31,871 retail outlets across the country, down from 38,000 a decade ago, but in recent years business has declined sharply as email has become more popular. Also, the recession resulted in a decline in advertising mail.

Most of the offices that face review are in rural areas and have low volumes of business. As many as 3,000 post offices have only two hours of business a day even though they are open longer, said USPS Vice President Dean Granholm.

Coming under review doesn’t necessarily mean an office will close. The post office announced in January it was reviewing 1,400 offices for closing. So far, 280 have been closed and 200 have finished the review process and will remain open.

Once an office is selected for a review, people served by that office will have 60 days to file their comments. If an office is to be closed, they will be able to appeal to the independent Postal Regulatory Commission.

Don Martin, Fort Thomas city administrator, said the city would hate to see its post office close because it is convenient for residents, especially the elderly.

“If it were to close, residents would have to drive to Newport to the nearest post office, which would be a great inconvenience,” Martin said.

Ryland Heights Mayor Bob Miller said there are two post offices located along Decoursey Pike in southern Kenton County.

He said one of the post offices is about seven miles south of Ryland Heights and the other is about 15 miles south of the city.

In addition to Ryland Heights residents, Miller said people who live in areas including Fairfview, Kenton Station, Morningview and other areas rely on the post offices.

Miller said the closure of either post office would be an inconvenience for the area.
“We’re in a rural area and those post offices are the only places where we have secure mail delivery to and from,” Miller said.

http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/201...|FRONTPAGE