[pct-l] Fw: Crescent Lake wants its own post office - PCT resupply place

[jomike at cot.net (JoAnn M.)]

FYI

JoAnn
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Hanlon 
To: Joey Dear 
Sent: Friday, March 17, 2006 11:28 AM
Subject: Crescent Lake wants its own post office - PCT resupply place


Mar 17, 3:25 AM EST

Crescent Lake residents plead for their post office 

CRESCENT LAKE, Ore. (AP) -- Residents of the far-flung Oregon town of Crescent Lake are lobbying to get their post office back.

The town's existing post office was destroyed in a Dec. 6, 2005, fire.

Since the fire, the area's 200 or so full-time residents have driven to Crescent, a 16-mile drive if the roads are plowed, to retrieve mail. But because Crescent Lake residents don't have post office boxes in Crescent, they can pickup mail and parcels only during business hours.

Marcee Teeters, acting manager of post office operations for the Postal Services' Portland district office, got an earful from Crescent Lake resident this week during a Town Hall meeting attended by more than 100 people.

       
      
      
     
Several speakers said the post office gave the community an identity and served as a social gathering place.

And Odell Sportsman owner Mark Bolton, whose store housed the post office before the fire, drew applause when he announced he plans to rebuild a 4,500-square-foot metal building, with space for a 450-square-foot post office, by July 1.

He expressed frustration because he said Postal Service authorities have not replied to his queries about meeting federal access requirements.

When Teeters and others tried to discuss other types of service, Lois Vanderwall of Crescent Lake drew cheers from the audience with this response: "We only came here to hear we are getting our post office back. We don't want temporary solutions that may become permanent."

Other speakers noted the Crescent Lake office served special needs. During the summer, for example, Pacific Crest Trail through hikers send replacement food supplies to the post office. During the fall mushroom picking season, matsutake mushrooms are packed and sent to Japan.

Crescent Lake Postmaster Sue Hillsberry said because of the area's remoteness - Crescent Lake is about 98 miles from Klamath Falls, 76 from Eugene and 62 from Bend - many people receive clothes and other goods ordered on the Internet.

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Information from: Herald and News, http://www.heraldandnews.com 

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