LYNCHBURG, Ohio — A Southwest Ohio village of 1,200 people hasn't had a single mail delivery in four months after its mail services were indefinitely suspended.
Lynchburg's post office was closed in June after it was dealt significant interior damage in an electrical fire. Caution tape still hangs on the building and a note posted on the front door gives no timeline as to when it will reopen.
Because there is no door-to-door delivery in the village, all residents must have a post office box. Since mail services were paused following the fire, all deliveries have been rerouted 12 miles away to the Highland County seat of Hillsboro.
That means everyone has to make the 40-minute round-trip drive every day to pick up their mail.
It's a frustrating reality for the small community.
“We just need a resolution," said Beth Althouse, who works at the village's veterinary clinic.
Althouse said in addition to the regular mail and products her clinic receives, occasional medical samples that must be kept on ice have to be shipped out to clients.
“It's very inconvenient for us to try and get over [to Hillsboro] in a timely fashion when you're open 9 to 5, 8 to 5 — we're here until 6 — it's very hard to run any type of blood work or anything like that and try and get that back to us for our clients," she said.
Althouse is frustrated and she's not the only one.
Kim Garvie lives four miles outside of the village, so she's on a rural route and gets her mail regularly. But she knows many in Lynchburg and said she shares her friends' woes.
"Residents and businesses — it is a round trip waste of gas, especially with gas prices the way they are these days," Garvie said. "And some residents don’t drive, so they have to find a way to get to the post office.”
Lynchburg Mayor James Burton was walking out of the Hillsboro post office Friday with a stack of envelopes. He carried both his personal mail and letters for his village.
"It was frustrating in the beginning and now it’s just beyond that," Burton said. "Sometimes it’s a handful and sometimes it’s two, it just depends, but we have to check every day. Somebody has to come up every day, and sometimes three times a day.”
Burton said his village was supposed to get a modular mail unit to temporarily resume delivery services until the fire-damaged post office is repaired. That should have been in July.
"[When] I called again and they [said] Aug. 12 they’ll have something for you, and then it was Sept. 12," he said.
The unit has yet to be delivered and Burton said he can't get any answers from USPS. The Lynchburg Post Master would not give a comment.
Rep. Brad Wenstrup's office was made aware of Lynchburg's post office closure shortly after the fire and has been monitoring the village's situation.
Recently, Wenstrup's District Director Alex Scharfetter has been in weekly contact with Burton on the status of the modular unit's delivery and post office repair.
Scharfetter told WCPO that per USPS guidelines, the postal carrier had 90 days from an incident to secure alternate quarters for Lynchburg's mail services, but that deadline has since passed. Scharfetter said they will be sending a letter to USPS next week to pressure them to take action and give a definitive timeline.
"They’re not telling us anything and we’re relying on this; I mean this is a service for us," Althouse said.
While the village waits for answers and a quick solution, Burton's frustrations grow into concern. As winter approaches, he worries for his elderly residents and those who already struggle to drive.
“I’m really beginning to hurt for our citizens," said Burton. "Because when cold weather gets here, they’re gonna get [to Hillsboro] less.”
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