Two post offices in South Mississippi County are on the list of proposed closures, and those communities are not being kept up to date with information, according to U.S. Senator Mark Pryor.
However, a spokeswoman for the United States Postal Service said Tuesday that Pryor and his staff are mistaken because only one of the two is being evaluated for possible closure.
Pryor sent a letter last week to Patrick Donahoe, Postmaster General of the U.S. Postal Service, expressing his "Concern over the lack of communication and outreach to local communities by the USPS to determine post offices' consolidation and closures.
A press release prepared by the senator's staff indicated that Pryor gave the USPS a "failing grade" for not keeping communities informed.
According to Pryor, post offices in Driver and Wilson are being considered for closure, along with 14 others in the state. One of those, at Arkansas State University, is being considered for consolidation with Jonesboro, according to the postal service.
When contacted, Janet Bailey, officer in charge of the post office at Wilson, said the information was not true and that the Wilson Post Office is in no danger of being closed. She referred all questions to Chuck Hamilton, a regional supervisor for the USPS, who in turn referred questions to Lisa Tolliver Gay, a public relations specialist for the postal service.
Gay said that Pryor's office is mistaken and that the Wilson Post Office is not on the list for possible closure. The Driver Post Office is being considered for closure, but that postal officials have not yet completed their evaluations.
In his letter, Pryor states that he understands the the postal service faces "A significant challenge in balancing fiscal viability while maintaining a high service standard."
However, he continued, "Elected officials and constituents throughout the State of Arkansas have repeatedly noted a lack of transparency from the USPS regarding both the criteria for closure and notification of the public comment period.
"Significant steps must be taken to improve the outreach process and ensure that the people of Arkansas are given every opportunity to provide input in USPS' consolidation and closure proposals that affect their communities."
Nevertheless, Pryor still wants some answers from Donahoe.
The senator asked Donahoe six specific questions regarding the evaluation process and requested answers by Wednesday (today).
Those questions regarded the notification process of community leaders and citizens in affected communities, the length of time for notification, the criteria for closing a post office, the method of calculating the profitability of a post office and proposed savings from closing or consolitdating these Arkansas locations.
Other post offices in Arkansas on the list are Alicia, Board Camp, Geep, Goodwin, Ida, Monroe, Peach Orchard, Pineville, Wideman, Johnson City, Springdale, East Camden and Camden.
dhilton@blythevillecourier.com