by Hugh Muir
Postal officials listened to an unbroken series of complaints from residents last week over the suspension of the Brooke Post Office early in 2006, but the officials declined to indicate whether the service would ever be restored.
"Down the road, within a year," Kris Lydon, post office review coordinator, said afterward, "a posting will be put up in the Stafford Post Office saying one of two things: either a proposal to permanently close the Brooke Post Office or an announcement to reopen it." No more public meetings are scheduled, she said.
The public meeting last Wednesday at the Brooke firehouse was attended by about 50 people. Attendees complained that the number did not reflect how many residents were affected by the lack of a local post office. "A population study has been made," Lydon said, "but we don't have the figures."
The number of residents in that rural area is unclear. But when asked during the session how many rural mailboxes are receiving mail in the Brooke ZIP code (22554), the answer was "some 800."
Those present blamed the limited attendance on the postal authorities' failure to provide adequate notice. Bob DeCarlo, Stafford postmaster, said notice of the meeting had been posted in the Stafford Post Office. This brought protests from the audience, who said that post office was 20 minutes away and they had enough commuting and errand-running problems as it was. One man pointed out that he had to drive 11 miles from Marlborough Point, a Brooke address, to reach the Stafford Post Office.
The same response came when the officials asked if everyone had received a copy of the questionnaire sent out by the Postal Service asking Brooke residents what their postal habits and needs were. Four people raised their hands. DeCarlo said a questionnaire had been placed in every Brooke resident's post office box at the Stafford Post Office. Residents pointed out that not all Brooke residents have post office boxes.
And some residents complained that even when they got to the Stafford Post Office there were long lines and too few clerks. "It's impossible to go to the post office on weekends," said one woman, "because of the I-95 traffic detouring onto Route 1."
Paul Milde, county supervisor representing the Aquia District, which includes Brooke, was present. "I don't want this to be an angry meeting," he said, "but I am frustrated by this process." He said that having a local post office "was part of our identity."
One Brooke resident of 30 years, Mary Höioos, said: "Rural post offices help form the community. We'd like you to provide us with the standard service we were used to."
The "standard service" disappeared March 1, 2006, the day after Marcia Rogers, who had been postmistress for 25 years, retired. Rogers also owned the building that housed the post office, and it was in need of repair. No one else wanted to take on the building, or the job. The Brooke Post Office is still on some newly published maps.
The Postal Service then "suspended" the Brooke Post Office. As one official pointed out, it technically never has been "closed." Service was moved to the Stafford Post Office, four miles away in a straight line, just off U.S. 1 south of Aquia Towne Center.
Rural delivery does continue in Brooke, but residents complained about that. It sometimes precludes the delivery of large packages, one said. "I'm tired of my mailbox being knocked down," another said. One resident asserted that a rural mailbox is the best place to steal another person's identity. Not having a local post office box also causes problems, according to another resident. "When we had a post office of our own, I never got wrong mail. Since I've had a P.O. box up at Stafford, I've gotten the sheriff's mail five times," he said.
"We're not looking for a warm, fuzzy post office," one said. "We're just looking for efficient service."
Milde said he did not expect much to come from the 70-minute meeting. "I urge each of you to write your congressman or senator," he said. "That's where you will get action."
Hugh Muir: 540/368-5046