Laurel Outlook: No area post offices threatened by closures
The U.S. Postal Service announced plans to study 85 Montana post offices to determine if the largely rural posts should remain open, be closed or contracted to a third party. The agency said it was considering closing 10 percent of its retail outlets, and planned to study 3,753 local offices branches and stations across the US.
Locally, no post offices in Molt, Joliet, Park City, Roberts, Fromberg, or Bridger are on the closure list released July 26. The Bearcreek post office is being considered for closure, as are Rapelje in Stillwater County and Greycliff in Sweet Grass County. The Pompeys Pillar post office in eastern Yellowstone County is also on the chopping block.
The postal service argues that its network of some 32,000 brick-and-mortar post offices, many built in the horse-and-buggy days, is outmoded in an era when people are more mobile, often pay bills online and text or e-mail rather than put pen to paper. It also wants post offices to be profitable to help it overcome record $8.5 billion in losses in fiscal year 2010.
