Deary residents angry over loss of postal office

DEARY — Nearly 40 people gathered Wednesday in Deary to express their anger and frustration at the recent removal of the city’s post office services.

Deary residents will have to pick up and send their mail at the Troy Post Office until a building on Line Street is converted into the new Deary Post Office location.

“We secured a lease on a replacement location, 407 Line Street, and began retrofitting the building,” said a statement from USPS spokesperson David Rupert. “However, due to unforeseen circumstances, additional funds are needed to complete construction. That additional funding is currently in the USPS approval process and once it is secured, we expect the project to quickly resume and we hope to occupy the building soon thereafter.”

The statement did not provide a date for when the new building will be completed. On Wednesday, USPS employees were seen delivering postal lockboxes to the Line Street building.

The Deary Post Office has provided its services in a parked postal vehicle since 2019, after the former post office building on Main Street and Third Avenue was determined to be in significant need of upgrades.

The postal vehicle was meant to be a temporary solution until a new site was located. In his statement, Rupert said USPS is no longer able to safely staff the postal vehicle. Deary City Council President Jamie Johnston said it was removed Monday afternoon after residents were given a notice about it Saturday.

Until the new building is ready for operation, Deary residents have to travel the 12 miles to Troy to get their mail. Edna Weatherford, a Deary resident for 50 years, is worried about what will happen if there are further delays.

“I am 82 years old and I cannot drive to Troy in the winter,” Weatherford said. “And I cannot get out on the ice and snow for fear of falling.”

Weatherford also stated she cannot afford the gas expenses. She anticipates that her trips to Troy will be “very seldom”

Joleen Tietz said Deary residents can only go to the Troy Post Office during its hours of operation. Tietz anticipates she will only be able to go to Troy twice a month because of her schedule and the high gas prices.

“This is wrong and we need to fight for it,” she said.

Tietz pointed to the hardships Viola residents experienced after the small town’s postal services ended in October, forcing the residents to travel to Moscow to get their mail.

“I say Deary put their foot down to make sure it doesn’t happen here,” she said.

Tietz encouraged people to contact USPS and their Congressional representatives about their concerns.

Patty Thompson, a Deary resident who works in Troy, offered to pick up other residents’ mail in Troy from Monday through Friday.

“A lot of people do get medication in the mail,” she said. “They’re getting their paychecks, their bills.”

Sue Frost said she used to work at a post office in Seattle before retiring in Deary. She could not believe that her neighbors’ mail service had been “snatched from underneath them.”

“It’s just absurd,” she said. “It’s wrong that they can’t get their mail.”

Jason Egan, who owns Egan Performance Saws, said his business sometimes ships up to 25 packages a day. Thanks to a rural postal route that comes by their house in the county, they won’t be as inconvenienced as Deary residents. But the lack of an in-town post office will make it tougher to keep up with customers’ demands.

“As a small business, this will have a big impact,” Egan said.

Deary Mayor Jason Johnson was not at Wednesday’s gathering, but issued a statement saying he has asked USPS to find alternative solutions until the Post Office is finished.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.