Williamsville community: We want our post office

Williamsville residents say a 50 mile round trip to the post office is too long.

Jane Bergamin and her husband, Lucio, are eager to check the mail.
   
Sending and receiving packages from Italy she often has to send or pick them up from the post office in Williamsville.
   
Right now, it’s just a short drive, but if plans to close it and change the address to Millboro happen, Bergamin could be driving a lot longer.
“This morning I received a package from Italy I had to go to the post office to pick it up.  If I had to go to the Millboro post office to pick it up the little half hour I spent going to Williamsville and back I would have spent two hours,” Bergamin said.
   
Bergamin says the postal service hasn’t told them much about potentially closing the Williamsville office.

The locals say they found out about the changes by accident, when they heard the building owner was no longer leasing to the postal service.
   
In the midst of confusion, they did learn their addresses would change.  It’s a frightening thought for business owner Frank Marks.

Marks’ camera company notified thousands of customers world wide of an address change just two years ago.
“With it being a small company, especially in these times, that economic waste of energy to do that would detract from us potentially being able to spend the time building new product or marketing new product,” Marks explained.

However, beyond a business impact Bergamin worries what it will do to the community.

“Our post office is more than a post office it’s really the heart of our community.  It’s where neighbors meet each other, where we give directions to lost strangers,” she said.
   
Bergamin says the building lease runs out May 31.