Frustrations mounting over lack of action regarding Poplarville post office - WLOX

POPLARVILLE, Miss. (WLOX) - There's one word the customers of the U.S. Post Office in Poplarville use to describe its current situation: frustrating.

On Jan. 2, termite damage caused the building's ceiling to collapse.

The post office was deemed uninhabitable.

Later that month, USPS set up temporary mobile vans to conduct business with its customers.

Rain or shine, workers are doing their best to keep the mail flowing.

"The workers are stuck out here. It's kind of miserable for them," said customer Logan Edwards-Easley.

The workers aren't the only ones having issues.

"It also bothers our older community as well. They can't get out and move around, especially with how it's set up," Edwards-Easley said.

Poplarville Mayor Louise Smith shares a similar sentiment.

"I'm 75 years old. I represent the seniors in our community, and I know that if I can't walk up those hills and those streets, other people can't do it either. And if you're handicapped or a senior citizen, we're not being served," she said.

Over the last nine months, Smith has been contacting USPS about the issue, but she was left in the dark with no real timeline.

On May 11, she contacted Mississippi's U.S. senators Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker for help.

"I wrote letters to our senators because I thought they would be able to communicate with the authorities, because we didn't get any response from the Postal Service," Smith said.

The next day, on May 12, a representative from the Postal Service replied to the letters from the senators.

"Building conditions of the Poplarville post office rendered the space uninhabitable. The Postal Service began a project to find a permanent replacement space. We are in the early portion of that project," wrote Lewis Kindle, a representative of USPS.

Four months later, nothing has changed, and there's been no updates from USPS.

"I mean, this is a universal service organization, and I felt like we're given no consideration as citizens. I can't understand that, our government not helping us," Smith said.

WLOX reached out to the Postal Service with a list of questions, but USPS didn't provide any answers.

"The Postal Service appreciates our customers' patience and understanding as we continue the research and data analysis process for the replacement of the Poplarville Post Office," wrote Debbie Fetterly, a representative of USPS.

WLOX also reached out to U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker for his comment.

"I share the city's frustration with the Postal Service. It should not take months to get answers to simple questions," Wicker said. "I will continue working closely with the city to ensure this project moves forward."

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