Palomar Mountain News

   The editor of the Valley Center Road Runner lives on Palomar.  We enjoy so much his editorial and style of his paper.  (Be sure to subscribe!) Here is David’s latest news to quell those rumors that our little Post Office might be closing.

From: David Ross [mailto:editor@valleycenter.com] 

The Mountain News readers might be interested in this front page story in this week’s Roadrunner. We carry Palomar Mountain news every week and the paper is available in the newstand in front of the post office.  Or you can have it delivered to your PO Box, or any address by calling 760-749-1112.

 PALOMAR POST OFFICE NOT SLATED FOR CLOSURE Palomar Mountain Postmaster Lisa Di Paolo says she doesn’t foresee the tiny post office (PO) which serves a few hundred residents being closed anytime soon, in spite of many post offices being threatened with closure all over the country by the cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

The nearest post office is 20 miles away in Pauma Valley, where Di Paolo is also postmaster. She does not believe the Palomar Mountain PO will be closed in the near future or other wise. Rumors have swirled that it is on the list of post offices slated for closure and they are just that. Rumors. “Palomar Mountain PO isn’t even on the list of offices to be studied for closure,” she told The Roadrunner. She tells customers all the time, (lately), “Please don’t believe everything you hear on TV or in the news, it is often incorrect or an assumption of what they want you to believe about the postal service’s state of affairs.”

Criteria considered when studying whether or not a post office should close include:

a. The effect closing a post office would have on the community served.

b. The effect closing a post office would have on the employees of the facility.

c. Compliance with government policy that the postal service must provide postal services to rural areas, communities and small towns where post offices are not self-sustaining.

d. Economic savings to the postal service. e. Other factors such as alternate access locations. Offices within the San Diego District that are currently on the list to be studied for closure: Tecopa Vista Carrier Annex San Bernardino P&DC main office windows Marine Corps Recruiting Depot in San Diego

The Palomar Mountain Post Office is not in any danger at this time of being closed. Di Paolo said that eventually, someday, a study will most likely be conducted and all factors reviewed for the Palomar Mountain PO. She says she will do everything in her power to maintain operations there as the community has no other means of mail delivery.

“The post office is a vital part of the community in more ways than just having mail services. It serves as a community center of sorts, for all happenings on the Mountain and surrounding areas, which has proved essential during the wildfires for communications and various other activities,” she said.

“The fact is, USPS is controlled by Congress, so we cannot just change things on our own, like moving to five day delivery , raising the cost of postage, etcetera. without approval from them first- which takes time.” An example, she says, is that several years ago the USPS started talking about cutting Saturday delivery. “And yet here we are in 2011 and it has not changed yet. Why? Congress! They hold our puppet strings. “Also, the USPS does not receive tax dollars, when you buy a stamp it is 44 cents, not 47 or 48 or 50, there is no tax. “Why people have that misconception is beyond me. The USPS is self sustaining, but controlled by Congress as to how it can and cannot operate,” she said.

If you need more information find out the latest news releases at http://www.usps.com or contact your local post office.

Regards, David Ross Editor Valley Roadrunner 760-749-1112

* * * “I can handle big news and little news. And if there’s no news, I’ll go out and bite a dog.”