BY CAROL MOSLEY
Special to the Telegraph
The Graham Post Office has been closed since before Christmas due to a mold problem. The mail that is destined for the town of Graham is being sent to the Brooker Post Office. Box owners should go to Brooker to collect their mail.
According to Starke Postmaster, Brandi Spratlin, plans are in the works to remediate the mold problem, but contractors are waiting for materials to arrive before commencing with the cleanup. There is no set date for a reopening, but Spratlin said there are no plans for a permanent closure.
About 15 years ago the Graham Post Office was considered, among thousands of other rural post offices, for permanent closure. The residents banded together to fight to keep their small but important local post office. At that time, it operated as a regular post office, open full time and with a full-time postmaster on site.
The small town of Graham has no governing body, no mayor, no town council. The post office, with its own 32042 Graham zip code, is considered to be the only government entity that keeps the town on the map. Home delivery is, and has been for decades, delivered through the Hampton Post Office and uses that town’s name and zip code as the residence address.
Many residents want their address to say Graham, not Hampton, and use the post office as their only address. If the post were shut down, there would be nothing that indicates the town even exists except a small roadside sign on County Road 18 at either end.
Closing a post office comes with specific federal regulations and USPS rules that require notification to the public, a 60-day comment period, and a public meeting. If a decision by USPS is then made to close a post office, there is a 30-day option for an appeal to be made. The final decision for the Graham Post Office was that it would be a branch with no postmaster on site and reduced hours of half days weekly and closed on weekends. But it remained open, which allowed the town of Graham to secure its zip code that puts it on the map.
