By MARG JACKSON
mjackson@oakdaleleader.com
Describing it as a ‘legal matter,’ a U.S Postal Service employee in Oakdale said no one in that office could comment on the ongoing closure of the Community Post Office, CPO, in Knights Ferry.
The office in the historic hamlet had been operating for more than 150 years, open in recent years for a few hours daily during the week, but abruptly closed with the unexpected passing of longtime postal contractor Sherron McCarthy. She passed away in late March.
She had been ill and there was a temporary fill in for her, but that also ended without warning just a few days after McCarthy’s passing. Postal officials removed the mail and other items from the location. A notice placed on the door of the Community Post Office in Knights Ferry indicates that the “Oakdale Post Office will hold the mail for 15 business days” from the date of the posted notice – but no date is provided on the notice. Postal employees said they could not provide any information to The Leader, even the date the notice was posted.
The notice does list the hours for the Oakdale Post Office, at 170 N. California in Oakdale, as 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, with Knights Ferry residents able to get their mail there during those hours.
Though the original notice also includes the name and contact number for Oakdale Postmaster Ronda Salas and an invitation to “please contact me” if you have questions concerning the closure, she was not available and the employee said Salas also could not comment on the issue.
McCarthy had served nearly three decades in the position and also was president of the Knights Ferry History and Museum Associates, in whose building the CPO was located. The organization also helped underwrite the operation of the small Community Post Office.
History and Museum Associates officials said they hoped to resolve the situation by working with the U.S. Postal Service and the Oakdale Post Office, in hopes of getting others bonded to take on the work.
“We sincerely regret this temporary inconvenience,” a notice on the door of the CPO from the History and Museum Associates indicated, “and ask that you cooperate with the Oakdale Post Office as they work to cover our postal needs until we are able to re-open.”
The closure of the CPO and possible reopening was expected to be discussed in Sacramento this week, some Knights Ferry residents said.
