Bath County’s Bacova Post Office On The Possible Closure List

Bacova, VA – Nationwide 3,700 post offices are being studied for possible closure. One of those is Bath County’s Bacova Post Office. The Postal Service is currently conducting a study on that location and it held a meeting on Wednesday afternoon to collect comments from the public for the study. About ten people attended. During the meeting, Postal Officials said closing the Bacova Post Office would save almost $472,000 over a ten year period.

If the Bacova Post Office is closed, the Postal Service is proposing to extend the rural route from the Hot Springs Post Office. Then Bacova residents could put up a mailbox and receive mail at their homes. Or Bacova PO box holders could move their box to Hot Springs and keep their Bacova address.

Even though the Warm Springs Post Office is closer than Hot Springs, there is more space at Hot Springs for box holders and that office will also be handling the mail on the route through Bacova. Bacova residents also have the option of moving their PO boxes to Warm Springs, but they would have to change their addresses if they use that post office.

About three years ago, concerned citizens began a successful fight to save the Williamsville Post Office, which had lost its lease and was in danger of closing. The Bath Board of Supervisors supported the effort to keep Williamsville open. Bath County Supervisor Jon Trees was at Wednesday’s meeting about the Bacova Post Office.

“Well I’m sorry that it was held when it was because most people are at work, needless to say, and couldn’t take time off work to get to the meeting,” says Trees. “I would like to have seen a bigger turn out of folks. At the board level we will do what the residents of Bacova ask us to do. We will certainly take the same action in Bacova that we did at Williamsville.”

“When you look at the figures they gave us, think about what we’re hearing on the news, how far the post office is in debt, I hate to say it, but I think it’s inevitable. This post office is going to close. I hope not, but I’ve only had one phone call from one concerned resident. There certainly has not been the outcry thus far from Bacova, that there was Williamsville.”

Chris Lyden, is the Post Office Review Coordinator who conducted Wednesday’s meeting.

“We did get some good information, a little bit about the community,” says Lyden. “We’re looking for some more though, from the questionnaires and comment forms as well.”

Lyden says a big part of the study for each Post Office is the need to hear specifics from each community.

“Oh, it’s absolutely critical,” she says. “We have to look at all of the considerations and make sure that we can provide service, so that’s a real key element. Right now we’re still gonna be in the study and comment phase for at least another 60 days and after that it then it will go to Headquarters and be in Headquarters hands.”

Comment forms are available at the Bacova Post Office. The other Bath County Post Office on the list to be studied for possible closure is Williamsville.

Story By

Heather Niday

Heather is our Program Director and Traffic Manager. She started with Allegheny Mountain Radio as a volunteer deejay. She then joined the AMR staff in February of 2007. Heather grew up in the Richmond, Virginia, area and now lives in Arbovale, West Virginia with her husband Chuck. Heather is a wonderful flute player, and choir director for Arbovale UMC. You can hear Heather along with Chuck on Tuesday nights from 6 to 8pm as they host two hours of jazz on Something Different.

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