Swannanoa residents demand answers from USPS amid ongoing post-Helene post office closure
A closed sign on the front of the Swannanoa post office over seven months after Hurricane Helene hit.
By Kimberly King
Click here for updates on this story
SWANNANOA, North Carolina (WLOS) — A spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has confirmed that five area small-town post offices in Western North Carolina will not reopen in their current locations after Hurricane Helene damage.
This includes Marshall, Fleetwood, Micaville, Green Mountain and Swannanoa.
In Swannanoa, residents and local business owners are building momentum using an online petition and postcard writing to senators, congressmen and top USPS officials to let their discontentment with the current situation be known.
“I’m disappointed by the lack of acknowledgement that we are missing a vital piece of our community,” said Joe Rupp, a Swannanoa business owner.
“Equal services to everybody that are receiving federal services, which, the post office is one,” said Judi Melton, another Swannanoa business owner.
“We don’t have a post office right now because the storm took it from us,” said Terri Dolan, a Swannanoa resident.
Rupp, Melton and Dolan are all members of the Swannanoa Grass Roots Alliance. They spoke with News 13 about their anger over what they consider the vague statement from Philip Bogenberger, a USPS spokesman, who stated to News 13 the following regarding closed post offices in Western North Carolina:
“If we are unable to reopen a post office at its current location, the [U.S.] Postal Service will consider alternate locations nearby to resume operations. Any search for a new location would need to follow the USPS relocation process, which includes a public notification and public comment period. A new location also must be suitable for operational needs, not only now but in the future.” “Alternate location – What does that mean?” said Dan Slagle, a Swannanoa resident and former postal worker at the Swannanoa post office. “I’m hoping it means an alternate location here in Swannanoa, not what they call a ‘nearby location.'”
The closed post office is located in the commercial strip owned by Ingles, where the grocery store remains closed.
The post office has notices taped to the front door stating the site is dangerous and can’t be entered safely. It also directs customers to use the USPS post office in North Asheville off Merrimon Avenue.
Judi Melton, who owns a mortgage company in Swannanoa, says she has to drive 13 miles to that office to do any shipping or receiving of packages.
“As a business owner, it’s hard for me,” said Melton. “I have a notice on my door today that I need to pick up a package, so I need to close my business [for] over an hour.”
“So far, we’ve been able to resume operations at 10 of the 21 post offices that were damaged during Hurricane Helene,” Bogenberger said via email.
But, Bogenberger wouldn’t specifically say if Swannanoa will get a post office again.
“The postal service wasn’t designed to be a money-making system,” said Jeff Fager, who lives and operates a business with his wife in Swannanoa. “I feel that’s where it’s gone to.”
“Swannanoa deserves this service,” said Tissica Schoch, a Swannanoa resident. “We’ve lost so much already. We desperately need this back. We need our postal employees back in their home. We miss them.”
Terri Dolan said she remembers what President Donald Trump said when he came to visit Swannanoa post-Helene:
“I promised I’d come back to Western North Carolina to help the people and the state, and today, here I am to deliver on that promise,” said President Trump, standing in Swannanoa with Helene survivors who lost their homes. “We’re going to get the resources you need and the support you deserve. We’ll be by your side, every step of the rebuilding.”
“President Trump came here and promised to help us out,” said Dolan. “We don’t have a post office right now, and that’s in the hands of the federal government.”
“I agree with her,” said Stave Senn, a Swannanoa business owner. “There was a lot said, and we’re not seeing anything.”
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
