FURMAN - You can't count your chickens before they're hatched. And, if you're Connor Causey, owner of the KCT Supply, you can't count your baby chicks until they are delivered to your local post office.
Businesses like KCT rely on local outlets like the Furman Post Office for more than routine mail. If not for the Furman P.O., Causey's frail baby chicks would sit and wait - and some would likely die - in post offices in more distant towns. Homebound elderly residents could be forced to drive to Estill to pick up their Social Security checks.
Small town residents like these are breathing a few short - but temporary - sighs of relief over the U.S. Postal Service's Dec. 13 announcement that it has agreed to requests by multiple senators to delay the closing or consolidation of any Post Offices or mail processing facilities until May 15, 2012, so that lawmakers can work on a comprehensive overhaul that would make the Postal Service a more competitive, streamlined agency while having the least negative impact possible to the constituents.
Facing a decline in both office workload and customers - as more and more people choose to do their postal business online or with email - the financially-troubled USPS on July 26 announced that it was studying the possible closure of as many as 3,700 retail offices nationwide. That list included the post offices in Furman, Gifford, and Garnett.
The Postal Service, a self-funded government agency which receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations, says it is looking at "rightsizing" its huge, expansive retail network.
But folks like Furman Mayor Francenia Ellis say that such a plan would devastate her community and strip it of its identity.
"I think this would be a great loss to the town of Furman," Ellis said. "We are trying to keep our identity as a town. I think this (delay) is a good thing; it gives us a hope and a prayer. Hopefully we can do something about this."
The USPS held a meeting in Gifford in November and Furman in mid-December, and rural residents turned out in force to share their individual concerns about the proposed closures.
"It's so important to the elderly," Ellis added. "The older people don't trust this Internet. They depend on the mail coming to the Post Office every day. It's a chance for them to get out and see one another, and I think they look forward to meeting there. I think the Post Office is like a little meeting place for them."
While the older generation worries what will happen to their fixed-income checks and their prescriptions-by-mail, the Postal Service says it will "continue all necessary steps required for the review of these facilities during the interim period, including public input meetings.
The Postal Service hopes this period will help facilitate the enactment of comprehensive postal legislation. Given the Postal Service's financial situation and the loss of mail volume, the Postal Service must continue to take all steps necessary to reduce costs and increase revenue."
And while Congress is working out a package it hopes will save the troubled Postal Service, folks in Furman are writing and mailing letters from the local Post Office.
"We are getting our community to write letters to show how much this post office means to the community," Ellis added. "We are hoping our letters will make a difference to Congress and the Senators."
Any postal customer in these rural Hampton County areas who wishes to submit comments can write their local U.S. Senator or Representative, or contact the USPS at: Office of Post Office Review, North Florida District, 451 College St., Room 220D, Macon, GA 31213-9993.
Meanwhile - at least until May 15 - it will be business as usual at the Furman, Gifford, and Garnett post offices. Folks will continue getting their mail in their neighborhoods.
And Mr. Causey can sleep a little better at night without having to worry so much about his baby chickens.