PRESS RELEASE---4-12-2008
Check's in the mail: McCausland gets donation from American Postal
By
Kurt Allemeier | Friday, April 11, 2008 | 3 comment(s)
MCCAUSLAND, Iowa — The American Postal Workers Union is offering a big helping
hand to the northern Scott County town as it tries to save its post office from
closing.
The union is donating $30,000 to the city’s efforts to buy a building and
outfit it to U.S. Postal Service requirements. Residents are trying to avoid
having mail service suspended and changed to rural route delivery.
The donation, which will be presented to the city at a taco dinner April 19,
means the city’s goal of $55,000 in donations and pledges has been reached to
pay for fitting out the building with electricity and plumbing. The building
was purchased by the city for $55,000, for a total project cost of $110,000.
“That took a huge load off of everybody’s mind,” said City Council member Lloyd
Claussen, who has led the fund-raising effort. “It is
a big boost and was generous of them to do that.”
The union was inspired by the residents’ efforts — one taco, one pork sandwich
at a time — to save the town’s post office. A union representative from
“We want to ensure that the town of
“We were inspired by the efforts of the people of McCausland to take matters
into their own hands in order to save their post office,” he said.
Now that McCausland residents have met their fund-raising goal, they aren’t
sitting back, Claussen said. Plans are still going on
for a car show next month.
“We’ll take anything above that,” he said. Additional funding would cover
unplanned expenses that could crop up.
The union has written a letter to U.S. Postmaster General John E. Potter on the
city’s behalf, asking for assurance that the
post office will remain open in McCausland if the city meets its obligation.
The city is still negotiating a lease with the postal service before
construction work inside the building begins, Claussen
said. Work should be completed ahead of the July 31 deadline in case any
changes are requested.
Kurt Allemeier can be contacted at (563) 383-2360 or kallemeier@qctimes.com.
If you go
What: McCausland post office
fundraisers
When: Saturday,
April 19, rummage sale 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and taco dinner 4-7 p.m.
Where: Rummage sale
at
How much: Taco
dinner is $7 for adults; $4 for children ages 5-12; free for children younger
than 5.