Friendly Mart Post Office opens

Cooper’s Corner to remain open into May

State and local postal officials cut a red, white and blue-striped ribbon in front of a stack of new mail boxes Friday morning to open the Village Post Office at Steptoe’s Friendly Mart.

The Friendly Mart location will eventually take the place of the official post office at Cooper’s Corner antique store. The Cooper’s Corner location will remain open at least through the middle of May, as Congress placed a moratorium on post office closures last year.

Carol Rebstock, manager of Post Office Operations in Spokane, said the Friendly Mart is the 10th Village Post Office in the nation. The Village Post concept is part of the postal service’s efforts to cut operating costs. Closure of the Cooper’s Corner office is expected to save some $29,000 in operating costs.

The store will rent the p.o. boxes and will sell stamps and flat rate shipping boxes. Steptoe will retain its mailing address, as well as its 99174 zip code, though mail will be sorted at the Colfax Post Office and stuffed into the Friendly Mart boxes by a rural carrier

Rebstock, in response to a “going postal” quote in last week’s Gazette from Friendly Mart worker Ed Patton, said, despite some high profile incidents, the postal service actually has a lower rate of violence from its employees than many other companies.