INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Orland is a town of 434 people set amid the 101 lakes of Steuben County in northeast Indiana. It was the first settlement in the county to be populated by immigrants from Vermont and was originally known as Vermont Settlement. As a result, each year in July, the people of Orland celebrate their heritage with the Vermont Settlement Festival.
On Friday, January 25, 2013, Orland will add another claim to fame as the 25th Village Post Office (VPO) in the Greater Indiana District opens at Bunch’s Shop Rite Market, 9025 W State Road 120, Orland, IN 46776.
Bunch’s Shop Rite Market is a full-service grocery store that’s been in existence for the past 38 years and was founded by Ronald Bunch, father of Chris Bunch, the store’s manager.
Bunch is very enthusiastic about locating a VPO in his business. “We’ve actually been selling stamps at the store for about 30 years, but we wanted to do more for the community in Orland. We’re a part of that community and we wanted to offer an additional service. We’ll have the Priority Mail Flat-Rate boxes here, and as well as being able to buy stamps outside Post Office hours, our customers can drop off their mail with us,” he said.
“Orland is very busy during the summer with campers and tourists coming to visit the lakes in Steuben County as well as the Vermont Settlement Festival, so I think the VPO will be a great convenience for our visitors.”
The store’s hours of operations are Monday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Sundays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The new postal center will be opened by the U.S. Postal Service’s Manager of Post Office Operations Gary Soultz. Several USPS and local officials will be present at the event. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. and an open house will follow from 1 p.m. until 2 p.m.
Last year, the Postal Service introduced the VPO model as an alternate retail location for postal products and services, especially in rural communities.
VPOs are operated by local businesses contracting with the Postal Service, and offer a range of popular postal products and services including stamps and flat-rate packaging.
Two additional VPOs — Mentone and Kingman — are slated to open on Tuesday, Jan. 29 and Thursday, January 31, 2013 respectively.
Additional information about the Village Post Office is available at www.uspsvillagepostoffice.com.
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