WINCHENDON SPRINGS — The Winchendon Springs Post Office, located at 159 Mill Circle. in Winchendon Springs, MA, will be closed at the end of the business day on Friday, September 21, 2012 due to an emergency suspension resulting from a termination of the lease agreement.

Mail delivery to residential and business customers in the Winchendon Springs area will not be affected. The mail carriers will continue to work from the Winchendon Post Office and sort mail there, just as they do now. Post Office Box customers will not need to change their address but they will need to go to the Winchendon Post Office, located at 160 Central Avenue in Winchendon, to access their Post Office Box.

The Winchendon Post Office is 2.1 miles from the Winchendon Springs location. They are open for retail business Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 9 a.m. through 12 p.m. on Saturday. The lobby is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday, allowing customers additional time to retrieve their PO Box mail. Parcels and accountable mail that requires a signature will also be available at the Winchendon Post Office location.

Winchendon’s rural carriers act as a post office on wheels and provide package pick up, carry various forms and also have stamps available for sale.

An emergency suspension is not a decision to permanently close a post office, but it does automatically trigger a formal study on whether a post office should be discontinued. That study looks at several issues including office workload, customer demand and availability of alternatives. A timeline for the study has not yet been determined.

Postal officials will review the situation and determine the best course of action for the future of that office. According to postal operating procedures, an emergency suspension can occur at the discretion of postal management because of a natural disaster, eviction, safety or serious health issue or if the facility is in substandard conditions.

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