Glades County community feels unheard when it comes to their post office

A tight-knit community feels like their cries for help are not being heard. Earlier this week, the Palmdale post office had been closed down.

It sits on Broadway Street, right off Highway 27. In the town, they are not allowed to have mailboxes.

Now, the United States Postal Service is asking them to drive from Palmdale to the post office to LaBelle, nearly 15 miles away from the old post office, a drive that the people of Palmdale say they can’t make every day.

Donald Pervat, who lives in Palmdale, said, “It’s just not right; it’s not right to do what they did.”

Tonya Sellers, another Palmdale resident, told us that Glades County does not even have a grocery store and is a food desert in more ways than one.

The local post office, their only lifeline to the outside world, has been temporarily closed, and no date of reopening has been mentioned.

“It’s not just a post office. It is a way for the people to connect to one another, talk and check up on one another,” Sellers said.

Making matters worse, people will have to travel miles away to access essential services.

When we spoke with Sellers and Pervat, who have both lived in the community for decades, they said most people there are older and cannot drive.

“There are a lot of retirees, and the option they have given us is to drive 180 miles a week to get our mail, which just isn’t really doable,” Sellers said.

We reached out to Glades County Sheriff David Hardin and asked him what he knows about the closure.

He shared that the building has issues, including leaks, which make it potentially hazardous.

This raises the question of why no one has done anything to support the building. Sellers and Pervat told us about the postmaster in charge of that office.

“I’ve heard that she said all of us hicks could go to LaBelle to get our mail. Well, that’s not going to happen, and I’m gonna do everything I can do to get her job,” Pervat said.

Lots of questions remain, as the Palmdale community just wants a solution. If it’s not the post office, they at least have a more convenient way to get their mail.

People who live in the community made a petition, which received more than 300 signatures in less than 24 hours, and the list is growing.

We reached out to the postmaster for comments, and they responded with a statement:

As an integral part of the communities we serve, the U.S. Postal Service strives every day to provide excellent service to our customers. As of this time, all Retail and P.O. Box Operations are being temporarily suspended at the Palmdale Post Office and relocated to the Labelle Post Office, located at 35 W. Washington Ave, Labelle, FL 33935.  The retail hours of operation at Labelle are Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., closed Saturday and Sunday. P.O. Box customers are reminded to bring proper photo identification for mail and package pickups.

At this time, there is no firm timeline for resumption of services at Palmdale, but the goal is to do so as quickly as possible. Additional information regarding USPS leased facilities can be found by visiting:  https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/foia/leased-facilities [about.usps.com]. We appreciate the patience of our valued customers and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.