I hope that among the Christmas mail you found a letter from the United States Postal Service (USPS) that was not wishing us a Merry Christmas. Instead they are inviting us to complete a survey and to attend a meeting on January 28, 2014, at 4 p.m. at the Hendricks Head Post Office “to answer questions and provide additional information about the POST Plan.” (I wonder if all interested Southporters will fit in the Post Office. Could we perhaps meet in the Town Hall?)

The POST Plan is a review process using a set of criteria the USPS has established for an evaluation of our Southport Post Office. The USPS has completed the review and is now asking for our input. The good news (I think) is that “unless the community has a strong preference (more than 60 percent) for conducting a discontinuance study for the Southport Post Office … the Postal Service intends to maintain the Southport Post Office with six hours of window service each weekday. Current Saturday window service hours and access to delivery receptacles will not change…”

Other options are a contractor-operated postal retail unit along with our current Post Office or a discontinuance of our Post Office, replaced by a contractor-operated unit. If you are a “locally established business or organization” and are interested in operating a postal retail unit, you can visit http://about.usps.com/news/electronic-press-kits/expandedaccess/welcome.htm for more information. The USPS says it will make no decision about our post office until after the public meeting on January 28.

The letter is signed by Jim Mccartney, Postplan Coordinator, and shows as a return address 151 Forest Avenue, Portland, ME 04101-7099. If you click on the link above, you will find much information about the need to consolidate “mail processing locations.” You will also find a Washington D.C. area phone number for media contacts at 202-268-2155.

I, for one, understand why our U.S. mail service is having difficulty earning a profit or even breaking even. How many e-Christmas cards did you receive or send this year? How much ordering do you do online? Yet I really would be sad to see our Southport Post Office close. Please make your voice heard and send in the survey. Then come to the meeting on January 28 at the Southport Post Office at 4 p.m. You will have a chance to ask questions, hear the results of the survey, and to make comments.

Such is one challenge of the new year. What other ones will appear beyond staying upright on our snow and ice? Our world is especially lovely as I type on Friday morning. Yesterday’s ice and snow coat the trees and bushes, which sparkle in the sun. Driving around the island I again thank our road crew for keeping even the road to Town Landing and to the south end of Pratts Island passible.

We will have a chance to say ‘goodbye’ to longtime Southport resident, Erla Kelley, who died at age 99 on Christmas Day. Please check the obituaries in this paper for a summary of Erla’s life. Her memorial service was held on Monday, December 30 at 1 p.m. at the Southport Methodist Church. I know Erla had many talents, but when I first moved permanently to Southport, the one I heard mentioned most often was that she baked the best carrot cake and always offered it to the St. Andrews Auxiliary for their Christmas staff luncheon.