LUCEA, Hanover – The unmistakable aura of decay at decrepit post offices in Dias and Sandy Bay in Hanover has left some residents who use them concerned about their safety and sympathetic to hard-working employees who toil away inside.

“It is in a bad condition. It needs to be repaired. As a matter of fact, it needs to be removed because it can fall down at any time,” Dias resident Marva Reid told the Jamaica Observer.

She knows the importance of having a post office in the rural community which has several senior citizens who rely on it to collect their pension.

The building, which is more than 50 years old, once had a small porch to the front. That rotted away a few years ago leaving its clients with no other option but to stand outside, at the mercy of the elements.

A representative from the Hanover Fire Department told Observer West that plans are in place to visit the location and do an assessment.

Should the dilapidated structure with crumbling walls and roof be ordered closed, residents from more than eight communities may have to travel approximately six miles to Lucea or three miles to the Blenheim Postal Agency.

However, Member of Parliament (MP) for Hanover Western Tamika Davis uses the post office and has been trying to find a better solution. Her long-term plan is to relocate it to a rented building 50 feet away in Dias Square.

But some residents want the post office to remain where it is.

“We love our post office and want it to remain in the same place. It is best that they fix it up so some people can get work and everybody is happy,” said retired educator and hotel worker Ralph Vernon who collects his pension at the Dias Post Office.

Unlike Vernon, 79-year-old Robbher Moodie no longer collects her pension at the post office. The Sandy Bay resident said the funds are now deposited directly to her account and she also receives her utility bills electronically. Now her concern is for the safety of employees in the post office that many others in her community still patronise.

“Stand up at the window and look inside. It is not pretty for somebody to be in there. [The roof] can drop down on them at any time,” said a worried Moodie.

Another elderly resident of Sandy Bay who identified himself as Bowen is convinced that their community has “the worst post office in Hanover”.

Unlike Dias, the Sandy Bay property belongs to the Government. The roof was replaced after Hurricane Gilbert in 1988 but since then there have been no major repairs.

More than a decade ago, plans to close the building were shelved after residents staged a protest. Their concern, then, was that the nearest post office was five miles away in Hopewell. Residents made minor repairs to the structure and it remained open but it is now falling apart.

On Monday Bowen, who was at the wasp-infested building to collect his pension, dejectedly complained that those in authority are not listening to residents. He still remembers the protest staged more than 10 years ago, but now believes it had no impact.

“That means when we talk, the bigger heads do not [care],” said the 79-year-old man.