ARIPEKA, Fla. — Residents in a small Pasco County community say they are having difficulty receiving their mail.
The small town of Aripeka sits between Pasco and Hernando counties. Those who live on the Hernando County side have their mail delivered, but those who live on the Pasco County side do not.
The issue has been ongoing since Hurricane Helene flooded the small community last year.
“We have no kind of mail access here at all,” said resident Lauri Marcum. “Can’t mail, can’t do anything with mail here.”
For a year, the Aripeka Post Office has stood empty, closed since Hurricane Helene flooded the area last year.
“I only go when I have a delivery come in or if there’s something important in the mail,” said Marcum. “So it’s like, if I can help it, once a month maybe.”
Marcum lives in the small town and has been affected. She said in order to get her mail, she has to drive roughly seven miles to the post office in Hudson, where P.O. boxes have been set up. But there have been issues, Marcum said.
“Gotta make sure you put your box number after your address so that they will know to put it in your box, and they’ve been putting the wrong mail in boxes,” Marcum said. “All of these are checks for somebody else in the wrong box, just from yesterday.”
“The structure is sound. It’s solid.”
Meridy Norfleet is the owner of the building in Aripeka, leasing it to the post office. She inherited ownership after her father passed away three years ago. But communication over what to do next, she said, has been tricky.
“When they pulled out, it kind of had us stranded,” said Norfleet. “Now that it is in my name, the building, we’re just kind of waiting to see if they want to come back or put boxes or home deliveries — something to where we don’t have to go to Hudson.”
Norfleet said repairing the building will depend on an agreement to bring back the post office to Aripeka. It’s something she’d like to see happen.
“Definitely. That’s really what it’s for. It really should not be anything but the post office. We’ve had a post office since the town was in the beginning.”
A tradition — and some say a necessity — the town would like to see once more.
Spectrum News reached out to the Postal Service. They provided us with a statement, saying: “The postal service continues to explore all possibilities regarding this matter. At this time, there is no firm timeline for resumption of services at Aripeka, but the goal is to do so as quickly as possible. We appreciate the patience of our valued customers and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”
They also say customers can continue to use the post office in Hudson on Big Bend Drive.
Calvin Lewis
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