The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Canada Post has given its stamp of approval to a new post office in Channing _ provided someone can be found to run it. The subdivision's tiny post office closed March 28 following the resignation of the postmaster, whose home housed the facility. Joelle Hamilton, a spokesperson for Canada Post, said the corporation recently met with community leaders and decided to hire a new postmaster. 'When a change like this happens, we usually meet with community officials to discuss how to best serve the community,' she said. 'Our goal and mandate is to maintain service while remaining financially viable...' Hamilton could not say when she expects a new postmaster to be in place. 'We are following our usual recruitment process to staff the position,' she said in an e-mail. Until a new postmaster and facility are in place, Channing residents are picking up their mail at the post office in Flin Flon. For decades the Channing post office has served residents of the Channing and Wally Heights subdivisions, both of which lack door-to-door mail delivery. Wally Heights resident Lois (Bunny) Burke called it a vital service. 'I think it's very important for the people who live in Channing because a lot of them are single-vehicle owners and the working partner takes the vehicle to work,' she said. 'So (the other person) has no way of getting into Flin Flon to collect their mail. This (post office) is in walking distance.' Burke was pleased to hear Canada Post plans to hire a new postmaster, but she worries whether a facility can be found to meet the corporation's requirements. She has a long history with the Channing post office, as her late mother, Gladys Wilson, was postmaster from the early 1950s until the mid 1960s. Back then the post office was on Davenport Street. Its most recent location was on Emery Drive. Canada Post asks any Channing residents with challenges or questions to contact its customer service line at 1-866-607-6301.
