By JESSICA BROWN
Jessica Brown/Scott County Times
A roofing crew worked to make repairs to the Post Office in Winchester last Friday. The roof of the Winchester Post Office building was damaged in a severe thunderstorm that damaged trees and structures throughout the area in late July.
Repairs to the post office in Winchester are in the works, according to the company in charge of the project. Martin Witte is President of Freedom Legacy, LLC.
“It’s my company’s job to get subcontractors to fix storm damage,” Witte said.
Witte said his company owns the building at the southwest corner of the town square and owns several buildings they rent out to other post offices.
The roof of the Winchester Post Office building was damaged in a severe thunderstorm that damaged several other properties in late July.
“The damage to the building looked worse than it was,” he said, adding that the water damage inside the building was minimal.
Still, the Postal Service has redirected local customers to the Jacksonville Post Office to retrieve mail from Post Office boxes since the storm.
Although Witte technically owns the Winchester’s Post Office location, he was not personally allowed access to the building until recently.
“I just got keys to the building about 3 weeks ago,” Witte said.
The Postal Service has the authority to bar all citizens from entering the building in order to protect the premises and any mail that might still be there.
Subcontractors worked to install a new roof to the building last week and will continue repairs for what could be the next few weeks.
“The next step is finishing repairing water damage, installing a new ceiling and painting walls,” Witte said.
After repairs are finished he will meet a representative of the Postal Service who will review the repairs and approve reopening the location for business.
Witte said he hopes business can resume in the next 30 days, but reiterated that the final say will belong to the Postal Service. In addition to addressing repairs, Witte wished to clarify a possible rumor that the Winchester Post Office could be closed in the future.
“That was never true,” Witte said.
More updates and details will be available once Witte meets with a representative from the Postal Service and a date is set to reopen the building.