TERRE HAUTE —
Sometimes bureaucracies do listen
As the Associated Press reported in our paper Thursday, the U.S. Postal Service has decided to keep alive 3,700 rural post offices that had been threatened with closure because of deep financial problems. Those post offices — including several in the Wabash Valley — will have fewer hours than presently, but at least they will be open at times to serve local needs.
The decision, which still may not forestall closure at some point in the future, came after the Postal Service heard the voices of postal patrons and legislators, who pleaded for the post offices’ continuation. Those small post offices, such as the one in Fontanet in Vigo County, are vital because of their proximity to rural residents and because they are a form of community identity.
Next up: An announcement is expected this week on the Postal Service’s recommendations concerning 252 mail-processing centers, including the one in Terre Haute, that may face closure. Lots of jobs and a load of service are at stake.
Stay tuned.
April hours bring May flowers
Flowers planted, weeds pulled and mulch raked may not seem like economic development, but it is.
That work has taken place the last couple of weekends from Downtown Terre Haute Inc.’s Streetscape Committee, using volunteer labor from low-security offenders at the Terre Haute Federal Correction Complex.
Downtown continues to need aesthetic touches to make it stand out, to soften asphalt and brick with green space, bright-colored flowers and well-tended shrubs and bushes.
These all say something about community pride — which in itself is a good thing. But it also invites visitors, some of them potential business clients, to take a second look.
Getting our airport off the ground
If you’ve read recent Tribune-Star stories about Terre Haute International Airport, you have at least a hint that big things are under way at that eastside gateway to our city.
Two new leaders — Executive Director Bill McKown and Director of Operations and Development Darrel Zeck — offer the airport its most powerful and robust leadership in recent memory.
As our Brian Boyce has reported, the two — and the airport board that hired them — have big plans to raise the airport’s profile and make it more valuable to the community, region and state.
The sky’s the limit.




