Spirit Lake post office vandalized

SPIRIT LAKE – The Spirit Lake post office is open only during regular business hours after vandals ripped up the walls last week and caused nearly $2,000 in damage.

The temporary change has upset some of the 1,000 post office box holders, who must now pick up their mail during business hours, said Stephen Rorie, the Spokane consumer affairs manager for the Postal Service.

“We basically closed the lobby as a safety concern,” Rorie said this week. “We’re doing our best to get it back open as soon as possible.”

Postal officials suspect kids with skateboards caused the damage to the lobby, Rorie said. The lobby, which previously was open 24 hours a day, now is open when staff is on duty, from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

Postal Service officials hope the lobby will be repaired in the next week, Rorie said.

The Postal Service has talked to Spirit Lake police about doing extra patrols in the area, but the post office may have to permanently change its lobby hours if vandalism continues, Rorie said.

“We’re concerned that any more vandalism may cause us to make a decision to keep it closed early and that would be a hardship for the community,” he said.

– Hope Brumbach