By Brian Porter | Rocky Mountain Voice
On the Eastern Plains of Colorado, tornadic storms delivering high wind, hail and damage can be commonplace. Property can be damaged by multiple storms a year.
While Adams and Weld counties are known to be the state’s top targets for tornadoes, all of Eastern Colorado sits within “Tornado Alley,” so coined by U.S. Air Force meteorologists.
One of those storms about 10 months ago delivered large hail to Yuma, Colo., and resulted in the closure of the local post office. Some in Yuma recall hail being larger than a baseball and up to the size of a softball.
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Windsor, is pleading to get the post office reopened.
“I am writing to address the ongoing closure of the Yuma Post Office, which has remained
inoperable due to a hailstorm in May 2024,” Boebert starts a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. “This prolonged closure has negatively impacted [the Yuma] community and the livelihood of our residents. It is well-beyond time to address this situation.”
Yuma sits an equal distance between Akron and Wray on State Hwy. 34, about a 50-minute round trip to either community’s post office. Otis has the nearest post office, about a 25-minute round trip, but few other services besides Mom’s Cafe.
“In the absence of timely repairs, individuals have been forced to travel significant distances to access postal services, which is particularly burdensome for seniors and those with limited mobility,” Boebert writes. “Additionally, our local businesses, which rely heavily on postal services to ship and receive goods, are facing delays and rising costs, hindering their ability to operate efficiently and compete in broader markets.”
The 10-month delay is “unacceptable”, Boebert said, calling for prioritization of “necessary repairs immediately” and the allocation of resources related to repairs to reopen the location “as soon as possible”.
She has requested a timeline from DeJoy on reopening the Yuma post office.