
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 16, 1995                   TAG: 9509170009
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: TONYA WOODS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

DALEVILLE TO GET NEW POST OFFICE

Daleville soon will be getting a 2,000-square-foot post office estimated to cost about a half-million dollars, said Claude Erps of Claude Erps Construction Co. in Bluefield, W.Va.

Erps was awarded the contract by the U.S. Postal Service.

Construction is expected to begin in mid-October and should be completed in about six months.

A new post office in Daleville is long overdue, the postmaster said.

"I don't know when the last post office was built, but we've been operating from the corner of an old general store," Richard Woods said. "I've got lease records that date back to 1955."

The current post office is about 900 square feet.

"We're looking forward to the new one," Woods said. "This place has a little nostalgia to it, but we need something larger to better serve the community."

Lack of space, inconvenience for customers and an increase in the population are the main reasons Daleville needs a new post office, said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke.

"There isn't enough room in Daleville's post office to handle a lot of mail," he said. "Sometimes customers will get a pink slip from the post office and have to go to Troutville to pick up special packages."

There are only three parking spaces at Daleville's post office, and on most days only one person works during the late afternoon, Woods said.

Daleville's growth also was taken into consideration.

"That area is the fastest growing area in the county," said County Administrator Gerald Burgess.

by CNB