By Chad Ingram

Carnarvon residents who have been using the postal outlet at the local hardware store will now be using community boxes located along Highway 35.

For the past several years the Castle Building Centre in Carnarvon has housed a postal outlet. It contained 92 boxes 40 of which were being used according to Canada Post.

The contract for the postal dealership expired last week and the store’s new owner Kim Emmerson has decided not to continue with the contract.

In fact as Emmerson pointed out he’s not been obliged to continue the service since he took over the business in March.

“Even though we didn’t have to have it since we took over in March we did as a public service” said Emmerson who also owns Emmerson Lumber in Haliburton. “It’s just not a good fit for a lumber yard.”

Residents were able to receive and send out mail from their boxes as well as collect larger parcels from staff at the store.

Emmerson said residents had plenty of notice.

“Over the course of the summer staff pre-warned customers” he said.

Canada Post also sent out correspondence to affected customers.

“Unfortunately we have not been successful in finding a suitable alternative host business” Eugene Knapik of Canada Post’s media relations department wrote in an email to the paper. “Effective this week customers within Carnarvon had been receiving their mail at community mailboxes.”

The mailboxes are located along Highway 35 on the grass near the Carnarvon ESSO station which sells stamps.

Knapik pointed out that the newer generation community boxes do have larger parcel compartments than previous models.

For parcels that are larger than the boxes can accommodate customers will receive a card to pick up their items in West Guilford.