Editor, the News-Herald:

This has reference to recent articles appearing in your paper(s) concerning the possibility of Suffolk securing a new post office to replace the dinosaur at the diminished corner of

Western Avenue and North Main Street. This holdover from the 1960s has more than served its usefulness and should have been relegated to the wrecking ball long ago. Parking space is almost non-existent, and for those of us who display the word &uot;DISABLED&uot; either on our license plates or by placard hung on the rear-view mirror, finding a parking place is virtually impossible. That one word &uot;disabled&uot; seems to be an open invitation for persons not disabled to park in that one lonesome spot, creating an open invitation to able-bodied twits who either are deaf, dumb and blind, or are so self-centered as to park anywhere they darned well please. I have actually seen persons driving SUVs and other large vehicles, park – during a very busy time at the P.O. – directly in front of the Main Street entrance, leave their vehicle parked in front of said door, and return several minutes or more and drive off as happy as if they had good sense.

A case in point, on Sept. 6, 2002, I approached the P.O. from Western Avenue and attempted to park in the Disabled Only spot. Before I could get into the parking lot, a young lady pulled in front of me and parked in the disabled parking place, leaving no other spaces on the entire parking lot.

She then parked in the disabled space, got out of her car, and spent about 10 minutes in the P.O. She also was parked out into the main parking lot about 36-45 inches, thus creating another hazard. There appeared to be no disabling factors to prevent her from parking somewhere else other than the fact that she is a self-centered spoiled brat. When she left the P.O. she then sauntered outside and hopped into her little car and took off. However, the joke is on her and she might have been operating under the misguided impression that she pulled a fast one, but she didn’t impress anyone. However, she did not give a hoot about anyone except for her own selfish beliefs when in fact she can be held to be &uot;hoisted by her own petard.&uot;

Rumors are flying as to where the new P.O. will be located. I hear that the city fathers want it smack-dab right in the middle of the old downtown area. Where is there sufficient space to plant a new P.O. in the downtown area?

Rumor has it that the new P.O. might be located where the library is located on West Washington Street. How foolish if this rumor is true.

Just look westward toward Washington Street and we arrive at the clean, spacious lot located on the north side of West Washington Street between what was once Chorey Motors and an insurance office located at or near Gay’s Row and extending northward toward West Constance Road. This is an ideal location for the erection of a new P.O. and have plenty of parking spaces.

It is further my understanding that the City Fathers still are determined to have said P.O. almost smack-dab in the middle of the square or someplace adjacent thereto. Where do they think they are going to build it – on top of thee Professional Building?

I suggest to those persons who might be traveling in or around the Roanoke area to go buy their fairly new main P.O. located at Williamson Road and Rutherford Avenue southwest about four blocks off the main downtown street – Jefferson Street. This is a very nice spacious building and plenty of

parking space.

I’ve been a citizen of Suffolk all of my life except for about 24 years when I was working in another state. Suffolk has always lagged behind in a number of ways. However, Suffolk has grown mightily during the time I was away from this downtown. Gone are the days of Russell’s Drug Store, Chadwick Theatre, Hamblin’s Studio, Cavalier Theatre, Nansemond Drug store, Palace Theatre, Montgomery Ward, Hotel Elliot, Woolworth’s Rose’s, McClellan’s, Young Men’s Shop, ad infinitum and a plethora of others too numerous to mention. A new P.O. should be placed where there is reasonable room to grow with the city. To put it in a minute location in the Old Downtown sector would be utter folly.

At the aforementioned location there is ample room for a large P.O. building, plus ample space for parking both vehicles of the P.O., plus parking for customers including disabled persons. To my way of thinking, to put the new P.O. in another small location would defeat the purpose of

building a new P.O. At present the main P.O. is disgrace. I hear complaints every time I enter the old building.

And for gosh sakes, please remember us disabled, old and decrepit patrons and give us more than one (1) pitiful, pathetic parking place that these young, energetic persons park in their cars. I have the license number of the young lady who, not being disabled, parked in the restricted disabled parking place. You know who you are so please stay out of the one pathetic spot we have. The next time you will be reported to the police. Young lady, until such time as your arthritis flares up, your joints ache and a myriad of their maladies attack your body, please park someplace else.

In view of all the foregoing it is my judgment that the present main P.O. is pitiful, pathetic, arbitrary, capricious and unjust and should be demolished, be consigned to the scrap heap following its demise with the wrecking ball, which in and of itself is too lenient a fate for said post office.

Vernon E. Jones

Suffolk