Western Nebraska Observer - Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First

Three and a half years after the U. S. Post Office in Dix was closed due to mold and structural issues, a new post office building has been set down and is expected to open in late July, although no date has officially been set for the opening.

In a few short weeks, Dix will once again have a full service postal site.

In an era when many post offices nationwide are downscaling or shutting down, Dix has beaten the odds. It has gained a new post office facility.

"Historically," according to Kimball Postmaster Karen Miller, "when a post office is closed they usually don't reopen."

But the decision came from Washington, D.C., and Postmaster General Megan Brennen, who made the final decision to keep the Dix site open.

Karen Miller said Dix "was very fortunate."

The Kimball office is the administrative umbrella over Bushnell, Dix, and Potter.

After the Dix closure in 2015, the operations were moved to the Kimball office. For a few months, the people of Dix had to drive to Kimball to get their mail, but then the U.S. Postal Service put up centralized mail units in Dix for residents to pick up their mail.

Many throughout the community of Dix thought that the centralized mail units were going to be the final solution.

No one thought that they would put up a building, although according to rural delivery carrier Ruth Wurdeman, "the higher ups told us they would get one opened again."

The decision was made to seek a new location for the Dix Post Office, but the search for a suitable site failed and so the portable building was the answer.

The double-wide portable building has some work to be done on the inside and additional concrete work to do on the outside, but the residents of Dix are very excited about the new post office.

The new Dix postal clerk, Judy Peterson, has been at her position about a month. She is very excited to serve and take care of the postal needs of the people of Dix.