Representatives of the U.S. Postal Service will meet with the residents of the Horatio community from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday to hear their concerns and answer questions about the possible closure of the Horatio post office.

U.S. Postal Services Operations Manager Terry Housley and Harry Spratlin, Carolina District communications coordinator for the USPS, and Steve LeNoir, Horatio postmaster, are expected to be present to field questions. Many of those questions should come from the Concerned Citizens of the Horatio Community, a group led by president Lowery Williams.

The group has already had several meetings, and its concerns are expected to center on the importance of the Horatio post office to the small community in the northwest corner of Sumter County.

The office has been on the list of 3,653 offices, branches and stations throughout the country under review for possible closure since the summer. It is one of the 13 latest in the state under study. Other nearby post offices on the list are in Gable, Elliott and at Shaw Air Force Base.

Postal officials have also talked to residents of Blair in Fairfield County about closing their post office.

-- The (Sumter) Item