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Escanaba Daily Press: Senator addresses issues in Escanaba

ESCANABA - As part of a four-day visit to the Upper Peninsula, U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D) visited Escanaba to discuss issues affecting the U.P. and the rest of the country.

In an interview with the Daily Press, Peters said one of the key goals of his visit is to meet with people in the Upper Peninsula to talk about the area's problems and advantages.

"We look forward to having a close working relationship," Peters said.

In order to work toward this goal, Peters plans to attend several meetings and roundtables across the area. On Monday morning, he had attended a roundtable of representatives from Escanaba's education system, healthcare system, local government, and small businesses.

One of the U.P.-related issues Peters has talked about during his visit is the impending closure of rural post office processing centers in Kingsford and across the country. He said the United States Postal Service has an obligation to serve its customers everywhere in a timely manner.

"By closing these processing centers, that's not happening," Peters said.

Additionally, he said any savings created by closing processing centers would likely be cancelled out by increased transportation costs.

In the hopes of giving legislators time to thoroughly discuss the issue, Peters and other senators have introduced a bill which would introduce a two-year-long moratorium on closing these centers.