Some mail customers are feeling the effects of Postal Service changes, but officials stress that the pain is temporary.

“There’s always going to be a growing pain when something starts,” said Moultrie Postmaster David Porter.

As has been reported in multiple venues, the U.S. Postal Service is suffering from falling revenues and rising costs, including a requirement that it set aside money to pay for the health care needs of future retirees. As with private businesses, the service’s response has been to try to cut costs.

One victim of the cost-cutting was the Albany mail processing center, which closed Feb. 23. Before the closure, Moultrie’s mail was sorted there before being sent on to its destination — even if that destination was also in Colquitt County. But after the Albany center closed, the mail must go to Tallahassee, Fla., for sorting … even if its eventual destination is just across town.

The change in routing has shown up in delayed delivery times, some customers say.

Victor Beadles of Beadles Lumber Company said his company mails checks to its contractors. He said he’s heard from contractors that their checks are arriving as much as four days later than they’re accustomed to.

Porter predicted that by the end of the week, service times should be the way they were before the Albany facility closed.

“We got better today than we were yesterday,” he said.

The same financial woes that caused the closure of the Albany processing center threatened the Hartsfield Post Office here in Colquitt County, but the Postal Service backed off its plans to close rural offices like it. Instead, several such offices will have reduced hours. Among them are the Post Offices in Hartsfield and Doerun.

The Hartsfield Post Office is currently open 7:45 a.m.-11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. Monday through Friday plus 7:45 a.m. to  10:15 a.m. on Saturday. Beginning April 6, it will be open 1-5 p.m. Monday through Friday plus 7:45 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. on Saturday.

Doerun’s Post Office will simply open an hour later: 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.-4:30 p.m. on Monday-Friday and 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. on Saturday. That change also will take effect April 6.

In addition, last month the Postal Service announced plans to stop delivering mail on Saturdays, beginning in August. Packages will still be delivered.