Latest local news, weather and high school sports for Tri-State area

HULL, ILL. -- The United States Postal Service has been asking residents in small communities what they would like to see happen if there is a reorganization of mail service.

As those meetings continue, there is one community that's being proactive in trying to keep at least a semblance of a post office in their small town.

It's Hull, Illinois.

The last census showed that about 500 people live in Hull.

A small town in Western Pike County that has a village hall, a post office and quaint cute houses.

But a meeting last month hosted by the U.S. Postal Service gathered information about the future of what kind of mail service might be offered in Hull in the future.

Following that meeting, the owner of the School House café, Lisa Smith, posted to Facebook asking for opinions of residents on what they would like to see. One of the big items that got a lot of comments was the time the post office could be open.

"It would definitely be a great opportunity for the community as far as the extended hours. For those that work, a majority of them work in Quincy or Hannibal they don't have to get their mail. There's a limited amount of time on Saturday that they're able to, so we would be able to extend those hours on Saturday, too," Smith said.

Clair Thompson has lived in the Hull area for more then 40 years. He said he likes the idea of possibly moving the service to the old elementary school. But he knows that right now, it's the status quo.

"I think it would be a good idea. There's people that work eight to five and they close here at 4:30 or so. That way they can go up to the community center and get their mail," Thompson said.

Smith said her community center is open to at least six o'clock Monday through Friday. And that she would like to be able to have postal service available to those people who have a current post office box and give them access to their mail.

Besides the post office in Hull, a look at the map shows there are five post offices within a 10 mile radius of Hull.

Including the one in Hull, there's also ones in Payson, Plainfield, Kinderhook and New Canton.