Post Office Closings Upset Rural Communities At issue in the dispute is the distinction between closing a post office and suspending service. Under federal law, closings require 60 days' notice, opportunities for public comment, an accounting of the reasons for the decision and an opportunity for residents to appeal. Suspensions, which are supposed to be used during natural disasters, health or safety hazards or unanticipated lease problems, do not carry the same requirements. Under suspensions, "the office is not closed, but as far as customers are concerned it's not open," said Norm Scherstrom, a Postal Regulatory Commission spokesman. Last fall, the commission said the evidence strongly suggests the Pos...