BY STEPHEN H. COWLES/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Playback58@gmail.com

FRANKLIN—As Joyce Spivey slips letters into a slot at the Franklin post office, she thinks for a few moments about the U.S. Postal Service’s proposed end of Saturday delivery.

“I’ll miss my Saturday mail,” said the 77-year-old Hunterdale resident. “But I can live without it.”

The Postal Service come Aug. 5 plans to stop weekend delivery and pickup at homes and businesses to save $2 billion a year, according to a published report. There’s been a steady decline in first-class mail since 2008 because online methods are being preferred. Nearly $16 billion was loss last year.

Clarence Deloatch of Franklin said the change won’t affect him. Deloatch gets his mail from a post office box in Franklin. Post office box customers would still get mail on Saturdays.

“No, it wouldn’t affect me,” said Mary Barczak of Courtland, who checks her mailbox a couple of times a week. “Most everything is done online — banking and bills. Plus, most of what’s in the mailbox is junk.”

Research has shown that 70 percent of Americans would be OK with the new schedule, according to the published report. Any challenge to the plan will likely come from Congress, to which the Postal Service answers. Past efforts to ask for legislative help have reportedly failed.