Indian Land still needs its very own post office

Good things continue to happen in the Panhandle area of Lancaster County. Things that will surely make a difference in the lives of citizens in Indian Land.On Jan. 31, Springs Memorial Hospital and the medical partners of the ambulatory surgery center held the grand opening of The Surgery Center at Edgewater. This facility must be called “state of the art” because when you visit it, it becomes apparent that money was no object. The Surgery Center at Edgewater says it will provide outpatient surgery and procedures by day, while the patient can enjoy the comfort of home by night. This is something we should all be proud to have here.Good things continue as we had the pleasure of opening the newly renovated high school building as a new middle school – what a beautiful place to enhance learning. This is something we are all proud to have for our middle school students to learn and excel.As it becomes very visible to all who travel through Indian Land from day to day, changes in the land bordering U.S. 521 have become unbelievable as huge, earth-moving machinery continues to remove trees, take hills down and level fields for the construction of new buildings.The groundbreaking for the Del Webb Library at Indian Land has taken place and the foundation has been poured. Many thanks to the developers of Sun City Carolina Lakes and others who are working to make this possible.Indian Land now has three strip malls and a shopping center near the state line. Not too long ago, one would have to travel quite a ways to find an eating establishment of any kind. Now, you may purchase almost anything your appetite calls for, with more to come. We even have two liquor stores. The largest development of them all, Edenmoor, is still in the initial stage. It extends from U.S. 521 into North Carolina. However, if one travels Jim Wilson Road until it reaches Union County, you’ll find Union County has already built and opened an elementary school very near the state line. Indian Land is a proud community. The newcomers – the “halfbacks” – recognize this and are proud to say Indian Land is their home.But repeatedly, everyone complains about the mail service from the Fort Mill post office. As we get more and more new businesses in Indian Land, they say, “What a mess.” We get our mail from Fort Mill, which is in York County, while living in Lancaster County. We have a ZIP code – 29707 – but that doesn’t deter businesses that believe Indian Land is in York County.This is a disgrace. It seems no one wants to address needs and services beyond the fire department. It is time for everyone in the Indian Land area to rise up and demand the same kind of postal service available across the state and in the rest of Lancaster County. It is high time U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint and U.S. Rep. John Spratt took the bull by the horns and made demands on the U.S. Postal Service. We see new post offices built in Fort Lawn and other communities, but none in the Indian Land area.We appreciate the efforts of S.C. House Rep. Mick Mulvaney and S.C. Sen. Greg Gregory, along with the Lancaster Coutny Chamber of Commerce for their efforts in getting a ZIP code, but that is only a token. Indian Land needs its post office where the ZIP code will be 29707.