DUETTE — The U.S. Postal Service will be changing how mail in Duette is delivered, a postal service official confirmed Friday.
The mail for Duette now is handled by a post office at Bowling Green, Hardee County, rather than a closer post office at Parrish in Manatee County. However, as of Jan. 3, Duette’s ZIP code will change from 33834 to 34219 and the mail will be delivered from the new post office in Parrish, said U.S. Postal Service spokesman Gary Sawtelle.
The postal service will notify residents by letter of the coming changes in their mail service, he said.
Community leaders had petitioned for the change because the situation had long been a headache for residents of tiny Duette, a community in eastern Manatee County near the intersection of S.R. 62 and S.R. 37, a few miles from the Hardee County line. For example, if someone in Duette missed a package delivery, they had to drive miles east to Bowling Green to retrieve it. Under the new system, they will be able to pick up packages at the closer Parrish post office, which opened in September. The 41 residents from tiny Duette who formed the town’s first community association, the Duette Community Association, petitioned the post office to change its policy. They were among those celebrating this week.
“I had to get my fridge fixed in Lakeland because they go by ZIP codes,” said Felicia Tappan, president of the association.
“Ninety-nine percent of people in Duette go through Parrish, anyway,” she said.
Sara Kennedy, Bradenton Herald reporter, can be reached at (941) 708-7908 or at skennedy@bradenton.com
Email Story
Printer Friendly 
Quick Job Search
@Nyx.replyAnswerText@