PYRITES – The Pyrites Post will close at the end of the business day today.

“While mail delivery will continue at an outside centralized mailbox for Pyrites customers, local retail operations will be suspended at the 169 County Route 21 Extension location at the close of business today,” a release from the United States Postal Service says.

Postal officials say the lease for the 169 County Route 21 Extension office was not renewed and “an emergency suspension of service” will go into effect at the close of business today.

Officials say individual customer addresses will not change for the approximately 25 St. Lawrence county customers served by the centralized mailbox.

The Canton Post Office will hold items that are oversized or that require a signature for Pyrites customers.

The Canton Post Office, 100 Main Street, offers window hours on Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday hours are 9:30 to noon.

The blue collection box for Pyrites will move across the street from its current location in Pyrites.

Pyrites customers will receive stamps by mail envelopes – allowing next day fulfillment at no extra charge for many postal services such as stamp purchases– for easy access to postal supplies, officials note.

Full postal services including package shipments and money orders are available at post offices in Hermon (88 Main Street), DeKalb Junction (4329 US HWY 1) or Russell (4 Pestle Street).

Kinney Drugs, Price Choppers and Wal-Mart Supercenter also sell books of stamps at no added charge.

The Pyrites Post Office was open two hours on weekdays and from 8:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. on Saturdays.

No timetable for a return of postal services to the community has been established.