JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) - The U.S. Postal Service has decided not to fold Jackson's mail services into the Memphis Processing Center, U.S. Rep. John Tanner, D-Tenn., announced Friday.

Tanner, who opposed the idea, said he was pleased with the decision.

"The Postal Service tells me now that there is no clear benefit to combining the work from the Jackson facilities with the services handled in Memphis," Tanner said in a release. "We have been assured that there will be no significant changes right now in how our mail is handled in West Tennessee."

In a letter protesting the proposal last year, Tanner said closing the Jackson facility would hurt rural communities in West Tennessee.

The Jackson post office processes mail for the 382 and 383 ZIP codes, an area that extends from just west of Jackson to the Tennessee River.

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