NEWPORT, Pa. — Downtown Newport, Perry County is ready for the holidays. Lights hang from the tree in the square and cheerful decorations fill the storefronts.
However, this year, there's an unwelcome addition to the holiday display at Goodwill Keystone Area on North Second Street.
A sign on the door tells customers the location is shutting down just days before Christmas, closing for good on Dec. 23, after more than twenty years of serving the community.
It's the only Goodwill location in Perry County.
Mark McGaffin, a Goodwill marketing and communications director, explained the reason for the closure in a statement to FOX 43, saying in part:
Our stores fund our mission, and we continuously evaluate business practices and market trends to ensure the current and future funding of our mission. With our lease about to expire and taking many other operational factors into account, we made this difficult business decision.
"Why close the Newport store?" asked Newport Borough Council President Penny Frownfelter.
Frownfelter said she's surprised by the company's decision, saying if the concern is increased shipping costs, other Goodwill locations are farther away than Newport. She's worried the closure could impact people living on a fixed income.
"More than half of our people are considered low-income," she said. "They rely on the Goodwill store for clothing and household items that the Goodwill sells."
"This is where we go. I wear Goodwill clothes," said James Hugney of Duncannon. "This is after I'm done wearing them for work and everything. I can't afford to buy other clothes."
Duncannon resident James Hugney says he and his wife live off of Social Security. They come to the Newport Goodwill to save.
When it closes, the Hugney's are not sure they'll be able to make it to the closest Goodwill locations in Burnham and Harrisburg, each location more than a thirty-minute drive away. They're even more concerned about those without a vehicle.
"This store has been a landmark," Hugney said. "The poor people in this general area that don't have transportation depend on this store more than we do."
Newport Borough Council plans to send a letter to Goodwill expressing its position, but Frownfelter doesn't think it will make a difference.