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Buckingham residents are petitioning to keep the Dillwyn Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Select Office open after news the location’s contract will not be renewed this summer.

In a Friday, April 30, interview, DMV Agent William Garland Foster noted he received news at the end of January the office, located at 16954 Oak St. in Dillwyn, would see its contract run out at the end of June with no plans for renewal.

“It kind of blindsided us,” he said of the news.

An independently contracted satellite unit with two main employees, the select office does not perform services such as driver’s licenses and IDs. However, citizens can go to the location for things like vehicle titles, decals, renewals, etc.

Foster said after 50 years of operation, the location will not simply cease operations.

“We’re going to try to keep the shop open anyway,” he said.

According to Foster, many citizens were also saddened to hear the news of the site’s potential closing. Should the office end its services, the nearest DMV locations would be found in Cumberland, Farmville and Appomattox.

A petition has been started to keep the Dillwyn DMV Select Office open. As of Friday, Foster said, it had already reached more than 500 signatures.

The petition is available to sign at Foster Tire Company located in the same building as the select office.