Several city and county offices will see closures or service changes with the upcoming Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
Carter County offices will be closed Friday, Dec. 23, through Tuesday, Dec. 27, reopening for normal business hours on Wednesday, Dec. 28.
Under the terms of Carter County’s policy on holiday observances, Carter County Mayor Leon Humphrey said county employees receive not only Christmas Day off but two work days around the holiday as well. Because Christmas Day itself falls on a weekend this year, those three days off for the holiday will be observed on Friday, Monday and Tuesday.
While the county has an official policy for employees, Humphrey said the elected and appointed officials who head the different departments can choose to be open for any of those days if they determine it to be necessary.
Humphrey said the Carter County Animal Shelter, which typically has operating hours on Saturday, will also be closed from Dec. 23 through Dec. 27 and will reopen on Wednesday, Dec. 28.
The only county service which is not following the closing observance of Friday through Tuesday is the Carter County Landfill.
“It’s hard to shut down here,” said Carter County Solid Waste Director Benny Lyons, adding the landfill provides an essential service to residents, making it difficult to shut down operations for an extended period.
The Carter County Landfill and Recycling Center, as well as the Convenience Centers located in Roan Mountain and Elk Mills, will be closed from Friday, Dec. 23, through Sunday, Dec. 25.
“We’re going to be wide open on Monday,” Lyons said, adding both the Landfill and Recycling Center will be open all week next week.
For the New Year’s holiday, Humphrey said county offices will be closed on Monday, Jan. 2, 2017, to observe New Year’s Day, which falls on a Sunday.
The Carter County Court Clerk’s Office, which is typically open for a half-day on Saturdays, will also be closed on Saturday, Dec. 31, in observance of the New Year’s holiday in addition to being closed on Jan. 2.
In the City of Elizabethton, city offices will be closed to observe Christmas from Friday, Dec. 23, through Monday, Dec. 26, and will reopen for normal business hours on Tuesday, Dec. 27.
City residents who normally have their trash picked up by city employees on Friday will need to have their trash out for pickup this week on Thursday.
For the New Year’s Holiday, city offices will be closed on Monday, Jan. 2.
That week, the sanitation department’s trash collection schedule will run one day behind that week, with both Thursday and Friday’s garbage collections taking place on Friday.