Offices close, trash routes change for holidays

by Cristin Parker, Josie Fox, Michelle Dillon

Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

The Cherokeean Herald’s office will be closed for the holidays beginning Thursday, Dec. 20 and will re-open at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019. This holiday break will not interrupt deliveries, as both the Dec. 26 and Jan. 2 issues will be sent to the presses prior to the office closing for the holiday. The editorial staff has compiled several end of the year stories, as well as some to kick off 2019, for readers to enjoy.

Numerous other offices around Cherokee County will close to celebrate the Christmas holiday, too.

The U.S. Postal Service will close Tuesday, Dec. 25. Mail will be delivered as usual on Monday, Dec. 24. Priority Mail Express mail only will be delivered Christmas Day. All post offices will resume regular delivery and office hours on Wednesday, Dec. 26. For the new year, post offices will close on Tuesday, Jan. 1. Normal collection and delivery will resume Wednesday, Jan. 2. Post offices will close at the following times Monday, Dec. 24:

- Alto 3:30 p.m.

- Jacksonville 3 p.m.

- N. Summerfield 4:15 p.m.

- Rusk noon

- Troup post office noon

- Wells 12 noon

State offices, including the Department of Public Safety and Health and Human Services will be closed Monday, Dec. 24 through Wednesday, Dec. 26; and again on Tuesday, Jan. 1, for New Year’s Day.

The Cherokee County Courthouse and other county offices, including the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, the Cherokee County Annex and all four county precinct offices will also close from Monday, Dec. 24 through Wednesday, Dec. 26; and again on Tuesday, Jan. 1, for New Year’s Day.

Anyone needing emergency services can call 911 for police, fire or medical emergencies.

The municipal offices, public libraries and police department offices of Alto, Jacksonville, New Summerfield, Rusk, Troup and Wells will be closed Monday, Dec. 24 and Tuesday, Dec. 25, in observance of the Christmas holidays. All will reopen for regular business hours on Dec. 26. These entities will also all close on Tuesday, Jan. 1 for the New Year.

Area banks will be closed Tuesday, Dec. 25 in observance of Christmas Day and again Tuesday, Jan. 1, in observance of New Year’s Day. Banks closing at noon Monday, Dec. 24, include Austin Bank, Southside Bank and Texas National Bank. For additional information, customers are encouraged to contact your local branch.

Cities that use Republic Waste Services for solid waste collection may see a change in trash pick-up schedules for the holidays, due to the company’s holiday scheduling.

Trash pick-up in Alto will run one day behind throughout both holiday weeks, beginning with services scheduled for the holiday, according to Republic Service’s website.

“Service scheduled on the holiday will be collected one day later,” the website states. “Scheduled customers for the remainder of the week will receive service as normally scheduled.”

The week of Christmas, trash pickup in Troup will be Thursday, Dec. 27. The next week, New Year's week, trash pickup in Troup will be Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019.

The trash pick-up schedule for the cities of New Summerfield, Rusk and Wells will not change for either holiday.

In Jacksonville there will be no trash pick-up on Tuesday, Dec. 25. Crews will run Tuesday’s route on Wednesday, regular pick-up schedule will resume on Thursday.