Published: February 13, 2009 06:55 am      

Closing for President’s Day holiday

By Cristin Ross

cross@jacksonvilleprogress.com

Monday is Presidents’ Day, which means some federal, state and local entities will be closed.

Federal entities that will be closed Monday include all U.S. Post Offices, federal courts and department offices and some banks.

State offices that will close to observe President’s Day include the Texas Department of Public Safety driver’s license office. However, all school districts in Cherokee County will hold regular classes on Monday.

The Cherokee County Courthouse and the offices of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department will also close during regular business hours on Monday.

Anyone needing emergency services may call 911 for help.

Municipal offices of the city of Rusk will be closed on Monday as well. Customers are urged to use the city’s night deposit box to pay utility bills. The cities of Bullard, New Summerfield and Jacksonville will all be open for business on Monday.

According to the Web site, www.bigdates.com, Presidents’ Day — the common name for the federal holiday officially designated as first President George Washington’s birthday — is celebrated on the third Monday of February.

“Washington’s birthday was originally implemented by the federal government in 1880 in the District of Columbia and expanded in 1885 to include all federal offices,” the Web site states.

The holiday became know as President’s Day in the late 1980s, thanks to the efforts of advertisers, and was expanded to honor another February President, Abraham Lincoln

“Although Lincoln’s birthday, Feb. 12, was never a federal holiday, approximately a dozen state governments have officially renamed their Washington’s Birthday observances as “Presidents’ Day,” “Washington and Lincoln Day,” or other such designations,” the Web site states.