Clayton News Daily

Local residents may be rushing to stores near week’s end for last minute, and post-Christmas holiday shopping, but they will not be able to do the same thing at Clayton County government offices.

The county is scheduled to close for two days, starting later this week, in observance of Christmas. The first day will be Friday, Dec. 23, in observance of Christmas Eve, and the second day will be Monday, Dec. 26, in observance of Christmas Day, according to the county’s web site.

The holiday observances were set by the Clayton County Board of Commissioners in June.

“We understand that not everybody may realize it’s a legal holiday, and that’s why it’s important that we have posted the dates on our web site, and at all of our offices,” said county spokesperson, Jamie Carlington. “We’re trying to make sure people know that we’ll be closed on those days.”

With the county taking those two days off as holidays, that means residents can expect county-operated facilities to be closed during that period. Affected facilities include libraries, parks and recreation facilities, senior centers, courts, tax offices, and Clayton County Water Authority offices and facilities.

Public safety employees, including county sheriff’s deputies, police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians are expected to be the only workers who will be reporting for duty on Friday and Monday.

“They’ll be running their regular schedules, so everybody can be assured that our public safety people will be making sure we stay safe,” Carlington said.

The holiday closures are expected to result in the county’s libraries closing early, at 6 p.m., on Thursday, according to the library system’s web site.

All county offices are expected to re-open under normal businesses hours, on Tuesday, Dec. 27, according to the county’s web site. The county is scheduled to be closed again, on Dec. 31, through Jan. 2, 2012, in observance of the New Year’s holiday.

Call (770) 477-3208, for more information.