Barton County Commissioners Monday voted 5-0 to grant Christmas Eve, December 24, as an official employee holiday. Since county employees are granted 10 such holidays a year, the board also had to make a decision to remove one of those paid holidays which turned out to be the Martin Luther King holiday on January 21 of 2019.

County Administrator Phil Hathcock feels that any employee who felt it important to take the King holiday off, would still be able to thanks to the employee agreement that is already in place.

Phil Hathcock Audio

The resolution passed Monday means that all county offices and buildings will be closed on Christmas eve with the exception of law enforcement and the landfill which will be open on the morning of the 24. It also means that those same offices and buildings will now be open on Monday January 21 of 2019.