HERNANDO, Miss. (AP) - DeSoto County supervisors have decided to designate Good Friday - April 18 - as a holiday for county workers instead of the state’s observance of Confederate Memorial Day on April 28.
The Commercial Appeal reported (https://bit.ly/1n0Y73c) Mississippi recognizes 10 holidays, with Confederate Memorial Day one of several that can be swapped for a local holiday.
In August 2013, DeSoto County officials released the findings of a worker survey in which 163 employees preferred Good Friday, 71 chose Confederate Memorial Day and nine checked “follow state holidays.”
With the change, county administrative offices will be closed April 18 and will be open on April 28, which remains a state holiday.
DeSoto officials said Good Friday was a popular choice because it’s a school holiday for many students in the county.
Supervisor Bill Russell of Walls asked about problems of providing certain county services, such as selling car tags, with state offices closed on Confederate Memorial Day.
“As long as the state computer system is up and running, we can sell tags,” said County Administrator Vanessa Lynchard. “But if the state computer goes down, there’s no support service that day. And it does go down from time to time.”
Another date of note is May 2, when the county will honor its first responders who died in the line of duty with the annual Fallen Heroes ceremony on the courthouse grounds in Hernando at 10 a.m.
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Information from: The Commercial Appeal, https://www.commercialappeal.com
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