Eagle County offices closed June 19 in celebration of the Juneteenth holiday
This is the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was adopted in 1983
Eagle County government offices, including the Avon and El Jebel satellite offices, will be closed on Thursday, June 19, in observance of Juneteenth Day.
On June 19, 1865, two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and months after the Civil War ended, Major General Gordon Granger took command of Union troops in Galveston, Texas. Granger went to Texas to enforce the emancipation of an estimated 250,000 enslaved Americans and oversee Reconstruction. His presence signaled that America would not relent until the last enslaved people in America were free.
The day was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, when the 117th U.S. Congress enacted and President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. Juneteenth became the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was adopted in 1983.
Colorado officially adopted Juneteenth as a state holiday in 2022. Gov. Jared Polis signed the bill into law on May 2, 2022, making it Colorado’s 11th state holiday.
“For many of us, Juneteenth is the first new Federal or State Holiday created in our adult lifetimes, and so it represents an opportunity for many of us to learn the importance and history of this significant event in our nation’s history,” Eagle County Commissioner Tom Boyd said. “I hope that the people of Eagle County will join me in utilizing Juneteenth as opportunity to dive deeper into our shared history, to recognize the often turbulent past of our nation, to remember that it has always required unrelenting bravery and action to ensure freedom for all Americans, and to use these lessons from the past to inspire us toward a better and more equitable future for everyone in our county, our state, and our nation.”
While county offices will be closed, the Eagle County landfill and related facilities will remain open. The Eagle County Road and Bridge Department will be on call at 970-479-2200 in case of emergency.
County offices and facilities will resume regular hours on June 20.
Emergency services are always available by calling 911.
For non-emergencies, call the Vail Public Safety Communications Center, 970-479-2201.
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Core Transit bus routes will operate on their regular schedules.
