COUNTY WORKERS TO ENJOY MINI-VACATION

JACKSON - Much to the chagrin of Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep, county employees will be enjoying a mini-vacation this month.

Several years ago, the county adopted a policy of following state guidelines for its holidays because court employees and some juvenile personnel are actually state employees. The commission was trying to avoid having some offices with employees scheduled to be off and some scheduled to work on certain holidays.

But the state of Missouri gives employees Lincoln's birthday off, which always falls on Feb. 12, and President's Day off, which falls on the third Monday of February. This year, Feb. 12 is on Friday and President's Day on Feb. 15 - which means county and state employees go home at 4:30 Thursday and are off until 8 a.m. Tuesday.

"Whatever the state holiday is, we will be off, but I am disappointed that it is a four-day weekend," said Huckstep. "I guess we'll just shut down for four days.

"I'm unhappy about it, but we have no choice. It's unfortunate but we can't have all the clerks in the court system and some juvenile personnel off and the rest working."

Huckstep explained that most people working in the county courthouse and administration building do not differentiate between who is a state employee and who is a county employee.

"Our employees all consider it one big happy family," said Huckstep.

"Our county policy has been established with state holidays and we will follow them."

But on Jan. 11 declared a state holiday because of Inauguration Day Huckstep balked at giving county employees the day off. He contended that the county only follows standing state holidays, not those that occur every four years.

"It's nothing personal against Gov. Carnahan, I'm glad we have a new governor. But I just didn't see why employees in Cape County needed a day off because of an inauguration ceremony 200 miles away," Huckstep argued.

Huckstep found some brief comfort in noticing that since Lincoln's Birthday is on a Friday this year, the holiday will be on Saturday in 1994 and Sunday in 1995.

But after a closer look, he discovered to his dismay that employees will have the holiday anyway. Guidelines for state holidays give employees Friday off if the holiday falls on a Saturday, and Monday off if it falls on a Sunday.

"Bureaucracy wins again," Huckstep complained.