MITCHELL, SD (Mitchell Now) — The federal Juneteenth holiday is causing a change in hours Friday for the Mitchell Regional Landfill and garbage collection.
Expect the trucks to be rumbling through their normal route beginning at 7:00 a.m. They plan to be finished up by noon. The landfill will be open in the morning but is set to close at noon to the public.
For those with questions on the holiday schedule, they can call 605-995-8465 or 605-995-8448.
What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth National Independence Day is the newest federal holiday, created in 2021. It is observed on June 19th, which coincides with events along Galveston Bay in southeastern Texas 161 years ago. On that date in 1865, Major General Gordon Granger read the final enforcement order of the Emancipation Proclamation along the Gulf.
President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863. In the years that followed Union troops freed slaves piecemeal as they conquered more territory from the rebel army.
The process escalated when General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 12, 1865. By June, the war was officially over all across the south. On June 19th, 1865, Granger made sure Lincoln’s vision was finally realized.