Postal Service disavows Robert E. Lee notice on Springdale office

A sign posted Monday on the door of the post office at 429 Holcomb St. in Springdale.
A sign posted Monday on the door of the post office at 429 Holcomb St. in Springdale.

SPRINGDALE -- A U.S. Postal Service representative said downtown post office workers had nothing to do with a notice on the door Monday that claimed it was closed for Gen. Robert E. Lee's birthday.

The notice on the front entrance at 429 Holcomb St. stated, "Closed in rememberance (sic) of General Robert E. Lee's Birthday. January 19 1807-October 12 1889," with a photo of Lee.

Monday, the third Monday of the month, was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a day that Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi also observe as Robert E. Lee Day.

Leisa Tolliver-Gay, a customer relations official for the Postal Service, said the notice was "absolutely not" posted by a post office employee or representative.

"We don't tape our signs on the door, and (if we did) it would be an official USPS sign," Tolliver-Gay said. "And we were closed in recognition of the Martin Luther King federal holiday."

Tolliver-Gay said she did not know if the notice would be considered vandalism and referred the question to Amanda McMurray, public information officer for the Postal Inspection Service.

McMurray did not respond to a voicemail message left on her phone Tuesday.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson recently said he aims to remove state recognition of the Confederate general from the day that is nationally recognized in remembrance of King.

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