FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE County of Kings Media Contact: Kyria Martinez [email protected] (559) 852-2377

MOST COUNTY OF KINGS’ OFFICES WILL BE CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC FROM END OF BUSINESS ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2020 UNTIL MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 AT 8:00 A.M.

HANFORD, CA – (REVISED December 9, 2020) Most of County of Kings’ offices will be closed to the public from end of business on Wednesday, December 23,2020 until Monday, January 4, 2021 at 8:00a.m.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE – 680 N. CAMPUS DRIVE, SUITE B, HANFORD • During this time period the department will have an inspector available to respond to calls for Phytosanitary Certification inspections, “Blue Tag” shipment inspections, 008 out-of-state shipments, and Line Inspections for seed certification inspections at cotton gins. • In order to arrange these services between December 24 and January 1, you are asked to call (559) 852-2830 24-hours in advance of the service needed. Please leave a message describing your service request, and all messages will be checked once each day between December 24 and January 1 (with the exception of December 25).

ASSESSOR/CLERK-RECORDER OFFICE - BUILDING #7 1400 W. LACEY BLVD, HANFORD Kings County Clerk-Recorder's Office will be open on the following days: • December 24: Open 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. for document recording only. To receive the 8:00 a.m. recording time, title companies must submit documents prior to 8:30 a.m.; rejected documents may be returned no later than 9:00 a.m. Members of the public may submit documents for recording between the hours of 8:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. and will be recorded after title company documents are processed. • December 25: All offices closed for Christmas Holiday. • December 28 thru 30: Open 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. for document recording only. To receive the 8:00 a.m. recording time, title companies must submit documents prior to 8:30 a.m.; rejected documents may be returned no later than 9:00 a.m. Members of the public may submit documents for recording between the hours of 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. and will be recorded after title company documents are processed. • December 31st: Open 8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. for document recording only. To receive the 8:00 a.m. recording time, title companies must submit documents prior to 8:30 a.m.; rejected documents may be returned no later than 10:00 a.m. Members of the public may submit documents for recording between the hours of 8:00 - 11:00 a.m. and will be recorded after title company documents are processed. NOTE: THIS IS THE LAST DAY TO RECORD A DOCUMENT FOR 2020.

1

• January 1, 2021: All offices closed for New Year's Holiday. • January 4, 2021: Kings County Assessor and Clerk-Recorder's Office resumes normal business hours. Due to COVID-19 and our attempts to limit potential exposure, the offices are serving customers by appointment. To schedule appointments, please call 559-852-2486 for the Assessor's Office or 559-852-2470 for the Clerk-Recorder's Office.

Map Recordings: The Kings County Surveyor's Office will be closed from December 24th until January 4, 2021. Any maps or Record of Surveys not recorded prior to close of business on December 23rd cannot be recorded until January 4th at the earliest.

If you have any questions regarding the holiday closure hours, please call the Recorder's Office at (559) 852-2470 or visit the website at: https://www.countyofkings.com/departments/general-services/assessor-clerk- recorder/holiday-schedule-detail

HEALTH DEPARTMENT – 330 CAMPUS DR, HANFORD The offices will be closed to the public from Thursday, December 24, 2020 until Monday, January 4, 2021.

Communicable Disease Unit - For a communicable disease emergency, (non-COVID-19 related) call (559) 852-2720 for dispatch.

COVID-19 Results – Public Health staff will still be notifying individuals of the their COVID- 19 test results, conducting case investigations and contact tracing except on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (December 24 & 25) and New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day (December 31 & January 1).

COVID-19 Testing:

- The mobile testing unit will continue to collect test samples with the exception of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (December 24 & 25) and New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day (December 31 & January 1). The testing schedule and locations will be posted on the Department of Public Health website. Visit www.kingscovidinfo.com and click on the “Kings County: Free Mobile Testing Site Schedule”

- The state operated testing site located at 1520 Kings County Drive, Hanford will continue normal operations except they will be closed on Christmas Day (December 25, 2020) and New Year’s Day (January 1, 2021). Call 888-634-1123 for an appointment.

Environmental Health Services – No new permits will be issued during the closure. No water samples will be accepted or collected during the closure period.

2

Intervention and Prevention – No direct services will be available including: No TB Clearance; No TB Skin Testing; No HIV testing; No STD Testing or Treatment; No immunizations.

Women, Infant & Children (WIC) – No direct services will be available including: No vouchers for infant formula prescription changes, No electric breast pumps issued, No emergency services available.

First 5 – No services will be available during the closure.

Vital Statistics - Kings County Health Department will be filing death certificates and issuing disposition permits electronically on the following days: • December 28, 29, and 30, filing will occur one time in the morning and one time in the afternoon. The approximate times set to go in and review records are 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. There will be NO birth or death certified copies issued on the following days. • Thursday, December 24 and Friday, December 25; we will be closed for the day. • Thursday, December 31 and Friday, January 1; we will be closed for the day.

If there is an extremely urgent matter you can call (559) 904-7216 and leave a message, your phone call will be returned within 24 hours.

For emergency services, please call Dispatch at (559) 852-2720.

HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY – HANFORD, 1400 W. LACEY BLVD. BLDG. 8, CORCORAN, 951 CHITTENDEN AVE, AND IN AVENAL, 520 FRESNO ST.

The Human Services Agency offices will be closed on Thursday, December 24, 2020, and will reopen at 8:00 AM, on Monday, January 4, 2021.

Agency employees will be available by telephone at 852-2235 or toll free 1-800-289-9981, extension 2235 to screen EMERGENCY ONLY REQUESTS for aid in the Hanford office only on December 28, 29, and 30, from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM. You can also file an application on online at: https://www.c4yourself.com/

Inquiries about Roomkey Project, please call (559) 852-2060.

To report suspected child abuse and neglect, call the 24-hour hotline: 1-(559) 852-2000

To report suspected elder and dependent adult abuse, call the 24-hour hotline: 1-(559) 852- 4000

IN-HOME SUPPORTIVE SERVICES (IHSS) PUBLIC AUTHORITY - BUILDING #8, 1400 W. LACEY BLVD., HANFORD

3

IHSS Public Authority will be closed on Thursday, December 24, 2020, and will reopen at 8:00 AM on, Monday, January 4, 2021.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT The office will be closed from close of business on December 23, and will reopen to the public at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 4, 2021. The Emergency Crisis Line is available, call 1-800- 655-2553.

EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT: ONE-STOP JOB CENTER – 124 N. IRWIN STREET, HANFORD December 28, 29, 30, 31 and 1: Open 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. for Unemployment Insurance and Job Search services by appointment only, please call 559-585-3532.

KINGS COUNTY LIBRARY • Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, all branch libraries will remain closed for in- person services until further notice. • December 23, 2020: Contact-Free Library Pickup will be available from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Hanford and Lemoore branch libraries. • December 24, 2020 – January 1, 2021: Contact-free Library Pickup will be unavailable from 12:00 p.m. on December 24th through January 4th. All book drops will be closed during this time. Contact-Free Library Pickup will resume its regular schedule and all book drops will reopen 24/7 on Monday, January 4, 2021.

LAW ENFORCEMENT AND FIRE EMERGENCY SERVICES WILL BE PROVIDED AS USUAL (SHERIFF, FIRE, AND DISPATCH).

Sheriff’s Office headquarters and Fire headquarters will be closed.

PROBATION: will be closed from December 23, 2020 through January 4, 2021, however, they will remain fully staffed for Courts and Juvenile Detentions. Probation will reopen at 8:00 a.m. on January 4, 2021. During the closure, emergency requests can be directed to County Dispatch at 559-852-2720, and they will forward the request to on-call probation staff.

PUBLIC WORKS: The Kings County Public Works office will be closed beginning December 23, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. and we will re-open on January 4, 2021 at 8:00 a.m. There will be no one in the office to process Transportation Permits during this time. To insure timely processing of permits please submit all permit requests by Tuesday, December 22nd at 5:00 p.m.

IF YOU NEED EMERGENCY SERVICES - CALL 911

4