Washington residents draw Christmas shift

    Christmas is just two days away, and many people are preparing for long road trips to see their relatives. Others are hosting get-togethers here in Washington County. While most of the population is on vacation, a handful of folks will wake up Christmas morning and go to work, just like any other day of the week.

    Washington County Deputy Nathan Schmuecker is one of those folks. Schmuecker works the early shift on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, meaning his day begins at 6 a.m. and ends at 2 p.m. Schmuecker has worked in the department for a little over a year. It is the second year he has drawn the short straw on Christmas; he had to work the holiday last year, too.   

    Schmuecker said he?ll be able to see his family on the night of Christmas Eve. He?ll travel to Iowa City for supper that night after work, and then go back to work the next day. Luckily for Schmuecker, his family didn?t have to change its plans to accommodate his holiday work schedule. 

    ?I?m pretty much accustomed to working holidays,? he said. ?You have to anticipate working then. After all, someone has to be out there.?

    Schmuecker said he made no effort to switch days with another deputy, and remarked that such swapping is uncommon.

    ?If you have to work, you have to work,? he said.

    At his previous job with the Muscatine Police Department, the officers competed with one another to get Christmas off. Schmuecker said seniority determined who worked the holidays, with the more senior officers receiving better odds to get those days off.

    Schmuecker remarked that the overtime pay takes some of the sting out of working on Christmas.

For the full story, see the Dec. 23 edition of The Washington Evening Journal