RISON - It literally took an act of Congress but the post office at Kingsland will now be officially known as the Kingsland “Johnny Cash” Post Office after former president Joe Biden signed the legislation to rename it on Jan. 4.Arkansas Fourth District Congressman Bruce Westerman (R-Hot Springs) first introduced legislation last February to rename the post office after Kingsland’s most famous native son. After Westerman’s bill made it through the U.S. House of Representatives on June 3, the U.S. Senate approved the bill on Dec. 19. The only step left after that was to have the president sign the legislation, which President Biden did on Jan. 4.Cash was born Feb. 26, 1932, in the Cross Roads community about three miles north of Kingsland. His family left Cleveland County three years after his birth to take part in a Depression-era farming program at the Dyess Colony in Mississippi County.Cash has a special connection with the post office that now bears his name. On March 31, 1994, Johnny Cash joined his wife June, his son John Carter, and all of his then-living siblings to perform a concert in the parking lot of what was then the new Kingsland Post Office to commemorate its opening. About 3,000 people attended the event.According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), a plaque measuring about 11 inches by 14 inches will be installed in a “prominent” location at the post office.While Westerman sponsored the bill, every congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the state must approve the legislation as well as both of the state’s U.S. Senators before it can move forward, according to CRS.CRS also states that post offices are not typically named after someone who is still living, nor can any two post offices be named after the same person. U.S. Postal Service officials are responsible for planning a dedication ceremony, which can be held on the premises or a nearby lo...
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