Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

CCIC Hears About Census

This year a census will be conducted to determine the official population of the nation.

It will also determine the official population of all municipalities, counties and states. These figures will be used by the federal and state governments in determining funds provided to cities and counties.

Abby Hughes, who is working to collect the census in Clark County, spoke to the Clark County Industrial Council recently on the importance of an accurate census count.

Census forms will be arriving in the mail by the middle of March, she said, and need to be accurately filled out by the head of the household.

At this time, Hughes told the CCIC members, the census crew is working to educate people on the importance of filling out the survey.

Normally, she said, cities and counties don't get heavily involved with the census, as it is done by the federal government. But, after the 1990 census fiasco, cites and counties are taking a more active role in getting a good count.

It was estimated the census done in 1990 came up an average of 5 percent short across the nation.

In Clark County, brochures have been made in English and Spanish to help inform residents of the importance of the surveys and an accurate count. Hughes said they were done in Spanish because of the influx of Hispanics into the county.

"We need to be sure they understand how vital it is for them to be counted," she said.

"We've been getting help from businesses and industry on the census, and Ouachita Baptist University's communication students have made a video on it.'

The video was shown at the CCIC meeting.

According to Hughes, prospective industries rely heavily on census information when looking at areas to locate.

Municipalities, this year, she said, have been working to provide an accurate and up-to- date list of addresses for census workers. Hughes added 1,000 addresses have been found in Clark County missed in the 1990 count.

Hal Bass, who is on the Census 2000 Education Promotion Committee, said the group has a growing list of volunteers whose mission is to promote a full and accurate count of the residents in Clark County.

The obvious stakes, he said, are economic as the county will benefit in cold hard cash if an increase is shown in population.

For every 1,000 residents, he said, the county can receive $1 million over the next 10 years.

And, he added, whatever the count turns out to be this year, the county will be stuck with for the next decade.

"This census," he told the CCIC board of directors, "is also becoming an exercise in community building, as it's showing people they count in the community. It makes them feel more a part of things and that they have ties. This gives them a stronger sense of community involvement."

Bass said the U.S. Census Bureau has a more accurate list of addresses from Clark County than it's had in 20 or 30 years.

In discussing the survey forms, he said most people will get the short form with about seven questions on it. However, about one-in-seven will get the long form, which is more detailed.

Surveys must be filled out in the county a person lives in, he said. College students must fill out their forms on campus and can't be counted by their parents.

Bass said senior citizens are historically more likely to fill out their census forms than are young people.

Initially the forms will be mailed nationally. However, those people who don't return their will have a census worker show up on their doorstep sometime in April.

It is vital, Hughes said, to fill out and return the surveys.

The information provided by residents in the survey will be protected under the federal privacy act.

However, the data collected will be gathered and used in national surveys, with no names ever listed.

Ironically, Bass said, the actual census day is April 1. He added the forms are no joke and should be filled out.

In other business, CCIC President Brown Hardman said interviews had been done for a director for the Southwest Arkansas Technical Learning Center.

The center, once operational, will work with existing and potential industries to help prepare workers for jobs.

Flave Carpenter, chairman of the CCIC nominating committee, proposed a slate for new members of the board for 2000-2003.

They were Brenda Hawkes, Brian Clark, Randy Jerry, Doug Kershaw, Debbie Sorrells and David Williams. All were accepted en masse.

Wayne Kuhn resigned as a member of the board and was replaced by John Miller, who will fill Kuhn's unexpired term.