Guest Speaker Anita Maddox Representative for the Bibb County Census Bureau explained the importance of filling out the census forms. Every occupied household will begin receiving a questionnaire beginning March of 2010.
These forms are filled out every 10 years to ensure an accurate and fair count of all populations at all geographic levels in the nation. The Census Bureau needs you or someone in your household to fill out the simple questionnaire once it arrives.
Only an estimation of 54 percent filled out the census forms ten years ago in Bibb County. All of Bibb County’s citizens need to be counted accurately. Failing to return the census forms will create serious consequences to your own hometown for the next 10 years to come.
Many may not understand the importance of making each census form filled out, count and make a difference. Any citizen not being accounted in each occupied home, will affect funding in your community. Maddox explained as follows: if 100 people within your community undercount its own citizens, thousands of dollars are forever lost. Alabama’s allotted Federal Domestic Assistance Funds is based in how many people live within each town.
Alabama gets $1,269.33 of Federal Domestic Assistance funds per person for the next 10 years to come. For example: 100 people multiplied by $1,269.33 equals $126,933.00 for 100 people counted in your own hometown. Every person definitely counts. Each person that is not counted, causes loss for money that could help within your own town.
The money allocated is used for neighborhood improvements, public health, education, transportation and much more.
Centreville Historic Preservation Commission hosted this months Chamber of Commerce Coffee. Ashley’s Flowers & Gifts and Hobson Law Firm sponsored the Chamber Coffee.
Chamber President Mike Hobson of Hobson Law Firm spoke much of the history of his new office building. He said he thought the house was built in 1850 and had only three owners, which were The Davidson Family, The Leaper Family and Mary Fuzzell Vining. Mrs. Vining owned the house from 1985 until 2009. Many renovations were done on the house while keeping much of its original More history is being gathered regarding the houses historical past. It is on the National Register of Historical Places.
David Daniels, Designated Appointee on behalf of the commission, said he felt blessed that he could come together with a bunch of leaders of this community and to see them face-to-face.
The Historical Committee has been working nearly 3 years trying to preserve its history. Daniels mentioned a man named Thomas Dory who served in the civil war in 1860. He was a young man that went off to war and never returned back home as many others had done while fighting in the war. Thomas Dory was a Yankee solder that had been buried outside of the Hobson Law Firms new office building in the city of Centreville. Around 1950 or 1960, upon the request of his family, the Wisconsin Calvary came to Bibb County and returned Thomas Dory back to his hometown.
Christmas on the Square will take place in December and homecoming between Brent and Centreville will be on July 3rd, 2010. More details will come at a later date.
Chamber Director Tracey Mitchell has asked the community to not forget to bring your school supplies for the children of DHR. She stressed that they need pencils, pens, paper, crayons, notebooks, backpacks, scissors or just a donation.
Next Chamber of Commerce Coffee is on August 6th, at the Bibb Medical Nursing Home at 9:00 a.m.
This article implies that filling out census forms will help the community tremendously. However, it ignores the fact that the forms are an invasion to privacy! Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has refused to fill out the forms. Why?
ReplyDeleteBACHMANN: If we look at American history, between 1942 and 1947, the data that was collected by the census bureau was handed over to the FBI and other organizations, at the request of President Roosevelt, and that’s how the Japanese were rounded up and put into the internment camps. I’m not saying that’s what the Administration is planning to do. But I am saying that private, personal information that was given to the census bureau in the 1940s was used against Americans to round them up.
There may be a small fine imposed for refusing to fill out the forms but it be will worth every penny!
Yes, there is no doubt that the census is a double edged sword. Certainly citizens have the right to participate or not. As a reporter for the C.P. I can not give my opinion on the census, but certainly the privacy of citizens is an issue worth standing up for. The author of this piece is Deborah Martin and her reporting was that from a Bachmann's civic point of you. She cannot be faulted for Bachmann's opinion. Thank you for commenting.
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