Residents urged to fill out census forms

This graph shows the population of Dyer County, Dyersburg, Newbern and Trimble from 1830 to 2000.

Dob Johnson has been going to city and county schools to help get the word out about the census, in hopes students will relay to their parents how important this year's census is.

Dyer County Schools Superintendent Dr. Dwight Hedge said it is in everybody's interest to return the census packet. He added the census affects other programs other than just schools.

"We are trying to raise awareness," said Hedge. "Our return rate for Dyer County is not as high as other communities. Our representation is based on census data and the federal government allocates dollars on that data."

The U.S. Constitution gives the government the power to conduct a census every 10 years. The population totals from the census are used to determine representation in Washington D.C. and Nashville.

"Based on the population totals, collected from the census, over $400 billion dollars are given out each year," said Johnson. "These funds are used on schools, school programs, roads, health care, and other programs that benefit all of us."

Census officials are asking for residents to please take the time to completely fill out the census form and put it back in the mail. If residents do not mail the census packet back in, the Census Bureau will send a census worker to those homes to ask the same 10 questions that are on the form.

Johnson advises that if a census worker comes to your home, please ask to see their identification that identifies them as a census worker.

"The U.S. government only wants an accurate count of the population of the United States as well as Dyer County," said Johnson. "The Census Bureau is not worried about your country of citizenship, they cannot deport anyone. They will not ask for your Social Security number, bank account information, credit card information or a donation."

Johnson notes the U.S. Census Bureau will not contact anyone by e-mail.

"This is not a case of the government invading your privacy; they are trying to determine the population totals as accurately as possible," said Johnson.

He added that the information given on the census is protected by law and the Census Bureau cannot share your individual answers with anyone or any other government organization.

Currently there will be five sites set up for census help: Newbern City Hall, Trimble City Hall, Dyer County Court Clerk, Bruce Community Center and the Dyersburg/Dyer County Chamber of Commerce.

The hours of operation for these sites will be limited and someone trained by the Census Bureau will be there to help fill out the census forms. They will also have extra census forms available and forms in different languages.

"Remember, this year's census will affect residents for the next 10 years," said Johnson. "Let's all make sure that it is completed correctly."

Johnson said April 1 is the census date and the forms need to be in by that date if possible.

Hedge added that filling out the census form is a big deal and he is encouraging everyone to do so.

"There is no disadvantage, but there are a lot of advantages," said Hedge.

Census facts

* Population census takes place every 10 years.

* It is required by the Constitution of the United States of America, protected by law and failure to complete it or giving false information on it is punishable by law.

* March 15 to March 17 the citizens of Dyer County should receive their census forms.

* The forms are to be filled out as of April 1, 2010 and mailed back in.

* For the Census of 2000 the mail-in return rate was 67 percent. For every percentage point that it increases, it will save us (the U.S. government) about $85 million. Dyer County's return rate was 62.9 percent.

* The 1990 rate for mail-in returns was 65 percent.

* Those that do not mail them in completed will get a visit from a U.S. Census Bureau employee.

* If a U.S. Census worker does come to your home, make sure that they have a U.S. Census photo ID and a U.S. Census bag with them.

* The U.S. House representative, Tennessee senator and Tennessee state representative is determined by the population, taken every 10 years from the census.

* The census does not ask for personal identification numbers or country of citizenship. In fact all information given is protected by federal law and cannot be provided to anyone on an individual basis.

* The 2010 Census will take about 10 minutes to properly fill out.

* The 2010 Census questionnaires are printed in six languages, and there is a questionnaire guide that assists with 59 languages.

* The first census was in 1790. The founding fathers wanted the government to be governed by the people, not the government governing the people. They had just finished fighting a war over this, The Revolutionary War, to free Americans from the King of England.

* This happened in Philadelphia, Pa. at the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 -- they wrote on a piece of paper and called it the Constitution.

* In Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 it gives the government the authority to complete a census every 10 years. This year it will be the 23rd census for the U.S. and Tennessee. (Tennessee statehood was in 1796, six years after the first census.) It will be the 19th for Dyer County, 15th for the city of Dyersburg, 14th for the city of Newbern and 11th for the town of Trimble.

* Based on the Constitution there will be one U.S. House representative for every 30,000 in population. Based on this plan and the 2000 Census the U.S. would have 9,380.7 representatives, one-third of the population of Dyer County. The state of Tennessee would have 189.6 representatives. Currently Tennessee has nine and the U.S. has a total of 435. The 435 will never change, however the districts the representatives cover could change and states could lose or add representation. Currently each representative covers 647,000 people.

* Tennessee has had as few as one representative and as many as 13. Dyer County's Washington representative is Congressman John Tanner. He covers most of Northwest Tennessee. Counties include: Tipton, Lauderdale, Dyer, Lake, Obion, Haywood, Crockett, Gibson, Weakley, Henry, Carroll, Benton, Madison, Stewart, Houston, Humphreys, Dickson and Montgomery.

* As of Feb. 15, 2010 at 9:41 p.m. EST the estimated population of the USA was 308,691,489.

* 1 birth occurs every 7 seconds, or 12342.9 per day.

* 1 death every 11 seconds or 7854.5 per day.

* 1 international migrant enters the country every 34 seconds.

* The U.S. has a net gain of 1 person every 13 seconds, which is 4.6 people per minute, 276 people per hour, 6624 people per day.

* The 2000 Census return rate was 67 percent. For every percentage point gain it will cost $85 million to get to 100 percent, it will cost roughly $3 billion dollars.

* As a result of the Census, there are allocations on over $400 billion. That is roughly $1300, per individual based on the 2000 census. However, some get more; some get less based on needs and the accuracy of the census.

* These funds also pay for programs such as Title 1, college grants and loans, road and community improvements, public health services and more.

* On the average a high school graduate makes $23,400 a year and $1.2 million in a lifetime, a college graduate makes $52,200 a year and $2.1 a lifetime.

* Why complete the Census? It's the law. It only takes 10 minutes. It is the right thing to do. It might not help you, but it could help someone you know.