Have you been counted in the Census? There appears to be whole neighborhoods missing from the census log books:
I live just outside of the city of Starkville and I had not been contacted for the census by person, mail, or door hanger. I knew that the census was almost over. Therefore, Tuesday, July 6th, I called the census office in Tupelo where I spoke with a very nice lady.
After much searching, she couldn”t find me in the system. Nor could she find neighbors along Old Hwy 12. She did find three others with an Old Hwy 12 address, and an apartment complex up the street. She also said there were only three additions (houses built between the initial mapping and actual enumeration) listed for Oktibbeha County, one of which was in Maben. I may be wrong, but I do believe that more than three houses were built in two years.
This is frightening. Many things depend on the census. It appears to me that there is at least one whole neighborhood left out of the census all together, and possibly many more situations just like this all over.
I contacted State Rep. Dannie Reed and U.S Rep. Gregg Harper”s Starkville office and both are working on it. I”ve e-mailed the Oktibbeha County Supervisors and other elected officials. I contacted Tim Pratt with the Starkville Dispatch and he went to work on the problem. I”ve also contacted other news outlets.
I realize that other things may be more important but, as I was told by the lady in the Tupelo census office, there is a deadline in August. If someone does not take this on in short order, we may not have a good census.
I hope that it”s just a fluke, a simple mistake, or actually an IT problem rather than some sinister effort to control the count. Citizen anger is building because we”re in such a position that we fear our government.
It appears that our U.S. Congress is becoming irrelevant. Re-election is all that matters. Fear of government at all levels is increasing. As citizens we have to be vigilant.
We are seeking information of others who have not received a census form or been contacted by a census worker.
Please let me know if you”ve not been visited by a census worker or sent a form to fill out: [email protected] or call me @ 418-8115.
Gary Chesser
Starkville
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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