CENSUS WORKERS READY TO VISIT 66,000 HOUSEHOLDS IN AREA

Census workers will start knocking on doors Saturday in an effort to contact the approximately 66,000 households in Southeast Missouri that didn't fill out and mail back census forms.

Nationwide, about 78 million of the 120 million mailed census forms have been filled out and returned, a 65 percent response rate. That leaves 42 million households to contact.

Nationally the effort is expected to take 10 weeks and involve 440,000 census takers.

About 1,400 census takers will be involved in the effort in the 31-counties of Southeast Missouri that are under the supervision of the Cape Girardeau census office.

"We are starting out with about 1,000 people and we will add another 400 next week, we hope," said Ellen Brandom, local census office manager.

Brandom said she hopes the door-to-door work in the region can be completed in eight weeks.

The region includes the counties of Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Crawford, Dent, Douglas, Dunklin, Howell, Iron, Laclede, Madison, Mississippi, New Madrid, Oregon, Ozark, Pemiscot, Perry, Phelps, Pulaski, Reynolds, Ripley, Scott, Shannon, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Stoddard, Texas, Washington, Wayne and Wright.

In Cape Girardeau, census workers plan to concentrate heavily on getting the questionnaires answered for Southeast Missouri State University students who live off campus.

Brandom said census workers will blitz a large area around the campus. The area is bounded by New Madrid on the north and William on the south. It extends east to North Sprigg and west to West End Boulevard and Perry Avenue.

About 154,000 households in Southeast Missouri mailed back the census questionnaires, Brandom said. But in 29 of the 31 counties, the mail-back response rate has been lower than it was in the 1990 census. The lower response rate has occurred despite efforts by the Census Bureau and local count committees to publicize the census and encourage people to fill out the forms.

Only in Iron County was the response rate better: 60 percent compared to 57 percent a decade ago. In Ozark County the response rate of 60 percent matches the 1990 rate.

In Pemiscot County, only 55 percent of households have filled out the census questionnaires compared to 70 percent in 1990.

The lowest response has been in Reynolds County where only 52 percent of households have mailed back their census forms. The response was 60 percent in that county a decade ago.

Cape Girardeau and Perry counties have the highest response rates, both at 71 percent. Still, the response in those counties is slightly below the 75 and 77 percent responses, respectively, in 1990.

"I was disappointed," Brandom said Thursday.

Nationwide, the 65 percent mail-in response is the same as it was in 1990. Without the promotional effort, it would have been lower, she said.

She said some of the region's residents have called to say that they didn't receive the census forms. Some hand-delivered census forms that were left on front-door handles also failed to get in the hands of those residents, she said.

Those persons who didn't get census forms will be visited by census workers just like those individuals who received the forms but didn't fill them out, Brandom said.

The door-to-door census effort involves a wide variety of individuals, from retirees to college students. About half are expected to work full time, while others are scheduled to work part time, she said. The census takers will be paid $10 an hour.

Area census takers include former Scott City mayor Shirley Young. "I love history. I love genealogy. I know how important the census is," she said.

Census information, among other things, is used in genealogical research.

Young worked on the 1980 census. "I really appreciate the work that goes into the census. It is not quite the simple thing that the man on the street might think it is."

Brooke Dirnberger of Sikeston is married to a Marine who is on a six-month deployment. Dirnberger views the job as a way to earn some extra cash.

The Rev. David Allen is a member of the local Complete Count Committee. He said he wanted to do more than be "a drum beater or cheerleader" for the 2000 census.

Allen hopes the minority community will answer the census forms. Minorities, he said, historically have been undercounted.

"I would certainly like to see minorities counted," said Allen.

The census takers, he said, will have to sell some residents on why they should fill out the census. "It is going to take a lot of people skills," he said.

Census takers will visit households mostly in the late afternoon or early evening and on weekends.

People who didn't return the long forms will be asked by census takers to answer the long form questions. Similarly, those who didn't respond to the short form will be asked to answer the short-form questions.

Nationwide, only 54 percent of households receiving the long forms have mailed them back. In 1990, the rate was 60 percent.

Brandom said she understands that some people don't want to answer all the questions on the long form.

Census takers will ask the questions and fill in the forms.

If necessary, census takers will make as many as three visits and three telephone calls to a household in an effort to get the information, Brandom said.