Second census notice to be mailed soon

Cape Girardeau County and Missouri are ahead of the national average on returning census forms, but some people may have been missed when the questionnaires were mailed and the federal government wants to count those people, too.

A second mailing to households that have not returned their forms is due to go out in coming days, said Rich Gerdes, assistant regional Census Bureau manager in Kansas City. In addition, the bureau has help obtaining and filing out forms available in town and online, Gerdes said.

Before the forms arrived, the Census Bureau sent out letters to each address it verified last year. The letters notified residents that their form should arrive soon. In addition, the agency sent postcards reminding people to fill out and return the 10-question form.

Some newer homes, or those where the bureau's address verification workers were unable to find a precise address, may have been missed, Gerdes said.

"We don't guess on things," he said. "If they go out and didn't see a house number, or whatever it might have been, we are not just going to write down the 'white house with the brown balcony' or whatever it might have been."

Local questionnaire assistance centers can be found at the following locations:

* House of Hope Church, 1000 Ranney Ave., Cape Girardeau.

* Riverside Regional Library, 1997 E. Jackson Blvd., Jackson

* Bollinger County Library, 302 Conrad Ave., Marble Hill, Mo.

* Oran Branch, Riverside Regional Library, 120 Mountain St., Oran, Mo.

* Sikeston Public Library, 121 E. North St., Sikeston, Mo.

* Altenburg Branch, Riverside Regional Library, 66 Poplar St., Altenburg, Mo.

In addition, people needing forms or assistance may call 866-872-6868 or go online to http://2010census.gov.

As of Friday, 40 percent of Missouri's census forms had been returned, according to data online. Cape Girardeau County also had a 40 percent return rate. Cape Girardeau city residents had returned 38 percent of their forms, while Jackson had a 46 percent return rate.

Nationally, the return rate as of Friday was 34 percent.

"We are thrilled to death," Gerdes said. "We are extremely proud of the effort and the state has done a lot of hard work to definitely get everybody involved."

Households that have not returned forms will be visited by census takers beginning in May, Gerdes said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent addresses:

1000 Ranney Ave., Cape Girardeau, MO

302 Conrad Ave., Marble Hill, MO

120 Mountain St., Oran, MO

1997 E. Jackson Blvd., Jackson. MO

121 E. North St., Sikeston, MO

66 Poplar St., Altenburg, MO