RURAL OHIO NEEDS AN
By | Jill Sell FREE LANCE WRITER KENT-RAVENNA RECORD COURIER
ACCURATE CENSUS COUNT
Photo courtesy: U.S. Census Bureau
have You BeeN CouNteD? april 1 was the u.s. Census Bureau’s official Census Day, but not everyone in the united states was counted. Don’t go missing. the Census Bureau is attempting to make the count as easy and as accurate as possible in 2020. For the first time, americans can respond not only to a mailed form, but by phone and online.
“You hear how people are moving away from farms, and people in rural areas may think they don’t matter,” said Carol hector-harris, media specialist with the u.s. Census Bureau. “But everyone counts, everyone matters. It’s not just a count. a state can lose a seat in Congress and no one wants to lose their voice in Washington.”
Census takers may come to your door in may and June if no response has been received. But in rural america, and that include parts of ohio’s agricultural areas in ashland, medina, Jefferson and Wayne Counties, as well as others, census takers face challenges not often found in urban areas. Post office box addresses may replace typical mailing addresses in more rural areas. and sending census takers to homes that are difficult to reach (think unpaved or unmarked roads and sometimes not near other residences) can be time consuming.
the u.s. Census is conducted every 10 years as required by the u.s. Constitution. the census provides information that determines the number of representatives each state sends to Congress. It is also used to redraw district boundaries if necessary. local communities need census numbers to better understand the needs for schools, housing, infrastructures and business opportunities.
10 | WINter 2020
In rural areas, framers, growers, small town residents and off-the-grid residents need to be
