Off The Cuff

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

— It’s census time. Don’t forget to be counted.

I know. You’re tired of hearing about the census. That’s about the main topic of discussion except that daggumm health care brouhaha that’s monopolized the boob tube and the talking heads’ minds lately.

But, daggum it, the census is probably is as important as the health care bill. That thing, if it passes, or has already passed, can be changed at the flip of a Polosi tongue or Harry Reid’s flailing arms. Or at a Congressional whim.

But the census? The results of this every-tenyear-event will be around for another 10 years. And the ramifications are mind boggling and far-reaching.

It is a fact that practically every government program, state and federal, gets its finger into the census data (not individual forms, we’re promised) but into the totality of the figures.

We send boo-coo bucks to Washington and Little Rock and what we get back in return as towns and counties, et-al, is so often based on those daggum census figures.

What this means is: You didn’t get counted. You don’t count! And we alllose.

Benton County and most towns in the county have grown dramatically during the 10 years since the last census. Gravette’s growth has not been dramatic but our figure, whatever it turns out to be, will surely be more than the 1,810 persons enumerated here in 2000. That’s the figure that has governed the geetas we’ve gotten, not just from the state, but also our per-capita share of the county sales tax.

So, you see, it’s graphically important if Gravette is to get its share of the county sales tax during the coming ten-long-years, every last one of you (us) needs to be counted. Can’t put it any more bluntly than that!

So when you get those forms in the mail complete ‘em and send ‘em back. And if you’re missed you’ll probably be visited by a real live person. And if that fails and you know you haven’t been counted, contact City Hall, 787-5757, and get in on the action.

It’s our bucks that hang in the balance, out there on that limb, just waiting to be plucked by everyone if we aren’t counted. So,“Here I am. Count me.” -Dodie Evans News Herald Editor

Opinion, Pages 4 on 03/10/2010