Returning Census Forms Is Critical For Pocahontas County

Marlinton, WV – The US Census office has done its part – they’ve sent out the 2010 decennial census forms. Now it’s up to you to return those forms. Robin McClintock, a rural liason with the Census office in Beckley, says returning the forms benefits West Virginians.

The Census has been taken every 10 years since 1790 and is mandated by the US Constitution. National Decennial Census day is April 1st. McClintock says for every person that fills out the form, it guarantees that your community gets roughly 10 thousand dollars per person per year in community funding.

“And those federal funds go into the highway department, the EMS, hospitals, Title One schools – it buys books for our kids, senior centers are funded through this data” says McClintock. “And this data is also used as a 10 year planning tool for local communities.”

McClintock says anyone in Pocahontas County with a HC or PO box will have their census form hand delivered. She stresses that the information gathered through the Census is not shared with any other agency. For those who have a second home in the county, those forms should still be returned, but with a zero status. She says they will try to get as complete a picture as possible of the counties’ population.

McClintock says Question and Answer locations are also available at Dories Restaurant, and the McClintic,Hillsboro,and Greenbank libraries. Or call the census bureau at 866-872-6868. You can track the participation rate for the 2010 Census at 2010.census.gov. Click on the Mail Participation Rate link on the right side of the webpage. And above all, be sure you return your Census form.