Harry T. Armstrong, a census specialist for the Augusta area, helps promote awareness of the national head count with the help of the Census 200 Road Tour Vehicle. The van will continue its visit today. MICHAEL HOLAHAN/STAFF

Census tour rolls into town

Web posted March 23, 2000

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By Heidi Coryell
Staff Writer

It's an office on wheels, a rolling billboard and part of a 12-strong public awareness posse.

And the 28-foot-long Census 2000 Road Tour Vehicle arrived in Augusta on Wednesday, bearing thousands of promotional items to help encourage historically hard-to-reach communities to return their census questionnaires.

``It's a grass-roots initiative to get out on the streets and meet and greet the citizens,''said Henry Armstrong, a partnership specialist with the Atlanta Regional Office of the Census Bureau. His 16-county region includes the Augusta area.

``Now that we're in the middle of filling out questionnaires -- we're trying to reach the hard-to-enumerate communities,'' he said.

The main reasons for not returning a census form include nonfluency of the language, illiteracy and forgetfulness. The motor-home style Census 2000 vehicle is visiting schools, churches, parks and community centers during its two-day visit.

The vehicle will make about 2,500 stops in 29 Southeastern cities between February and April. There are 11 other census vehicles touring other parts of the country.

During the last census, an estimated 37 percent of Georgians did not respond, resulting in millions of dollars lost in state and federal funding.

More than 5,000 Richmond County residents did not return census information in 1990, a nearly 3 percent nonresponse rate.

``We learned from the last census when we were supposed to go out and count people, we didn't know where they were,'' said John Harlan, Augusta census office manager. ``This year, we're asking local people to count themselves ... and count their neighbors.''

Local census officials determined road tour sites based on community input, Mr. Harlan said.

``We asked where they thought the hub areas were and where they might need the most assistance,'' he said.

The Census 2000 vehicle's Wednesday stops included the municipal building downtown, Super Wal-Mart on Deans Bridge Road and Beulah Grove Resource Center/Baptist Church.

``With the van here in town, it heightens awareness to the local people,'' said Oz Nesbitt, founder and executive director of the Male Room Foundation, a local nonprofit group that provides educational services and scholarships. ``The presence of the van itself is going to move the community in a positive direction.''

In addition to the road tour's visit, 17 Question Assistance Centers have been set up throughout Richmond County, and several more are located in outlying counties, including Columbia, Burke, McDuffie and Warren.

This year marks the first time the Census Bureau will use paid advertising to increase public awareness and participation in its response process.

Reach Heidi Coryell at (706) 823-3215.