WINNEMUCCA — US Census Bureau representatives have been making the rounds and encouraging people to participate in the population count.

Consuelo Garcia-Vargas, a partnership specialist with the Denver Regional Census Center, answered questions from the Winnemucca City Council on Tuesday (March 9)and pointed out the most important aspect of the Census concerned federal funding, which is sometimes allotted by population.

For people who receive their mail at home, it’s a simple matter of filling out the form and returning it.

Consuelo Garcia-Vargas explained forms will not be mailed to those with PO Boxes. Instead, census workers will hand-deliver the forms to the residence. The resident can then fill out the form and return it.

Garcia-Vargas said Census workers will begin knocking on doors in April in an effort to contact those residents who did not return their Census forms.

Taking the Census can be challenging anywhere, but rural locations are generally difficult because residents sometimes live far away from population centers and are specifically challenging here because of the high transient population.

Many local people have been hired to help conduct the Census. This provides several benefits, not the least of which is locals know their way around the rural areas of the county.

Garcia-Vargas said the Census Bureau has been preparing for the 2010 Census for some time and has endeavored to have accurate address lists in advance of the Census.

She reminded audience members that official Census workers will not ask for personal identifying information like a social security number or bank account information. Further, Census Bureau workers are not connected to the courts or the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and will not ask about legal status.