2010 Census Visits Chamber

Perry Macon (L) and Rick Evans (R), both with the 2010 Census, spoke to the Haleyville Area Chamber of Commerce meeting, Friday, February 5, 2010

Perry Macon, a partner with the U.S. Census Bureau, spoke to the Haleyville Area Chamber of Commerce Friday, February 5, 2010. The 2010 Census, he said, "is simple, private, and important."

This year's census is very simple. There are only 10 questions for the head of household, and only 7 of those apply to other members of the household. Years past have seen census forms that required over an hour to complete. This year's requires about 10 minutes.

Three-Decade-Old Lawsuit Now Over

On December 15, 1981, Allen v. Alabama Board of Education was filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, contesting that the Alabama Initial Teacher Certification Testing program was racially biased. Since that time, numerous attempts have been made to make sure all teacher testing in the state of Alabama is valid, job related, and unbiased. After almost three decades of litigation, consent decrees, court orders, monitoring, and redeveloping of the teacher certification testing program, an order has been issued terminating the law suit.

Gary Warren, of Haleyville, District VII member of the Alabama State Board of Education, said "It's been very time-consuming and very expensive, and I'm very glad it's over."