CJ Staff Report
The U.S. Census Bureau has appointed a slate of managers for a new 2010 Census office in Somerset at 1205 E. Mount Vernon St. The new managers, all area residents, include:
• Althea Francis, local Census Office Manager, who worked 20 years in the custom window blinds business, eventually becoming general manager. Most recently, she worked as a store manager for McDonalds.
• James VanOver, assistant manager for field operations. He spent 20 years working for the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Ashland and at several federal prisons. He has also worked as a teacher in schools and detention centers.
• Jim Mounce, assistant manager for quality assurance, who worked in research and development for Procter & Gamble for 33 years. He retired in 2000 and began farming and raising cattle.
• Marlene Holbrook, assistant manager for administration, who worked in management for several Kentucky businesses, including Kentucky Fried Chicken and O’Charley’s. She has also worked as a teacher and daycare assistant director.
• Assistant Manager for Recruiting Kristel Pierce has worked in the records departments of the Casey County Fiscal Court and the Casey County Court Clerk of Court’s office. Since 2009 she has worked for the Census Bureau as a quality control crew leader.
• Adam Cutlip, assistant manage for technology, is a U.S. Air Force veteran. He joined the census in January 2009.
The Somerset office supports 2010 Census operations in 24 counties: Adair, Bell, Casey, Clay, Clinton, Cumberland, Green, Harlan, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Leslie, Letcher, Lincoln, McCreary, Metcalfe, Monroe, Perry, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Russell, Taylor, Wayne and Whitley.
Two offices opened in 2008 to carry out operations to prepare for the census in the state. They are located in Lexington and Louisville. The Somerset office is one of five new local census offices in Kentucky, bringing the total number to seven.
Census counts are used to determine the number of congressional seats for each state, the shape of legislative districts and local government districts, and how more than $400 billion in federal funds is distributed annually to communities across the country.
April 1, 2010, is Census Day, the reference day for collecting census information from every household in America. Census questionnaires will be mailed or delivered in mid-March. The Kentucky offices will close after census operations end in 2010.
