As mandated by the U.S. Constitution, a census is taken in the United States every 10 years, and this is the year for all citizens to “stand and be counted.”

On Feb. 25, Sharon Dunn, a census recruiter, attended the Hines Common Council meeting to talk about the census and job opportunities that come with it.

She explained that the census determines the number of seats each state gets in Congress, as well as how billions of dollars in federal funding are dispersed among the states.

Dunn said that, although the recruiting effort is coming to an end, they are still looking for people interested in helping with the effort, especially in rural Harney County. To apply, visit 2020census.gov/jobs. Applicants must be 18 years old, have a valid driver license, a vehicle or access to public transportation, and commit to at least 20 hours a week for eight weeks. The work includes evenings and weekends, and pays $16 an hour plus mileage.

Census forms will be mailed out to street addresses in mid-March, and April 1 is Census Day. By this date, every home will receive a form to participate in the 2020 Census. Once the form arrives, you should respond for your home in one of three ways: online, by phone, or by mail. When you respond to the census, you’ll tell the Census Bureau where you live as of April 1, 2020.

Dunn said that, because the majority of residents in Hines receive their mail at post office boxes, the forms will have to be hand-delivered to each home, as the forms are only delivered to street addresses.

On May 1, census takers will begin going door-to-door to the addresses where people have not responded.

Dunn and other census workers will be in the community to offer help to those who need it.

“We’ll try to get some regular hours and locations as to where we’ll be and get the word out, but the main thing now is we need workers,” Dunn said.

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City Administrator Kirby Letham reported that members of the community, as well as council members, have asked about the West Ridge Apartments in regards to the tenants and whether they are receiving financial assistance to live there. Letham said he spoke with Angela Lamborn at the Harney County Senior and Community Services Center to get answers to the questions.

Letham said full monthly rent is being charged, and that is $582 for a one-bedroom, and $687 for a two-bedroom apartment. He added that tenants who have a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) voucher can not be turned away, as that is illegal.

The council felt it was misled because the project was first presented as workforce housing for people moving to the area in skilled positions.

Letham added that Feathered Nest LLC, the apartment management company, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to reserve five units for patients referred to them by Symmetry Care. Those tenants are under the same rules as other tenants and will be evicted if the rules are broken.

Mayor Nikki Morgan said she has no problem with HUD vouchers because people who are working may still qualify for the assistance, but she talked to tenants who told her they got into their apartment through Section 8. Morgan said the council was told emphatically the apartments were not Section 8 housing.

“These people are not working. They don’t have a job,” Morgan said. “These apartments were touted to workforce housing for us, and that’s what I have a problem with.”

After some discussion, the council directed Letham to have a conversation with Lamborn about having unemployed people in the complex when it was first presented as workforce housing.

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At its previous meeting, the council voted to donate $1,500 from the transient lodging tax fund to the Hines Helmet Head Rally to be held July 31-Aug. 2.

According to Letham, the city’s legal counsel advised that the donation be more specific, so the council voted to direct the donation to the purchase of 205 rally T-shirts.

Boomer Inselman, one of the event’s organizers, said they already have about 18 sponsors and are seeking more.

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Letham said he had attended a Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) hearing regarding the emissions permit application for BioDynamics, which is currently in the process of putting in a wood/alfalfa pellet mill. Letham said the overwhelming majority of those in attendance were in favor of allowing the mill to operate. He added that DEQ presented their findings and, at all measured levels, the mill wouldn’t exceed the set limits, even while operating at full capacity year-round. A final ruling has yet to be made.