Time to stand up and be counted!

Submitted by admin on Wed, 02/20/2008 - 16:52

Breaux Bridge — The U.S. Census Bureau is gearing up to count everybody in the country again and city officials here are afraid of being shortchanged by haphazard house numbers.

“If you see houses without numbers in your district, go knock on the door,” Mayor Jack Dale Delhomme urged members of the City Council last week.

Public works director Joe Guidry is in charge of the local census effort.

Having a full and accurate count for the Census, which comes around every 10 years, is especially important for communities seeking state or federal grants.

But there’s an even more vital reason to have house numbers posted clearly — to guide police, fire and ambulance personnel in the event of an emergency.

The Parish Council is even considering fines against property owners who do not display the appropriate street numbers on their homes and businesses.

Parish 911 Commission officials have urged the council to come down on noncompliance with the standard numbering system.

Currently, displaying street numbers is voluntary throughout the parish.