By Blair Dedrick, New Era Staff Writer

Christian County Judge-Executive Steve Tribble and Hopkinsville Mayor Dan Kemp sent their protest to the 2006 Census count to Washington, D.C. on Friday.

The two will follow the protest in a few weeks to present their findings to Census officials, Tribble said at Friday’s Leadership Council, and hopefully get a permanent solution to the problem.

The census, based on such information as income tax filings and birth and death certifications, showed Hopkinsville as losing more than 1,000 people between 2005 and 2006, from 28,645 down to 27,415.

Income tax filings, in particular, are challenged as an accurate source of information for the area because many of the soldiers at Fort Campbell file taxes in other states. Deployment can also skew population findings.

“This seems to be a recurring problem and we would like to have a way to fix this so it wouldn’t be a recurring problem,” Tribble said. “We would like to see if they could like maybe check with us before releasing the figures.”

Kemp and Tribble have gathered other data such as water and utility connections, which they say portrays a more accurate picture of the area’s population.

Based on that information, they say Christian County and Hopkinsville have actually gained population, not lost it.

“There’s no doubt in my mind (that the figures will be changed),” Tribble said. “I think we can back it up and that’ll help us all the way around.”

Blair Dedrick can be reached at 887-3240 or bdedrick@kentuckynewera.com.