Census Worker Found Hanged, “Fed” Scrawled Across His Chest
September 24th, 2009Via: Washington Post:
A part-time Census Bureau field worker was found hanged in Kentucky Sept. 12 with the word “fed” scrawled across his chest, according to a law enforcement source. Bill Sparkman, 51 was found in a remote patch of the Daniel Boone National Forest in rural southeast Kentucky, the Associated Press first reported Wednesday night.
The FBI is assisting state and local police with their investigation, the law enforcement source told The Post’s Spencer S. Hsu. The law enforcement source was unsure of the cause of death.
It is a federal crime to attack a federal worker during or because of his federal job. Sparkman was an Eagle scout who moved to southeast Kentucky to be a local director for the Boy Scouts of America, his mother told the AP. He later became a substitute teacher in Laurel County and earned extra money as a Census field worker.
The Census Bureau has suspended operations in Clay County, Ken. where Sparkman was found pending the investigation. Hundreds of thousands of temporary workers across the country walk door-to-door conducting various demographic surveys. The Census will hire more than 1 million temporary workers to conduct follow-up interviews for next year’s 2010 decennial Census.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our co-worker, and our thoughts and prayers are with William Sparkman’s son, other family and friends. We are monitoring the developments closely,” Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said in a statement Wednesday night. The Census Bureau is part of the Commerce Department. “Mr. Sparkman was a shining example of the hard-working men and women employed by the Census Bureau. The work they do on a daily basis is not easy but is a great and important service to our nation.”
There was no immediate comment from Census Director Robert M. Groves. Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry may also comment on the situation later today at an event in Washington. He has spoken frequently about the denigration of federal employees.
News of the apparent murder of a Census employee comes during an already busy period for the Census Bureau. Groves told a Congressional panel on Tuesday that he fears next year’s headcount will be impaired by the recession and continuing concerns about immigration. The agency also recently cut ties to the controversial community organizing group ACORN, one of more than 10,000 civic organizations, churches and corporations recruited to help increase participation in next year’s Census.
More on this throughout the day as the story updates.
