Clay County, Kentucky
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Clay County, Kentucky | |
| File:It's cool | |
 Location in the state of Kentucky |
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 Kentucky's location in the U.S. |
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| Seat | Manchester |
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| Area - Total - Land - Water |
471 sq mi (1,220 km²) 471 sq mi (1,220 km²) 0 sq mi (0 km²), 0.01% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
24,556 52/sq mi (20/km²) |
| Founded | 1807 |
| Named for | Green Clay (1757–1828), military general and surveyor. |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 |
 Clay County courthouse in Manchester, Kentucky
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Clay County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1807. As of 2000, the population was 24,556. Its name is in honor of Green Clay (1757-1826). Clay was a member of the Virginia and Kentucky State legislatures, first cousin once removed of Henry Clay, U.S. Senator from Kentucky and Secretary of State in the 19th century. Its county seat is Manchester, Kentucky. The county is a prohibition or dry county.[1]
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[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 471 square miles (1,220 km²), of which, 471 square miles (1,220 km²) of it is land and 0 square miles (0 km²) of it (0.01%) is water. Coincidentally, the soil in the county has a high clay content.
[edit] Adjacent counties
- Owsley County (north)
- Perry County (northeast)
- Leslie County (east)
- Bell County (southeast)
- Knox County (southwest)
- Laurel County (west)
- Jackson County (northwest)
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Jackson County | Owsley County | Perry County | |
| Laurel County |  |
Leslie County | ||
 Clay County, Kentucky  |
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| Knox County | Bell County |
[edit] Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1810 | 2,398 |
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| 1820 | 4,393 | 83.2% | |
| 1830 | 3,548 | −19.2% | |
| 1840 | 4,607 | 29.8% | |
| 1850 | 5,421 | 17.7% | |
| 1860 | 6,652 | 22.7% | |
| 1870 | 8,297 | 24.7% | |
| 1880 | 10,222 | 23.2% | |
| 1890 | 12,447 | 21.8% | |
| 1900 | 15,364 | 23.4% | |
| 1910 | 17,789 | 15.8% | |
| 1920 | 19,795 | 11.3% | |
| 1930 | 18,526 | −6.4% | |
| 1940 | 23,901 | 29.0% | |
| 1950 | 23,116 | −3.3% | |
| 1960 | 20,748 | −10.2% | |
| 1970 | 18,481 | −10.9% | |
| 1980 | 22,752 | 23.1% | |
| 1990 | 21,746 | −4.4% | |
| 2000 | 24,556 | 12.9% | |
| http://ukcc.uky.edu/~census/21051.txt | |||
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 24,556 people, 8,556 households, and 6,442 families residing in the county. The population density was 52 people per square mile (20/km²). There were 9,439 housing units at an average density of 20 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.92% White, 4.80% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. 1.36% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.
There were 8,556 households out of which 36.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.60% were married couples living together, 12.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.70% were non-families. 22.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.06.
The age distribution was 25.40% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 32.60% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 10.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 111.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $16,271, and the median income for a family was $18,925. Males had a median income of $24,164 versus $17,816 for females. The per capita income for the county was $9,716. About 35.40% of families and 39.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 47.60% of those under age 18 and 31.30% of those age 65 or over. The county's per-capita income and median household income make it one of the poorest counties in the United States. Among counties whose population contains a non-Hispanic white majority, it is the poorest by per-capita income and second to another county in the same Kentucky region, Owsley County, by median household income.
[edit] Elections
The county has been solidly Republican for decades.[3] In the last 16 years the only Republican to receive less than 60% was Bob Dole, who still won the county by nearly 25%. In 2008 John McCain received 77.5% of the vote.[4]
Five Clay County officials, including the circuit court judge, the county clerk, and election officers were arrested March 19, 2009 after they were indicted on federal charges accusing them of using corrupt tactics to obtain political power and personal gain.[5][6][7][8]
The 10-count indictment accused the defendants of a conspiracy from March 2002 until November 2006 that violated the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The defendants were also indicted for extortion, mail fraud, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to injure voters' rights and conspiracy to commit voter fraud.
According to the indictment, these alleged criminal actions affected the outcome of federal, local, and state primary and general elections in 2002, 2004, and 2006. The indictment accused the defendants of the following criminal actions:
- Clay County Circuit Court Judge Russell Cletus Maricle, 65, and school superintendent Douglas C. Adams, 57, allegedly used their status in the county to influence the appointment of corrupt members to the Clay County Board of Election Officials and caused election officers to commit acts of extortion, mail fraud, and bribery. Maricle also allegedly instructed a witness to testify falsely before a federal grand jury in Lexington.
- Clay County Clerk, Freddy Thompson, 45, allegedly provided money to election officers to be distributed by the officers to buy votes and he also instructed officers how to change votes at the voting machine. The indictment also accused Thompson of a false testimony before a grand jury in Lexington.
- Election officer William E. Stivers, 56, allegedly marked votes or issued tickets to voters who had sold their votes and changed votes at the voting machine. Stivers also allegedly instructed a witness to testify falsely before a federal grand jury.
- Paul E. Bishop, 60, allegedly marked voters or issued tickets to voters who sold their votes and he also hosted alleged meetings at his home where money was pooled together by candidates and distributed to election officers, including himself. He was also accused of instructing the officers how to change votes at the voting machine.
- William B. Morris, 66, and Debra L. Morris, 49, distributed funds pooled by the members of the scheme in order to buy votes. The couple owned and operated a transportation sanitation company and was active in the political affairs of Clay County.
[edit] Death of census worker
In 2009, a census worker, Bill Sparkman, was found dead, hanged from a tree with the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, after conducting door-to-door interviews in the area.[9] On November 24, 2009, Kentucky State Police announced that their investigation revealed Mr. Sparkman had committed suicide and staged the scene to look like a homicide. [10]
[edit] Cities and towns
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ David Leip Presidential Atlas (Election maps for Kentucky)
- ^ The New York Times Electoral Map (Zoom in on Kentucky)
- ^ CLAY COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTION OFFICIALS ARRESTED AND INDICTED FOR RACKETEERING AND VOTER FRAUD CONSPIRACY
- ^ 8 KY Officials Indicted for E-Voting Fraud
- ^ Vote Fraud in Clay County and the Hanged Census Worker
- ^ A former Clay County circuit judge accused in a vote-buying conspiracy must stay in jail until his trial
- ^ Devlin Barrett, Jeffrey McMurray, "Feds probe US Census worker hanging in Kentucky", wkov.com, Associated Press, Retrieved Sep. 24, 2009.
- ^ "Police: Kentucky census worker committed suicide, staged scene", CNN, Retrieved Nov. 24, 2009.
[edit] External links
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