[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17898]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO THE POWER OF THE BILLBOARD

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 12, 2006

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, at times, invention is born from tragic 
circumstances, and, as the saying goes, out of necessity.
  In the summer of 2002, a Kansas man named Roger Kemp experienced a 
brutally searing loss. His daughter Ali, 19, was attacked and killed at 
her place of work. She had just finished her freshman year at Kansas 
State University--with a bright future--and was working at the 
neighborhood pool in Leawood, Kansas. Her father, Roger, found her body 
in the pump room at the pool.
  Determined to find the person who killed his daughter, Mr. Kemp came 
up with an idea while driving to work: display ``wanted'' information 
on a billboard.
  When Roger Kemp described his idea to Lamar Advertising Company, the 
company declined to take his money, but agreed to help by donating 
billboard space. ``Wanted'' billboards featured a composite sketch of a 
suspect, along with a phone number for anonymous tips to police. It 
took nearly 2 years, but a tip in response to the billboards helped 
police apprehend the man (in 2004) accused of killing Ali Kemp.
  With encouragement from Roger Kemp, police in the Kansas City area 
began using billboards to resolve other murder cases. To date, at least 
8 murder suspects have been apprehended from tips prompted by 
``wanted'' billboards, donated as a public service.
  The success of billboards in Kansas City drew the attention of John 
Walsh and his TV program, ``America's Most Wanted.'' Since May of 2005, 
John Walsh has been using donated billboards to help police find 
fugitives, in conjunction with his TV show, Internet site, and radio 
program. John Walsh, who knows a great deal about capturing fugitives, 
says billboards are effective as a crime-fighting tool because they are 
ever-present and generate quality anonymous tips.
  Meanwhile, the concept that Roger Kemp pioneered in Kansas City is 
spreading across America, to communities large and small.
  After a jail break in Yakima County, WA, on November 25, 2005, 
several inmates were caught quickly. Two who remained on the run were 
shown on a billboard and were in custody the next month.
  In Tennessee, an accused child molester fled in February of this year 
after cutting off the electronic monitoring device on his ankle. For 
the first time, Nashville Metro Police used billboards to help find a 
fugitive; the suspect was arrested on July 19. Two of the five 
``wanted'' billboards in Nashville were innovative digital billboards, 
featuring a static computer-generated image.
  In July, an outdoor advertising company donated billboards in the 
Phoenix area as part of the effort to help police stop serial crimes; 
authorities arrested a suspect in the ``Baseline Killer'' case very 
recently.
  In a sense, ``wanted'' posters are part of American history, from the 
days of Jesse James to the ``wanted'' pictures I saw at the Post Office 
growing up in Chisholm, MN. The success story of ``wanted'' billboards 
serves to remind us that billboards are a significant medium of 
communication. We know that billboards promote brands, sell products, 
and direct motorists to roadway services. But outdoor advertising is 
also an important forum for non-commercial speech, helping law 
enforcement and non-profit groups such as the American Red Cross.
  We are just a year past the 40th anniversary of the Highway 
Beautification Act--an appropriate occasion to make note of the 
evolving contribution of billboards, now adding community service: 
supporting public safety and security by reviving a proven, effective 
idea from our past: the ``wanted'' poster.

                          ____________________