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Advice/Crossword ..... 7BClassified .................. 9BComics ..................... 8BDaily Record .............. 6BDeaths/Funerals ....... 6BOpinion ..................... 4APolice news ............... 6BSports ....................... 1BStocks ...................... 2ATV ............................. 7BToday ........................ 2A

Tween jobs low

A report shows youth employment in the United States is at its lowest level since World War II.

Today, Page 2A

HanukkahDiscover the origin

behind serving some form of cheesecake during the Jewish holiday celebra-tion.

Wednesday in Flavor

KU nearly a BCS buster

Austin Meek writes that if KU had defeated Northern Illinois, the Huskies’ BCS hopes would have died months ago.

Sports, Page 1B

Man with the Golden ArmK-State quarterback

Collin Klein won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and is one of three of Heisman finalists.

Sports, Page 1B

Inside today

Coming up

dailydeals.cjonline.com

$20 worth ofHomegrown Poinsettias

for just $10!

tion of future property tax revenue de-rived from the business park was met by complaints that a conflict existed be-

cause of the legislator's connection to a prime beneficiary — the Parsons school district, where his wife, Linda, is superin-tendent.

"The ethics of that incensed our entire community," said Chuck Stockton, who was superintendent of the Altamont school district, which would have had to share tax revenue with three other school districts even though the industrial plant

POLICY MATTERS

On Wednesday: House member’s driving prompts siphoning of campaign funds.

Fourth in a series of 15 articles.CJOnline.com/policymatters

Proehl triggers clash over business park

By Tim Carpenter THe CAPiTAl-joUrnAl

PARSONS — Rep. Richard Proehl takes more than speculative interest in development into an industrial park of 21.4 square miles once the domain of a U.S. Army ammunition plant built dur-ing World War II.

Proehl's plan for overhauling distribu-

Skeptics assail bill pushing tax revenue to wife’s employer

ONLINEView video of Joan Wagnon discussing potential conflicts of interest.

CJOnline.com

Rep. Richard Proehlproposed a bill directing funds to his wife’s school district in Parsons

is in the Altamont district.Proehl, a Parsons Republican who

won re-election in November, side-stepped the Altamont district to work surreptitiously on a bill requiring tax re-ceipts from the industrial park to be al-located among all four districts in La-bette County.

"It should be shared with all the stu-dents," Proehl said. "I don't want to cre-ate any haves and have-nots."

Officials in the Altamont district, how-ever, were kept in the dark about the leg-

Please see PROEHL, Page 6A

PHOTOGRAPHS By THAD AllTON/THe CAPITAl-JOURNAl

Above: Republican House members elected Ray Merrick, of Stilwell, on Monday as the House speaker. Below: Sen. Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, was elected president of the Senate by her Senate Republican colleagues Monday.

Merrick returns to House as speakerBy Andy Marso

THe CAPiTAl-joUrnAl

Republican House members elected Ray Merrick on Monday as the House speaker for the 2013 and 2014 legislative sessions.

The race for speaker was between three Johnson County men: Merrick, a pro-busi-ness conservative who resigned his Senate seat to run in the House with the express intent of becoming speaker, Rep. Arlen Siegfreid, R-Olathe, the current House ma-

jority leader and Rep. Lance Kinzer, R-Olathe, the chairman of the House Judicia-ry Committee known as one of the Legislature's most fervent anti-abortion members.

Kinzer was eliminated in the initial round of voting and Merrick defeated Sieg-freid 49-43 in the final round.

Merrick said afterward he would start the session with a clean slate.

"I'm kind of unique, (in that) I don't have an agenda," Merrick said. "It's going to be

me leading the party."Rep. Gene Suellentrop nominated Mer-

rick, highlighting his history of advancing a "pro-growth, pro-jobs Republican agen-da."

“Ray knows the legislative agenda pur-sued by the House must be just that: pur-sued by the House, not a political faction,” Suellentrop said.

Suellentrop noted that Merrick serves as

Please see MERRICK, Page 12A

Wagle’s presidency marks surge by conservatives

New GOP leaders capture title roles

By Tim CarpenterTHe CAPiTAl-joUrnAl

The Senate leadership scramble Monday affirmed assumption of a conservative Republican mindset entering a 2013 legislative session featuring greater unity among the House, Senate and executive branch.

Mere formality of a likely unani-mous vote in January separates Sen. Susan Wagle, a Wichita Re-publican and favorite of Gov. Sam Brownback, from the job as presi-dent of the Senate.

She will replace Senate President Steve Morris, a moderate Republi-can defeated in the August primary with seven other middle-of-the-road senators seeking re-election. Brownback campaigned for Senate challengers with distinctly conser-vative views on fiscal and social policy.

"This is a wonderful moment for me," Wagle said. "It's an election of a number of firsts."

These internal organizational races allowed legislators who won elections in November to cast votes for those earning the most power-ful jobs in the 125-member House and 40-member Senate.

The GOP holds huge majorities in the Senate and House, meaning Republicans effectively dictate who becomes Senate president and House speaker. Morris was defeat-ed for re-election, while House Speaker Mike O'Neal, R-Hutchin-son, is retiring.

Please see GOP, Page 11A

kAnSAS lEgiSlATURE

ONLINEView video of Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, being chosen as Senate president.

CJOnline.com

Hocker plans taking stage

By Tim HrenchirTHe CAPiTAl-joUrnAl

Three of the four entities seeking to manage Helen Hocker Center for the Performing Arts are asking Shawnee

County to subsidize its operation, while the fourth requests the county cover any shortfall.

County commis-sioners heard pre-sentations Monday from each of the four, then deferred action on the matter until their Dec. 17 meeting.

Commissioners Ted Ensley, Mary Thomas and Shelly Buhler voted 3-0 to approve the defer-ral, which was targeted at allowing time for public input.

Commissioners encouraged anyone wishing to share input to call their of-fice at (785) 233-8200, extension 4040, or email them at commission@snco.us.

Monday’s vote came after commis-sioners heard presentations from:

n Patti Van Slyke, a member of the Helen Hocker center’s board of direc-tors, representing that board. Van Slyke said those in her group have hundreds of years of combined experience “on-stage, backstage, in the pit and in the office.”

n Jim Ogle, Vickie Brokke and Shan-non Reilly, representing Topeka Civic Theatre & Academy, which is in its 77th performance season, has 600 volun-teers and employs 17 people part-time and full-time. Brokke is the group’s president and CEO, Reilly its artistic di-rector and Ogle the president of its board of directors.

n Bruce D. Woolpert, who said he was appearing before the commis-sion not as a theater person, but as a business person. Woolpert submitted his proposal as an individual and not as a representative of his Topeka law firm.

n H.R. Cook, representing Pennsyl-vania-based SMG, the company that manages the Kansas Expocentre. Cook said SMG runs 64 performing arts the-aters throughout the U.S. It proposes operation of the Hocker theater be rolled into its existing contract to man-age the Expocentre. Cook is the Expo-centre’s general manager.

SMG is asking Shawnee County to pay a management fee amounting to $6,000 a year and to cover any shortfall that may occur in the center’s operat-ing expenses.

Topeka Civic Theatre is asking the county to pay a $12,125 administrative fee and an annual subsidy of up to $210,660.

Please see HOCKER, Page 8A

Four management groups seek county contract on theater

ONLINEView the proposals from each of the four entities.

CJOnline.com

RELATEDCommission discusses recycling sites, service fees.

Page 2A