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Index

Advice/Crossword ... 10AClassified .................. 7BComics ..................... 6BDaily Record .............. 7ADeaths/Funerals ..... 11AOpinion ..................... 4A Out & About .............. 1CPolice news ............... 6ASports ....................... 1BStocks ...................... 2ATV ........................... 10AToday ........................ 2A

Purple prideThrough fate, fortune

and skill, K-State quarterback Collin Klein has emerged as the face of the Wildcats.

Sports, Page 1B

Odd and rareThe items at the

Museum of the Odd range from cow hairballs to Elvis’ underwear.

Sunday on Connected

Seasonal musicHere they come

a-caroling. The weekend brings holiday vocal concerts.

Out & About, Page 1C

Charitable giving

The Topeka Community Foundation marked a year in which it distributed $2.1 million in grants.

Today, Page 2A

Inside today

Coming up

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POLICY MATTERS

On Saturday: Educator-legisla-tors questioned by colleagues on school spending.

7th in a series of 15 articles.CJOnline.com/policymatters

City core

project outlined

By Tim HrenchirThe CaPiTal-JOurnal

A crowd made up mostly of supporters attended a public hearing Thursday eve-ning for a proposed downtown Topeka revitalization project.

Those arriving at the gathering in city council chambers were encouraged to sign a sheet that gave them the option of sharing whether they were for or against the project.

Sixty-four people indicated they were in favor. Seven wrote that they were against it. Thirteen expressed no opinion or indicated they were unsure.

Likewise, most who went to the micro-phone spoke in favor of the proposed project to improve S. Kansas Avenue be-tween 6th and 10th streets. The Topeka City Council plans Tuesday to consider approving a Phase 2 budget for the proj-

Please see DOWNTOWN, Page 8A

Majority at forum supports $8.4 million plan for downtown

Talk isn’tcheap forlegislator

By Andy MarsoThe CaPiTal-JOurnal

Stilwell Republican Ray Merrick gave himself a five-figure payday after he went from the House to the Senate, us-

ing campaign funds to reimburse himself for a decade of tele-communications.

Merrick was ap-pointed to replace Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer in the Kansas Senate in

2010. He faced an enviable problem — roughly $20,000 in unused campaign funds in his House account.

Based on a Kansas Supreme Court ruling, Merrick couldn’t take that money with him for Senate campaigns. He could repay his donors or give it to char-

Please see LEGISLATOR, Page 8A

ONLINEObservers express dismay with Merrick’s campaign finance maneuvering.

CJOnline.com

Topekan survived

ship sinking, plane attacks

2 years after Pearl,Kansan joins Navy

By Steve FryThe CaPiTal-JOurnal

When Raymond Bergquist heard radio reports that swarms of Japanese planes had bombed

American bas-es at Pearl Har-bor on Dec. 7, 1941, killing hundreds of sailors and sol-diers, he was

ready to enlist to fight the Japa-nese.

Bergquist, 17, was at home that day in Osage City.

“I didn’t like it,” Bergquist, 88, of Topeka, said during an interview. “I was ready to go in.”

But an older brother already was in the U.S. Army, and Bergquist didn’t enlist in the U.S. Navy until 1943.

By the time war ended two years later, Bergquist had survived the sinking of one aircraft carrier and the ramming of a Japanese suicide plane into a second carri-er, and he had shot down another attacking kamikaze.

After boot camp in Farragut, Idaho, Seaman 2nd Class Bergquist was assigned to the U.S.S. Liscome Bay, an escort car-rier. During training, Bergquist, a gunner, learned to shoot rifles, machine guns, 20 mm and 40 mm antiaircraft guns, and 5-inch can-non.

Please see NAVY, Page 12A

THAD AllTOn/THE CAPiTAl-jOuRnAl

Raymond Bergquist, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, stands in front of his medals and a drawing of the U.S.S. Salamaua, an escort carrier to which he was assigned in the Pacific Theater. A Japanese submarine sunk another carrier he was on.

‘I WAS READY TO GO IN’

ONLINEView video of World War ii vet Raymond Bergquist.

CJOnline.com

Review: Cirque blows the top offBy Bill Blankenship

The CaPiTal-JOurnal

Move over Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, a greater show on Earth has played the Kansas Expocentre — Cirque du Soleil.

The Quebec-based, interna-tionally popular presenter made its Topeka debut Wednesday night with "Dralion," which filled Landon Arena with sights and sounds, feats and fantasy more astounding than any other act the venue has presented.

Since 1984, Cirque du Soleil has redefined the term circus with its emphasis on theatrical-ity and characters and the

absence of performing animals. You won't see PETA protesting "Dralion," as even the titular chimerical beasts are costumed acrobats, just some of the 54 real people doing things that seem humanly impossible.

Aerialists, trampolinists, jugglers, pole-balancers and contortionists kept the opening-night audience's jaws dropped during the 2½-hour show that

Please see REVIEW, Page 12A

ONLINEView a slideshow of photos from Cirque du Soleil’s “Dralion.”

CJOnline.com

AnTHOny S. BuSH/SPECiAl TO THE CAPiTAl-jOuRnAl

The Four Elements and Little Buddha perform the opening scene of Cirque du Soleil’s “Dralion,” which opened Wednesday night in Landon Arena at the Kansas Expocentre.

Larry Wilsonhas again come under fire from commission

No response? Call backBy Aly Van Dyke

The CaPiTal-JOurnal

To those still waiting for a return call from the Shawnee County Treasurer’s Office, just try calling again.

“It’s better for them to call back than

leave a message,” Marsha Ralston, deputy treasurer and motor vehicle office manager, said in her office Thursday. “They have a better chance of getting someone that way.”

The office has had a significant phone backlog since May, when the Kansas Department of Revenue launched its new motor vehicle sys-tem, Ralston said. People have report-ed waiting on hold for an hour or more, only to be transferred to a mail-

box that won’t let them leave a mes-sage because it is full.

Taxpayers are asking more in-depth questions that require research on an already complex system, Ralston said. That means the one clerk the office can afford to put on the phones spends

more time with customers, while the phone continues to ring. She didn’t have a figure for how many calls the office receives in a day.

“It rings back to back,” she said. “During a 10-minute call, multiple people will be calling in.”

Compounding the issue, Treasurer Larry Wilson said, is the fact that peo-ple tend to call the Shawnee County

Please see TREASURER, Page 12A

County treasurer’s office has a largetelephone backlog

RELATEDCounty commission critical of treasurer for action on bidding process.

Page 6A