The Statehouse BUZZ

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Feb 13, 2005 by Capital-Journal

Capitol: Statehouse workers do their everyday jobs alongside lawmakers

STORY BY JAN BILES/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Tour de force

Don A. Dunn, who retired from Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. after 35 years, spends his days escorting visitors around the Statehouse, explaining its murals and sculptures and answering questions.

His voice is part of the murmur.

On a busy day, he can lead up to four tours, comprised of schoolchildren, senior citizens, international visitors or, in one case, college buddies on a mission to visit every U.S. state capitol.

"I enjoy doing the tours and I get a lot back," he said, explaining he has met people from Japan, Canada, England and elsewhere.

Tour participants often ask Dunn questions as they wind their way through the Statehouse.

"Last week, I had a kid ask me how many steps are in the building," he said.

Another child asked why a flag was on the floor. After a while, Dunn figured out the youngster was asking about the state seal on the carpet in the Senate chambers.

Dunn said being a tour guide has given him an opportunity to learn more about state government and the Statehouse.

"I had been in the building maybe 20 or 25 times," he said, "but I never took the time to look at it."

Coffee and sandwiches

Don Wistuba, who is blind, has been running the Statehouse snack bars since May 1976. The decibel level of the Statehouse buzz is an indicator of how business might go for him on any given day.

"We sell maybe 20 sandwiches on a slow day, maybe 200 sandwiches on a busy day," Wistuba said. "On Kansas Day, we know it will be a busy day so we try to have extra junk food around. Ice cream is a big- time item among legislators if they are working at night. Kids like frosty malts."

Along with the usual pastries, bagels, soda pop, coffee, chips and other treats, the snack bar on the first floor is stocked with premade sandwiches, while the third-floor snack shop offers custom- made sandwiches.

Wistuba said his snack bars take a hit on days when "free food" is brought into the Statehouse by "outsiders."

"Like with doughnuts," he said. "If they have a free breakfast, business won't be any good that day."

Producing bills

At the heart of the Statehouse hustle-bustle is the document department, where bills are printed and distributed to legislators and other interested parties.

"We make 476 packets each day to be mailed and picked up at the window," said Maggie Smith, supervisor of the document department. "People also come up and ask for bills, such as lobbyists or ordinary people who are interested or who will testify. Committee members come down and get copies of bills."

For example, Smith said, the Secretary of the Senate recently requested 35 copies of 10 different bills.

The document department keeps copies of every version of every bill during a session. Each fall, Smith culls out the old bills and sends them to be recycled. If it's a carryover session, the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House give her a list of bills to retain, and the rest are discarded.

Without printed copies of the bills, lawmaking likely would come to a halt.

"Some people say nothing would get done without this room," Smith said.

Guarding the door

Jerry Holley and Gary Slimmer sit in folding chairs in front of the heavy doors of the Senate chamber. They wear earpieces through which the chamber proceedings are relayed.

Suddenly, they jump out of their chairs and pull them away from the doors.

"When you realize it's over, you get out of the way because the doors will fly open," said Slimmer, a retired education administrator.

As Senate doorkeepers, they greet and chit-chat with passersby, direct visitors to the gallery where they can view the senators in action and deliver mail and other materials to the Senate office.

"Most days we work 1 1/2 hours," Slimmer said, adding they may work up to eight hours a day when the Senate is debating or taking final action on a bill.

Holley, who was head of the broadcasting division of Morris Communications and Stauffer Communications before his retirement, said they make sure people aren't wearing hats, carrying drinks into or using flash in the Senate chambers. They also make sure people know to turn off their cell phones.

"It's rare that we have any situations that require strong- arming," Slimmer said jokingly. "We look for briefcases left behind and return them to their owners."

Enforcing the law

While most Statehouse workers thrive on the daily drone, Capitol Police Officer Ernie Lang likes it when it's quiet.

Lang, who has been a police officer at the Statehouse for 21 years and has undergone the same training as Kansas Highway Patrol troopers, says his job is to "enforce the laws and provide for the safety of the people in the building."

He also walks through the parking garage every two hours to make sure everyone's obeying the parking regulations and to check for suspicious vehicles.

Security threats are rare at the Statehouse, but procedures are in place to handle whatever may come along.

"If we were under tight security, we would check IDs before letting anybody in," he said. "When the (Homeland Security) code went up to orange, we made them sign in and show their IDs before entering the building."