New KHP leader named

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Feb 2, 2008 by Tim Carpenter

By Tim Carpenter

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius appointed a new superintendent of the Kansas Highway Patrol on Friday in preparation for Col. William Seck's retirement.

The governor selected Lt. Col. Terry Maple, the patrol's assistant superintendent since 1999 and a 30-year veteran of the agency. The patrol has 900 employees and enforcement responsibilities throughout the state.

"I'm proud to name Terry as the new leader of the Kansas Highway Patrol," Sebelius said. "He is a respected leader in the agency."

During a news conference at the Statehouse, Sebelius also praised a Shawnee County District Court ruling that the state's 2007 casino gambling law was constitutional. She criticized a bipartisan energy reform bill scheduled for hearings next week in the House and Senate.

Sebelius also said preliminary reports indicated state tax collections in January topped expectations by $35 million. In the fiscal year that started in July, the state has taken in $3.2 billion, or $13 million above, the projected total.

The governor expressed "dismay" about the distribution of inaccurate information about possible job transfers for 1,500 workers losing jobs at the Tyson Foods plant in Emporia. She said there was an understanding all dismissed employees would be offered jobs at company plants in Kansas, Illinois and Nebraska.

However, Sebelius said, Tyson officials now say 150 to 200 jobs could be available at a plant in Finney County and that 200 vacancies could exist at Nebraska and Illinois facilities.

"I was a bit dismayed the information that has been put forward so far about every worker being assured a job in a Tyson facility really is not accurate," she said.

The Springdale, Ark.-based company began laying off workers in Emporia under a plan to halt beef slaughtering operations at the site.

Seck, who has led the Kansas Highway Patrol for the past five years, intends to step down Feb. 8. Retirement will allow his family to move to Oklahoma City to better care for aging relatives.

Seck said the patrol constituted "the best years of my law enforcement career."

Maple has served as troop commander, special assistant to the superintendent, and as field trooper and pilot with aircraft operations.

"My years of experience and a variety of duty assignments have given me a unique insight into the Kansas Highway Patrol," Maple said.

Tim Carpenter can be reached

at (785) 296-3005

or timothy.carpenter@cjonline.com.