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It was a chain of command that brought Rotarian Craig Krsnak to the President’s position on Wednesday, November 8th. The President, President Elect, and Past President were all absent for the day’s meeting, so Krsnak rang the bell quite well on his first try.

Rotarian/Pastor Bill Heermann gave thanks for the Senior girls who were present at the meeting as guests as well as the food and asked for guidance for all Rotarians in the Wagner Rotary Club.

There were five Senior guests present from Wagner Community School: Shona Kocer, parents Fran and Karla Kocer plans on attending a college not yet determined and majoring in Elementary Education. Kya Kjeldgaard, parents Kendra and Tye Kjeldgaard plans on attending Black Hills State College and majoring in Business Administration. Madi Knebel, parents Jason and Stacey Knebel is going to attend South Dakota State University for Elementary Education. Macy Koupal, parents Michael and Tera Koupal plans on attending Dordt college for basketball and Biology with a long-term goal of becoming an Optometrist. Abriana Leines, parents Lucy and Tracy Leines, is planning for South Dakota State University and majoring in Human Biology with the possibility of becoming a dentist in the future.

It was not lost on anyone that these girls had a long day previously. They traveled to Pierre, South Dakota and battled their way to winning an entrance to the SD State Volleyball tournament next week in Rapid City, SD.

Song leader Gerrit Juffer led the room full of students and Rotarians in one verse of “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”.

Membership Minute Chairman Ken Cotton always devotes his “minute” to the Seniors who are attending a meeting by explaining a little about What’s Rotary?

Rotary is a global network of more than 1.4 million people of action in more than 46,000 clubs who share a passion for and commitment to enhancing communities and improving lives around the world. There are Rotary and Rotaract clubs in almost every country. Our members change lives locally and connect with other clubs to work on international projects that address today’s most pressing challenges. They take action and make a difference, and it brings them personal rewards and lifelong friendships in the process.

Sergeant at Arms Jamie Soukup said he was short on fines for the day. There were five absences for the meeting, so he was a little limited. $2 to Jeff Doom for offering to be a flight instructor for one of the Seniors at last week’s meeting; $2 to Gerrit Juffer for leaving the meeting two weeks in a row early; $2 to Bryan Slaba for not getting the clock set back to CST; $2 to Bill Frei for harassing the Sergeant about the dessert. Happy fines of $5 each came from Jeff Doom for the Volleyball girls winning their regional tournament; and $5 from Bill Frei for his son that is getting married this year and is looking for a house so that he can move out of his parents’ house!

It was Jamie Soukup’s lucky day again. He held the winning ticket number but only drew a Queen of Diamonds. The attendance race between the Frei and Juffer teams suffered a blow with three absences on the Juffer Team and only one on the Frei Team which leaves Juffer’s with 7 absences and Frei’s team with four absences.

Football Book Winners were Book # 20 Alex Kocer sold by Jerry Henke and Kensley Deurmier sold by Jamie Soukup.

Announcements were made that the three legislators in our district will be holding a Cracker Barrel Session on Saturday from ten to twelve, and there will be an essay contest for District 5610 open to sixth graders on the Rotary 4-Way Test. Those interested should see Jen Lhotak at the school. Rotarian Patty Frei made the announcement that on Wednesday November 29th there will be a luncheon at the Wagner Theatre meeting room for all Seniors and business owners to inform them about the Build Dakota Scholarships.

Rotarian Jerry Henke introduced his program which was State Trapper Tom Payne. Payne services the southern half of Brule County, Charles Mix, and Douglas counties in his job. Payne is originally from Kentucky. He worked at trapping on his own time but did electrical work for thirty years. His boss brought to his attention that the State of South Dakota was advertising for trappers. He applied and has been in SD for two years now.

His job basically consists of following up on complaints from individuals in the rural and urban areas about wildlife control. The biggest problem in our area are beavers and coyotes. Last year he had 21complaints of beaver and 210 complaints of coyotes. So far this year he has had 43 complaints about beavers and 340 complaints about coyotes. What is a complaint? A citizen contacts him about his problem and where he is having the problem. There is a little bit of paperwork for the clients to sign a liability form and get permission from all landowners.

His job varies from day to day and season to season. He runs about 150 traps right now and spends time checking on them. He described a typical day, and he had several calls to make to citizens in the Wagner area that afternoon. He views his job as largely animal control.

He stated that a survey had been conducted in the state which showed a need for more trappers. He also explained that not all his salary is paid for by taxes alone. There is a State Trappers Association which contributes money, and the Livestock Association assesses a fee for each animal that is trapped. Not all of his salary comes out of the General Fund.

Payne was very knowledgeable and thorough in his presentation, and we all learned several things about predators, trapping, and his job. If you are interested in this subject check out Trapping in South Dakota, Trappers, etc. They even have a Facebook page for trapping enthusiasts out there.

The meeting adjourned with the recitation of The Four-Way Test: 1. Is it the TRUTH? 2. Is it FAIR to all concerned? 3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? 4. Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?