President Jordan Weber welcomed the Wagner Rotarians to the last Rotary meeting for the year 2024 on Wednesday, the 11th of December. Weber gave a prayer for all Rotarians to be mindful of the work they do in the community and strive to find opportunities to serve others.

Rotarian Amanda Bechen introduced the only guest for the day, Jean Crowe. Rotarian Gerrit Juffer led everyone in one verse of “Jingle Bells.' Membership Minute Chairperson Patty Frei gave an entertaining minute of her rendition of the “It’s Beginning to look a lot like Christmas” by substituting Rotary words for the Christmas words in the tune.

'Scholarships for seniors and football book winners, Full bags on ditch cleaning and aluminum can recycling; Polio Plus donations tied up with strings and these are a few of my favorite things!

Fines to our members and students that visit, Exchange trips for Rotary and District Conferences, Our Assistant Governor who likes wild geese on their wings; These are a few of my favorite things!

District grant projects and Polio Plus Walks, Paul Harris Fellows and involvement in our community, Silver white winters that melt into springs, These are a few of my favorite things!

When every Rotarian donates to the Rotary Foundation, then I don’t feel so bad!'

Frei ended by thanking her fellow Rotarians for being part of all the wonderful things that the Wagner Rotary participates in within our community.

Assistant Sergeant at Arms Jeff Doom levied the following fines: $2 to Jeff himself for his checkup at the Heart Hospital where they told him someday his heart would quit but they didn’t know when; $2 to Jerry Weber for calling Jeff at the last minute to do the fines; $3 to Jerry also for his pronunciation of Gerrit Juffer’s last name; $2 each to Ken Cotton and Linda Soukup for their white hair; $2 to Jordan Weber for eating a salad even though he is so skinny; $2 to Patty Frei for her awful imagination; and $2 to Margaret Doom who was seen recently on a happy-swinging walk.

Patty Frei had the winning ticket number but only found the four of Clubs. Secretary Treasurer Craig Krsnak announced that Patty had lost $119.00, the Frei and Doom Teams are finished, and the Frei team has lost the second quarter attendance race miserably with twenty-four misses to only fourteen misses to Doom’s Team. Football book winners were Bryan Slaba for a book which he sold himself; and Haley Frei whose book was sold by Patty Frei.

Our next gathering will not be a meeting but a social evening at the Choteau Creek Brewery Company on Tuesday evening, December 17th starting with Social Hour at 5:30 p.m. followed by supper. Our next regular Rotary meeting will not be until the 8th of January 2025 as the Christmas and New Years holidays fall on Wednesdays.

Rotarian Jerry Henke introduced his program, Tom Payne, Wildlife Damage Specialist from Chamberlain. He presented the new Wildlife Management Program book which is published every year. This year’s 2024 book will be out now until January. He stated that “I had a remarkably busy year with coyotes.” Payne received 1,385 separate complaints from residents and certain areas were very thick. Payne works with ranchers and farmers and baits what he calls a “station” which is a location which proves to be “hot” for trapping.

He estimated that there were over 11,000 coyotes killed this past year in South Dakota. He works different areas all the time and persists in capturing and killing in the worst areas. This year, the hot spots are around Dante and south of Wagner toward the river breaks. It is not lawful for the average citizen to shoot from a car or airplane. You must obtain the necessary permits.

He commented on the fact that the coyote hunts that took place several years ago are not as popular as they once were. However, there are organizations that plan coyote hunts. Payne was asked what he preferred for traps, and he replied that he really likes using cage traps that are manufactured by Jim Comstock. They are Custom Cage Traps and they have a set of four wires for an animal to go through which always catches them. He estimates he caught about forty-four beavers last year, twelve dozen coyotes using four hundred snares consistently. His favorite methods of hunting are a thermal app and using an online phone.

He stated he is open to training and monitoring youth for trapping and likes to appear at trapping expositions. His recent exposition had about sixty kids present.

If you would like to get in touch with Mr. Payne, his email address is tom.payne@state. sd.us or gfp.sd.gov His telephone number is 605-730-0747 and his home address is 1550 East King Avenue, Chamberlain, SD.