School hosts coon hunt despite external protests

Nobody seemed tired, even well after midnight. Perhaps it was the post-hunt camaraderie. Or maybe it was the chili and beef stew. Even the youngest ones seemed spry.

More than 150 people crowded into the high school agriculture building in Patton early Sunday morning to hear the results of the annual FFA coon hunt -- a tradition dating back 37 years at Meadow Heights.

"Continuing to offer the annual youth coon hunt to our community year after year provides an opportunity for Bollinger County's heritage to be shared and passed down from generation to generation," FFA advisor Sarah Burgfeld said.

Of course, not everybody considers the coon hunt a positive endeavor. Burgfeld said she and other school officials received so many emails and phone calls from individuals protesting the hunt she filed a harassment complaint with Bollinger County Sheriff's Department. Burgfeld said a number of those who protested the school-sponsored hunt did so with name-calling and vulgarity, comparing hunters with murderers.

The Banner Press received about 20 emails protesting the event over a week ago, but most were sent unsigned. And none of them were from Missouri, much less Bollinger County.

Winners in the Meadow Heights FFA youth coon hunt include Matthew Yamnitz, smallest sow (from left); Breahna Hull, smallest boar; Lance Jones, biggest sow; and Case Seabaugh, biggest boar. Also pictured is Jack Coomer of Whitewater, president of Castor River Coon Hunters.MARY LAYTON ~ Banner Press

As of Tuesday morning, more than 2,200 people across the country had signed an online petition objecting to the event.

Among the community members who turned out to support the event was Kim Gruenke of Patton. She said her daughter, Ashley, a sophomore, was unable to participate in this year's hunt because it coincided with a Beta Club trip and she wouldn't return home until after midnight.

And that was the check-in deadline for hunters -- midnight. While the raccoons were weighed and winners determined, the young hunters and their families and friends fueled up with homemade chili and beef stew prepared by Jack Coomer of Whitewater, president of Castor River Coon Hunters.

"I've been associated with these people here for five, six years. They [FFA] made me an honorary member," said Coomer, who was instrumental in getting donations for the prizes distributed after the coon hunt. Prizes included everything from dog food to hunting lights, dog leads, collars, hats and T-shirts. They were donated from local hunting suppliers, as well as suppliers Coomer met this year while attending coon hunts throughout the region. More than $3,000 worth of prizes were awarded.

A total of 94 raccoons were brought in from the hunt. The winners were: Lance Jones, biggest sow, 18.6 pounds; Case Seabaugh, biggest boar, 16.12 pounds; Matthew Yamnitz, smallest sow, 4.13 pounds; and Breahna Hull, smallest boar, 5.4 pounds.

They each received a plaque and 50-pound bag of dog food. Prizes were awarded, from heaviest to lightest, for the remaining raccoons. Door prizes also went to those who purchased tickets.

Coomer pointed out raccoons either went home with the hunters or were given to a man who utilizes them for their food and pelt.

The FFA coon hunts generally raise between $500 and $600, Burgfeld said, but that's not the focus.

"Hunting provides youth the opportunity to build endurance, patience, critical thinking, ethics of the balance of nature and wildlife, and rounds them out with a bit of disappointment sometimes," she said. "It provides multi-generational, traditional bonding and building of trust and relationships with family and friends. Hunting provides an activity for people of all ages that doesn't include having their nose in their phone, computer or TV screen."