By Monica Wepking, Editor Wagner Mayor Sharon Haar went to Pierre on Thursday, September 24, 2009 to make one last plea to try to keep the Wagner drivers license services open. The state issued a news release in August 2009 stating Wagner and 16 other drivers license sites would be shut down October 1, 2009. Mayor Haar and Bill Van Gerpen, State Legislator for District 19, met with Department of Public Safety Secretary Tom Dravland and Cindy Gerber, SD Drivers Licensing Program Director, for two hours. "They presented their case. It came down to money and people standing in lines for two hours to get their licenses in larger cities," said Haar. Secretary Dravland's office was contacted for a response, however, they indicated he was out of the office till after news deadline. Mayor Haar asked Dravland and Gerber, "What would it cost Wagner to upgrade technology and phone lines at City Hall to keep the drivers license service? The response was a one time cost of $3,000 for technology and $260 a month for the phone line." Van Gerpen asked why none of this came up during the last legislative session where license fees were raised from $8 to $20. He pleaded for them to stop the closings until the January legislative session, according to Haar. Mayor Haar pointed out that Wagner's site is open on the first and fourth Thursday of the month, Platte (which is also scheduled to be shut down) is open the third Thursday and Armour is open the second Thursday. With the new alignment Armour will be open every Thursday---this doesn't free up any personnel for the larger cities said Haar. Dravland responded, according to Haar, by saying employees would have less travel expense by going to Armour. Mayor Haar, knowing that current drivers license personnel were coming to Wagner from Gregory or Winner, indicated in this case that wasn't true. That both Platte and Wagner, depending on which bridge they would take, would be closer for these personnel than Armour. Haar also brought up the issue of population and who has the larger trade area. Charles Mix County's population is over 9,000 with 3,500 of those being Native American. "It would be a handicap for them to travel to Armour. In Wagner 25 percent of the population has an income of $10,000 or less per year. Douglas County, where Armour is located, has a population of 3,400." She also added that "Armour's total sales tax revenue in 2008 was only 26.8 percent of Wagners." Dravland admitted that there was one issue in regards to Wagner and Mission, who's also scheduled to close, concerning voting rights that they were checking into. However, Haar said, "They weren't interested in what we said. They indicated that government officials sometimes have to make tough decisions.