Exeter-Milligan Class of 2009

Members of the Exeter-Milligan class of 2009 who attended the reunion are pictured from the left: Amber Filipi Morrison, Maddie Emshoff Underwood, Justina Kassik Yound, Travis Oliva, Emily Harre Reed, Kayla Becker Johnson and Mackenzie Thomsen Gauss.

Exeter Troop 218 Summer Trip

 Scouts in Troop 218 warmed up around the fire before making supper.  The next morning they had four inches of snow on their tents and had to leave that day before the foot of predicted snow arrived making mountain driving conditions unsafe.  Pictured from the left are Mikey Bartu, Ben Bartu, Clint Oldehoeft and Braden Capek.

Members of Troop 218 stopped for a photo before hiking around Devil’s Tower (in the background).  Pictured from the left are Mikey Bartu, Ben Bartu, Clint Oldehoeft and Braden Capek.  The scouts climbed over the rocks to the base of the tower in addition to the hike around the tower.

 

 Boy Scouts in Troop 218 did some hiking on the trip through Western Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.  Pictured from the left are Clint Oldehoeft, Braden Capek, Mikey Bartu and Ben Bartu

Four scouts in Troop 218 recently planned a trip to hike in Western Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.

The scouts, Braden Capek, Clint Oldehoeft, Ben and Mikey Bartu and their leaders, Dean and Leesa Bartu, left Exeter on Saturday, May 18^th.  First on their itinerary was a stop in North Platte, Neb. at the Golden Spike Tower where they learned about the largest railyard in the United States.

From there the group traveled to Bayard, Neb. to visit National Monument Chimney Rock.  The troop toured the facility and experienced the challenges of loading a wagon to take on the trail.  From there the troop traveled to Alliance, Neb. to see Carhenge.  The boys enjoyed examining the additional metal sculptures at the Carhenge sight.

The first night on the trip was at the beautiful Chadron State Park.  After a quick supper the troop settled for the night and awoke to snow on the ground.  It was a chilly morning so the troop packed up quickly and headed out to their next destination, Custer State Park.

Just outside of Custer State Park the scouts took a detour to Wind Cave State Park.  The group toured the cave, and especially enjoyed the elevator ride back up out of the cave.

At Custer State Park they drove the wildlife loop and enjoyed stopping to watch a large buffalo herd and their calves cross the road.  They also enjoyed feeding the resident donkeys.  They headed to their campsite at Sylvan Lake to set up tents on the snow there.  The scouts hiked to a peak in that area and planned to hike Black Elk Peak the next day.

After waking up to four inches of snow on their tents the troop had to make the decision to forgo their planned trip to Black Elk Peak because of the foot of snow that was predicted.  Instead the group left a day early and made a stop at Crazy Horse where the snow stopped just long enough to get a glimpse of the carving.  They also stopped at Mount Rushmore but didn’t ever get a clear view of the monument because of the snow and fog.

That evening the scouts spent the night in a restored caboose near Piedmont, SD and laid their tents out to dry.  Snow once again found the troop as they were barely able to get the van and trailer out of the driveway.  As they headed to Sturgis, SD the rain came and so the troop found the Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame to entertain them.  They stopped in Spearfish, SD for a quick lunch and headed to Wyoming.

The snow continued in Wyoming as the troop headed for Devil’s Tower National Monument.  After donning their rain gear the troop hiked around the base of the tower with the scout’s climbing rocks up to the base of the tower.  Before the hike was done Devil’s Tower was enshrouded in fog.

Next on the itinerary was a stop in Gillette, WY to see the large coal mines.  Unfortunately tours were not available until later in the week but the scouts were able to see some of the mine and equipment from a viewing spot.  Older mining equipment was also displayed in another part of town.

The troop camped in Douglas, WY overnight in the snow once again.  In the morning the troop headed east for a stop at Fort Laramie National Historic Site.  After watching a brief historical film the group toured the well restored grounds.  After lunch the troop headed east again stopping in Cabela’s in Sidney before heading to Ole’s in Paxton for supper.

After camping in North Platte for the evening the scouts opted to visit Pioneer Village in Minden before heading home on Thursday, May 23.  The scouts planned all of the meals and did all of the cooking to complete items on the cooking and camping merit badge.

Exeter Class of 1999

Members of the Exeter class of 1999 who attended the reunion are pictured from the left: Andy Rocole, Robbie Petersen, Lane Becwar, Colleen Krasser Knott, Liz Ekeler Kallhoff, and Mary Harre Schlegelmilch.

Exeter Village Board hears from FCDC

Exeter Village Board met Wednesday, June 5^th with a quorum of three as two board members, Kathy Erdkamp and Justin Harre, were absent from the meeting.

After approving the minutes and invoices the board welcomed Fillmore County Development Corporation representatives Susan Lynch, Jennifer Griffith,  and Marcus Ruhl  to the meeting.

Lynch, FCDC board member introduced herself and asked for input from the board, “We are focusing on businesses in the area.  We are also focusing on housing as well and workforce.  We want to bring people in and finding them jobs when they get here.”

Ruhl added, “We want to be able to expand a lot of our reach farther.  No one knows it better than the people who live there.  We are opening the table for what you want to see in Exeter.  What are your goals and how can we help you get there?”

“It is a multifaceted thing we are trying to do across the entire country. Everyone has their niche and that is what we are trying to exploit,” Ruhl continued.

Lynch confirmed their mission, “We are coming to you, we need to understand what you want .”

“There isn’t a town in this county that would argue that we need lots.  We need to have funds to deal with the dilapidated houses so we can have lots people can build on.  This would be a good organization to spearhead this idea,” according Chairman Alan Michl.

Michl noted that the land bank bill that was passed in the unicameral and might have aided the situation, was vetoed by the governor.

“We have about 10 houses we would like to tear down but to be honest we can’t afford it.  It’s a countywide deal,” explained Michl.

Lynch responded, “One of things we are looking into is how can we creatively pool our resources to meet the needs of the county.”

“If it was just Exeter I wouldn’t bring it up, but it’s every town in the county,” explained Michl.

The board thanked the FCDC representatives and heard an update from Andrew Wilshusen on the final items of the downtown and street projects.  He noted that there a few items to finish up but the main item is the flagholders on the light poles that have been faulty.

Wilshusen confirmed that the flagholders should be done and in place by June 14^th for Flag day.  He also noted that concrete crushing is not finished but will begin again soon.  So far they have crushed 3748 tons and estimate another 1200 tons.

Wilshusen also offered a bid from JEO to design and supervise replacement of the concrete in front of the fire hall.  The bid of $7700 was not accepted by the board but they did entertain the option of having JEO check to make sure the forms were ADA complaint before the cement was poured.

Maintenance supervisor John Mueller noted they had a bid for $33,000 which included digging down a foot and adding crushed concrete base.

The board discussed possible pool activities during Exeter days and contributed $100 toward prizes. The parade route hasn’t been determined yet for the weekend of July 27.

The board approved a motion to accept the bid of $1100 from Dan Wittnebel to erect the fence at Storybook park.

Mueller reported he had to replace the AC unit at the ballfield shack.  At Storybook Park the ladybug glider broke and will have to be repaired. The village had some trees cut down in Gilbert’s Park but they still need to be cleaned up before the stumps are ground.

Clerk Becky Erdkamp reported that sales tax for March were $9571.49 and Keno for April was $356.48 .

She informed the board that she will send mowing letters soon.  She recently took pictures at a property in Exeter where two dead trees and lots of broken limbs and construction trash are littering the yard. She talked to the homeowner and warned it could be condemned soon. 

Erdkamp had a resident question her on the necessity of a sidewalk on his property.  She found there was no easement and will let him know about the legal requirements.

The board set their next meeting for Tuesday, July 9 at 7 p.m.

Exeter Class of 1994

Members of the Exeter class of 1994 who attended the reunion are pictured from the left: Ryan Manning and Jason Oldehoeft.