Exeter Senoir Center Hosts 9th Annual Senior to Senior Breakfast

After breakfast the graduating seniors enjoyed visiting with their grandparents.

The Exeter Senior Center was full of graduating seniors and their grandparents.


It's a little early but these seniors are ready to dig into some breakfast.


The Exeter Senior Center once again hosted their Senior to Senior breakfast. This gives the graduating seniors an opportunity to celebrate their graduation with their grandparents and great-grandparents.

Nine years ago the Exeter Senior Center started the program based on the idea of then advisory board member Elva McBride. McBride recalled a similar program in her hometown of Mc Cook. At the program, Fillmore County Senior Services Advisor Brenda Motis stated, "This has become something the grandparents look forward to, a special time for them to spend with their grandkids."

The center had rolls, muffins and donuts on the table for the guests and served everyone a breakfast casserole. Coffee and juice was poured by Senior Center volunteers. The color themes were purple and black as chosen by the graduating class of 19, all of whom were present.

After the meal was served Motis took the opportunity to talk to the group. She reminded the seniors that "No matter what, always remember you'll always have a link to the Exeter and Milligan communities and family and friends and neighbors like us who are thinking of you and supporting you all the way. From all of us at the Exeter Senior Center, the best of luck to each of you."

When they finished their meal, the graduating seniors were asked to introduce themselves, tell the group about their future plans and introduce their grandparents.

In addition to serving the breakfast the Senior Center also held a drawing for Casey's gift certificates. The female gift went to Ana Androyna and the male gift went to James Strate. They also drew names for all of the balloon bouquets that were used as decorations.

The volunteers who made the event possible were Elva McBride, Evelyn Elznic, Evelyn Michl, Doris Hall, Roma Rhodes, Shirley Janes, Elaine Krejci, Marion Geiger, Tess Moor and Darlene Becker.

Exeter-Milligan Alumni Breaks School Record at Concordia

Concordia University Senior Carly Stokebrand, an Exeter-Milligan alum, recently broke the Concordia school record in the hammer at Conference competition in Hastings last Saturday.

Overall Carly placed second in the conference in hammer throw and first in discus. Click here to go to the Concordia University website for a wrap-up of the event.

Olympic Gold Medalist Speaks at Exeter-Milligan

Mr. Schlueter admires Curt Tomasevic's medal.

Mr. Gabel, left, introduces his fellow Shelby native, Olympic Gold Medalist Curt Tomasevic.

The "show" helmet was signed by Tomasevic's teammates from the 2010 USA Bobsled team.

Tomasevic patiently signed papers, notebooks and t-shirts for Exeter-Milligan students and community members.

He definitely has a story to tell. A story of Olympic gold, but the story has a strange twist. How do you fit bobsledding onto the plains of Nebraska?

Curt Tomasevic didn't even think of bobsledding while he fought his way onto the Cornhusker football team. Growing up in Shelby, Neb. the closest he ever came to a bobsled was "riding on a saucer sled behind a four-wheeler."

Now, he has won an Olympic gold medal in bobsledding, a World Cup gold medal and a World Title all in bobsledding.

He spoke to the Exeter-Milligan students and community members on Wednesday afternoon in Exeter and gave them a peak into what he believes are the roots of his success.

Shelby. It's the small town of Shelby "690 people raised $25,000 for me. No one Shelby had ever seen a bobsled. They did it on faith, believed in me. They didn't know I would make it to the Olympics," said Tomasevic.

He shared both his story with the group and things that have made a difference. He emphasized how small towns work and support each other recalling an incidence when he was young where their football coach took the boys to help a farmer when they were supposed to be practicing football "because that's what small towns do. They do for each other."

He named some of the many things he has done because he had that backing, visited the White House, watched the shuttle launch, joined Pearl Jam on stage, rode in a F-16, been on The Late Show with David Letterman, pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, will be throwing out the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs game.

And while he shared with the crowd the outfit and shoes of a bobsledder and showed the clip of the run where they won the gold medal he wanted them to see the root of his success. He explained that they have to first of all "remember where you have been, then, where you are and finally where you are going. If you can do these things you will be successful. Remember your roots."

Tomasevic kept the gold medal securely around his neck while he took photos with students and community members and also signed autographs. Tomasevic was introduced by Exeter-Milligan science teacher Grant Gabel who is also from Shelby and thanked by Principal Lindley Schlueter whose wife Melanie is from Shelby.

Exeter-Milligan Students Learn How to Save from First National Bank in Exeter

Exeter-Milligan Kindergarten class with Tammy Sladek (back row, left) and Sharla Dineen (back row, right) from First National Bank in Exeter.

Free money? That is what Exeter-Milligan elementary students are smiling about.

As part of a nationwide program to teach children to save, First National Bank in Exeter employee's Sharla Dinneen and Tammy Sladek visited all of the Exeter-Milligan elementary students.

Each child was given a $1 coin to encourage them not only to save money, but also to introduce the concept of the $1 coin and the impact that the U.S. Mint hopes it has on the nation.

During the program the children reviewed the concept of "going green" and the three R's of recycling. Currently the U.S. Mint has been promoting the "green" benefits of the new $1 coin. Dinneen shared during the program how the new coin is 100% recyclable and in circulation, outlasts the paper dollar bill by over 28 years. "The U.S. Mint has even been making personal phone calls to banks to encourage the use of the coins," according to Alan Emshoff, President of First National Bank in Exeter.

The Exeter bank, which has participated in the National Teach Children to Save Day program for 13 years did so because they "wanted to promote to the kids the difference between wants and needs, savings and interest and to be good stewards," said Emshoff.

Dinneen enjoys seeing "how excited the children are. . . they have such a positive reaction. They truly want to save."

In addition to giving each elementary student a $1 coin, they received a pencil, a snack and a drink from the bank. Although the bank participates in the national event, it is entirely funded by the First National Bank in Exeter.

Over 75 banks in Nebraska participate in the National Teach Children to Save Day with 80,000 bankers and volunteers reaching approximately 3.4 million school children.

Time to Sign up For Summer Reading Program!!

The Exeter Public Library Summer Reading Program is about to start. Are you ready to get wet this summer? This June come 'Make a Splash @ Your Library'. Discover sea life, pirates, treasure and 'oceans' of books. There will be stories, crafts, activities and FUN!
The free weekly programs, for kids pre-school through 3rd grade, start June 4.
Stop in the library or call 266-3031 to register and for program days and time.
Come join the fun and dive into a good Book!

New Items at the Library

New Books List:
For Adults:
9th Judgement by James Patterson
Reckless by Andrew Gross
Lucid Intervals by Stuart Woods
Without Mercy by Lisa Jackson
Solar by Ian McEwan
The Walk by Richard Paul Evans
Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg
Shadow of Your Smile by Mary Higgins Clark
Bride Collector by Ted Dekker
Reluctant Gourmet Cooks For Kids Too-Donated by the author and past Exeter resident Lois Long Noble.
A Baker's Dozen-Donated by the Nebraska State Quilt Guild.

For Kids:
Lots of new books for Summer Reading Program in June.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel -DVD

Exeter Marshal's Office Update

With the first holiday of the summer soon to kick off, the Exeter Police Department is announcing that we will be participating in the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety “Click It Or Ticket” enforcement that will be occurring from May 24^th to June 6^th. Exeter Officers are currently scheduled for an additional 40 hours of patrol time during this period for which all wages will be paid for by the program’s grant. The program, as well as the associated enforcement, will focus on child restraint and safety belt law compliance. For more information you may visit www.nhtsa.gov/CIOT.

Learning to Drive Safe at the Senior Center

Nebraska State Troop Bybee gave a power point presentation on safe driving at the Exeter Senior Center on Tuesday.

Trooper Bybee gave the Exeter Senior Center presentation to encourage older drivers to be aware of changes in their behavior and how it affects their driving habits.

"The only thing worse than getting older is not getting older," was the theme of the powerpoint presentation give by Nebraska State Trooper Randy Bybee at the Exeter Senior Center.

He shared humorous pictures and real life stories to help make the point about the changes that seniors nationwide face as they age and how it relates to driving.

He noted that at the end of last year over 156,942 Nebraskan's age 70 and older still maintain a valid driver's license and 7,368 of those are 90 and older.

The presentation, designed by AAA, recognized the difference in road conditions and cars from when many of those 65 and up learned to drive.

Helping to identify where changes in a senior citizen take place and how it affects their driving was the goal of the presentation. Most problems, like with comprehension errors cause a problem when the reaction time of seniors becomes slower.

Trooper Bybee noted that there are some areas that senior citizens excel in as drivers, such as wearing seatbelts more often, less aggressive driving, less likely to drink and drive and also limiting driving at night or during bad weather.

He asked the crowd of twenty if they text while they drive, but none did. He did state that "talking on your cell phone or texting while driving is like having two alcoholic drinks and then driving."

Also on the positive side for seniors, are the experience they have gained through years of driving along with their responsibility, their adaptability and their habits of planning their travels.

However, there is a high incidence of accidents involving mature driving especially when turning left or responding properly to road signs.

Trooper Bybee noted that most often vision is affected by age, which in turn causes problems with driving. Reaction time is most notable, it increases by almost 40 percent between the ages of 35 and 65.

As solutions to some of the vision issues, Trooper Bybee encouraged the seniors to keep their headlights, windshield and wiper blades clean and make some simple adjustments to their regular driving habits to help with awareness. Most of the changes were simple items like scanning ahead farther and increasing following distances. He also mentioned eliminating left turns and backing situations.

To close Trooper Bybee mentioned several warning signs of driver's who might need to stop driving like hitting curbs, scratches or dents on the car or failure to notice signs. He also mentioned a few safety tips like removing handicapped signs hanging on rear view mirrors which can cause a blind spot, and also gave the seniors ideas for setting mirrors and holding the steering wheel.

Before leaving Trooper Bybee mentioned that he had left a driving DVD with Brenda Motis, program manager at Fillmore County Senior Services, which drivers can check out to test their own driving skills. There were also flyers for drivers to look over and one to help children evaluate their parents as senior drivers.

Legion Auxiliary Members and Girl Scouts Team Up to Pick Up Trash

Members of Girl Scout Troop 390 and Exeter American Legion Auxiliary Post 218 met on Tuesday evening to spend some time picking up trash in Exeter. The group donned gloves and piled trash into the trailer pulled by a 4 wheeler that's use was donated by Jerry Peterson. After they finished the Legion Auxiliary treated the girls to a pop. Pictured in the back row from the left are Girl Scout leaders Anita Mueller and Becky Erdkamp, Legion Auxiliary members Linda Underwood and Annette Gloystein. Front row from the left are girl scouts Josie Hulse, Janey Erdkamp, Hannah Beethe, Vickie Androyna, helper Casey Underwood and scout Tara Mueller.