Saturday, April 7, 2012

Exeter-Milligan Students Perform Their Favorite Things




My Favorite Things was the theme for the Exeter-Milligan Spring Concert in Milligan on Tuesday evening.

A packed house stood and sang with the sixth grade band who opened the show with The Star Spangled Banner.  They also performed Rock It To Me.  The fifth grade bad did an outstanding job performing Name Those Tunes  and  Let’s Go Band!

The fourth graders performed Pedal to the Metal  on their recorders and the third graders played Whacky Fajita on their boomwhackers.

The audience was also treated to a performance by the seven students who represented Exeter-Milligan at the Sing Around Nebraska festival and sang Shout for Joy

The theme for the evening was My Favorite Things and the students had chosen from the music they had learned this year performing their favorites.  The Kindergarten through sixth graders performed the song My Favorite Things from the musical Sound of Music to set the tone for their choir offerings.

The Kindergarten through second grades chose to perform Colors, Apples and Bananas, I’ve a Pair of Fishes and Scat Song. Third and fourth performed the perennial favorite Take Me Hone, Country Roads and Trail to Mexico with special instrument performance by MicKael Halverstadt, Caitlin Murphy and Jacy Schlueter.  The students also performed Rockin’ Robin.

The fifth and sixth graders performed I Believe I Can Fly and The Lion Sleeps Tonight finishing with You Sing For Me.

To close the concert the entire group sang their own version of E-M’s Favorite Things which was arranged by the sixth grade class to reflect each different groups special memories.  Art created by each class to reflect their favorite things was displayed on the back wall of the gymnasium.


Friday, April 6, 2012

Fillmore County Development Corporation Hosts Meeting


Patt Lentfer, FCDC Executive Director, Jen Olds-SENDD, SERN Chairperson, Erin Malzer, Grow Nebraska.
Patt Lentfer, FCDC Director hosted the SERN meeting in Milligan on March 14th. Jen Olds chaired the meeting and introduced the after lunch speaker, Erin Malzer, with GROW Nebraska™

Local Businesswomen Speak at SERN meeting in Milligan

The Southeast Nebraska Resource Network (SERN) held their quarterly meeting in Milligan, Nebraska on March 14th.  Fillmore County Development Corporation served as the host. 

Two local businesswomen spoke to the group about their businesses in Milligan.  Stephanie Nichols talked about the Evening with Friends restaurant and how her and her husband came to be the owners after the previous owner had health problems.  She told about the changes they have made to the business to keep customers and attract new customers. 

Kim Slezak, owner of KPS GIS Consulting, told about being able to do forest management planning and geospatial analysis from Milligan using her computer.  Her business also has tools she can use for agriculture management.  Another area of interest for Slezak is photography which she markets through Everlasting Light Images where she posts her work.

Thirty resource providers, economic developers, and community stakeholders attended the SERN meeting that was held at Evening with Friends.  After a short business meeting a round table was held where everyone present gave information about programs, events, projects, and etc. that was going on in their area. 

Erin Malzer, with GROW Nebraska™ was the after lunch speaker and presented “Helping to GROW Entrepreneurship Statewide: The Story of GROW Nebraska”.   The presentation included information about the GROW Nebraska program including how the staff can help entrepreneurs throughout the state with "entrepreneurial coaching" and market access opportunities to its members.  GROW Nebraska’s™ goal is to connect entrepreneurs and small businesses to the world marketplace.

SERN is a regional group of resource specialists from various organizations/businesses from the Counties of Polk, Butler, Saunders, York, Seward, Lancaster, Cass, Otoe, Fillmore, Saline, Gage, Johnson, Nemaha, Thayer, Jefferson, Pawnee, and Richardson.  The group meets on a quarterly basis to discuss programs and resources offered by various agencies.

For more information contact the Fillmore County Visitors Co. at 702-759-4910 or email lentfer.fcdc@genevamail.com. 

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Exeter Alum Return to Teach


Shelli Mueller, Jackson Krejci (middle) and Brian Murphy are all Exeter High School graduates who have come back to Exeter-Milligan to teach. (Not Pictured is Darcy White).
Four Exeter alumni have returned to the campus as faculty members at Exeter-Milligan.

Jackson Krejci, the youngest in the bunch, is in his sixth year of teaching at Exeter-Milligan.  He was a member of the Exeter High School class of 2001 and after graduating from Midland Lutheran returned to his hometown to teach and coach in 2006.  So far for him the experience has been a good one, “I think the fact that we have a staff that works together well in the elementary and the high school makes a difference.  I never thought I would be back at Exeter but it's been great teaching back home.”

In addition to his duties teaching math and physical education, Krejci has led the Exeter-Milligan girls basketball team to the state championship playoffs for several years.  Krejci also is an assistant coach for football, helps with junior high sports and serves as the head girls track coach. 

After doing his student teaching at Bennington Elementary near Omaha Krejci applied at a number of districts, “ But it worked out that a few spots were open in Exeter and I decided to interview and take the job.”

Brian Murphy, a 1993 Exeter High graduate, started out working in the family business in Exeter.  He worked part time while attending college and graduated from UNL.  He did his student teaching at Exeter-Milligan with Chris Lewandowski.  When he began looking for a job he interviewed other places, “I was flexible, ultimately my goal was not necessarily to come back to Exeter, but there was a job here and it worked well for my family.”  Murphy’s wife, Angie Murphy, is the elementary music teacher in the Exeter-Milligan district.
Murphy is also in his sixth year of teaching at Exeter-Milligan and is enjoying teaching history and geography, “Particularly with geography you can watch that light bulb of interest go on.  Kids really seem to click with geography and get interested more than other subjects.”

Murphy also enjoys the interacting with students outside the classroom in his role as a coach.  He coaches junior high football and is the head boys track coach.

Shelli Mueller returned to Exeter-Milligan this year after attending UNL and graduating from Peru State.  She did her student teaching at Exeter-Milligan in the fall of 2003 and in 2004 did some subbing in the district along with serving as the assistant coach for the Exeter-Milligan girls basketball team when they won the state championship.  She taught for seven years at St. Joseph’s in York, “I was always looking for the opportunity to come back and when the fourth grade position opened up I was very excited to interview and get the job.”
This fall  Mueller started in her position at the Milligan campus teaching fourth graders and this spring has taken on the position of assistant track coach.

Both Murphy and Mueller will face an interesting dilemma since they are living in the same town they teach.  In the next few years they will be looking at the possibility of having their own children in the classroom. Murphy’s children, son, Patrick is a sixth grader this year, and daughter, Caitlin in fourth grade, have already experienced their Mother for elementary music but Murphy doesn’t think it will be a problem for him, “In the classroom I really try to be just a teacher, I don’t think it will be much different.  It might be a little strange at first but it’s only one period not like an elementary classroom.”

Mueller, on the other hand, has two sons, Adrian and Gavin, who aren’t school aged yet.  “I’ve thought a lot about this – it will be a lot of Daddy bonding time.  When I student taught I asked Mrs. (Kathy) Erdkamp how she taught her own son and she told me she encouraged her husband to work with their son on homework and studying for tests.”

All three have found the benefits of growing up in the community translate well in their teaching career, “The community connection is great.  I feel it makes it easier for parents, they aren’t afraid to talk to you,” said Mueller. 

Murphy added, “ I was in classrooms in Lincoln schools with more kids but have found that I do like smaller schools because you get to know people better. It has its pros and cons.“

Outside of the classroom all three have been coaching track this season at Exeter-Milligan and all three have enjoyed the experience. “I think it's worked out great coaching with some fellow alums.  We know what the experience was like graduating here and also competing in sports here at Exeter,” said Krejci.

In addition to each of these teachers living in Exeter, all three of these returning grads do have a deep history with Exeter, as each of them have their parents and  extended family living in the community.

An indepth article on Physical Education and Volleyball Coach Darcy White will be featured soon.


Wednesday, April 4, 2012

New Books at Exeter Public Library


For Adults:
I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
Left for Dead by J. A. Jance
A Garden in Paris by Stephanie Grace Whitson
The Rose Trilogy-The Judgement, The Thorn and The Mercy by Beverly Lewis
Guilty Wives by James Patterson
Stay Close by Harlan Coben
Another Piece of My Heart by Jane Green
Betrayal by Danielle Steel

For Kids:
Puss and Boots DVD
Happy Feet Two DVD
Luckiest St. Patrick's Day Ever
Star Wars-Darth Maul's Mission 

Fillmore County Barn Quilts

These barn quilts are on Elmer & Linda Hessheimer's building on North 1st Street in Geneva.

The Fillmore County Visitors Committee announces that a Barn Quilt page has been added to the visitors website, www.visitfillmorecounty.org.  Currently there are 10 Barn Quilts pictures posted as well as where they are located. 

The Fillmore County barn quilts are also posted on a national website site barnquiltinfomation.com and on Facebook.  The Barn Quilt committee continues to find people who are interested in building a barn quilt to display on a barn or other out building at their farmstead or yard.  Several more should be ready by the end of the summer.

There seems to be groups of people who really enjoy viewing barn quilts and will travel to see them.  The Fillmore County Visitors Co and the Barn Quilt Co. plan to develop a barn quilt trail to attract visitors to the County.