Exeter Public Library News

Nov 12 at 3 p.m. the Exeter Public Library is having a program on Winter Birdwatching. This fun and informative presentation by Joyce Votipka is for anyone, whether you're an expert watcher or just starting.

One Book, One Nebraska: Nebraska Presence: An Anthology of Poetry has been chosen as the 2018 One Book One Nebraska selection. We have it, so come check it out!
(Fun fact: the poetry of Amy Plettner, a relative of both your librarian and our dear friend Hugh Wilson, is included in this publication!)

Obituary: Reta Mae Coffey

Obituary for Reta Mae Coffey

Reta Mae (Harre) Coffey was born to John & Theresa (Leif) Harre on May 10, 1923 at the home on a farm northeast of Exeter. She went to her eternal rest in Heaven on October 29, 2017 at the age of 94 years, 5 months, and 19 days. She had resided at Heritage Crossings Nursing Home for the past 3 years. She was the oldest of 15 children, and she lived her whole life in Exeter.

Reta Mae attended Country School and made her first communion at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church. She graduated from Exeter High School in 1940.

After graduation, she married Leonard Coffey on May 1, 1943, and they made their home in Exeter raising their five children. She was a loving wife and wonderful mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and great great grandmother who loved spending time with family.

She spent many hours in the kitchen cooking fantastic meals and making everyone happy. She had a very strong faith and loved the Blessed Mary and the Rosary, which she recited daily.

She was preceded in death by her parents John & Theresa Harre; infant daughter Mary; sons John & Richard; son-in-law Ernie Christensen; brothers Lawrence, Kenneth, Jerome, Gene, Paul, Aloysius; and a sister Gladys.

She is survived by daughter-in-law Barbara Coffey of Beaver Crossing, Nebraska; son Robert & Peggy Coffey of Grand Island, Nebraska; daughters Sylvia Christensen of Columbus, Nebraska and Jeanette & Raymond Franzen of Exeter, Nebraska; brother Frank & Gayla Harre of York, Nebraska; sisters Evelyn Coffey of Exeter, Nebraska, Pat Hansen of Tucson, Arizona, Joan Kuska of Lincoln, Nebraska, Doris & Nick Nicholas of Exeter, Nebraska, Jeanette Paulus of Loveland, Colorado, Leona Smith of York, Nebraska; 12 Grandchildren, 25 Great Grandchildren, and 2 Great Great Grandchildren.

A Rosary for Reta Mae was held on Thursday, November 2, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. followed by a Funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. at the St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Exeter, Nebraska. Father Steve Thomlison officiated the services. Agnes Anderson accompanied Jessica Ruhl who sang “Be Not Afraid,” “Mother Dear, O’ Pray For Me,” “I Am The Bread Of Life,” “Ave Maria,” and “On This Day, O’ Beautiful Mother.”

Pallbearers for the service included Doug Coffey, Michael Coffey, Thomas Coffey, Jeffrey Coffey, Kurt Coffey, and Scott Christensen. Interment was held in the Exeter Cemetery following the Mass. Farmer Funeral Home of Exeter, Nebraska conducted the services. Online condolences may be left at www.farmerandsonfuneralhome.com Memorials are suggested to the St. Stephen’s Catholic Church or the St. Jude’s Childrens Hospital.

Timberwolves Win District

Way to bring it home, ladies!

Headed to State Volleyball next week after a Timberwolf District Championship Win!

 Hannah Beethe puts one over the net against Falls City Sacred Heart.

 Katherine White sends the ball flying to the FCSH side in the three game sweep at Beatrice High School.

Above and Below: Kate Jansky was hot at the net on Thursday night for the Timberwolves.

 Hannah sends it back over the net.

 Daisy Kanode is ready for action on the court.

 KK, Katie, Anna and Hannah are ready for a FCSH serve.

 Tara Mueller connects with the ball for a kill.

 Kate slips one by the FCSH hands.

 Yes, that was the real score in the second set!  Timberwolves completed a three game sweep of Falls City Sacred Heart 25-20, 37-35, 25-15. State bound for the 11th time (in 15 years) as Timberwolves. They have been in 25 State Tournament Matches and have 19 State Tournament Match wins.

2009 - State Champions

2010 - State Champions

2011 - Runner Up at State Tournament

 2012 - State Champions

2014 - Third place at State Tournament

2015 - State Champions

2016 - Third place at State Tournament

2017

Anna Sluka sets the ball behind her.

Exeter-Milligan Update: Fifth Grade News Telecare

5^th Grade News at Exeter-Milligan

by Brooke Soukup, 5^th grade teacher

On October 16^th, Beth Vavra helped the fifth grade class host a breakfast with the senior citizens on our Telecare list.  For Telecare, the students take turns each week making phone calls every morning to see if they need anything.  The students were able to serve juice and donuts and were also able talk to them about their experiences in school.

Front L-R: Diane Zeleny, Dorothy Stych, Merle Buzek, and Alma Placek

Middle L-R: Kierra Papik, Khloe Moran, Emma Meyer, Carter Milton, Landen Soice

Back L-R: Jayden Capek, Joleen Vossler, Ayla Kahler, Aidan Vavra, Michael Bartu, Liberty Johnson

FCDC Hosts Career Industry Day

Career Industry Day for Fillmore County High School Juniors

The Fillmore County Development Corporation (FCDC) in cooperation with the Fillmore County schools and local businesses held a Career Industry Day for the juniors in the county on October 18th.  The format for the day involved having the students go to the business locations, rather than the business people coming to the schools.

Three tracks were developed so students had a choice and could decide what area interested them the most.  The tracks were Agriculture and Technical Sciences, Health and Human Services, and Business, Marketing, & Management.

The goal of the day was to expose students to some of the career opportunities in Fillmore County.   The FCDC wanted to expose students to all aspects of a business that they would not see from the outside. The tours allowed the Fillmore County juniors to hear comments about employment opportunities and training requirements from people in the business. Twenty businesses hosted the tours with 30+ presenters.

A comment was made by one of the students as to what was your favorite part of the day? “Getting to tour Metal Tech Partners and seeing how that business works.  Another student said, “My favorite part was seeing the dairy and the technology used nowadays in that industry.

“It was great to have the cooperation from the businesses and the three county schools to set up the Career Industry Day,” according to Patt Lentfer, FCDC Director.  “I had a great committee that worked for several months to make the day successful by contacting businesses, setting up the tours, and arranging lunch.“

Junior High Football Wrap Up

Exeter-Milligan-Friend Junior High Football team is pictured front row from the left: Ben Bartu, Braden Capek, Peyton Pribyl, Christian Weber, Casey Underwood, Jessie Duba, Kohl Svec.  Back row from the left are: Daysan  Staskal, Cade Kresak, Chase Svehla, Braden Benjamin, Jack Baptista, Andrew Lunt, Marcus Krupicka.  Not pictured are Chase Vnoucek, Cooper Girmus, Parker Lofing.

Above -Cooper Girmus (50) follows Jack Baptista (21) in their game against East Butler.  Also pictured is E-M-F player Casey Underwood (30)

Below  – Christian Weber (15) lets a pass fly in their win over East Butler.

  Kole Svec (9) carriers the ball for E-M-F, following the block of fullback Cooper Girmus (50). 

Story by Brian Murphy

The Exeter-Milligan-Friend junior high football team recently completed the 2017 season with a 3-3 record. The team played against good competition throughout the season.

EMF opened the season traveling to Diller on September 5. After opening up a 28-6 halftime lead, EMF finished with a 34-20 victory over Diller-Odell. Christian Weber scored touchdowns on runs of 1, 2, and 14 yards. Weber hit Chase Svehla on a 16 yard TD. Jack Baptista ran 31 yards for a TD. Two point conversion passes were from Weber to Svehla and to Cooper Girmus. Defensively, Marcus Krupicka recovered a fumble.

On September 13, EMF hosted East Butler in Friend. The EMF defense had a strong performance in the 38-14 victory. Kole Svec intercepted an East Butler pass and Daysan Staskal and Jesse Duba recovered fumbles. Christian Weber (45 and 49 yards) and Jack Baptista (9 and 75 yards) had two rushing touchdowns. Weber hit Staskal on an 18 yard TD pass. Weber and Chase Svehla ran in 2-point conversions. Weber also threw conversions to Svehla and Duba.

After a week off, Meridian came to Milligan on September 25. EMF opened up a 32-0 lead after three quarters, en route to a 32-18 win. Christian Weber scored TDs on runs of 9, 15, and 18 yards. In addition, he found the end zone on a 71 yard punt return. Parker Lofing and Casey Underwood ran in conversions and Weber hit Chase Svehla for a third.  On defense, EMF scored when Peyton Pribyl tackled a Meridian runner in the end zone for a safety. Lofling, Underwood, and Kole Svec had fumble recoveries.

On October 2, EMF traveled to Henderson to play Heartland. EMF was unable to score in the first half. In the second half, EMF scored on touchdown runs of 13 and 53 yards by Daysan Staskal and a 46 yard run by Christian Weber. Staskal also returned a kick-off  53 yards for a TD. Conversion passes were Weber to Peyton Pribyl and Staskal to Chase Svehla. Parker Lofing also ran a conversion in. Staskal had a fumble recovery for the EMF defense.

It was a cold, windy Monday, October 9 in Milligan when Cross County visited. Cross County went home with a 58-8 win over EMF. Christian Weber scored EMFs only TD on a 45 yard run. Weber hit Chase Svehla for a conversion pass. Braden Capek and Casey Underwood recovered fumbles for EMF.

To end the season, EMF traveled to Osceola to play High Plains/Osceola. After the first quarter, EMF was up 14-8. The game remained tight through the third quarter, with High Plains/Osceola up 30-22. In the fourth, EMF could not find the end zone and ended up on the short end of a 50-22 score. Christian Weber was involved in all the EMF scoring. He ran 18 and 29 yards for scores. Also, he hit Cooper Girmus, who made a diving catch for a 12 yard TD reception. Weber and Girmus connected for a conversion and Weber ran one in.

This was the fourth year for the two schools to team up at the junior high level on the gridiron. Over the four seasons, EMF junior high football has compiled a 13-10 record. Brian Murphy, Jay Hitchcock, and Treven Cerveny coached this season’s team of 17 players.