Exeter-Milligan update: Mailboxes

 As Bon Jovi says:

“There’s only one place left that I want to go,

WHO SAYS YOU CAN’T GO HOME!”

 

This was the message conveyed by the Exeter Area Community Foundation and the Exeter-Milligan School Foundation to the 2025 graduates at Exeter-Milligan.  Each graduate received a personalized mailbox, reminding them that they will always have a home at Exeter-Milligan and are always part of the pack.  It may not be on the graduates radar now, but in five or ten years, when they have a family of their own and are looking for a place to raise that family, the hope is that little voice will be telling them, “Who says you can’t go home!”

 

Pictured front L-R: Aidan Vavra, Carter Milton, Mikey Bartu, and Jayden Capek

 

Back row: Emma Meyer, Kierra Papik, Lily Jeffries, Liberty Johnson, and Kmila Benitez

Exeter-Milligan Class of 2025

 The Exeter-Milligan Class of 2025 attended their first alumni banquet.  They are pictured from the left: Lily Jeffries, Jayden Capek, Mikey Bartu, Aidan Vavra and Kierra Papik.

Exeter-Milligan Class of 2015

 The Exeter-Milligan Class of 2015 pictured from the left: (front row) Amber (Pribyl) Axline, Madison (Horne) Luzum, Kyle Jensen; (back row) Broc Mueller, Jarett Maxson, Derek Luzum, Dillan Jindra, Dusty Axline, Zach Kroll and A J Underwood.

Exeter-Milligan Class of 2005

 The Exeter-Milligan Class of 2005 pictured from the left: Mallory (Ruhl) Christo, Chris Bristol and Bailee (Becker) Schleisman.

EMF Softball Team 12s

 EMF 12s team pictured from the left: (front row) Charlee Stutzman, Lynn Jurgensen, Audrey Rockwell, Georgia Roth, Maliyah Pedersen; (middle row) Coach Jen Stutzman, Saydee Kassik, Harley Hardesty, Arwen Ryan, Kora Havel, Brooklyn Lawson, Ava Svehla, Landri Johnson and Coach Steve Havel.

Exeter Class of 2000

 The Exeter Class of 2000 pictured from the left: Mary (Anderson) Ekeler, Monika (Ekeler) Wemhoff, Dan Votipka, Justin Harre and Mitch Schlegelmilch.

Death Notice: Sara J. Pella

 A Celebration of Life for Sara will be Monday, June 23, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at the Exeter Milligan High School Gymnasium. There will be a meal and time of fellowship at the Exeter American Legion following the Celebration of Life.

There is no visitation scheduled.

Memorials are suggested to the family for future designation.

EMF Softball 10's Team

 EMF 10's team pictured from the left: (front row) Kollins Johnson, Neely Stutzman, Lainey Stutzman, Blaire Hinton, LaneyMae Ellison, Jade Slezak; (middle row) Penelope Harrison, Grayson Arbuck, Laney Havel, Atley Bruntz. Audrey Rockwell, Arwen Ryan, Kelsey Milton, Brynn Rohren and Evelyn Rix; (back row) Coaches Ashley Havel, Jason Arbuck. Ashley Arbuck and Amanda Bruntz.

Exeter Class of 1990 and 1995

 The Exeter Class of 1995 pictured from the left: Erin Jansen, Chris Bristol and Kim (Becker) Panepinto and Class of 1990 member Aarik Jensen.

EMF Softball 8U

 EMF 8U team pictured from the left: (front row) Rylee Kassik, Baylor Johnson, Kyah Rischling, Bridget White, Quinn Mueller, Madison Kemp, Cora Foutch, Julia Anderson, Kolbie Kahlandt; (back row) Coach Tonya Brandt, Emery Kohot, Norah Brandt, Mia Brandt, Ava Capek, Caroline Graves, Finley Due, Addyson Zoubek, Coaches Rachel Johnson and Kelly Rischling.

Exeter Class of 1980

 The Exeter Class of 1980 pictured from the left: Lisa (Dinneen) Rhodes, Kay (Ruhl) Due, Kenny Harre and Dean Bartu.

Exeter-Milligan American Team

 Exeter-Milligan American Team pictured from the left: (front row) Archer Engert, Easton Schlegelmilch, Wesley Hopkins, Titus Petersen, Knox Becker, Kolt Songster; (back row) Coach Cory Engert, Braxton Harre, Tommy Kallhoff, Archer Kanode, Jack Harrison, Reed Wince.

Exeter Class of 1975

 The Exeter Class of 1975 pictured from the left: (front row) Sandy (Yound) Zoubek, Margaret (Mueller) Petro, Sherry Taylor, Peg (Erdkamp) Becker, Lori (Becker) Beckwar; (back row) Dave Rasmussen, Chris Manning, Brent Moore, Harry Miller and Jerome Ekeler.

Exeter-Milligan Pee Wee Baseball Team

 Exeter-Milligan Pee Wee Baseball team pictured from the left: (front row) Emmet Schlegelmilch, Paul Kallhoff, Leo Nicholas, Rexton Wince, Kash Rischling and Barrett White; (back row) Coach Derek Wince, Weston Yound, Kolsen Kahlandt, Parker Gloystein, Kyler Oldehoeft, Ryker Wince and Coach Dan Kallhoff.

Exeter Days Coming Soon

 Come join the fun and activities at Exeter Days, Friday, July 25 - Sunday, July 27.

More info to come soon!

Exeter Class of 1970

 The Exeter Class of 1970 pictured from the left: Brenda (Brackham) Kranz, Marcia (Krasser) Erdkamp, Kathy Rouch, Kristie (Schneider) Jirkovsky, John Tauriella, Larry Hunt and David Krupicka

Exeter-Milligan National Team

 Photo Courtesy of Images by Jessie

Exeter-Milligan National Team is pictured from the left: (front row) Crosby Oldehoeft, Beau Becker, Aiden Nichols, Maddux Milton; (back row) Coach Stefanie Nichols, Will Kallhoff, Cohen Harre, Deacon Erdkamp, Gavin Mueller and Coach Dan Kallhoff.

Exeter Class of 1965

 The Exeter Class of 1965 pictured from the left: (front row) Jane (McCabe) Drake, Judy (Tauriella) Hansen, Patsy (Rouch) Wright, Sharon (Hall) Hassler, Barb (Ethington) Jansen; (back row) Leon Harre, George Erdkamp, Alan Songster and Jim Walker.

EMF Golf Team places fourth at State Golf

 EMF golfers at State with Coach Nicholas (Coach Marr had to go get his vehicle).  The team placed fourth overall (behind three parochial schools).

Final 2 day score:

Golfer                            Day 1 total                Day 2 total

Carter Milton                    79                                77

Aidan Vavra                       76                                81

Mikey Bartu                    81                                    81

Jacob Klooz                    82                                    81

Zachary Spohn                87                                    82

Milton was the highest placed golfer in a tie for 24th and Vavra tied for 28th, Bartu tied for 45th and Klooz was 48th.  All of the golfers that qualified for State Golf this year were seniors.  Congratulations, boys!

Exeter Class of 1960

 The Exeter Class of 1960 pictured from the left: Ron Styskal, Kate (Murphy) Harre, Pat (Becker) Koca, Sally (Harre) Michl, Tom Manning and Larry Petersen.

EMF State Track Wrap Up

 EMF brought home two medals from state track.  Tyrell Fennell brought home a gold medal, first place, in the 100M (11.06).  It was a photo finish but Tyrell came out on top.  He also brought home 8th place in the 200M race (22.91)

The boys 4 x 100 team placed 13th with a time of 44.42.  Members of the team were AJ Mueller, Mark Milton, Truman Milton, and Tyrell Fennell.

Anniston Meints was the lone female track qualifier.  She tied for 9th in high jump (5'0") and placed 17th in the 300H hurdles (48.5).

Congratulations!

Exeter Class of 1955

 The Exeter Class of 1955 pictured from the left: Wayne Olsen, Ray Franzen and Don Krejci.

Exeter/Exeter-Milligan Alumni host weekend activities

 

The Exeter/Exeter-Milligan Alumni banquet was held Saturday afternoon to highlight a weekend of activities and gatherings.

Friday night, a karaoke night was held in downtown Exeter with the fire department grilling up hamburgers and hot dogs which followed the beer mile run.

Saturday morning a golf tournament was scheduled and tours of the school were self-guided in the afternoon. After the banquet an open house with DJ was hosted by the honor class at the Exeter American Legion.

Sunday's activities included a road rally and a fat penny tournament.

Eleven of the 14 members of the class of 2015 were present for the evening.  Madison Horne Luzum welcomed the guests and conducted a brief business meeting. 

Also taking a turn at the microphone was Kyle Jensen, who after the meal, shared some memories from their time as students.  The microphone was handed around the gym and classes shared their special memories and introduced class members that were present. Several class representatives claimed they still had stories they couldn't share.

Five members of the class of 2025 were present as guests of the alumni association.

Members of the 75 year class (class of 1950) included Wilma Jean (Dumpert) Rich (left) and Charleen (Schnieder) Otte.

Exeter Honors the Fallen

 Even though a soggy Memorial Day had been in the forecast, the weather stayed dry, but cool for the Exeter Memorial Day program at the Exeter Cemetery.

The large crowd was welcomed to the program by American Legion Post 218 Commander Mark Beethe after the color guard marched in with the flags.

Beethe noted that in addition to honoring "all of those service members that made the ultimate sacrifice" he wanted to remember those specifically from Fillmore County and Exeter.

The Exeter-Milligan Band performed three numbers including the "Star Spangled Banner," "America," and "Salute to Freedom."

The invocation was led by Father Brendan Kelly, Aidan Vavra read the "Gettysburg Address" and Kierra Papik read "In Flanders Field."

Vietnam veteran and American Legion member Tim Wilbeck gave the address and focused on the special meaning of Memorial Day.  He encouraged the audience to think of it as "more than carrying on a tradition. . .we need to fulfill a commitment to some special people."

The members of the military who "answered the call of duty giving us today, tomorrow and the tomorrow of the future."

With more than one million Americans sacrificing their lives in defense of our country Wilbeck challenged the audience, asking, "What would our country be like today if they hadn't fought for our freedom?"

At the same time Wilbeck encouraged his listeners to honor the dead by serving the living.

Wilbeck told the story of a professional football player,Jack Lummus, a tight end for the NY Giants who gave up his football career to enlist.  Lummus, according to Wilbeck, went from "sports hero to genuine American hero" when he died during World War II at Iwo Jima after stepping on a land mine.

He also mentioned several other veterans who gave the ultimate sacrifice noting they were "no less heroic.  We are gathered so we can remember their sacrifice."

The program ended with a 21 gun salute by the members of the Exeter American Legion and Sons of the Legion while "Taps" was played by Kierra Papik and Exeter-Milligan band director Mark Perez.

We Remember

 

Village Installs New Banners Downtown

Village employee Joey Miller installs one of the new banners downtown.  Below are the new banners.

 

EM Updates: Kids Heart Challenge

 

Kids Heart Challenge

By Darcy White, Exeter-Milligan K-12 PE Instructor

 

The K-5 students at Exeter-Milligan Elementary School participated in the Kids Heart Challenge during the month of February. They raised over $6,300 for the American Heart Association, and the top fundraiser was Kyson Lindberg (pictured) with $1,293.34. The students were very excited to receive their prizes for all their hard work. Thank you to everyone for your support.

EMF JH Track Season Wrap Up

 The Junior High Track team’s coaching staff is very proud of the accomplishments of the EMF Bobcats! Some of the highlights from the season include the following listed below. 

 

The girls finished 4th/10 and the boys finished 2nd at the Pioneer Conference Meet.  

 

Gavin Mueller- 2nd place- HJ, discus, 400 and 4th place 200

Sergio Alacron- 5th place- 100H, 5th place 100, 3rd place 4x100

Aiden Nichols- tie for 5th place- HJ, 6th place 100H, 6th place 300H and 3rd place 4x100

Grady Arp- tie for 5th place- HJ, 4th place TJ, 4th place 1600

Archer Kanode- 2nd place PV, 3rd place 4x100

Beau Becker- 3rd place 1600, 3rd place PV

Trigg Svehla- 6th place 800, 3rd place 4x100

Brayden Burt- 5th place PV

 

Chezney Kanode- 5th place- Shot put, 3rd place 200, 3rd place 4x100

Lyra Fennell- 2nd place- 100,  6th place TJ, 5th place 200, and 3rd place 4x100

Adilyn Meints- 4th place PV, 2nd place 1600 and 6th place 800

Maliyah Burchett- 5th place PV, 3rd place 4x100

Gracelyn Becker- 3rd place 4x100 

Hannah Shonerd, Sailor Lloyd, Mavalin Files, McKinley Bartels- 5th place 4x400

 

The boys team placed in the top two teams at all of their meets.  They lost by only one point at Mudecas and Sandy Creek.  Dane Anderson and Archer Kanode qualified for the State Championships at Gothenburg.  Dane competed in the long jump and Archer competed in the pole vault.  Point leaders for the boys are Dane with 156 points, Gavin Mueller with 126 points, and Gehrig Weber with 117 points.  The girls were led by Adilyn Meints with 110 points and Lyra Fennell with 73 points.

 

 

JH Boys:  Front row- Trigg Svehla, Ethan Bartels, Blake Bruntz, Landon Bartley, Zach Zirkel, Brayden Burt; Second row- Archer Kanode, Grady Arp, Sergio Alarcon, Axel Erdkamp, Liam Capek, Crosby Oldehoeft; 3rd row- Beau Becker, Gavin Mueller, Dane Andersen, Owen Hemmingsen, Maddux Milton, Gehrig Weber, Zonder Arp; Top row: Coach Kanode, Coach Belden, Coach Kroeker

 

 

 

JH Girls:  Bottom row- Valerie Spohn, Ava Svehla, Adilyn Meints, Carlee Bresson, Sailor Lloyd, Hannah Shonerd, Maliyah Burchett, McKinley Bartels, Gracelyn Becker; 2nd row- Lyra Fennell, Bristol Sladek, Hannah Petersen, Brynnlye Johnson, Baidyn Snyder, Chezney Kanode, Sadie Brandt, Maddison Allen and Mavalin Files; Top row- Coach Kanode, Coach Belden, Coach Kroeker

Schools Out!! Last Day of Exeter-Milligan

 Timberwolves were celebrated once more.  Starting in August they will be the EMF Bobcats with Preschool in both Friend and Exeter and K-5 in Exeter and 6-12 in Friend.  A huge construction project is going on right now in Exeter to prepare more classrooms so that there are 2 rooms for each grade level.

EM Update: Jet Setting Seniors

 

Pictured is the Class of 2025

Front L-R: Kmila Benitez, Emma Meyer, Lily Jeffries, and Kierra Papik

Back L-R: Liberty Johnson, Jayden Capek, Aidan Vavra, Mikey Bartu, and Carter Milton

Jet Setting Seniors

By Matt Nicholas, 

Exeter-Milligan Science Instructor and Senior Class Sponsor

 

       The final class of Exeter-Milligan Seniors is heading off on an adventure next week to Galveston, Texas. This is a trip that I have made many times before, but the days of driving 14 hours are over! At 6:15 AM on Thursday, April 10, the EM Class of 2025 will soar into the skies above Omaha on the first-ever Senior Trip to travel by airplane. What a way to go out for the last EM Senior Trip! We will be flying into Houston's George W. Bush International Airport and renting a van for the last leg of our journey to the Gulf. Joining us will be Mrs. Segner. (Pictured here being very excited that we are not driving!) We have rented a beautiful house on the beach, and will be spending 3 days of fun and sun on Galveston Island. Among the many activities planned include beach bumming, minigolf, carnival rides, seafood dinner, and a tour of NASA's Johnson space center. 

       It has been an honor and a privilege to be a part of so many seniors' last trips as a class, and I have seen so many wonderful things over the years. From the first views of the Rocky Mountains for some, to the first experience with the ocean and seafood for others, senior trips are always unique. The kids show that they are ready to become adults. They cook and clean (some better than others) and interact with various people. They broaden their horizons in too many ways to count, and I have witnessed so much growth over those few days for some that it astounds me. 

       If you were one of those students over the past decade who was able to put up with me on your senior trip and you are reading this, Thank You. I have enjoyed every minute of every trip, and every student has had an impact on me. I hope I will be a small part of the memories you will keep with you forever. If you are a parent who allowed me to chaperone your children on an adventure like this, you're Welcome. (But yes, I had to bring them back to bother you after a few days.) And to the sponsors volunteering their time over the years to help make these trips possible, I couldn't have done it without you!

      I am sure that Senior Trip 2025 will be unique in its ways, and even though it's the end of an era, I will always look back on the skiing, swimming, shopping, and stuffing our faces fondly. To the Exeter-Milligan Class of 2025, you have been great ambassadors of our school and communities over your time at EM, and I am sure you will continue to do so long after you walk across that stage in May. For now, LET’S FLY! and make those memories that last a lifetime, we must get past TSA first.

 

EM Update: EMF Speech Team

SpeechTeam L-R: Babe Weber, Kierra Papik, Kmila Benitez, Logan Krupicka, and Tucker Svec

Kmila Benitez with her District champion POI medal

 

 Speech Update

by Brandi Perez, Exeter-Milligan ELA teacher and

EMF Assistant Speech Coach

 

The Exeter-Milligan/Friend Speech Team had a successful season. This year’s team consisted of the following students: Kmila Benitez, Kierra Papik, Logan Krupicka, Tucker Svec, and Babe Weber. Kmila competed in Program of Oral Interpretation (POI), with her piece titled “Our Journey.” Kierra Papik competed in Serious Prose, titled, “I’m Not Okay.” Tucker Svec competed in Humorous Prose, titled, “Sports Athiest.” Babe Weber competed in Persuasive Speaking, writing her own speech titled, “Digital Dystopia: How Technology is Undermining Our World.” The entire team mentioned previously, as well as Logan Krupicka, worked together to compete in an Oral Interpretation of Drama (OID) with the script of “Night of the Livid Dad.” Finally, Kmila and Tucker competed in Duet Acting with their script titled, “Death Comes a Knockin’.”

 

The speech season started a week later than in years past at High Plains. They then traveled to Thayer Central where each of their events finaled and placed. As the season went on, the team kept working on finding ways to make their performances better and better. This rang true at Conference Speech hosted at HTRS. Kmila, Tucker, and Babe were able to final and place at this competition. The season wrapped up close to home at McCool where the C-2 District Speech Meet was held. Each student competed to the best of their ability in each of their events. When the afternoon came around, Tucker finaled in his Humorous Prose, Kmila finaled in her POI, and they both finaled in their duet. As the award ceremony came around, students were feeling good about the team’s three events which finaled. Tucker’s Humorous Prose, and Tucker and Kmila’s Duet Acting performances each earned 5th place. Though the top three in each event attend state, the team was very excited to hear that Kmila Benitez became the C-2 District Champion in POI. She will be competing in the Nebraska State Speech Tournament on Thursday, March 27. Overall, the EMF speech team had a great season competing and made a lot of memories together. 

 

EMF Golf Team headed to State

 Exeter-Milligan Friend Boys Golf Team won their District golf meet on Monday outside of Lincoln.  They competed against fourteen other schools including: Bishop Neumann, Centennial, Cross County, Falls City, Fillmore Central, Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer, Johnson County Central, Lincoln Lutheran, Louisville, Milford, Palmyra, Shelby-Rising City. Syracuse and Thayer Central.

Not only did the Bobcats win, they dominated the top 10 spots with Carter Milton taking the #1 spot, Jacob Klooz was fourth, Mikey Bartu was 8th and Aidan Vavra was 10th.

They will compete at State Golf on May 28th and 29th in Grand Island 

real time scoring during the meet is available at NSAA

Exeter-Milligan Celebrates Kindergarten Graduation

 

Pictured after graduation from the left: (front row) Bridget White, Quinn Mueller, and Lenni Gilmer; (back row) Jordan Sudrla, Bentley Ring, Sawyer Hankins, Ethan Deboer, Dax Bohlken, Dax Baller and their teacher Amanda Pettygrove.

Exeter-Milligan held their Kindergarten Graduation on Monday, May 19th in the Exeter gym. Nine students graduated as part of the last kindergarten class at Exeter-Milligan.

They performed three songs, led by Exeter-Milligan Music Teacher Mr. Mark Perez, including the Alice Cooper classic, "Schools Out," where they accompanied themselves on the bucket drums.

They were presented their medals and awards by their teacher, Mrs. Amanda Pettygrove and Exeter-Milligan Principal Laura Kroll.