The Lady Bobcats defended their title at the JCC Invite on Thursday, September 18 despite battling the rain.
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| Pictured L-R Sydney Engert, Kate Pribyl, Abby Klooz Dylen Collier, Hadley Sladek, Bristol Sladek, Sadie Brandt and Hannah Petersen |
Written by Matt Nicholas | Change is… insert whatever word you would like: good, necessary, hard, inevitable. Change can be incremental or it can be sweeping. Change can be scary or be welcomed. However you want to look at it, change just is. .jpg)
Grant Bartels, Michael Brehm, and Theodore Park
are investigating water's cohesive property
I am a creature of habit, like most midwestern men, I suppose. I have the same coffee, same morning routine, same style of clothes, same beard, etc. So when the unstoppable force of change meets the immovable object of a stubborn 37 year old father of two, something has to give.
Luckily, I have dozens of wonderful role models in accepting change. The students of the newly consolidated Exeter-Milligan-Friend Public Schools have been through a lot of change in the last few months, and have shown what we knew all along, that they are capable, adaptable young people willing to accept a challenge.
Something that sticks out to me is the teamwork exhibited during sophomore biology. We have been studying some basic chemistry topics and looking at the properties of water. Last week we spent a couple of class periods in the lab doing a series of experiments and observing various phenomena.
How many paperclips can you float on a glass of water? How many drops of water will sit on top of a penny without spilling over the sides? The answers to these questions are, more than you might think! We looked at capillary action in action, we investigated evaporation rates, solubility, and how the shape of water causes so many of its unique properties.
We did all of this with a 1st period group of 11(no big deal) and a 7th period group of 19! I haven’t had 19 students in a class maybe ever, and definitely not in a laboratory setting, but the EMF students let their curiosity shine and made my job a breeze. I was so impressed to see them work together seamlessly like they had been going to school together for years, all the while, asking great questions and accomplishing their tasks efficiently and effectively.
So if you need anyone to give you the lowdown on why water does what it does, ask a sophomore! And if you need to teach an old dog(or wolf) new tricks, just look to any of your EMF Bobcats for inspiration!
A. Michl opened the special meeting reading for the Tax Request. Numbers looked fine per advisement of auditor. Budget Hearing was opened. Compared last years and this year's. Levy is going down about 5. Overall operating expenditures did increase 5%. Board members will learn more about everything at the conference in a few weeks. The Village Clerk highlighted some key items within the budget, including the new rescue unit. Hoping the new unit will get here by next summer. The One & Six Year Road Plan Hearing was opened. The board reviewed the same information and are waiting to hear back if the village is getting money from Senator Fischer's office. Exeter is a finalist to get $700,000 and should hear back by the end of the year. The regular board meeting was called to order. Those present were A. Michl, T. Salyer, B. Mueller, and J. Harre. Anderson was absent. Approval of Minutes from the last board meeting stood as presented. The board reviewed Approval of Invoices. Motioned by J. Harre and seconded by B. Mueller. Motion carried 4-0. Resolution 25-01 to Set the Tax Request was motioned by J. Harre and seconded by T. Salyer. Motion carried 4-0. Pass 2025-2026 Budget as Proposed was motioned by B. Mueller and seconded by J. Harre. Motion carried 4-0. Resolution 25-02 to Approve One & Six Year Road Plan as Proposed was motioned by J. Harre and seconded by B. Mueller. Motion carried 4-0. Discussion was had last meeting regarding changing village attorneys. The village would like to go with Bruning Law, specifically with Katie Spohn representing. Spohn attended the board meeting and mentioned that the firm is not the cheapest, but they work hard and fast. Spohn is the attorney for Milligan and Friend. She is more than happy to utilize resources of other communities, as needed. The board mentioned that nuisance properties is a struggle in Exeter. Spohn mentioned it's not an easy solution, but there are ways to figure it out. Vote to have Bruning Law represent the Village of Exeter as their attorney at law effective December 2025 was motioned by J. Harre and seconded by B. Mueller. Motioned carried 4-0. The standby generator at the Fire Hall died during the last storm. John Mueller looked at some alternatives and has two bids. one os the same people they use for the lift station. Rural board is going to meet next week to discuss how much they would get out of it. The board is leaning towards going with Nebraska Generator. They would like to get this taken care of before the end of the calendar year. The vote to go through Nebraska Generator was motioned by J. Harre and seconded by A. Michl. Carried 4-0. Village of Exeter board members went into executive session to review personnel pay review and issues at 7:25pm. Motioned by J. Harre and seconded by T. Salyer. Carried 4-0. The public and village clerk left the meeting. The board came out of executive session at 7:33pm. Motioned by J. Harre and seconded by T. Salyer. Carried 4-0. J. Harre motioned to approve the wage increases mentioned and T. Salyer seconded. Carried 4-0. A. Michl mentioned within the Marshal's Report that they did receive a contract and will review next month. There were some corrections that needed to be made. John Mueller gave the Maintenance Supervisor's Report. They ordered new posts for the baseball field since 14-16 broke off during the storm. They officially drained the pool. Wastewater inspection went well, but they need some updates on the plan. Looking at purchasing ground for a lagoon. Joe Miller will do a base water class in November, but he did pass Water Operator IV class. The old water tower lid, that is sitting behind the fire hall and senior center, needs to be removed before winter. There are two properties in town that need to be demolished. Each house would be $20,000. Clerk's Report: June Sales Tax - $14,980.83; July Keno Receipts - $142.71. Other noted items within the meeting included: a few citizens are not happy about the fiber going in; A citizen has been trying to get a green jeep off the main road; Need to get Fillmore County Sherrif's Office out here to take care of vehicles that are illegally parked; Vicky Klemm will help Becky Erdkamp get caught up on the storage room filing. Meeting was adjourned. The next Village of Exeter Meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 7 at 7:00pm.
EXETER-MILLIGAN-FRIEND REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 AT 7:35PM FRIEND SITE LIBRARY. President Erdkamp declared the regular meeting open. All board members were present: A. Erdkamp, J. Tuttle, T. Bartels, T. Shonerd, K. Jansky, and E. Milton. Superintendent Anderson, Principal Stutzman, and Principal Kroll were also present, along with 5 visitors. The Open Meetings Act was posted. It was verified that all board members were notified as the time and place of the meeting pursuant of Board policy and practice. Motioned carried 6-0. Motion by Bartels and 2nd by Milton to approve consensus agenda consisting of treasurer’s report, the minutes of the last board meeting, and the expenditures from the Account Summary and EM Financials. Motioned by Shonerd and 2nd by Bartels. Motion carried 6-0. Although a presentation about the potential of a baseball coop was on the public comment agenda, no one participated in the public comment. Committee reports were presented. The Building and Ground Committee met on August 13 in Friend to discuss what the five year plan looks like for major and short term projects. Immediate projects include some HVAC in Exeter that needs work, specifically the room off the cafeteria; Old HS is a summer project due to compliance; HVAC in old HS in Friend is a big project. The committee is hoping that Facility Advocates will come to present options. Additionally, the Friend site pressbox needs some work and will need to make the bleachers ADA compliant as the ramp is too steep; FCS room in Friend is dated, but there has been a lot of improvements; Shop space is limited; Music room space with the growing band in MS and HS is also a potential project. There is consideration to grow or move that room; Friend site locker room is at capacity for athletes; There is also a small weight room in Friend and there is talks about expanding. The committee met to spitball some ideas on how to utilize the space with the growing district. Decisions will be made based on priorities. Other projects: roofing assessment, small vehicle fleet, and older workout equipment. The committee will get a 5 year plan together and reprioritize items. The Area Committee met August 27th in Friend and discussed: Conference affiliation, nothing is resolved. Freeman is interested in joining the Southern Nebraska Conference, but would want to wait 2-3 years - 2027-2028 school year. Superintendent Anderson has a phone call scheduled for September 9 to put feelers out. Members would love to do this as soon as possible. A major concern is that the SNC does not have honor bands as the band director who spearheaded it left, but it’s not out of the realm to get added back. Baseball is also an opportunity to coop with Centennial, hoping there would hae been a presentation tonight. If the boys are interested, they must come in and explain what they are thinking and why. The board wants to give kids the opportunity if it makes sense. If the district moves forward with baseball, softball must be added back in, due to Title IX. The Trump Administration has gone back to the old way of handling Title IX to balance offerings. Transportation was a concern if the teams didn't need a coach from the EMF district. Discussion on where activities were currently being held. Some people have expressed questions about JHVB games being in Exeter. Adjustments may be made down the road. The Policy Committee met on August 4th and discussed how the board might update the community about the consolidation and about Policy 7000 about new construction. They did want to change Policy 7021 regarding some formatting and verbiage. The administration gave their monthly updates. Principal Kroll discussed points of interest at the elementary site. Teachers attended an inservice day hosted by the Blue River Cohort, in partnership with Educational Service Unit 6. Dr. Rob Bell was this year’s speaker and spoke on mental toughness and how to keep going through adversity. The preschool in Friend will be having their Rule 11 visit the week of October 6. The elementary site is also starting “Painfully Positives,” in remembrance of Sara Pella, to strengthen positive actions at school. Upcoming events at the elementary site include: Next Generation Bank with 5th grade tellers and Parent Teacher Conferences on October 2. Principal Kroll wanted to give a shoutout to the paras and the special services team for all their hard work for all students in the building. Principal Stutzman gave her report from the secondary site, noting the first day of EMF, staff training days, Bobcat Buddies, and that fall sports have begun. Principal Stutzman spent most of her time going over the Master Secondary Schedule. One reason for the consolidation was to offer more classes to students. These new classes include: Culinary, Electric Car, Accounting, Culinary, Skills for the Future, Marketing and Entr., Critical Issues, SENCAP Welding, Explore Lit, Family Impact, Floriculture, Sociology, Psychology, Spanish III, Explore FCS, Explore Business Tech, Explore Spanish, Reading Explore, Child Development, Construction, Astronomy/Meteorology, Instrument Exploration, Woods, Advanced Biology, Music Appreciation. The students did a good job at trying new things. The secondary staff are balancing new requirements and catching kids up from the previous Exeter-Milligan and Friend districts. It was also highlighted that many students are taking advantage of the dual credit offerings at EMF. The following teachers teach a dual credit class in-person: Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Neimeier, Mrs. Segner, Mrs. Kohtz, and Mrs. Gregory. Upcoming items for secondary include: MAP testing, Homecoming Week which is scheduled for September 22-26, teacher evaluations, and Parent Teacher Conferences. Superintendent Anderson gave an update on the Strategic Plan, specifically Strategy 2.2 and 2.3 which involve the Work Based Learning Program.Miranda Segner has been reaching out to community businesses to see what they expect of the students in WBL. Miranda Segner will present next month. Some dates for board members to keep in mind are the State Education Conference and the NRCSA Spring Conference. The Building and Grounds Committee will meet in September and will focus on HVAC and some other items. According to Superintendent Anderson, the district is still looking to hire another part-time position for the Friend site kitchen, as well as getting someone to help with building and grounds at the Exeter site. Within facility and finance items, it was noted that one project is still not done in the elementary. The new Fitness Center is scheduled to be done mid-October. Working on Building and Grounds Five Year Plan with rough estimates of pricing. Axline’s has been swamped, but will be getting a stump removed as soon as they can. Most of the old signage has been taken down and stored to be sold. Past championship, runner-up, and third place boards for Exeter, Milligan, Exeter-Milligan, and Friend have been designed. There were no discussion items. Action Items: Approve 2025-26 Property Tax Resolution. Motioned by Milton, Seconded by Jansky. Carried 6-0. Approve 2025-26 Budget. Motioned by Bartels and seconded by Shonerd. Carried 6-0. Approve 2025-26 Tax Levy Request. Motion by Tuttle and seconded by Milton. Carried 6-0. Consideration and Possible Action and Review of Policies 7000-7052. Motioned by Bartels and seconded by Tuttle. Carried 6-0. Shonerd motioned to adjourn the meeting and Jansky seconded. Carried 6-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:42pm.
