New Scoreboards at Exeter-Milligan School

New scorers table

New scoreboard on the south wall of the gym.

New scoreboard on the north wall of the gym.

It was time for some new scoreboards in the Exeter-Milligan High School gym at the Exeter location and they have arrived and have been placed in time for basketball season.

The scoreboards were purchased with a generous donation from a life estate gift, a donation from the E-M Foundation, a donation from the E-M Booster Club and a donation from Pepsi.

Who doesn't love a ride on a fire truck?

Exeter preschool students with their teacher, Mrs. Laura Stueben.

It's the Exeter-Milligan kindergarten class posing for a picture on top of the fire truck.

The Exeter-Milligan first grade class couldn't get over the size of the tires on the truck.

The second graders pose for a picture with the fire truck.

The Exeter Volunteer Fire Department once again sponsored fire truck rides for the Exeter Preschool, Exeter-Milligan kindergarten, first and second graders.

Each class took their turn along with their teachers touring the town on top of the departments big fire truck.

At the end of the school day the students were also presented a frisbee full of goodies courtesy of the department. Students at the Exeter-Milligan site in Milligan were given a bag full of information on fire safety as well.

Volkmer's Pumpkin Painting a success despite the weather

There were lots of bats, jack o lantern's and pumpkins Saturday morning in the shed of Bill and Terri Volkmer.

The Volkmer's hosted their Eighth annual Pumpkin Painting Party for painters of all ages despite the dusting of snow and the cold temperatures overnight.

The crowd was a little thinner because of the weather this year but with well over 100 in attendance during the morning event the shed was more than full.

Attendees are invited to pick out their paint colors and seat themselves in a spot at the low tables and benches to paint. There are plenty of patterns and samples of the Terri's talent for inspiration if needed.

The themes the kids chose ranged from actual jack o lantern's to the two and three year old special, paint swirled everywhere, to the ever popular Green Bay Packers.

The kids enjoyed popcorn while they waited for the pumpkins to dry and get clear coated.

More pictures in the slideshow on the side!!!

Local Junior Rangers

Peytan, Jordyn and Trystan Brandt are pictured from the left with their quilts displaying their National Park Junior Ranger badges and patches.

Following their latest travels the children of Roger and Dianne Brandt of Exeter have each surpassed the 100 mark in their collection of Junior Ranger Badges. The badges are earned at America's National Park Service sites. When visiting a park all you have to do is request a Junior Ranger activity book and complete the activities while learning about the park. The program is available for ages four through the teen years. Upon completion of the book, Junior Rangers are awarded a certificate and a badge or patch or sometimes both. The goal of the program is not only education, but also to encourage young people to do their part in helping to preserve and protect our national treasures.

Jordyn, age 12, has earned 118 badges, Trystan, age 10, has earned 115 badges, and Peytan, age 8, has earned 107 badges so far. They display their badges on wall quilts made by their grandmother. Not all of their badges are the same as they have all been on at least one individual trip with their parents.

Their travels have taken them all over the United States. All of the children agree that their favorite experience was the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial where they enjoyed riding to the top of the St. Louis Arch. Other highlights of their travels include: following the entire Lewis and Clark trail all the way to the ocean in Oregon, visiting forts and battlefields from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, touring ancient Native American ruins in the southwest, exploring caves, hiking and viewing wildlife in our scenic parks, and just relaxing at some of our unspoiled National Seashores.

They can't wait to see where the road takes them next as they continue to add to their collection.

Coffee/Birthday Club Celebrates 50 years

Members celebrating the 50th anniversary of their coffee group are pictured from the left front row, Tess Moor, Delores Bailey, Jean Hoffman, Loryne Moore, LaVonne Guthrie, back row from the left are Barb Heffelfinger, Suzanne Johnson and Linda McCabe.

They've watched fifty years fly by as they've talked about their pregnancies, watched their kids grow up and get married, struggled with their parents aging and now are busy with all of their grandkids and great-grandkids activities.

For fifty years a group of women in Exeter have been gathering in each other's homes for coffee and fellowship.

After fifty years the women claim to remember no big fights or arguments and they continue to meet every other month. The group always stayed close to a dozen members but the members have changed, some moving out of the area and some moving in, but three of the original members remain. The passage of fifty years has changed the conversation among the women drastically. "We used to talk about diapers, but now its Medicare," said one of the newer members, Linda McCabe.

It started all of those years ago because "we just wanted to get out of the house," according to original member Delores Bailey. The other two original members LaVonne Guthrie and Tess Moor piped in about how they "just brought our babies along and watched them play while we talked."

Other members recalled how the topics have changed from worries about their children, to concerns about their parents and now the activities of their grandchildren and great grandchildren.

The group always gets together on a gift whenever one of the kids get married and its always a serving tray, while at funerals they go together for a plant. They don't really have a set name for the group but sometimes they call themselves the birthday group because at one point they got together for everyone's birthdays. Loryne Moore recalled that "We used to each bring a card for the birthday person but we decided it would be better to give the person the dollar that we would have spent on the card and then they would let us know what they bought with the money."

The hostess served coffee and treats and they spent the afternoon watching their kids play together and visiting. There was always an olive tray on the table and in the early days of the group everyone watched the tray as it went around the table. Taking an olive was your way of announcing to everyone at once that you were pregnant. As the group explained this ritual they all laughed, proclaiming that original member Delores Bailey "got the most olives."

These Exeter women have enjoyed fifty years of coffee and have no plans to stop meeting now, although the olive tray probably doesn't have the same significance.

Exeter-Milligan Students Enjoy Outdoor Ed Day

Ty is happy about being at Outdoor Education Day despite the low temperatures and strong winds

At the far right high school junior Amanda gets ready to show her group of students how to eat like a bird during Outdoor Education Day. Seated at the table from the left are Hunter, Cailtin, Eli, Jacy, and across the table is Ty.

Juniors Taylor (left) and Heather (right) get ready to do some teaching with their group of students with Brooke on the right.

Jacy (right) and Kelsey (left) work on the wind project.

Despite cool temperatures and strong winds, Friday found Exeter's Gilbert Park full of second graders and high school students eager to learn from each other.

During the event, which lasted most of the school day, the students explored the park, made weather vanes and ate like birds during the annual Outdoor Education Day.

Exeter-Milligan second grade teacher, Marla Weber, initially created this educational day as a project when she was in college. She has tried to include an outdoor education day each year for her students.

Mrs. Weber makes up packets of ideas for the students from the Exeter-Milligan Senior High Biology 2 class of Miss Sliefert. In class, the juniors get to pick out a packet which has one topic in it, they get the materials ready to do projects with the second graders and then are graded on how well they present the materials and work with the younger students.

This year the stations included rain, insects, tracks, trees, birds, wind and senses. To keep a variety during the day the students also played several neature related games throughout the day. At each station the "students use reading, writing, math, science and social skills, while learning about their environment. Each center was designed with hands-on activities and the students had an opportunity to record their findings in a journal," according to Weber.

Both teachers, Mrs. Weber and Ms. Sliefert, agree that "It is a learning experience for both groups of students. When the high school students have to know how to teach it they realize they have learned a lot."

Ms. Sliefert said, "The interaction between the two groups is wonderful. The high school students are well prepared. Even though the subjects are simple, teaching it is a different story."

One of the goals for Mrs. Weber was, "Having the students learn about nature in a hands on experience. This helps them remember the lessons and then having take home items helps too. They will go home and share with their families what they made and this will reinforce again what they have learned today."

At the end of the day students had a pile of things they could take home including a animal track plaster cast, a rain stick, a tree ring of their life, and a wind vane along with their journal and some great memories. Neither teacher could decide which class looked more forward to the event.

Not only did both groups get to spend the day away from the school building, but by moving their classroom outdoors, they got to learn about the world around them through lessons in the park.

United Methodist Sponsors Food Bank Backpack Program at Exeter-Milligan School

From the left, LaVonne Guthrie, Cathy Rhodes and Exeter-Milligan Superintendent Paul Sheffield hold the backpacks that Sheffield will distribute on Fridays containing enough food to feed a family of four for the weekend.

Cathy Rhodes, left, and LaVonne Guthrie, right, spend an hour or so each month packing dry goods in sacks to be placed in backpacks each week to help feed needy families in the area.

LaVonne Guthrie shows the some of the food that is packed in each backpack for elementary students.

The United Methodist Church in Exeter had been looking for a mission, a way to reach out to the community and share. Who knew it would involve backpacks?

A comment made by a family member sparked church member LaVonne Guthrie's interest. Her daughter-in-law, Kris Guthrie, participates with the weekend backpack program in Lincoln and the Food Bank "was wanting to bring the program to the rural areas," according to LaVonne.

United Methodist Church member Cathy Rhodes and LaVonne Guthrie have spearheaded the effort along with the assistance of Superintendent Paul Sheffield.

They connected with the Lincoln Food Bank and arranged for the United Methodist Women to sponsor the backpack program at the Exeter-Milligan Elementary School for a year.

The idea behind the program was to provide nutritious menu items that are easy for kids to prepare and eat. The backpacks, stuffed with canned and boxed goods, sometimes include a voucher for bread or eggs which can be used at a local grocery store. They almost always include a large box of cereal which Rhodes hoped "kids can have breakfast on some of the leftover cereal during the week as well."

"The Lincoln Food Bank brought a big truck with a pallet of food that we put in a storage area at school and we assemble the backpacks there," according to Guthrie.

The two women meet together once a month and pack the food in plastic grocery sacks which contain "enough food for four people for a weekend. The menus are very nice and there are six different menus that will rotate," Guthrie explained.

Superintendent Sheffield distributes the backpacks every Friday and when they come back on Monday he refills them with the bags that Rhodes and Guthrie have prepared for the next week, sets them in a sealed plastic tub and is all ready for the next Friday.

With the discounts the Food Bank receives on bulk purchases, each weekend of meals costs between $4.50 and $6.00 per week. The United Methodist Church hosted an ice cream social with the proceeds to go toward the program. "We're (the United Methodist Church) okay for this year but after we get it going we're hoping that some of the other organizations in the area will be willing to help," hoped Guthrie.

Exeter G.F.W.C. Woman's Club Members attend District Convention

Salley Ganem, First Lady of the State of Nebraska, was the featured speaker at the NFWC District IV Woman's Club Convention held in Seward on September 29, 2009. Pictured here from the left with her are: Elaine Oldehoeft, Judy Dinneen, Reba Toothman, Marlene Gallup, Karen Chapman, and Bonnie Cudaback.

NFWC District IV Convention

The 104 annual Convention of District IV NFWC Women’s Clubs was held
in Seward on September 29,2009. Attending from Exeter were NFWC
Exeter Woman’s Club members Bonnie Cudaback, Marlene Gallup,Elaine
Oldehoeft, Karen Chapman, Reba Toothman and Judy Dinneen. District 4
President, Della Miers presided at the days program. Thought for the
day, pledge of allegiance and club collect were given by Jean
Kolterman of Seward. A welcome by Seward Club President, Betty Galen
was extended to all the ladies in attendance. Pat Coldiron, Seward
Chamber Director , welcomed members to the city of Seward. Lois Havel
of Wilber gave the response . Pat Gage of Aurora and District 1st
Vice President introduced all District and State Officers and Chairmen
in attendance at convention. Bonnie Cudaback, District Treasurer
gave the treasurer’s report . Melisa Schultz Of Seward and the state
Leads representative told us about her experiences at International
Convention in Cleveland. The nominating committee presented the slate
of officers for .2010-2011 : President Della Miers, President -
Elect Brenda Rippe, First Vice President Bernice Cantrell, Secretary
Melisa Schultz and Treasurer Nancy Seward. Jean Kolterman was in
charge of the break and invited us to “Come to the Fair” where we
played games and won prizes with our contributions going to the Lincoln
Peoples City Mission.
Special guest speaker was Sally Ganem, Nebraska 1st Lady. She spoke
to us on “Volunteerism and the Read Aloud Program." She encouraged
reading out loud to our children and grandchildren to develop their
reading skills.
Jean presented a memorial service for deceased District IV members
during the past 2 years. Marlene Gallup gave the luncheon prayer
followed by a fun “Come to the Fair” lunch of hot dogs, salads and
punch. Following lunch the annual auction was held to raise funds to
support our Fine Arts Contest that is held every March.
Afternoon speakers included NFWC President Janice Predoehl and State
President - Elect Cheryl Strickler. Information included plans for the
2010 International Convention to be held in Omaha in June . The
theme for State Night will be “Nebraska the Good Life”. State
Convention will be in April at Mahoney State Park. Bonnie Cudaback
gave the final credential report showing 37 in attendance. Pat Gage
presented a gift to Della for her service as President during the
2007-2009 administration., Esther Miller extended an invitation from
the Beatrice Woman’s Club to host the 2010 District IV Convention.

Please Stay Off the Dirt!!!

Exeter's Gilbert Park is getting back into shape after the pool construction over the ten months. The end of summer found the Village Maintenance crew leveling the dirt around the park and also near the ball field and planting over 700 pounds of grass seed. It is being watered now and should start to show a tinge of green. Please, if at all possible stay off of the dirt and the grass at the park so it can get a great start and be beautiful next summer.

Exeter Cub Scout Activities

Exeter Cub Scout Pack 218 are pictured from the left Bear Scout Peytan Brandt, second year Webelo Scout Trystan Brandt, Bear Scout Johnny Babula, first year Webelo Scout Eric Olsen, first year Webelo Scout Joey Bartu, Bear Scout Chandler Knocke, first year Webelo Scout Travis Gilliam. Not pictured is Tiger Cub Jackson Beethe.

The Exeter Cub Scouts Pack 218 got their popcorn sale going with a fun kickoff on Monday September 21st. As it was the first pack meeting of the year, the awards earned during the summer were handed out. All the boys had earned lots of badges and awards.

Because of the rainy weather the boys had a contest to see who could make silly string look like popcorn. The judges were the little brothers and sisters and they chose the plate of Bear Scout Johnny Babula. Johnny won a flashlight.

Also during the evening the boys had a great time modeling how not to sell popcorn in their communities. They were all ready to start selling popcorn on Friday.

The Exeter Cub Scout Pack 218 also learned how to play tennis this year. They played at the Edgar Rec court. The boys earned their Tennis belt loop.