Exeter-Milligan School News: Physics and Applied Science Class

The Physics and Applied Science classes participated in an
egg car challenge at the end of this last semester. Each
student had to design a car using only 3 sheets of paper
and the provided wheels and axels. They needed to design
their cars for speed and durability. On the first day we
raced the cars to see who's car was the fastest. On the
second day we placed and raw egg into the cars and we
crashed them into a wall. Most of the eggs survived the
crash but a few were scrambled.

Exeter Neon Sign on its Way to Rehab

The Exeter neon sign was removed from its current post on Thursday morning. Nebraska Neon Sign company lifted it off its posts to transport it to Lincoln where it while hopefully be revived to serve to welcome Exeter visitors and residents for another 80 years.

The Exeter Community Foundation has pledged to sponsor this rennovation including repairs and replacement for both the backing letters and the neon tubes.

Exeter Cub Scouts Tour Bowling Alley

The Exeter Cub Scout Pack 218 had a party celebrating their success at their popcorn sale the bowling alley in York in November. The meeting before the scouts went to the bowling alley they learned about the history of bowling, bowling rules and scoring and how to choose a ball.

At the bowling alley the boys and their families were first treated to a tour of the back of the bowling alley. Their tour guide explained how all the machines work together to place the pins and get the balls back to bowler.

The boys teamed up for a tournament bowling against each other for several games and then bowled with their families and enjoyed a snack.

During the event and the meeting before the boys earned their Bowling Belt Loop and their Bowling pin.

Exeter Cub Scouts Enjoy a Night at the Museum

by Johnny Babula
Exeter Cub Scout, Pack 218

On November 18th we went to the Night at the Museum at Morrill Hall in Lincoln.

We had fun doing many activities. First we dug for a fossil in plaster, then we learned about the telegraph and decoded codes. Then we made a pet rock and collected many kinds of rocks. After that we went downstairs to make masks as well as see many different spiders.

We also got to go to the gift shop and we went on a scavenger hunt looking for certain items throughout the museum.

Exeter-Milligan Fourth Graders Spread Holiday Cheer

In lieu of a class gift exchange, Exeter-Milligan 4th graders gave individual contributions and collected donations from staff and students this holiday season. Students were able to donate almost 240 pounds of non-perishable food and over $150 to Blue Valley Community Impact in Geneva.

Exeter Girl Scouts enjoy Winter Outing

The Exeter Girl Scouts Troop 290 enjoyed a trip to Mahoney State Park over the winter school break. They worked on their“Frosty Fun” badge. While there they went sledding, ice skating, and learned about winter safety. They rented a cabin for a slumber party and enjoyed making their meals together.

The Girl Scouts started selling cookies this week - if you are interested in purchasing cookies, please contact one of the girls or their leaders, Becky Erdkamp or Anita Mueller.

Water, Water, Everywhere!!!

The sheered off fire hydrant.

This is the south end of the block where water continues to run and rush down the gutters to this storm sewer.

Tom Ekeler of Erdkamp Ekeler Construction has had a busy day fixing this hydrant with John Mueller, Village Maintenance Supervisor.

Fortunately temps have been warmer in Exeter starting this week because a person in a semi-truck and trailer turned right downtown in Exeter and sheared off a fire hydrant and reported drove off. Crews have been working non-stop since this incident to get the hydrant replaced. Most of the east side of the downtown block was without water for the day and the water department was looking to shut off the west side of downtown. The water continues to run down the street which should make things interesting in the morning as it freezes.

Exeter-Milligan Band Students Treated to Instructional Session with an Indian Music Master

Exeter-Milligan band students were given a rare introduction to the music and instruments of India Tuesday morning.

Straight from India, Sandip Burman, brought his sitar, a 20-stringed guitar, and two of his large set of tabla.

Not only did Burman play his instruments for the band members, the artist explained how music crosses cultures, often sharing a few words in Spanish to illustrate his point. He taught the group the Indian musical equivalent of the note scale and showed them how he tunes his sitar and the tabla (drums).

Prior to the performance, Burman spent a great deal of time alone in the band room carefully tuning his instruments. His tour manager, John Gardner, spoke to the waiting students about the experience they were about to have. He explained how Burman would be playing classical music, but not what they are used to.

Gardener gave a brief lecture on how western classical music is several hundred years old while eastern classical music, of which Burman is a master, is between three and four thousand years old. "This music is primarily passed on by word of mouth. Most learn by sitting at the foot of a master," said Gardener.

Burman began his 2010 U. S. tour with the stop in Exeter and will visit 15 more schools in Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma before returning to India mid-January. If you visit his website, www.sandipburman.com you can see the many places that this renowned world artist has performed.

Band Instructor, Shane Whitford, experienced Burman performing while he was in college, and felt like the cultural exposure was more than worthwhile for the students. "Sandip's tour company called me initially and asked if we were interested. Had I never heard of him I probably would have said no, but I remembered his performance when I was at Peru State College. I immediately felt that this would be an excellent cultural experience for the students. Personally, I have been a fan of Indian music ever since Sandip's performance at Peru. I hope that some of the students here at Exeter-Milligan will learn to appreciate it as well."

Burman started his lecture with a request for Whitford to sit with him and experience both the sitar and the tabla. Whitford got a lesson in playing the tabla with the audience helping keep the time and clapping with Sandip's instruction. "The best part of the experience for myself and the students was how close we got to sit to the performance. To be able to see the sitar and tabla drums up close is rare treat. So many times you go to concerts and you sit so far away from the performer that you can only hear the music and not see how it is made. We were able to sit right in front of Sandip and see exactly how he plays the instruments," said Whitford.

The event was sponsored in part by the Exeter-Milligan Boosters and the Exeter-Milligan school.

Exeter Residents Have First Baby of the New Year at York General Hospital.

Wayne and Rachel Vossler of Exeter delivered the first baby of the new year at York General Hospital. Joel Frank Vossler was born on January 4th at 4:20 a.m. He weighed 7 lbs and 11 ounces and was 19 inches long. He joins brother Trenton, 4, and sister Joleen, 2, at home in Exeter. Congratulations to Wayne and Rachel and welcome Joel!!

High Winds and Below Zero Temps Affect Exeter Residents

Exeter-Milligan School has now had five snow days this winter season due to three severe blizzard and snow storms that have hit the area.

Temps were more than 20 degrees below zero for morning temperatures on Friday morning before factoring in the wind chill from the high winds that have continued to gust. Thursday there reports of Highway 6 west of Exeter being drifted shut again and travelers stranded all over.

The temperature is predicted to rise into the above 20 degree mark starting on Sunday and residents will probably feel like those temperatures are balmy.

Snow plows are continuing to plow the drifts and hopefully the county will have the country roads cleared by Monday so that buses can run. The last snowstorm after Christmas the county had to hire several local companies with very large loaders to clear some of the drifts out in the country.

This current storm has combined high winds, a small amount of snow and deadly temperatures and wind chills. Another small chance of snow is predicted for Sunday night and Monday morning.