Memorial Day

 

Exeter-Milligan Update: Science

 

As Normal as 2021 Can Be

By Matt Nicholas, Exeter-Milligan Science Instructor

 

Normal. What is normal? Normal is defined as conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected. This year has had many aspects that have not been normal, but in my opinion things at EM have been quite normal. I have witnessed our students, staff, and community come together in the strangest of circumstances and create normalcy.

The students still hate Monday tests, and love Friday afternoons. They still support each other academically, athletically, and personally. Exeter Milligan students get on each other’s nerves just like any family does, but they love each other just the same. They have taken all of the changes in stride and made our school just as welcoming a place as it ever has been. When their classmates were quarantined, they made sure that the “face on the computer screen” felt included. When activities were lost due to health and safety concerns, they didn’t gripe, but instead focused on the next thing. You can have all the technology and facilities in the world, but without our most important asset, students, a school cannot reach its full potential. And I would like to thank our students for their commitment to making our “normal” quite special.

The mental strain on our students has been great, but the strain on our staff has been tough as well. Kids are inherently flexible and much more equipped to handle less than ideal situations, but as a teacher that has gotten used to doing things a certain way over the last decade, I have realized that my flexibility (physically and mentally) is not what it used to be. I have tried my best to roll with the punches over the last year, and our staff has too. Specifically, Mrs. Murphy, band director extraordinaire, has so radically changed the way she has done things in the past to cope with the current situation. I have had the pleasure to substitute for a few of her classes and every time was so impressed by the organization and efficiency that she has employed to keep the EM band as strong as ever. I am sure that I can speak for everyone in the EM family in saying that her contributions to our school will be missed. Many other teachers and staff members have, of course, made this year as “normal” as possible and there are too many examples to try and summarize in this article.

In a community such as ours, the students and staff make up a large portion of the population, but there are many others that keep a small town humming. From the grocery store employees that never took a day off and always put public safety ahead of their own, to the everyday resident that supported our activities in person when they could or online when they had to, and everyone in between. It takes a village… and in our village, “normal” is quite special.

Normal is defined as conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected. Sometimes we are unusual, sometimes we are atypical, and more often than not, we are better than expected.  We are all on the same team, no matter what brand of tractor we like or which NFL team we root for… We all contribute to making our “normal” work for everyone.    We are better together. We are EM.

 

 

Pictured are 8th grade students Carter Milton, Joleen Vossler, Liberty Johnson, Kierra Papik and Lily Jeffries

 

Death Notice: Frances M. Becwar

 

A Memorial Service for Frances will be held on Friday, June 4, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. at the Exeter United Methodist Church. Pastor Murry Johnston will officiate the Memorial Service.

Frances' wishes were to donate her body to science and she will be cremated when they conclude studies and her ashes will be interred in the Exeter Cemetery in a private family ceremony at a later date.

Memorials are suggested to the Exeter American Legion Auxiliary or the Exeter Fire and Rescue.

Librarian Finds Parade Film from Centennial Celebration

Exeter Librarian Lynette Trauger found a film canister while organizing a closet at the library.  The film, once transferred to DVD, showed three parades from Exeter’s Centennial celebration in 1979.

 

 

A lost treasure is not exactly what you expect to find tucked away in a library closet.

As part of her duties, Exeter Librarian Lynette Trauger was organizing a storage closet in the library when she came across a film canister labeled “3-Centennial Parades.”

Not sure if the film was good any more or if it even contained any relevant materials she sent it off in faith to have it converted to a DVD, “I had no idea what was on it,” explained Trauger.

When it returned she played the DVD and found about 15 minutes of footage from three parades that were held during the Centennial Celebration in Exeter, June 29, 30 and July 1, 1979.  

“To me it goes really fast.  There is no way to slow it down or it would lose its authenticity. You really have to watch it with someone who was there,” added Trauger.

Exeter Village Clerk Becky Erdkamp, who was in elementary school in 1979, remembered the weekend with fondness and was thrilled to watch the film of the parades.

“It brought back lots of memories.  It was fun to see the amount of people it brought to town.  Seeing the old cars and crowds, the participants in the parade and the people who came to town brought back some great childhood memories.”

The film shows the three parades that were part of the Exeter Centennial Celebration including the Friday afternoon’s Children’s Parade with Nebraska’s own Kalamity Kate as the grand marshal, the Centennial Parade on Saturday and the Antique Car Parade on Sunday.

There are a few clips of the barbeque held Sunday evening as well.  The Exeter history book, “Voices from Exeter 125” includes the copy of the newspaper article about the parades.  It reports that there were over 100 children in the Children’s parade, the Centennial parade had 120 entries and the Antique Car Parade had 77 entries.

Where the film came from and who recorded the parades is still a mystery.  In talking with both Judy Dinneen and Gladys Petersen, who along with their husbands, were in charge of the Centennial parade, neither remembered anyone specifically filming the parade.

The history book notes that a television station from Kearney came and filmed the events of the celebration one day but doesn’t say that they were there for all of the celebration.

The library is selling DVD copies of the film for $10 each and Trauger will be in the library on Saturday, May 29 from 1 -3 which is during alumni weekend. Proceeds from the sale of the film will support the libraries projects.

 

 

Throwback Thursday: May 22, 2011

 5/22/2011

A Nebraska Wesleyan senior biology student has been awarded the University of Nebraska Medical Center's (UNMC) highest honor for undergraduate research presentations at the Nebraska Academy of Sciences.

Allee Kuska of Exeter has been honored with a $500 award for her presentation on innate immune responses to virus infections of the respiratory tract. The award was presented at the annual Nebraska Academy of Sciences, held in April.

Exeter-Milligan school board has accepted the resignation of four teachers and the elementary principal at the end of the 2010-2011 school year. Leaving are Elementary Principal MariLyn Poppert, Grant Gabel, Chris Lewandowski, Susan Wait and Karen Kahler.  Laura Kroll will be the new elementary principal, Shelly Mueller will teach fourth grade, Brent Zoubek will teach fifth grade and Jordan Marr and Matt Nicholas will join the high school staff.

Exeter-Milligan Senior Heather Pribyl was named as the York News Times Female Athlete of the Year.

The Exeter Aquatic Center is scheduled to open for it's third season on Monday, May 30th starting at 1:30 p.m.  New this year to the pool will be a toddler slide and an aquatic wheelchair. The two new items were made possible by donations and grant money.  Rhonda Stokebrand, a former manager of the pool and pool committee member has faithfully pursued raising the funds for these two projects.

 

The Village received $1,500 from the Mary F. Tous Charitable Foundation, to go toward both of the items, along with $400.00 from the Fillmore County Foundation. The Fillmore County Hospital donated $95.00 from their denim days fundraiser toward the wheelchair and the United Methodist Women donated $100.00 toward the wheelchair. Other donors to the project included Kenneth and LaVonne Guthrie and Harre Brothers.

 

Exeter Aquatic Center Scheduled to Open Monday, Memorial Day

 The Exeter Aquatic Center is scheduled to open on Monday, May 31 at 1:30 p.m.

EXETER AQUATIC CENTER

110 EAST MAPLEWOOD

EXETER NE, 68351

(402) 266-3001

Hours of Operation:

Sunday – Friday

1:30 pm to 5:30 pm

6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

Saturday

1:30 pm to 5:30 pm

Closed Saturday Evening

The pool is now available for private parties - contact Pool Manager at the pool to make a reservation. The cost is $60.00 per hour (no additional entrance fees). Check with the manager for the number allowable at this fee.

Admission Fees:

Ages 5 & Under – Free with Paying Adult

Ages 6 – Adult - $4.00 per day

2016 Season Pass:

Single - $55.00

Family - $120.00 (immediate family only)

Passes are not transferable or refundable.

*Note: There will be at least one 10-minute rest break taken every hour.

GENERAL

Children must be 8 years old to gain admission to the aquatic center without an accompanying chaperon (13 & older).

Patrons must take a shower using soap before entering the pool.

No person having an obvious communicable disease, skin eruption, open sore, lesion, eye, ear, nose, or throat infection shall be permitted to use the pool.

Tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, and glass are prohibited in the pool area. All food and drink must be consumed outside the aquatic center or inside the designated area directly north of the bathhouse.

Coolers, food, and beverages may not be brought into the facility.

Profanity and abusive or vulgar language is prohibited.

Fighting, rough play, pushing/shoving, and running are prohibited.

No spitting or spouting of water or blowing nose in water.

Proper swim wear is required. Street clothes are not permitted in the water.

Infants or toddlers wearing diapers will not be allowed entrance into the facility without plastic diaper covers or swim diapers.

No hanging on safety ropes or buoys.

No sitting, playing on, or diving off ladders.

No pets or animals allowed (other than service animals).

No diving in less than 5 feet of water.

Flotation devices (inner tubes, air mattresses, etc.) are prohibited.

U.S. Coast Guard or Red Cross approved life jackets are permitted.

Soft toys and play items are permitted if they are used appropriately.

Any conduct, behavior, or activity that endangers the welfare, safety, and/or comfort of other patrons is prohibited.

Management reserves the right to close the aquatic center due to inclement weather or lack of attendance.

The Village of Exeter is not responsible for the loss or theft of personal items.

ZERO DEPTH AREA

Children 4 & under must be within arm’s reach of the supervising chaperon. If the child is in the water the chaperone must also be in the water.

DIVING BOARDS

Only one person on the ladder or board at a time. Swimmers must wait on the deck at the ladder entrance.

Only one bounce permitted on the board. Running jumps and starts are not permitted.

Divers must wait for the person ahead of them to reach the pool ladder prior to diving off the board.

Dive straight off the end of the board. No jumps or dives are allowed off to side of the board.

No swimming under or between the boards.

Individuals are not allowed in the diving well to “catch” other divers.

SLIDE

All riders must be at least 48” tall or have prior approval from management in order to ride the waterslide.

Maximum operational load 1 person – 300 pounds.

No combs or foreign objects are allowed in pockets and no jewelry can be worn while riding the slide.

Riders must enter the slide in a sitting position.

All riders must ride feet first while lying on their back. Absolutely no riding on stomach or headfirst is permitted.

Riders should lie on their back with arms crossed across their chest or hands clasped behind their head with their legs crossed at the ankles.

Only one rider at a time. Absolutely no trains or chains of riders are permitted.

No life jackets are permitted on the waterslide.

The line should form on the deck with one rider on each landing and one rider in the starter tube.

Riders must be in good health. Pregnant women or individuals with heart or back conditions or other serious health issues should not use the slide.

Do not use this slide while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Follow instructions of the lifeguard.

No running, standing, kneeling, rotating, tumbling or stopping in flume. Arms and hands must remain inside the flume.

No diving from the flume.

Leave the flume pool promptly after exiting the waterslide.

Water level is 4’ or greater and rider must be able to swim.

LOCKERS

A limited number of lockers are available on a first come, first served basis on the east bathhouse wall. Patrons should bring their own locks, as the Village does not provide them. Lockers are day use only and locks must be removed when you leave the facility. Locker use is encouraged to prevent theft.

The Village of Exeter maintains these rules and policies that govern patron conduct at this facility. In general, any conduct, behavior, or activity that endangers the welfare, safety, and/or comfort of other patrons will not be tolerated. Disciplinary action may range from a one-day to one-year suspension.

Note: Expelled and/or suspended pool patrons will not receive a refund for daily admission or season pool passes.

 

 

 

Exeter-Milligan Update: Junior Class

 The Exeter-Milligan junior class recently ended their food drive as part of a civic engagement lesson in American government class.  The donated items will be given to the food pantry in Geneva. Pictured from L to R: Peyton Pribyl, Kole Svec, Briana Capek, & Casey Underwood.

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