Junior Fire Patrol Graduation

The 2009 graduates of the Exeter Volunteer Fire Department Junior Fire Patrol Program. Pictured from the left front row Instructor Jacob Miller, Katie Skinner, Haylee Sheffield, Lucy Murphy and Instructor Tammy Sladek. Second row from the left are Instructor and Assistant Fire Chief Ken Strate, Ashley Benorden, Samantha Horne, Trystan Brandt, LaCole Young, Instructor and Assisant Fire Chief Tim Axline, and Junior Fire Patrol Project Chairman, Ed Mark (Joan Strate is not pictured).

Instructor Tammy Sladek review the final exam with the students.

Instructor Jacob Miller helps Trystan Brandt try on bunker gear.

Assistant Fire Chief Ken Strate (left) and Assistant Fire Chief Tim Axline presented the new Junior Fire Marshal Ashley Benorden with her certificate.

The Exeter Volunteer Fire Department hosts a Junior Fire Patrol classes each fall during Fire Safety Month in October. This is the twelfth year that the Exeter Volunteer Fire Department has sponsored the Junior Fire Patrol for area fifth graders. This year there were eight participants.

The fire department puts the program on in the Exeter Fire Hall and the kids participate in four sessions. During the sessions the students plan a fire escape plan individualized to their home, learn about fire hazards in the home, learn burn prevention and first aid, and how to use a fire extinguisher to put out a fire. This year the students had an extensive evening of first aid training with Instructor Hope Androyna.

One of the most important lessons the kids learn is about the damage that arson causes and how to prevent fires inside and outside. Ed Mark is the Chairman of the Junior Fire Patrol project for the Exeter Volunteer Fire Department started the program in 1998 after researching it and putting the program together for the Fire Department to approve. "We wanted to help teach the kids more fire safety so we could save some lives. . .who knows what value it will have in their future lives."

The students have to attend every one of the four sessions and perform each assignment. Some of the assignments include fun, like running the water hoses on the department trucks, while others, like crawling through a room full of artificial smoke, are a much greater challenge.

If the students pass the final written exam, attend all the meetings and complete the other requirements then they become a junior fire marshal of the Exeter Fire Department.

After so many years of watching students take the junior fire patrol course Mark is still amazed at the fifth graders, "Every year they grab the information. The intensity level is amazing. They just want to learn. We have great kids every year."

This is the first year that a former member of the Junior Fire Marshall Patrol has become an instructor. Jacob Miller is a member of the Exeter Volunteer Fire Department and now is sharing what he has learned with these fifth graders.

Mark takes his educational information on the road as he has made it a habit to visit the third grade classroom of his daughter, Shelli Mueller, at St. Joseph's in York. He gives them a fire safety lesson and brings his gear for them to try on. Mark is also willing to share the curriculum he has created with other fire departments at no cost and hopes other departments will take advantage of this early educational opportunity.

Exeter Pack 218 Host Dinner for Their Families

Exeter Pack 218 Scouts performed a lip sync and played instruments they made to entertain their families.

Jane Beethe assists her son Jackson and Travis Gilliam in making the spaghetti sauce.

The Scouts play "Tell It Like It Is" (like the telephone game) before supper is ready.

The Exeter Pack 218 members joined together to make supper for their families Monday evening. The boys chose to make a spaghetti dinner with a ice cream sundae bar for dessert.

After the school the boys met with many of their parents to make the supper at the American Legion home. After they had the meal ready they took some time to practice several skits for the evening along with a special flag ceremony.

After an opening flag ceremony and prayer presented by Eric Olsen the families ate the delicious spaghetti, garlic bread and salad and then enjoyed the boys paper bag puppet lip sync to "We Will Rock You" and "We are the Champions" by Queen. The Bear Scouts played the instruments they had created.

After the performance the families enjoyed the ice cream sundae bar and the boys received some of their popcorn prizes.

Screening at Exeter Senior Center Tuesday

Tuesday, October 27th the Exeter Senior Center will be hosting the UNMC Cosmopolitan Mobile Nursing Unit from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Free screenings will be available including Blood Pressure, Blood Glucose, Body Mass Index and Cholesterol testing, free for 60+, Cholesterol testing for under 60 is $15.00. Sahara Bone Density tests will also be offered free for those 60 + and a charge of $8.00 for those under 60.

Brought to Exeter by the Lincoln Area Agency on Aging and UNMC. For questions call Lifetime Health at 402-441-7575.

Altar Society Hosts Annual Card Party

Loading plates at the ultimate salad bar.

The Exeter St. Stephens Altar Society held their Annual Salad Luncheon and Card Party on Thursday afternoon.

Row upon row of salads, sandwiches and relish trays greeted luncheoners as they were welcomed in the Exeter Legion Home. Nearly 150 women attended the event.

Raffle tickets were available for multiple craft items including a beautiful quilt made by Bert Gill of Jackson, Nebraska and a nativity scene anonymously donated. The quilt was won by Kennedi Koozer with Bambi Ogren winning the nativity scene. Margaret Petro announced the winners.

After the salads were polished off the ladies got down to the real business of the afternoon, cards. Several games of pitch and bridge were enjoyed by the attendees.

Officer Brian McFarland Speaks to Exeter Cub Scouts

The Exeter Cub Scouts came with ammunition, loads of questions for Exeter Police Officer Brian McFarland.

Monday after school the officer spoke to the boys on being good citizens and answered their many questions about weapons, car chases, police dogs and how many people he had arrested.

Patiently Officer McFarland answered all of their questions, when legally proper, and listened to their stories.

The Bear Scouts were working on their "Law Enforcement Is a Big Job" achievement. The week prior the boys had done fingerprints, made a list of neighbors to get help from and learned emergency phone numbers. The visit with Officer McFarland helped them complete the achievement.

The Webelos Scouts were working on their Citizenship Pin, learning about what it takes to be a good citizen, learning about proper respect and treatment for the flag and learning about their duties and responsibilities as a citizen.

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.