Throwback Thursday 3/9/2014

 

03/09/2014

 

It was an intense competition at the Cornhusker Council Prairie Winds District Pinewood Derby on Saturday, March 9th at the Seward High School Gym as just .40 of a second separated the car speeds from first place to sixteenth place.

 

Cub Scouts from the nine counties that make up the district gathered to see who took top honors in both speed and show.  In order to be eligible to attend the district event, scouts had to place in the top three in their pack pinewood derby for race or show.

 

For the show portion of the events scouts were interviewed individually on the techniques and tools they used to make their cars. 

Tyler Due, Pack 218 in Exeter, took the top honors in the wolf competition. For show Ben Bartu out of Pack 218 in Exeter was at the top of the Webelo category and Mikey Bartu was at the top of the Wolf category.

 

Exeter-Milligan Boys Basketball team head to the state Tournament.  The Timberwolves, ranked #5 (22-3) will face High Plains #4 (25-1) tonight at Lincoln East High School at 7 p.m.  The one loss of the High Plains came from Exeter-Milligan during CRC tournament.

Science Stuff by Matt Nicholas, E-M Science Instructor

 

This week in 8th grade Earth Science, we are studying the theory of plate tectonics. Plate Tectonics is a combination of the ideas of continental drift and seafloor spreading. Together these ideas help us understand the processes inside the earth that shape what we see on the map. We will be demonstrating how tectonic plates interact with each other by using graham crackers as crustal plates and frosting as magma. We will be investigating how mountains and volcanoes are formed as well as other geologic features.

 

Each of Mr. Brian Murphy's classes at Exeter-Milligan watches and discusses the news daily.  The eight grade American History class is learning about events leading up to the Civil War.  In high school American History class, we are finishing the unit covering World War II.  Currently, students in World Geography are learning about Central America.  In Post World War II History, students are learning about the 1980s and the fall of the Soviet Union.

Exeter-Milligan and Friend School Boards hold joint meeting

 

Exeter-Milligan and Friend school board members joined together in the Exeter gym for the fourth in a series of joint public meetings presenting information on a possible consolidation of the two districts.

All the information presented during the meeting is available for public viewing on the websites for both districts.

After the meetings were officially opened by respective board presidents, EM Superintendent Paul Sheffield and FPS Superintendent Derek Anderson shared a power point presentation starting with the history of consolidation discussion and co-oping between the two districts.

They also presented the fact that both districts have seen a drastic decline in enrollment.  It was noted that in 2002-2003 EM had an enrollment of 321 and FPS was at 354.  Right now, the two districts together would be at 354.  “We have seen a steady decline; 58% for EM and 40% for Friend,” explained Sheffield.

Currently the proposal plans for the Kindergarten to fifth grade to be educated in the Exeter building and sixth through twelfth grades will be in Friend with the sixth through eighth grade using the Friend elementary area. There would be preschool in both locations.

There was no discussion of any additional construction to either site but Sheffield noted that it was his recommendation to the board that the Exeter high school building be torn down. “If we aren’t going to use the high school let’s tear it down.  Let’s don’t let it become a tag factory or nursing home.”

The EM district is also in the process of transferring ownership of the Milligan school to the village of Milligan.  Along with the building the district would transfer a finite amount of funds from the EM building fund to be used to maintain the building.

On the Friend side of things, Anderson talked about their indebtedness, “The constituents of Friend would continue to pay for that.  EM would not pay for that.  A new building fund will be created for the consolidated district.”

The property valuation for the new district would be at $1.2 billion dollars.

The proposal provides that the first school board in the new district would be made up of six members, three from the EM district and three from the Friend district. EM would have two elected with four year terms and one with a two year term while Friend would have two with two year terms and one with a four year term.

After that, there would be no requirement that board members are from a certain district.

As they presented the advantages for combining, Anderson talked of the collaboration of the teachers and the additional academic offers.

There are no plans to remove any teacher positions, only an administrative position, a superintendent would be cut. EM’s Sheffield has made it clear he plans to retire.

The only questions that were answered were those that had been submitted in advance. Notecards were provided to the public if patrons had additional questions to submit.

The meeting was opened for public comment and just three stepped up to the microphone. 

Allison Petersen who along with husband, Robbie, opted their kids into the district from Fillmore Central, expressed their support, “ (we) see a significant benefit for our students if we consolidate. I believe there will be a huge benefit and boost to the arts in our schools. I am also excited to see more classroom and teacher collaboration. Our own children are looking forward to joining with the Friend students in the classroom as they have enjoyed being teammates with them in the sports coop. To be perfectly honest, their biggest concern is school lunch.”

Taylor Kahlandt emphasized the advantages to having a separate middle school and seeing a boost for both academic and arts in the consolidation.  She thanked the board for being pro-active.

Kelly Rischling also thanked the board and addressed the concern of a parent about busing, as she has three children who often choose to ride the bus over riding with mom to Exeter from Milligan.
Both boards will meet for their regular monthly meeting on March 18 and then both will vote on consolidation in their April meeting.  They noted that public comment will be allowed at both meetings.

Surprise Snowfall

A trace to less than one of snow was predicted for Friday morning (3/8/24) but Exeter residents were surprised to find close to six inches of snow had fallen when all was said and done.  The snow started overnight with freezing rain and then a heavy wet snow continued to fall until mid day.  Six to seven miles south of Exeter only saw a dusting, Fairmont reported four inches and there were other pockets of large snowfall.  Plymouth recorded 10" while Fairbury only received a dusting.  Out west there were reports of up to 19" of snow in places near North Platte.  While the streets had to be plowed and downtown sidewalks scooped, many residents had no need of shoveling as temperatures were predicted to be 70 degrees by Sunday.

 

ECC Easter Egg Hunt

 

EMF can't hold on to lead against Sandy Creek

EMF fought hard and just like playing Sandy Creek in football this game went back and forth.  Sandy Creek was ahead by just two at the half and EMF took the lead in the third quarter but just couldn't hang on to it losing 44-35

 

EMF squeaks out a win at sub-districts

 EMF held of the Thayer Central Titans by just two points to move on in the subdistrict bracket. 49-46 was the final score.

Throwback Thursday 3/2/2014

 

03/02/2014

 

The fourth grade room has been exploding with technology. As a 1:1 iPad elementary, we have the capability to do a lot of Project Based Learning. Using the iPads, the students are individually learning the content of the subject.

Recently in Nebraska Studies, we used a website called Thinglink to create projects. The students had to look up information on a topic and link it all together.

In Science, they used an app called Skitch to label the layers of Earth’s core. They also used an app called Pic Collage to collect pictures of weathering, erosion, hurricanes, tornados, floods. They also use the app Zondle to study for tests in Science and Social Studies. I love that they are exploring on their own and learning in their own way.

 

Exeter-Milligan Students had a great time at their Jump Rope For Heart Event.  Mrs. Darcy White, Physical Education teacher at Exeter-Milligan has been participating in the Jump Rope for Heart Event for more than 20 years! 

 

Amber Pribyl from Exeter-Milligan received 7th place in Humorous Prose at the Sutton Speech Meet, February 22, 2014 and 5th Place at the Crossroads Conference Meet, February 26, 2014. 

 

Exeter-Milligan Sing Around Nebraska participants in Central City at February  1 were Blake Meyer, Kiah Songster, Katelyn Babula, Briana Capek, Cameran Jansky, Braden Capek; Back Row (L-R) Clint Oldeheoft, Caitlin Murphy, Nick Hayek.

 

Junior High Band Members who earned a superior rating at the Bruning-Davenport Band Contest were Katherine White, Hannah Horne, Trever Zelenka, Joey Bartu;  Spencer Pribyl, Blake Steuben, Joel Klemm, Mitchell Manning, Theron Odvody; Hannah Beethe, Kate Jansky, Kaitlyn Vavra, Josie Kresak, Patrick Murphy;  Tara Mueller, Alexis Uldrich, Katie Mounce, Macy Due, Peytan Brandt

 

Cub Scouts in Pack 218 celebrated the birthday of Cub Scouting on Sunday, Feb. 23 in Exeter.

The scouts opened the evening with a flag ceremony led by Webelos Scout Blake Meyer.  A prayer for the food was led by Braden Capek.

Before the meal was served the scouts performed a skit.  Webelos Scout Clint Oldehoeft played the part of Wendell Windbag as he retold the history of scouts as he had researched.  The cub scouts dressed as a caveman, a shepherd in Biblical times, an explorer, a medieval knight, frontiersboys, an American Indian, an alien and a mummy before one scout corrected the historian and the scouts sang “Happy Birthday Cub Scouts.”

Later in the evening the scouts had a Friends of Scouting presentation by the Cornhusker Council District Director Jerad Reimers.

The scouts also received their awards during the evening.  Receiving the wolf rank were Josh Meyer, Tyler Due, Troy Kallhoff, Devin Harrison and Mikey Bartu.  Receiving the Webelos rank were Braden Capek, Chris Kelch and Ben Bartu.  Clint Oldehoeft and Blake Meyer received additional Webelos pins and will be awarded their Arrow of Light at an upcoming ceremony.

The scouts looked forward to the highlight of the evening, the Pinewood Derby Race.  Mr. Stanley Rhodes brought the wood track that he made 35 years ago for the scouts and had Lance Larsen and Steve Rhodes for his assistants for the evening.  The group directed the scouts in the race and judged the show portion of the evening.

The show results included modified winners: Ben Bartu, first, Braden Capek, second and Devin Harrison, third.  In the stock show Tyler Due came in first with Mikey Bartu in second and Chris Kelch in third.

The race was exciting and the final winners had to have a race off to see who was the top winner.  Overall in race Tyler Due finished first barely beating out Clint Oldehoeft.  In third place overall was Josh Meyer.  When the cars were divided up by type, Braden Capek took second in modified race and Devin Harrison took third.

BNSF train derails just outside Exeter

A BNSF train struck a fertlizer truck at the railroad crossing on Road 20 just west of Exeter Friday morning around 10:40 a.m. No major injuries were sustained. There are no cross arms at this intersection and a 15 mph speed limit sign is posted. Road 20 was blocked off north and south of the intersection and a team of recovery and repair equipment was quickly dispatched from BNSF.  The crew removed enough damaged equipment to move the cars in good shape by Friday evening and worked through the night with lights to clear the tracks and begin the repair.  The Exeter Gun Club sits just to the north of the tracks and power was shut off to the club while the crews worked on the tracks.  

 

Throwback Thursday 02/23/2014

 

02/23/2014

 

Exeter residents will need to head to the election polls in May and will have several options when voting.  Monday, March 3^rd at 4:30 p.m. is the deadline for non-incumbents to register for the May primary.  The incumbent deadline has passed.

Exeter-Milligan School Board members Tom Sluka and Brent Moore have not refiled leaving their seats open.  Incumbent Sharon Kuska has filed along with newcomers Adam Erdkamp, Mark Bigelow and Kendra Jansky.

County Supervisor Bob Mueller has filed to run again for District #1 and Galen Kuska has filed for the Liberty Township Board.  As of Friday morning no one had filed for the opening on the Exeter Fairmont Township Board.

There is an opening on the Exeter Village Board as Margaret Petro has not refiled for her position.  Tim Wilbeck, who currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Village Board has filed for the election.

 

Caitlin Murphy placed 3^rd in the Fillmore County Spelling Bee that was held in Geneva on February 18^th.

Exeter-Milligan Eighth grader, Clarissa (Claire) Mounce placed 3^rd in the Junior High Division of the Fillmore County Spelling Bee.  Other junior high spellers competing were Josie Kresak, Colton Bossaller, and Katarina (Katie) Mounce.

 

Several members of the Exeter-Milligan 6th grade class sang the National Anthem at the February 11 basketball game. They also played with the JH/SH pep band that night. Those participating were  Jacy Schlueter, Eli Johnson, Nick Hayek, Caitlin Murphy, Kayla Geiger and Anna Sluka.

 

The Exeter-Milligan Cheerleaders held their annual Cheer Camp on Friday after school.  The clinicians taught the girls several cheers and a dance routine. They ate supper together and worked on some bracelet projects.  The girls performed during half-time at the Exeter-Milligan varsity boys game versus Dorchester.

 

The Exeter-Milligan Boy's Basketball team held their parent's night on Friday night.  All the parents were recognized while the players were introduced.

Homestead Exemption Informational Meetings

 

Homestead Exemption:

Have you ever checked into Homestead Exemption?? It is a great program that offers tax relief for homeowners in Nebraska. You must be 65 as of January 1, 2024 and be a homeowner. The amount of assistance determined is based on your income and could be any percentage from 10% all the way to 100%.

NEW this year, staff from the Assessors office will be in 4 different Fillmore County communities in the month of April and are wanting to to help you with this great program and answer any questions you may have.

Whether you have applied for homestead exemption before or are brand new, they will help you with filling out the forms OR see if you are eligible to apply. Things change from year to year, so even if you have checked into this before, it might be worth checking into again.

No appts are necessary, and it will not be a presentation, they will be offering one on one assistance for those who stop in.

Please see the dates and times of where they will be in the attached flyer.

We encourage folks throughout the County to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

Please feel free to share this post and the information with those on and off Facebook! We want to reach as many people as possible.

You have until June 30th to get your application in for consideration or renewal.