Village Board Hires Lifeguards

 

The Exeter Village Board met on Tuesday, March 8 for their regularly scheduled meeting.

After reviewing the bills and prior month’s minutes the board heard about insurance from Kory Kahlandt, President of Generations Insurance.

He shared with the board a premium breakdown back to 2012.  “I wanted the board to be aware there is a dividend paid.  If it was a good claims year, with no weather, looks like the dividend will be about $12,000.00 this year.”

Kahlandt explained that rising property values have driven the price of insurance up which is reflected in the village bill.  He added that replacement cost for the fire department vehicles increased three percent, “That would be a brand new vehicle, no depreciation.”

“Thanks for putting this together,” responded board member Justin Harre, who added that he appreciated seeing all of the figures laid out in an easy to read manner.

The board discussed a possible annex of property on the north side of the village where the Farmers Cooperative has their fertilizer stored. After reading some advice from the village attorney the board decided to contact the concerned parties and then possibly hold one special meeting in order to move the process along faster.

The board discussed what the village responsibility would be to annexed property owners.  “we would need to provide water service and sewer up to the property line. We also need a fire hydrant out there.  There isn’t one out there now,” explained Village Board President Alan Michl.

The next agenda item was the summer help applications.  They received nine applications for lifeguards and one from Anna Sluka to be the pool manager.  The board opted to hire as lifeguards: Alexandria Wallace  Jamie Renshaw, Draven Payne, Troy Kallhoff, Emma Olsen, Jaiden Papik (assistant pool manager), Cameran Jansky, Andrew Vavra, and Savana Horne.  They hired Sluka as the pool manager.

The board scheduled the dumpster for the village clean up on May 14.

The board approved two donations out of the community betterment keno fund including $100 to the Exeter-Milligan post prom and $500 to the Exeter-Milligan community scholarship fund.

The village received the swing set for Gilbert’s park that was ordered two years ago.  The board approved the invoice of $1996.39 which also came out of community betterment keno fund.

There was nothing on the marshal’s report but several board members commented on the marshal’s visibility.

Maintenance Supervisor John Mueller reported that the tarring on the streets has been completed.  He got an estimate of $14,800 on fencing for a new batting cage.  The board talked about  different options for financial help with the batting cage.  The board discussed several proposed locations for the batting cage focusing on ballfield the south fence on the first base line on the east end.

The board approved the ordering the fencing and plan to ask several organizations to help fund the project. 

Mueller is hoping to move the gazebo and the swing from the nursing home to the old tag factory lot and asked the board for their recommendation on placement on the empty lot.  They advised him to put it where it worked for him to mow around.

Village Clerk Becky Erdkamp gave her report which included December sales tax receipts of $24,684.85 and keno for January totaled $281.18.

The next meeting was set for April 5 at 7 p.m. at the Village Office.

Throwback Thursday: 03/04/2012

 

03/04/2012

 

Mrs. Shelli Mueller's 4th grade class recently submitted art work in the Geneva Women's Art Council Contest.  Cayden Hartmann placed 1st and Wyatt Motis placed second.

Mr. Brian Murphy’s Social Science Classes at Exeter-Milligan have been covering a wide variety of topics this semester.  Currently, the Post World War II History class is just getting started with a unit covering the 1980s.  The class spends a great deal of time discussing current events and how earlier events have influenced our world today.  Post World War II History looks at events from both world and American perspectives.  The American History class recently completed a chapter on the early Cold War.  We are now starting a unit on 1950s culture.  World History is just completing World War I.  During class discussions, an emphasis is placed on perspectives of other nations and how these influence major events that follow.

 

The Exeter-Milligan gymnasium was host to this year’s jump rope for heart event.  Physical Education teacher Mrs. Darcy White holds the event every other year to get the elementary students moving.  This year she brought her jock jam music to keep the ropes and the students moving.  The elementary students at the Exeter site, (kindergarten, first and second graders) were mentored by Exeter-Milligan high school students who spent their period teaching the kids how to jump rope and use the ropes for different exercises.  The students are still accepting donations for the American Heart Association event, ”It takes a Heart to be a Hero.”

 

Celebrating their own birthday inspired twins Ashley and Meghan Miller to donated blood on their 17^th birthday.

 

The Exeter-Milligan juniors donated blood for the first time at the Exeter Bloodmobile on February 24^th

 

According to Doris Hall, the Exeter Bloodmobile coordinator, “We did have a very good turnout. Everything worked out good that day.”

 

“We beat our quota by five pints.”  With 37 pints of blood the Exeter Red Cross Bloodmobile was deemed a success.  The ladies from the United Church of Christ served the lunch and manned the kitchen.

 

Greeting donors were Erma Adamson, Evelyn Michl and Elva McBride.  Escorting donors were Ginny Adams, Carol Shaffer and Kathleen Wilbeck.  Those who assisted in the loading and unloading of equipment were Alva Smith, Sterling Dyer, Dan Manwarren,  and Adam Erdkamp.

 

Obituary Richard M. "Nick" Nicholas

 Richard Minor Nicholas was born on February 26, 1934 to Thomas and Marjorie (Richardson) Nicholas in Laurel, Montana. He passed away on Sunday, March 6, 2022 at the Fillmore County Hospital in Geneva, Nebraska at the age of 88 years and 8 days.

He grew up in the Laurel area and spent several summers working in the nearby Yellowstone National Park. He graduated from Laurel High School in 1953 and enlisted in the Air Force in 1954. His Air Force buddies called him “Nick” and the name stuck with him for the rest of his life.

On April 1st, 1956, one of Nick’s buddies introduced him to the love of his life, Doris Harre. They married in 1957 and had 3 children: Shari, Tim and Hope. The family lived the Air Force life and were stationed in Lincoln, Tampa, Florida, Tucson, Arizona and Alamogordo, New Mexico before Nick retired in 1974. Nick was deployed several times during his career, including tours of duty to England, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand. He was honored with the Bronze Star to recognize his exemplary service during his tour in Vietnam.

Nick moved his family to Exeter in 1974 where he worked for Erdkamp Construction for a short time. He then became Maintenance Man for the village of Exeter for the next 20 years. After retirement, he enjoyed helping his friends Gerry and Vicki Geiger with harvest. The best part of the day was the “safety meeting” when the work was done!

Nick was a member of St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Exeter. He and Doris spent many hours helping with the recent church renovation. He also crafted the wooden nativity scene displayed in front of the church and looked forward to setting it up each year. He was a member of the American Legion and a former Commander of Exeter American Legion Post 218.

Nick loved the outdoors, with hunting and fishing being his favorite pastimes. He made several trips to Canada to fish with one of his favorite fishing buddies, his nephew and good friend Glen Coffey. His daughter Shari and grandson Nathan were lucky enough to take a turn going along. He loved gardening and was especially proud of his flowers, planting multiple gladiolas and dahlias as well as a vegetable garden up to last year. Nick was also an avid “rockhound” and loved to collect rocks to polish and make into jewelry. He had a love of frogs and he received many frogs from family and friends; his collection currently stands at 1,973. One of the highlights of his life was being featured on the “Lance’s Journal” program on Channel 10.

Nick’s pride and joy were his wife, his kids, grandkids and great-grandkids. He was able to celebrate his 88th birthday while in the hospital recuperating from a stroke and a broken hip. During the party, he pointed at the group who were there with him and said “Mine- all mine!!” He loved people and loved to visit; he will be remembered for his sense of humor and love of frogs, whiskey sours and funny t-shirts!
Nick was preceded in death by his parents; stepfather Celester Goman; and infant granddaughter Theresa Katherine Michl.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Doris; children Shari (Alan) Michl of Exeter, Tim (Marie) Nicholas of Central City, and Hope (Ken) Strate of Exeter; grandchildren Allison (James) Bitz, Nathan (Abby) Michl, Matt (Jenny) Nicholas, Angela (Noah) Broekmeier, Deidre (Noah) Boyle and Victoria Androyna; great-grandchildren Evie and Jonah Bitz, Cason Michl, Leo and Layne Nicholas, and Oliver and Amelia Broekmeier; sister, Sharon (Don) Grove of North Fork, California; sisters-in-law Leona Smith, Jeanette Paulus, and Evelyn Coffey; brother-in-law Frank Harre; and many nieces and nephews and his beloved cat, Angie.

Exeter-Milligan/Friend FFA Hold Pep Rally for FFA Week

 

Exeter-Milligan/Friend FFA officers held a pep rally to encourage students to participate in FFA.  Exeter-Milligan 6th-8th graders along with the FFA members traveled to Friend to participate in the pep rally.  Students were chosen to bob for apples, run an egg and spoon race across the gym, catch a marshmallow on a string with a partner, the wheelbarrow race and hold a jug of water up (great job Logan Krupicka!).

Death Notice Richard M. "Nick" Nicholas

 A Funeral Mass for Nick will be held on Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Exeter, Nebraska. Father Brendan Kelly will preside over the Mass.

A Graveside Service with Military Honors will be held in the Exeter Cemetery following the Funeral Mass.

Public Visitation will be held on Wednesday, March 9, 2022 from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Farmer Funeral Home in Exeter.

A Rosary will be prayed on Wednesday, March 9, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. at Farmer Funeral Home in Exeter, Nebraska.

Memorials are suggested to the St. Stephen Catholic Church or the to the family to be designated at a later date.

Throwback Thursday 02/26/2012

 

02/26/2012

Seven Exeter-Milligan students attended the Sing Around Nebraska Festival in Central City on Saturday, February 18.  They rehearsed all day with their clinician, Larry Decker, and performed in a 4:00 p.m. concert held in Central City's new Performing Arts Center (PAC.)  The students worked very hard prior to the day to learn six songs.  Those participating were Eli Johnson, Patrick Murphy, Johnny Babula, Anna Sluka, Katherine White, Caitlin Murphy and Kayla Geiger.

Mrs. Julia Polak’s Reading Mastery Novels class at Exeter-Milligan just finished the book Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.  It is the story of a 13 year-old boy who becomes stranded in the northern Canadian forest after the bush plane in which he is a passenger crashes.  Brian survives for 54 days before being rescued.  He encounters bears, wolves, a skunk, and a porcupine.  Brian gets quills stuck in his leg, and must pull them out himself.

            In order for the students to understand about porcupine quills, Mrs. Polak contacted Dave Erdkamp from Exeter, who contacted some other hunters through the Internet, and Nancy Haefer from Moscow, Idaho, sent the class some quills to examine under the microscope.  Mrs. Polak had the students draw what they saw in the microscope so the students would better understand how loosely the quills are attached to the porcupine’s tail and body, and also how hard they are to remove!

            Dave Erdkamp also loaned the class a moose antler from a forest moose, similar to the one that tried to kill Brian in the book.  Forest moose are smaller than moose we are familiar with, but the students realized what strong neck muscles it would take to hold up two of them!

Ms. Elizabeth Rios’ Spanish II class at Exeter-Milligan has been busy this semester. The class had CPR presentations three times this year (Cultural Participation and Research projects). Each student does four CPR’s during the year, one for every quarter.  In the past students have researched Spanish countries, athletes, artists, and food.  CPR’s give students an opportunity to connect with the Spanish culture and try new thing they wouldn’t normally try.  Some students make traditional Spanish dishes such as tacos or enchiladas.  Others have eaten out at an authentic Mexican restaurant and some students with more artistic attributes draw maps of Spanish countries, including landforms and major cities. CPR’s make students step out of their comfort zone to relate their culture with the Spanish culture, giving them a better understanding of the Spanish language.

The Exeter-Milligan Lady Timberwolves head for Lincoln Thursday morning.  The send off for the team will be Thursday at 8 a.m. at the Exeter site.  The #5 seeded Timberwolves will meet #4 Friend Bulldogs in the first round of the tournament.

Exeter Cub Scout Pack 218 held their Blue and Gold Banquet and Pinewood Derby.

Tiger Cub Marcus Krupicka earned his rank badge and the Bobcat rank.  The three members of the wolf den, Braden Capek, Alec Schlueter and Ben Bartu all received their rank badges as did the members of the Bear den, Jackson Beethe, Clint Oldehoeft and Blake Meyer.

 

Both members of the Webelos II den, Peytan Brandt and Johnny Babula, earned the arrow of light and were presented with the award by their parents.  Peytan Brandt earned all 20 of the Webelos activity pins and received a special patch recognizing this achievement.

 

Four families in the pack, the Roger Brandt family, the Roger Capek family, the Mark Beethe family and the Dean Bartu family also earned the Fun with our Family patches.

 

Next on the evening's agenda was the pack Pinewood Derby.  Stanley Rhodes, of Cordova, coordinates the event every year bringing his track and his helpers, Robert Rhodes of Exeter and Lance Larsen of Cordova.  Prior to race time the men had judged the cars for show, but the results were not revealed until after the race.

 

After each boy raced the others twice, there was one more race off to determine the winner and the results were announced.  In the modified category Blake Meyer won first, Peytan Brandt took second and Braden Capek was third.  In the stock category Clint Oldehoeft was first, Jackson Beethe, second and Johnny Babula was third.

 

The show results were announced next.  Modified show first place was Ben Bartu, Alec Schlueter was second and Brayden Capek was third.  In stock show Clint Oldehoeft took first, Johnny Babula was second and Jackson Beethe was third.  Winning the Cubmaster's Choice award this year was Marcus Krupicka.

The Exeter-Milligan Lady Timberwolves fought a hard battle and were ahead by one point with eight seconds left in the quarter finals state tournament game against the Friend Bulldogs.  Unfortunately Friend sunk a basket in those last eight seconds leaving the final score 37-36 with the Timberwolves facing no time left and a loss.

On Sunday, February 19th, Exeter Pack 218 held the crossover ceremony for the  two members of their Webelos II den.

 Peytan Brandt and Johnny Babula both achieved the highest rank in Cub Scouts, the Arrow of Light.

 To obtain the arrow of light the scouts must earn activity pins in physical skills, mental skills, technology and outdoor skills.  The scouts must also know the Boy Scout Law and Oath and participate in two Boy Scout activities.

 

Eight Exeter-Milligan students participated in the Fillmore County Spelling Bee this year.  The Junior High students below are from the left, Janey Due, Elliot Erdkamp, Samantha Horne and Ashley Benorden who placed third.  Fifth and sixth grade participants are pictured from the left Mitchell Manning, Clarissa Mounce, who placed second, Kaitlyn Vavra, who placed third and Josie Kresak.

Exeter-Milligan Update: College Algebra

 

Mary Kay Pribyl's college algebra class at Exeter-Milligan is solving polynomial equations.  They have reviewed synthetic division and solving quadratic equations.  We have discussed factors and zeros of functions and how to use the factors and degree of the polynomial to find the multiplicity of each zero.  We have discovered what the graphs of polynomial functions look like and what to expect for the end behavior.  The class is showing the end behavior of a fifth degree polynomial with a negative leading coefficient.  Pictured are Kole Svec, Kiah Songster, Adrian Schoofs, Rebecca Krupicka, Casey Underwood, and Wes Ronne.

 

Exeter-Milligan Update: Speech Team Starts Season

 

After the first scheduled meet of the season was canceled due to weather, the Exeter-Milligan speech team opened their season on Saturday, January 29, at the MUDECAS conference meet held in Humboldt. About half the team's members competed at the meet. With only one returning team member from last season, the participants got a taste of competition in the first round. During the second round, all their performances were much stronger and more confident. In duet acting, Jozie Kanode and Morgan White finished just out of the medal round. Exeter-Milligan had one entry advance to finals. Troy Kallhoff finished fifth overall in extemporaneous speaking. The next competition for EM will be on February 12, when they travel to the Median Invite. 

 

Pictured from left to right are those who competed at the MUDECAS meet: Braden Capek, Morgan White, Jozie Kanode, Kmila Benitez, Troy Kallhoff.

Exeter-Milligan Girls Miss State Berth

 

Exeter-Milligan girls fell in the district match-up against #3 St. Mary’s 56-32.  The team is pictured with their district runner-up plaque.  Front row from the left are Emma Olsen, Maddie Luzum and Cameran Jansky.  Middle row from the left are Jozie Kanode, Jasmine Turrubiates, and Olivea Swanson.  Back row from the left are assistant coach Sara Pella, Emma Meyer, Lily Jeffries, Malorie Staskal, Kierra Papik, Taylor Pribyl, Savana Krupicka and head coach Jackson Krejci.