Dani Boerner, 17, arrived in Dixon on Saturday, June 30, 1996 to brief Dixon Sister Cities Committee members on a potential Sister City, Herzberg, Germany.

By: Telegraph staff writers (from the 07/01/96 issue of the Dixon Telegraph Newspaper)

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Her name is Dani Boerner (pronounced like burner) and she attends high school in Herzberg, Germany. She arrived in Dixon on Saturday to brief Dixon Sister Cities committee members on a potential Sister City, Herzberg (pronounced Hatsburg), Germany. She was the guest of honor at a reception Sunday at the home of Don and Pat Snodgrass of Grand Detour.

Dani is 17 - "and a half' - she added jokingly. She has spent the past year in Topeka, Kansas., as an exchange student. Although she graduated from Topeka High, she still must take two more years of high school after she returns to her native country on July 11.

Herzberg is about 90 miles southwest of Berlin and Dani lives in Ahlsdorf, which is about 20 minutes from Herzberg. Herzberg has a population of just over 9,000 and is surrounded by a number of small villages whose students attend Herzberg High School. Adding in the population of these small towns, Herzberg 's population is about 15,000. Herzberg is mainly an agricultural area in the former East Germany. The main crop is wheat, although some corn is grown, Dani said. The community was founded in 1184. There is also some industry.

Her father works in a small factory making roofing products. When the Berlin Wall fell, her father was a pilot in the East German Air Force. At 38, he was no longer needed in the unified Germany's air force and had to go back to school to learn a new trade. Her mother supported the family during this period. She is a dentist. Dani also has an older sister who is 22. She works in a bank and lives at home.

Dani is a sports enthusiast, concentrating mainly on the shot put. Her personal best is 36 feet, 1.5 inches with a four kilogram shot put (about 9 pounds). She went through regional meets at Topeka, before losing out at the state level.

After her graduation in Germany, she would like to attend a university or go to a college in the United States if she can get a scholarship.

While she appears to be a typical teen, Dani does not care for carbonated drinks or hamburger. "It's too much meat at one time," she said.

Dani's return to Germany will be bittersweet. To prepare her for the culture shock of returning home, Dani and two other German AFS students will get together in Iowa on July 8 for several days of discussions before leaving Chicago on July11.

The only time she really felt homesick was at Christmas, Dani said.

She admits to being disillusioned with the fall of the Berlin Wall, because promised changes for the better have been slow in coming. She said there is a lot of unemployment.

Dani is hopeful the Dixon Sister Cities Association will hook up with Herzberg. She will attend tonight's Dixon City Council session and will receive a letter from Mayor Donald Sheets to take to his Herzberg counterpart, Burgermeister Michael Oecknigk, to determine if there is any interest in developing a Sister Cities relationship.