Bob Kasl Passes At 94; Services Set For Jan. 9

Dorchester farmer and civic leader Robert “Bob” Kasl, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Seward at the age of 94. 

He was born on March 9, 1931, in Dorchester to George F. Kasl, Sr. and Emma Rezabek. 

Funeral Services will be held Friday, Jan. 9, at 11 a.m. at Sokol Hall in Wilber. 

Visitation will be held on Thursday from 4 - 7 p.m. at Kuncl Funeral Home in Crete. 

Memorials have been designated to the Dorchester American Legion or to the Dorchester Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department. 

A more detailed obituary will be published soon. Read the online obituary.

Arrangements entrusted to Kuncl Funeral Home. 

Brandon Bruha, DHS Girls Basketball Team Win 'Citizens Of The Year' Award

The Dorchester Times proudly names coaches Brandon Bruha and Brent Zoubek and all the members of the 2024-2025 Dorchester High School girls basketball team as the Citizens of 2025. 

The team's efforts resulted in a 24-3 record, as the Lady Longhorns stormed through districts to reach the Class D-2 state championship game. It was the best state tournament run in school history -- for either girls or boys, in any sport -- and a moment that put Dorchester girls basketball on the map.

Head coach Brandon Bruha was named Nebraska's high school girls basketball coach of the year earlier in 2025, while assistant coach Brent Zoubek brought years of DHS experience to the team's leadership. Their blend of strategic coaching have helped the Lady Longhorns establish their own brand of basketball and gain notoriety throughout the state.

The 2024-25 Lady Longhorns were led by last year's seniors Gabrielle Theis, Baylor Behrens and Atley Zoubek, as well as a host of underclassmen. See the full lineup of Lady Longhorns from last season.

It takes a community working together to achieve a great quality of life. Endeavors like this not only make life in Dorchester and the surrounding area more enjoyable, they are often the centerpiece of our most relished memories, which make our young people want to come back and continue to be a part of our community.

Previous winners of the Dorchester Times' Citizen of the Year Award have been Greg Tyser and Lori Sip Cerny, the members of the Saline County Historical Society board, Dorchester's small business owners, splash pad donors, Brent Zoubek (solo), Greg Tyser (solo), Peg Bergmeyer, Penny Keller, Carol Olson, Dale Hayek, and Bill Velder. 

Honorable mentions submitted to the Times by staff members either this year or in previous years include (in no particular order): The members of the Dorchester Volunteer Fire Department, Dorchester Public School staff, Bret Cerny, Roger Miller, Judy Schweitzer, Tammie Lang, Bob and Marva Kasl, Daryl Schrunk, Andrea Pracheil, Julie and Joe Holly, Deanna Bird, Craig Bergmeyer, Amanda Cerny, Sarah Wenz, Tom Cerny, Nancy Tellez, Larry Kaspar, Phil and Bernice Weber, Lyle Weber, Donna Parks, Shelly and Rose Bruha, Todd Axline, Jason and Kathy Duhrkop, Mike Pracheil, George Kasl, Ben Haufle, Marv Kohout, Sarah Wenz, Matt Smith, Novak Auction Service, Don Eret, Steve Ottmann, Scott Pohl, Eric Stehlik, Joyce Karl, Adam Briggs, Rob Parks, John Bruha, Mark Bors, Joel Weber, LJ Barley, Mark Bartek, Allan Papik, Dan Nerud, Mike Nohavec, Brandon Bruha, Lisa and Kevin Veprovsky, Kelly Vyhnalek, Matt Shaw, and Sandy Rains.

Congratulations to our Times' Citizens of 2025.

It's Christmas Again In Small Town USA

The staff of the Dorchester Times wishes our readers and everyone else a Merry Christmas. 

Thank you for allowing us to come into your home and continue to be a part of the community. 

We are grateful for yet another wonderful year online. And we celebrate this special day by sharing with you the following poem, which reminds us of our little town.

A Small Town Christmas

by Linda Watson Owen

At last! Tomorrow is the day

When our little church has its Christmas play.

Girls and boys, men, women, too,

Will deliver lines in quaint costumes.

Shepherds and wisemen will walk the aisle

To center front then stop and smile.

'The King is born!' will be the story

Of the infant Babe Who came from glory.

Tiny tots with fluffy stuff

Will be the lambs and sweet cherubs.

A star will shine and candles glow

When we perform our Christmas show.

Grandmas will "Ooh!" and gramps will grin

To see their grandkids marching in.

"Away in a Manger" was never so good

As it will be tomorrow in our neighborhood.

Tomorrow is it. All the practice is done.

The music will rise as the story is sung.

And somewhere far deep in the depths of our souls,

The glory of Christmas rises. It flows.

Amid all the flurry of costume and pageant,

A holiness greater than we can imagine,

Will visit our church, settle into our hearts

For that is where Christmas, God's Gift, truly starts.

The love Jesus brought, the joy that He brings,

Is the melody every heart here truly sings.

Yes, tomorrow our evening of pageant will say,

"It's Christmas again in Small Town USA."

Looking Back: Dorchester Business' Christmas Ads, 1938

Eighty-seven years ago, in 1938, Dorchester's bustling business community was wishing village residents "seasons greetings" via ads in the local newspapers. 

One of those newspapers was The Dorchester Leader, printed from 1933 to 1941, and one of three newspapers that have been published in our community since the village's founding. (Note: The Dorchester Star and The Booster were the other town newspapers. Actually, there have been four Dorchester papers if you count the short-lived Saline County Express, published in Dorchester for a few months in 1893.)

Today, the Times is publishing a few of those 1938 Christmas ads. 

Let's step back in time for the Christmas ads that Dorchester residents were reading 87 years ago. (Click on each ad for a better view.)

Merry Christmas, Dorchester!

Remember The Christmas Blizzard Of 2009?

Christmas 2025 will likely bring sunny skies to Dorchester, with temperatures in the lower to mid-50s. 

But 16 years ago, on Dec. 26, 2009, it was a different story. The Dorchester Times reported:

Power has been knocked out in several homes in the area countryside and nearby communities, such as Milford. ... The Nebraska State Patrol has closed westbound Interstate 80 from Omaha to Lincoln and both directions of I-80 between Lincoln and Grand Island due to dangerous travel conditions.

Highway 6 is also closed and county roads are not being maintained. ... Snow and blowing snow with wind gusts as high as 41 mph have virtually closed many secondary highways in the central and eastern parts of the state. ... US Highway 6 is closed at Friend due to several jackknifed semis in town blocking all lanes. 

US Highway 81 has also been closed north and south about a mile south of Geneva due to an accident. Highway 74 in Saline County from Highway 15 west to the Saline-Fillmore county line is closed due to blowing, drifting snow. Travel is not allowed on this highway and is not encouraged on any county roads and highways within the county.

Yes, it was that bad. The Christmas blizzard of 2009 was one for the record books.

 

Not even Bing Crosby would have been happy.

Most eastern Nebraska residents had lost electricity during the storm. Highways were closed and rural residents were literally trapped in their homes as country roads were drifted shut.

Climatologists at UNL confirm that 2009's snowfall was the most snow ever recorded in the Dorchester area on Christmas. 

The Lincoln Journal Star reported that December 2009 was the area's snowiest December ever, with a total 23 inches on average. Half of that came on Christmas day.

The Christmas blizzard brought an estimated 11 inches of snow to Dorchester. 

The following pictures were taken in Dorchester in late December 2009, sent to us by Times readers. (Click on the pictures for a better view.)

Looking Back: The Holidays In Dorchester, 79 Years Ago

Christmas decorations on the third floor of the old school.

This time 79 years ago, World War II had recently concluded and America was experiencing the beginning of a new era of prosperity. And during the holidays in 1946, it was a busy time for several organizations in Dorchester.

The Dorchester Times examined Christmas-time issues of The Dorchester Star from December 1946. Here are some of the activities we found on the community calendar the week before Christmas:

• Dorchester Activities Club:  The Dorchester Activities Club, which met once a month, had 68 residents attend the December 1946 meeting to share a turkey dinner prepared by "the ladies" and then to hear from a guest speaker discuss the future of "atomic energy."

• American Legion: On Dec. 15, 1946, the Dorchester American Legion Post 264 held a trap shoot for the public at the J. Owen Potter farm. Pheasants were at "such a high premium" that year that it was decided shooting at clay pigeons made more sense than a hunt.  On Dec. 19, the Legion and Auxiliary held a Christmas covered dish supper for the community (just as they did this year).

• Dorchester Quilting Club:  The Quilting Club enjoyed a Christmas party at the home of Mrs. Lillie Arnold.

• Friendly Nabor Club:  The 20 members of the Friendly Nabor Project Club met at the home of Mrs. Sabina Potter on Dec. 11 for lunch and had a exchange of homemade gifts.  They announced the January meeting would be hosted by Mrs. Hans Weber and Mrs. Jay Younkin.

• Triple A Club:  Mrs. John Freeouf was hostess of the Triple A Club.  It was reported that "Miss Myrtle Briker was high at bridge."

• Dorchester Bridge Club:  The Bridge Club met Dec. 17, 1946, at the home of C.C. Whitcomb.

• Dorchester School:  Dorchester's fifth and sixth graders decorated their classrooms for Christmas with posters of Christmas scenes, as well as poinsettias and candles and a Christmas tree. Jack Bruha brought a new 1947 calendar for his classroom. In high school, the DHS Pep Club girls decorated the hallways and student assembly, and they "dressed a tree placed in the upper hall."

• Dorchester Library:  The Dorchester Public Library was open on Saturdays in December 1946 from 7-9 p.m. on Saturdays and from 2:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays.

• Methodist Church:  The Dorchester Methodist Church's young people went caroling around town on Dec. 21, 1946. The "Junior Department" of the UMC Sunday School held a pageant, titled "A Little Child," on Christmas Eve. The adult choir practiced on Dec. 19.

• L.M. Club:  The weekly L.M. Club (we don't know what L.M. stood for) met at the home of Mrs. William Sehnert, as Madames Earl Moser and Henry Andelt received traveling prizes.

• Women's Club:  The Dorchester Women's Club held their weekly meeting on the afternoon of Dec. 18 at the Community Hall.

These were just some of the holiday events we found taking place in Dorchester nearly 80 years ago.

NEWS ROUND-UP: A Waiting Game On Main Street

Waiting on the Future of Dorchester’s Downtown: City Slickers Bar and Grill -- loved by area residents for more than a dozen years -- has been closed since Aug. 1. The silence along Washington Avenue has grown louder due to the noticeable void in the local economy and social fabric. There have been rumors of financial troubles, including back-owed property taxes on multiple Main Street buildings. The community now wonders if these vital storefronts will remain stagnant or if a new chapter is on the horizon for the village’s main thoroughfare. For Dorchester to regain its momentum, the revival of these properties is essential. While the threat of a forced sale often looms in the background of financial hardship, a proactive move to list these buildings for sale could provide the spark the town needs. We hope new entrepreneurs or investors will soon be afforded a chance to give Dorchester's downtown new life.

DHS Girls Basketball Team Jumps to 5-0 Start: The 2025 Class D-2 state runner-up Dorchester Lady Longhorns basketball team has started the 2025-26 season on a five-consecutive-games winning streak. DHS has defeated Deshler, Meridian, High Plains Community, BDS, and Giltner/Harvard with a tough defense that has held most opponents to 36 points and under. Next up for the Lady Longhorns are road contests Dec. 18  at Osceola (3-1) and Dec. 23 at Elba (2-1). Here is a look at this year's team roster. 

DHS Boys Struggle Early: The 2025-26 DHS boys basketball team has struggled out of the gate, losing its first five games. Up next for the boys are road games Dec. 18 at Osceola (1-3) and Dec. 23 at Elba (0-3). See the boys' roster.

Village is Selling GMC Pumper Fire Truck: The Village of Dorchester is selling its 1990 GMC pumper fire truck. Its a top-kick model with 4,035 miles and 648.1 hours. It will be sold to the highest bidder. Call Village Hall at 402-946-3201 for questions or more details.

New Business in Rural Dorchester: Darin Nerud of rural Dorchester has formed Bartuff LLC. The general nature of the business, which is located at 562 County Rd. 1700, is to engage in and do any lawful act concerning any and all lawful business, other than banking and insurance, according to a public notice.