Dorchester Times: NEWS BRIEFS: Saline County Cougar?

Sunday, May 31, 2009

NEWS BRIEFS: Saline County Cougar?

Mountain Lion Reported On Doane Campus: According to the Lincoln Journal Star, a Nebraska Game and Parks Commission official said a mountain lion could be in the Crete area. Early Thursday evening, a Crete resident reported seeing a cougar on the Doane College campus near a grass dumping site east of Hansen Hall. Doane contacted game and parks, which sent a conservation officer to investigate. The officer found no tracks definitively left by a big cat, but there were animal tracks in the area. There was no way of knowing whether the tracks were left by the same animal spotted Thursday evening, but officials say "it’s conceivable a mountain lion could be in the area." Any sightings of the big cats in the Dorchester area should be reported to the Saline County Sheriff's Office at (402) 821-2111. In the meantime, if you should have an unexpected run-in with a mountain lion, experts recommend trying to scare the cat by making a lot of noise and movement, including stretching out your arms, in hopes that the cougar will feel threatened and decide to leave the scene. The worst move you can make is running away. Running will "automatically make you look like prey and the cougar will give chase," according to GetOutdoorGear.com.

Lawver's Feats Featured In The Crete News: In case you missed it, the May 27 issue of The Crete News features a story on Dorchester's Karmen Lawver, who captured gold medals in both the shot put and discus events at last weekend's Nebraska State Track and Field Meet in Omaha. As the Times reported May 24, the Longhorn junior made history by becoming the first DHS athlete to win a gold medal at the state meet. Karmen took first place in the discus with a toss of 124' 6". In the shot put, Karmen earned the gold with a throw of 41' 7", beating the second place participant by nearly two feet. The photo accompanying this brief is by The Crete News' B.J. Fictum. (FLASHBACK: In May 2007, Lawver placed 16th in the Class D discus event at the State Track & Field Meet. In the hours after her performance, Dorchester track coach Joshua Vacek told The Crete News that Lawver has "all the attributes a state champion needs" and that "she will win the girls state discuss before she is done here" at Dorchester. "I'd almost bet on it," Vacek said. Good call, Mr. Vacek.)

9 comments:

Vested CzechMay 31, 2009 at 9:16 AM
Was the mountain lion named "Mac Sack"?
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cynical richardMay 31, 2009 at 12:19 PM
i had an experience with a cougar when i was 15 ...................................... i'd do it again if the opportunity came along ..............................................................
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AnonymousMay 31, 2009 at 7:57 PM
Congratulations Karmen. What an awesome accomplishment. Your hard work paid off. You should be proud. Keep working hard and do it again next year.

Mr. Vacek
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AnonymousJune 1, 2009 at 4:47 PM
RIGHT, DWELLER! NEXT YOU WILL BE REPORTING THAT THE BIG FOOT HAS BEEN SPOTTED NEAR TURKEY CREEK AGAIN. HA! I'M STICKING WITH THE CRETE NEWS.
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AnonymousJune 1, 2009 at 9:50 PM
Hey Cynical Dick

the cougar you thought you had........was probably a big old beached whale

too much beer will to that to you
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AnonymousJune 3, 2009 at 2:18 PM
Karmen you deserve a lot of credit more than the cougar. Congrats, girl!
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AnonymousJune 3, 2009 at 10:38 PM
To Anonymous #5 -
You owe an apology to Karmen -- She deserves every pat on the back she's getting. Sounds like some jealousy there. Time to grow up.

Winning two gold medals at the state track meet is an awesome feat---and her award wasn't given to her...that took a lot of time and effort....she apparently is dedicated....and she's just a junior. Her parents should also be commended for their support.
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Village DwellerJune 4, 2009 at 9:14 AM
'Anonymous' (June 3, 10:38 PM):

An apology to our readers.

The comment you referred to was rejected, but still appeared without our knowledge.

It has been removed.
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AnonymousJune 22, 2009 at 2:14 PM
Great Job Karmen!!!! We are ALL proud of you!!! =]

FROM AUTUMN & RANELL!!
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Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."