Wednesday, September 2, 2009

OPEN FORUM: September 2009

New month, new open forum for Times readers. Once again, we are providing an open forum for area residents who want to say something, report something, or ask a question -- on any issue. Any topic is fair game, although the Times' comment policy still applies (see the bottom of the left-hand column).

Earlier this year, Times readers voted overwhelmingly (75% to 25%) in opposition to our decision to limit remarks following stories.

The Dorchester Times' Web site averages about 235 hits a day, according to an independent tracking service. That means the Times is the perfect forum to air your thoughts, news tips, announcements, complaints and concerns -- on any issue.

So go ahead and sound off. We are listening. And so are hundreds of others.

48 comments:

  1. I hear the politicos in the White House want all U.S. schools to air a broadcast of Obama talking to school kids on Sept. 8. Are you kidding me?!

    Does Dorchester school plan to partake in this liberal brainwashing? Sounds straight out of the old Soviet Union. Uncle Stalin would be so proud.

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  2. A Salt Lake City, UT newspaper is saying...

    A school principal has apologized for showing a video at an assembly that a politically conservative group leader is calling "radical, leftist propaganda."

    Children at Eagle Bay Elementary School in Farmington were shown a short video called "I pledge" on Aug. 28. The video opens with an image of President Barack Obama and features celebrities making pledges about how they will help the president and the world.

    Many pledges, such as supporting local food banks, smiling more, and caring for the elderly are noncontroversial. But other pledges, such as "to never give anyone the finger when I'm driving again," "to sell my obnoxious car and buy a hybrid" and to advance stem cell research cross the line, some say.

    "Showing the video in a public school is completely inappropriate," said Jennifer Cieslewicz, whose daughter is a first-grader at the school. "I don't believe a video such as this that promotes certain values should be shown to elementary students, especially without parents being aware."

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  3. I read in the crete newspaper that crime statistics for the area from shows an increase in crimes greater than in previous years. Crete numbers for total crimes went from 206 in 2007 to 252 in 2008. Crete had the highest number of reported crimes when compared to 12 other cities of similar size in Nebraska. Is farmland helping to pay the law enforcement bill?

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  4. Is anyone collecting money for new dugouts on the ball field???

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  5. Bob,

    Do you have a breakdown of the Crete crime statistics by race, gender,ethnicity, etc.?

    This will help your "cause and effect" case.

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  6. Lets not only figure in farmland. There are many things that go into that bowl to get the problems Crete has. 1. high numbers of immigrants 2. only wet campus in the state 3. Crete doesn't have a religious college like some of the other towns have 4. Crete is already short police officers and the city wants to cut more 5. Crete has more low income housing them most of those towns. I know that it is very easy to blame the problems on just hispanics. Believe me I would love to blame it on them, but reality is that isn't the whole problem.

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  7. Lets not only figure in farmland. There are many things that go into that bowl to get the problems Crete has. 1. high numbers of immigrants 2. only wet campus in the state 3. Crete doesn't have a religious college like some of the other towns have 4. Crete is already short police officers and the city wants to cut more 5. Crete has more low income housing them most of those towns. I know that it is very easy to blame the problems on just hispanics. Believe me I would love to blame it on them, but reality is that isn't the whole problem.

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  8. to bob

    what the heck, quit crying about who is paying the bills.

    If you own land you should have to pay taxes on it.

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  9. Phil, What do you mean Crete doesn't have a religious college??? Doane College is associated with United Church of Christ. It's no different than Wesleyan, Union College, and all the other colleges associated with a certain denomination. And the fact that it has a wet campus does not add to the crime rate, if anything it probably helps to decrease the crime rate. The college kids are going to party one way or another whether its a wet campus or not and whether its on campus or not. At least if they're on campus there's no driving involved. But that's just my opinion.

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  10. These cases are send into the state and they keep track of the numbers. Race, age, income, sex, and so on are not factors into this. I would like to refer any questions about this to chief hensel in crete. One thing I would have to say though is if the crime rate in crete is up. I am sure the crime rate in dorchester has gone up also.

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  11. Crime rate in Dorchester is almost non-existant. That is usually the case in smaller towns. Quality of life is better here.

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  12. pyrucNow that we are starting a new school year I certainly hope we can get back to teaching instead of handing out detentions for really silly rediculious nothings. Teachers please do your jobs and if you can not please quit. Our children depend on you to give them the tools they need to further their education.

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  13. Wanted to share something of deep concern.I took a group of ladies to Dorchester the other day and stopped at the city park to relax for a while when one of the ladies needed to use the restroom. How very very sad we can't offer a pubic restroom that is not filthy and totally gross. Why is this a problem? whos job is it to maintain clean restrooms?

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  14. Phil, where do I begin?

    First, how do you define religious college?

    According to the Doane catalog, the history of Doane College dates from 1857, when the General Association of Congregational Churches, in its first annual meeting in Fremont, Nebraska, resolved to lay the foundations of a literary institution of a high order in the state. Doane has maintained its relationship with the Congregational Church, now called the United Church of Christ (UCC). Doane serves as the representative institution for the Nebraska, Rocky Mountain, Kansas-Oklahoma, and South Dakota conferences of the
    UCC.

    Second, your statement that you would “love” to blame it on the Hispanics sounds like scapegoating. Without a demographic break down of the statistics, it is difficult to determine a cause for the crime increase.

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  15. Regarding comment about showing video of the President of the United States talking to school children------I wonder what the content is. If it is related to the importance of receiving an education (studying, being respectful of teachers and other students, getting the very best grades possible, etc.) I see nothing wrong with this. Folks,this is our President, voted in by the majority of the people, a man who has children of his own and who is devoted to education, what better person to set an example for our children. I do agree it should be previewed by the school board and teachers as it would be inappropriate to show any video that could be perceived as containing troublesome information to our children. What has happened to respect for others, including the man who we have voted in as the best person to lead our country? I don't necessarily agree with the policies of either Party, but I do think it is wrong to judge what could be a very positive video until one has reviewed it themself.

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  16. I was wondering what the general "feeling" was about how well the state takes care of the county roads....
    I think they do a fairly good job with what they have to work with

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  17. i would love to address the comment about the teachers.

    come on folks, someone has to discipline the students.

    the additudes and work ethic has changed so much in the last ten years.

    kids have no respect for teachers becasue their parents badmouth them when they get home.

    I bet the parents of the kids were the ones who caused problems when they were in school.

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  18. Bob,

    One of the things that the paper failed to mention. The city of Seward has the same amount of officers, a higher population and a lower crime rate than crete. I think the crete police need to start doing their jobs than complain about budget cuts, and making up their own reduction enforce policy, IT IS NOT UP TO THEM! It is up to the city council what gets cut. If people think that it is the hispanics causing all the crime propose there be an I.C.E. office in town.

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  19. Anonymous comment to Bob about farmland. I believe Bob was talking about Farmland Industries, not farmland as real estate.

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  20. As a parent of a Dorchester elementary student, I am hereby requesting that DORCHESTER SCHOOLS DO NOT AIR THE OBAMA INDOCTRINATION!!!!

    MSNBC...
    School districts across Texas are pondering whether they'll have their students watch a national address by President Barack Obama next week. Obama has asked school districts to carry the live webcast.

    Districts in North Texas have received complaints about the speech, and most are not broadcasting it to their students.

    "There appears to be a curriculum associated with the speech."

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  21. It appears poster “September 3, 2009 3:15 PM” is a kindred spirit. I also do not necessarily agree with either Party. I would prefer a European style system which features several parties. As for the President’s video, it will not be available for preview. The general public may watch the speech live on the White House web site or on C-SPAN. The speech will then be archived on both sites and available for viewing.

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  22. Phil, sorry to say that Doane was and is a religious college. I graduated from it in 72. It was Congregational then. As it being the only wet campus in Nebraska, not true. Creighon in Omaha is a wet campus. If students want to drink it doesn't make any difference if wet or dry campus. I really dislike all the things said about immigrants on this sight. I would like to ask you where did your ancestors come from. Everyone wants to better their life style. Yes, I agree in legal immigration. But don't like all the bad things said about immigrants. It is so easy to have a scapegoat to explain why things are bad, and not try to help fix it. Loved reading about Joe's Place, as grew up and graduated from DHS.

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  23. Anonymous (11:58)...

    PLEASE get off of your emotionally propped pedestal. Obviously we are all sons and daughters of immigrants; even the native americans emigrated here from somewhere else, despite the loony left propaganda you hear in public education today.

    Use a 5th grade level of logic and be open minded enough to see there's nothing healthy about 99% of a nation's new immigrants coming from ONE country unchecked.

    At least be willing to see that side of the arguement. Not everyone can get a piece of the pie. It's not the 1880s anymore. This is reality we're dealing with here.

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  24. Dear 90's Grad, if you read carefully I said I was for LEGAL IMMIGRATION.

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  25. We certainly live in a different era. In 1977, we watched Jimmy Carter's inauguration while in school. It was viewed as history, and a good social studies lesson. I don't recall there being any controversy.

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  26. Regarding the immigration question brought up repeatedly here, I would like to comment.

    Most of our ancestors came here to become US Citizens. Did they hold onto some of their customs, yes, but they went before a district court and swore allegiance to the United States of American, and:

    "renounced forever all allegiance to any Prince, Potentate, State or Sovereignty whatsoeveer, and particularly to ______________ of who he was hertofore a ________;"

    I quote directly from my ancestors nativization papers. Most of my ancestors filled the blanks with "Emperor of Austria" and "subject". One by "Emperor of Prussia" (this was after the 1866
    Prusso-Austrian War, he was obviously caught behind the wrong lines as he was Bohemian)and one "Queen Victoria". All of them said they were "subject". They knew what they leaving, and they saught the freedom that was clear under our form of government, which was based upon the Biblical ideal that rights come from God, and good governments protect those rights, bad government grant rights and privledges. (Read the works of John Locke if you question this.)

    I am frequently reminded of my first generation born great grandfather Anton Pavlish's admonition to his children who had friends who still spoke Czech. "We are Americans and we will speak English."

    It is one thing to hold to ones ancestry, and heritage, which I freely do, but our ancestors came here and assimilated as quickly as possible. Today, not only are some illegal immigrants coming here with no intent of assimilating, but even some legal immigrants are not assimilable.

    We may have reached a tipping point where our God Given Freedoms are in peril. IF the Constitition does not stand as intended, we all become vasal subjects just like most of my Bohemian ancestors who came here to get away from the Emperor of Austria.

    "But as for me, give me liberty, or give me death."

    JR Wolfe

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  27. I want to comment on a post about the teachers. To tell a teacher to quit is just plain ridiculous. Our students today are acting disrespectful to teachers today because there is no disicpline in the home of the student. Parents are to be responsible for a students behavior our teachers are not hired to babysit our kids, they are hired to to teach our kids the skills they will need in life. Just casue your kid got a detention for some little thing, doesn't mean a teacher needs to quit,it was probably enough to disrupt the class. detentions are part of the learning process for children. next time they know that if they do something stupid they will be disciplined for it.
    It's no wonder why people don't want to go into the teaching field anymore. Because of parents like you that put added pressure on them, always looking over their shoulder. If you want to come down on the teachers become one yourself and see how hard it is to control kids today. Any discipline acted on a student today usually results in a teacher loosing his or her job, because the parent didn't think his or her child didn't need to be punished. Parents need to start taking the blame for a students behavior, a students attitude and behavior starts in the home parents need to set an example for them.

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  28. This is not the first time the White House has gone into schools. Other past presidents have spoken directly to students but not without controversy.

    Ronald Reagan's 1986 high school graduation speech in North Carolina was televised to 171 other school districts, and President George H. W. Bush spoke to students on national television twice. Once was a 1989 anti-drug speech and another in 1991 on the importance of education.

    Bush's '91 speech at a Washington, DC junior high was carried live into classrooms by CNN and public television. Democrats called the speech "political advertising" paid for with tax dollars.

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  29. I think President Obama Is speaking to make to kids understand that a good paying jobs do not just fall into your lap but you must work very hard for it. The u.s. is falling behind in math and science which is a big part of many career fields. The president has worked very hard to rebuild the education system by spending $100 billion for school improvements. I think talk to the kids is a great idea, why didn't others do it before?

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  30. In Obama's speech he will tell our children how important education is to their future. He will discuss how important it is for children in school to remain in school. He will tell them to do their very best and not give up. He will tell them that what they make of their lives will determine the future of this country. The White House released his speech already. I'm guessing he wanted this speech addressed to every school so he couldn't be accused of singling out certain communities, races, etc. I don't think there is any harm in the broadcast, however it does make one think. With parents objecting, when will be the next time the government "OPENLY" address the people of this country to motivate us? Usually it's done so subtly we don't notice. We just go along for the ride. If it's done that way, it usually isn't for the "good of the people".

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  31. is there any word on the results of the football game Sept 4th, nothing has been posted.

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  32. To the poster above, have you paid your subscription? Oh, that's right, this website is FREE. Maybe you can send in your own report if you want it posted? Just a thought from an active community member.

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  33. Obama is just like any other politician. Promotes himself and his own agenda without doing any listening.

    Worst president since Carter!

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  34. Wow! Crete's budget problems have made the front page of the Lincoln JournalStar. Chief Hensel has some "interesting" comments about the increase in crime.

    http://www.journalstar.com

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  35. One of the posters had inquired: "What has happened to respect for others, including the man who we have voted in as the best person to lead our country?"

    Is public disrepect for the president new or did it begin many years ago?

    "In 1962, John F. Kennedy's name was booed in Dallas clasrooms. A full-page advertisement had appeared the day of the assassination in "The Dallas Morning News" accusing Kennedy of making a secret deal with the Communist Party."

    The above is from William Manchester's book, "The Death of a President."

    Manchester also wrote that children in a wealthy Dallas suburb burst into applause when they learned that Kennedy had been killed in their city.

    Please think twice about how your anger affects your children.

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  36. Members of 'move on.org' publically cheered when it was uncovered that there had been an assasination plot on president George W. Bush's life in the former USSR state of Georgia. The far left has been far worse in the modern era at attacking conservative politicians, due mostly to the encouragement from an agenda driven mainstream news media.

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  37. Bob Novak,

    Would you please cite your sources for the "moveon.org" incident or provide a link?

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  38. Skeptic, would you please show us your Socialist/Marxist Fan Club card and member i.d.? We know you have one.

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  39. That's what I thought!

    You cannot cite a source.

    The "real" Bob Novak would have been able to do so.

    He was a reporter's reporter.

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  40. I don't need to cite my sources, my good friend Byron York at National Review has done so. Like the man who peed in the wind, it's all coming back to you and your guy Obama now. As Byron noted in 2004...

    *Two videos entered in MoveOn's "Bush in 30 Seconds" contest compared the president to Adolf Hitler.

    * websites like Bushbodycount.com, which accuses the president and his family of involvement in "mysterious" deaths;

    * Fearbush.com and Takebackthemedia.com, which traffic in images of Bush in Nazi regalia; and Presidentmoron.com and Toostupidtobepresident.com, which portray the president as a drooling idiot.

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  41. The next time I see Byron, I will ask him if he knows an angry "child" in Dorchester, NE.

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  42. Your online poll asks what's the biggest advantage of living in Dorchester? How about this?

    IT ISN'T CRETE!

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  43. I just read in the Crete newspaper that there was a Czech Public School in Crete as late as 1939. I also read that Plymouth Congregational Church was known as the German Congregational Church. Does anyone have information on these two organizations? Was only Czech and German spoken at the school and church?

    Thank You

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  44. Shame on me!

    Substitute WAS with WERE.

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  45. Here is something to remember if you move back to the Midwest from California. This was posted on the blog for the Lincoln Journal/Star:

    "I was born and raised in Lincoln and moved back last year to raise my family. Affordable housing, good schools and a lower cost of living shaped our decision. That said, our biggest challenge was in finding good paying jobs that helped pay the bills. We got lucky and I found a decent paying job in my field, and we're enjoying the change from California living.

    Nebraskans complain too much about taxes. Go live elsewhere if perceived high taxes is your biggest complaint. Or go live in California and see what you get for your taxes? In Lincoln we pay property taxes and have a great school system that contines to expand to meet the needs of the city. In California they're closing schools, consolidating schools and laying off teachers because their tax structure cannot pay for new schools. We all make our choices. I'll pay reasonable taxes if I see a return. Here in Lincoln the value of a good education is evident. My kids love the schools here.

    We just need better paying jobs with better benefits. And more rights for employees."

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  46. Crete officials are scheduled to vote tonight on a budget compromise that would avoid shrinking the police force, shortening swimming pool hours and putting the library's accreditation at risk.

    The library is near and dear to my heart, I'm glad Crete was able to reach a compromise.

    http://www.journalstar.com

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  47. The effects of illegals drinking and driving. It is an epidemic!

    Copy and paste this in your browser to see a story from crete!

    http://cretenews.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=192:suv-goes-off-bridge-at-22nd-and-ivy&catid=10:local-news&Itemid=22

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  48. Why make an assumption until we know the legal status of the driver? For years now, legal residents have been doing a "good" job of drinking and driving.

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