Dorchester Times: Times' Readers Sound Off

Friday, May 4, 2007

Times' Readers Sound Off

The results are in!

This week, the Dorchester Times conducted its first-ever poll, asking readers: What one thing in Dorchester needs immediate improvement? More than 40 comments were received either on this Web site or at our private e-mail address regarding the April 29 post. Exactly 30 recommendations were submitted by Times readers. (***Note: Our e-mail address has changed to Dorchester.Times@gmail.com)

As promised, here are the results based on the recommendations from our readers. While this poll is very non-scientific, the results will be delivered to City Hall:

"Pave the streets" ......................... 40% (12 responses)

"Downtown makeover" .............. 20% (6 responses)

"Tow junk cars/Clean yards"...... 20% (6 responses)

"Fix water system" ...................... 6.7% (2 responses)

"Hire town cop" ......................... 3.3% (1 response)

"New ball field" .......................... 3.3% (1 response)

"Repair sidewalks" ...................... 3.3% (1 response)

"Fix electricity poles" ................ 3.3% (1 response)

12 comments:

AnonymousMay 4, 2007 at 12:33 PM
Very interesting.....shame the village board didn't conduct a survey like this years ago.
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AnonymousMay 4, 2007 at 12:46 PM
The Village Board members are our leaders & they need to lead. If they formulate a plan of action for themselves & the village employees & then follow & reevaluate that plan with new info at every board meeting positive changes will occur.Before paving is even considered if the land work & curbing is done & the streets maintained regularly this will improve the visual & show the Village Board has a plan & Dorchester a future. When it's time to pave, start at the business district & work out. The other issues, main street view, housing & economic development & community cleanup need to be intertwined in that master plan. This blog has created some excitement; let's use that in a positive way. Everyone needs to board 'The Dorchester has a Bright Future Train'.
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AnonymousMay 4, 2007 at 1:42 PM
Now we need someone to put these suggestions into action. Does anyone know which town board members are up for reelection???? It would be good to know their level of support for some of these projects. Do they have ideas of their own to raise money????
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AnonymousMay 4, 2007 at 2:46 PM
I was quite certain that the number one response for improving Dorchester would be paving the streets, and I agree. From what I hear, the main problem is that the Village Board is either against it or too afraid to speak up if they aren't against it. If people in a position to get something done sit back and say nothing, what will this accomplish? Maybe the board should have a chat with board members of other small towns that have paved streets. I'm sure they would be happy to tell how it has greatly improved the quality and look of the town. Now, how do we take this poll information and turn it into action? Will it even do any good to present it to the board?
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AnonymousMay 4, 2007 at 6:47 PM
Far from rich farmer.
I should have suggested that the town board give every farmer within 10mi of town a $1000 voucher to spend in town. I would have gotten a peice of the pie.
Town board elections are usually about finding anyone to just run. I'm sure if you want on the board they will put your name on the ballet. maybe a rich farmer will pay your filing fee!
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AnonymousMay 4, 2007 at 9:50 PM
Just a suggestion, but if our village board is not doing the job that they were elected to do---why don't some of the posters on this blog run? As I understand it, at the last election there were 3 open seats, 2 people filed to run for office which left 1 seat that no one ran to fill so it was an appointed seat or a write-in (whichever).

While I do agree that there could always be improvements made to ANY town, the $$$ for these projects doesn't just fall out of the trees. It has to come from somewhere--it comes from the homeowners that live INSIDE the city limits of Dorchester and I sure don't want my taxes to go any higher than they already are.
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Village DwellerMay 5, 2007 at 11:44 AM
We couldn't agree more with comment above regarding the need to follow good ideas with action. That includes running for office.

And while property taxes pay the bulk of the expenses for any economic development and improvements, we at the Times believe Dorchester could use a variety of methods to find needed funding, such as:

1.) Implementing a .5% city sales tax on non-grocery items, as larger towns do (including Crete and Friend).

2.) Continuing aggressive fundraising activity through community organizations such as DACA.

3.) Ensuring the town aggressively applies for economic development grants, such as the federal Community Block Development Grant or the state's Entrepreneurial Communities grant, which specifically targets efforts to retain young people.

There are options other than soaking our property owners or praying that money falls from the sky. And there are certainly better alternatives than being cynical and accepting the status quo.
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AnonymousMay 8, 2007 at 10:42 AM
hahahah hire a town cop.... that would be one of the most stupidest things you could ever spend are money on..... but i do think that paving the streets would make the town 100% better
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AnonymousMay 12, 2007 at 3:30 PM
I'm thinkin about goin around and gathering signitures to see if we can put a measure on the ballot like a town in Texas did. They allowed voters to decide on an ordinance prohibiting landlords from renting apartments to illegal immigrants. Better yet, how about a town ordinance that if you're in the country illegally and livin in our village, we'll write you up for trespassing every night you come home?
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AnonymousMay 14, 2007 at 10:13 AM
I will take the immigrant people who for the most part keep their places decent over a lot of "locals". Look around, most of the bad places are our own "white trash" people.
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AnonymousMay 15, 2007 at 3:25 PM
Maybe we should include "taking pride in your property" in the next vote. I don't live in a new or elaborate home, but hopefully some day I will be able to afford one. And I will still live in or around Dorchester. My point is, just because I don't have what I hopefully will in the future, I take pride in what I do have now.

Paved streets would be great if or when we get them, but guess what, I live outside of town on a gravel road that will always be gravel, and I still mow my lawn, dump my trash, fix things when they break, and do what landscaping I can.

Don't get me wrong, I think we should work on all of these improvments to better our town, but the pride should start at home!!!!
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AnonymousMay 19, 2007 at 6:53 PM
hey bob
lets see your name on the ballot next time.
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Village Dweller checks all reader comments to determine if they are appropriate for print.

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."