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News Briefs: Stay Up-To-Date On DHS Renovation
School Expansion Featured On Web Site: Area residents and DHS graduates across the country can now stay up-to-date on the Dorchester Public School renovation as the work is being completed. Updated photos from the construction site are featured on the Web site of Ayars & Ayars, Inc. -- the company in charge of the building project. According to the Web site, "Ayars & Ayars, Inc. latest tilt-up concrete project is also one of the first schools in Nebraska to be built using the design/build project delivery method." Due to the below-average temperatures and harsh winter conditions, the 33,500 square foot project is behind about three weeks, according to last week's Dorchester School Board minutes. Construction managers hope to gain ground when the weather improves.
- Mitch Kubicek Named New K-12 Principal: In other Dorchester School news, Dorchester School Board members have hired Mitch Kubicek as K-12 principal for the 2008-09 school year. Kubicek was given a one-year contract after a unanimous board vote of 6-0. Kubicek will replace of Brian Redinger, who will become superintendent of schools next school year, when current Superintendent Don Pieper retires. The board also accepted the resignation of Josh Vacek. Next school board meeting is March 10 at 7:30 p.m.
- Dorchester East Side Bar For Sale: Thanks to a Times' reader, we have been alerted that the owners of the former R-Lounge have placed a longtime piece of Dorchester history for sale on an Internet site. The 24-foot solid walnut bar and its mirrored back bar with lights have been the centerpiece of the East Side Tavern, Last Call, the Longhorn Saloon and Pit Stop Bar & Grill -- all precursors to R-Lounge. The hand carved bar is estimated to be 125-150 years old, and was imported from Europe. Asking price: $25,000. At last check, the building was still for sale, as well, with a listing of $85,000.
- A Little Dorchester History Everywhere: It's amazing to see relics from Dorchester's past can appear almost anywhere. A recent Internet search uncovered this Portland, Oregon antiques dealer who was selling a 19th century farmhouse screen door from Dorchester. The same site showed "a salvaged mantel from a Dorchester farmstead." It makes us wonder what other valuable bits of history remain in our area's abandoned farmhouses -- and who might be rummaging through them?
Here is my modest suggestion to the good folks at DACA. How about soliciting investments for the east side bar? Like the people in Stratton did? I'll bet in that a year's time, you could have enough to buy the place and establish a community run coffee shop/bakery/smoothie bar/game room/arcade/shake shop. Profits could be made to sustain DACA projects as well. A family focused establishment would go over a lot better here than the oil wrestling that took place when it was the R LOUNGE. What a joke that was. It would certainly be nice to have somewhere to go downtown that doesn't have cigarette smoke! The choice is up to us --- look at empty buildings or pitch in for the greater good.
ReplyDeleteIn reference to antique articles from Dorchester being for sale on the internet, my parents moved from the farm into Dorchester in the 1960's. About 2 weeks later, someone took a beautiful carved door with a lead glass window off the house. Wonder where it ended up?
ReplyDeleteI think its a great suggestion. The youth need a place where they are welcome and are among respective community dwellers. Setting good examples produces others who will set good examples.
ReplyDeleteAmmazing, two people that think alike. I was going to say exactly
ReplyDeletewhat anonymous said. My family does not eat in Dorchester because we are allergic to cigarette smoke
( and non family friendly activities such as oil wrestling ).
So we eat elsewhere. I wish I would win the powerball so I could afford to open a family and kid friendly place to go, but so far I have not. If I were to buy the R lounge, I would want the bar that is there. Hopefully no one from California buys it to put in their house. What a shame.
If that bar goes I go................
ReplyDeleteI've heard good things about the new school principal, and I look foreward to meeting him.
ReplyDeleteSince we're on the topic, I urge the School Board to pass a resolution strongly encouraging all school faculty members to live in Dorchester or the surrounding countryside. It seems resonable to me that if we're going to pay the salaries of teachers and others that they at least live in the school district. Just a thought.
Hey Bob:
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice thought about encouraging teachers to live in town or in the country near town. But it isn't a fair thing to ask an individual to do. It is very difficult for a teacher to live in a small town like Dorchester. A teacher is more likely to be judged for what they do, where they do it and when they come home at night. As a teacher, I can be anonymous and blend in with the neighbors if I live in a different community. You may think this isn't true in Dorchester or any small town like this - think again.
Bob,
ReplyDeleteThe fact is the town couldn't house all of the school's employees. There is a serious lack of housing, not to mention a lack of quality. Perhaps we wouldn't need to pressure school employees to live here if the village board would get with the program and develop the community. Then teachers may consider building a home. I'm bettin many teachers would like to live in the town they work, but we have to give them some attractive options. VILLAGE BOARD, LET'S GO!! THE PEOPLE HERE DESERVE BETTER.
Just look at how critical everyone is about the teachers now. If they were forced to live in the district, how could they live "their" lives. Everyone needs to let their hair down sometimes, and that would not be possible in a small community like ours. There is always someone watching to see if someone does something wrong. We need to hold our kids to a higher standard and just let our teachers do their job. Let's start holding our kids accountable for their actions, not the teachers or the parents.
ReplyDeleteLooks like someone failed Logic 101. If we are going "hold our students to a high standard," then we must hold our teachers to a high standard. That's exactly why they should live in town. Shouldn't teachers lead by example? Isn't that their job? How can we expect our young students to observe and learn from their mentors if the teachers aren't in the proximity? That doesn't mean they can't venture to Lincoln or nearby communities during their weekends or evenings.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the comments that we need to do more to encourage new and better housing, I completely agree.
I wish everyone would quit complaing about our town. If you look back in some of these articles, our town had alot of business, we had almost 1000 people, that lived here. The businesses, is what keep the city growing. The new school will help us grow I hope, but we dont have enough businesses to keep the town, growing. We have done alot with our parks, and I do think that things are getting better, I just wished that our towns old buildings were use for something, or cover them up with blinds or something so that when people drive by they dont look like crap. If we cant bring more people in town, how do you expect teachers to what to live here. Plus, it is a person or teachers choice not to live, or live here. Its called the american way, freedom. Instead of fighting about something so small, lets try to make everyone more involved with the town, its not so hard, but hard to start. Maybe if more people were involved, we could get more grants, that would help us get the town moving. If Dorchester could just get a new business, in town, I think you would see the town, really start to move, but where do you start. I challenge someone to get the ball rolling.
ReplyDeleteits funny.........in the comments about the teachers and the students, there was one group left out...........PARENTS.
ReplyDeleteIt is their job to teach their kids what is right and what is wrong.
Go check out the down list at the school. Over half of the students in grades 7-12 were on the list. And Saturday school, last week their were 32 kids who were in saturday school..........
We build a new school, but the results are not good. If this was a business it would have been shut down a long time ago.
This comment can be attached to any one of the subjects brought up for discussion on the blog. Quit being negative and bashing everything. I haven't seen a single item discussed that hasn't been attacked by the negative. If people would spend half their energy focusing and talking about the possibilities, what if..., how about..., if we..., our community would improve. Positive attitudes make better neighbors and better communities. Think about what you could do to help. Just one little bit of encouragement, just a couple minutes to pick up trash, give a little to the community you call home. We can make a difference and make a better Dorchester!
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame, that the people who owned the bar, are destroying it, by sell everything bit, by bit. It will new be used for anything, they might as well tear it down. Why would you put so much money into it, to just completely distroy it. I wished the bank that loaned them the money would of found out about it. Maybe this wouldnt of happen. It just a shame they didnt think of this, maybe if they were from dorchester, it might of made of difference.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the "anonymous" referencing the statistics of attendance of Saturday School...
ReplyDeleteI've heard estimates of around 40 a week have been in attendance on a regular basis. Out of 122 students? Does this seem excessive to anyone but myself?
To parents thinking about allowing their children to transfer to Dorchester, it may appear that the school is having difficulty in educating the students they have.
In addition, if the parents have to pay for transporting their student six days a week, to and from school, the cost of gas may be another issue to consider.
These are just some observations from an outsider.
Observation from outsider ought to look in the mirror if they are a parent. The Saturday school isn't just grades. It is attendance. Which goes back to parents and how you raise your children. The school systems have had to change just like parenting has. We can't use the same methods to control children as when I was raised. This is a shame! A spanking never made me a bad person. It taught me respect. Now children have a lot less respect for parents and teachers. If one of my parents or a teacher told me something when I was growing up I listened. Not these days
ReplyDeleteTo anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI agree that discipline and respect are important. But I've heard the academic failure list has had up to 70 students on it in a week! That is not just an attendance issue, that's a serious education concern.
There have never been 70 students on the failing list! Saturday School does include academics, attendance, and credit recovery. If there are more than 30 students in attendance it is broken up into 2 groups. Many teachers offer additional help before and after school and numerous other services; however, few students take advantage of these. Are these students failing because of not understanding the material or missing assignments and lack of effort? When I was growing up, had I received a Saturday School I would have rather been there than at home from the additional trouble I would have been in when I got home. That is not the case anymore. To dpa administrator: If the students looking to transfer to Dorchester are worried about having to attend school on Saturday before they even begin at Dorchester, maybe they could just stay where they are. Rarely, if ever, are the students who follow the rules, complete assignments and put forth effort on the down's list. These are the students we want to attract to our school!!
ReplyDeleteDPA Administrator - So you are an outsider, who just happens to be the administrator for the Dorchester Parents Association blog. Interesting...None the less the quality of your information on your blog and the comments you leave on this blog do certainly label you an outsider. What planet are you from? Because we could use some aliens here. It sure would make it easier for us to put our heads in the sand and ignore what the actions of a few students are doing to our school. However, outsiders cannot run for the school board, which is in dire need of your services.
ReplyDeleteAll sarcasm aside, based on the comments you leave here and those you publish on your own blog (Dorchester Parents Association) I'll bet money that you are a disgruntled parent of a student who has earned some consequences at school. And you are probably running for the school board. Just what we need on our board, a parent who will not take responsibility for their own house, but instead blames anyone else they can.
Finally, maybe we should talk about the successful students at school and the things they have in common. I'll bet you their parents don't spend all their time putting together a blog to tear down their school and community.
Quit being a victim and get about the business of living a life where real people take "full" responsibility for their own actions.
Too bad you won't publish these comments on your blog.
YOU MIGHT BE A REDNECK IF:
ReplyDeleteIf you can't afford an attorney, can't get published on the local blog, so you start a blog of your own.
Just an outsider's opinion.
DGA (Dorchester Geriatric Association)
You would lose your bet. I am not a disgruntled parent, just one that is concerned about school and some of the things going on there. I am not running for the school board, although I admire the individuals who are willing to donate their time to support the kids and community in this fashion. And I don’t blame anyone for anything. I just realize that kids don’t always make the best decisions, and that there are better ways to change their behavior rather than “shoot from the hip” and take the most extreme measure first.
ReplyDeleteI am an outsider, in that I was not born and raised in Dorchester. I hope that clarify's for you the context of the word that I chose to use. Finally, why would I post these comments on my blog when they are already posted to another? The beauty of a blog is that everyone has the choice to read them or not
And to the last poster, most “rednecks” that I’ve met are the hardest working, most honest people I know. They would be the ones most willing to pitch in and help others. It is the individuals who feel that their perceived power, name, or income give them more rights than anyone else that I watch out for.
And as for an attorney, I have never had the need for one, although several of my friends do practice law.
Wow!
ReplyDeleteThere is so much ENERGY in these comments(by the way, energy is a good thing if properly directed).......I hope and pray that we can use this towards resolving and improving our school. We ALL want the best for our school, community, AND children. Therefore, we all have the same common goal here!.... Again....WOW! Let's move foward as a united group.........what a difference we can & would make by doing so. We have (with the new school) an opportunity that most small towns/schools only dream about. Maybe we can start addressing problems directly, keeping in mind we REALLY NEED to work together as a group, non-aggresively and towards our common goal. I challenge everyone to start by posting helpful, problem solving comments, suggetions, & ideas. We have a lot of wonderful parents, faculty, & KIDS! We can accomplish GREAT THINGS with all of this passion (& talent)! I have no problem leaving my name here. Please consider doing the same!
Kelli Burkey/kkburkey@gmail.com