Dorchester Times: News Briefs: DHS' Lawver Takes Sixth At State

Sunday, May 18, 2008

News Briefs: DHS' Lawver Takes Sixth At State

DHS' Lawver Takes Sixth At State: DHS standout Karmen Lawver finished sixth in the discus competition at this weekend's Nebraska State Track & Field Meet in Omaha. The Longhorn sophomore finished her state performance with a toss of 109-5. The gold in the Class D discus event went to Sadie Waugh, Paxton, who threw 127-1. Lawver also competed in the shot put at at the state meet. She finished the regular track & field season in Class D's No. 5 spot for shot put with a top throw of 38-9, and in the No. 3 spot for the discus with a top toss of 120-9. DHS junior Jordan Inderlied also competed at the state meet in the 110 m hurdles. Our congratulations go to both athletes on a successful season. We look forward to seeing your performances again next season.

Times Mentioned In Journal Star: In Saturday's Lincoln Journal Star, LJS reporter Cara Pesek cites the Dorchester Times as one of the new alternative media sources sprouting across Nebraska. The article states: "In April 2007 in Dorchester, an anonymous blogger started 'The Dorchester Times,' an online collection of historical facts, calendar information, links to stories about Dorchester in other media and stories and editorials about Dorchester news events." For the record, the Times was started -- and is still maintained -- by our staff of nine Dorchester residents. Nonetheless, we are honored to be mentioned in this piece. As one of the journalists told the Journal Star, there is a demand for services such as the Dorchester Times -- and a niche that larger media outlets simply cannot fill. While we admit there is a steep learning curve in endeavors such as this, we are happy with the results of our community Web site some 13 months since its inception. We hope other Dorchester residents are, as well.
Feral Cats Takeover Towns: Today, the Omaha World-Herald reports on feral cats plaguing small towns in Nebraska and Iowa. "We've got hundreds of cats, but we don't know what to do," said the mayor of Sidney, Iowa. In Randolph, Iowa, the town has instituted a $5 bounty, or catch fee, for every live cat turned over to the mayor, who planned to find the cats homes or have them euthanized. The story mentions that feral cats largely are the result of irresponsible pet owners. That's not news. What is news is the estimate that two feral cats can produce more than 1,200 cats in two years, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. With more stray cats roaming Dorchester, we hope residents and pet owners will take steps now to insure Dorchester inherit its own army of feral felines.

4 comments:

AnonymousMay 20, 2008 at 9:00 AM
Its a good thing I don't live in town .................... cats are great for target practice ...........if the wander off your property they are fair game ...................
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AnonymousMay 21, 2008 at 12:13 AM
hey cynical dick....

you cant discharge a weapon within the limits of a village or a city.

Stay in the country......and make sure your sheep dont get out.
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AnonymousMay 21, 2008 at 2:53 PM
In reference to the article regarding the Dorchester Times, I read it every day, sometimes twice a day and enjoy it so much. Many thanks to all of you who developed and keep this site current. As I read it, I feel the pull of my roots which were stimulated to grow in this dear little town. Knowing how difficult it is to maintain such an informative blog site, hopefully you can keep it going. Through this site, we see a little history, a lot of current activities and much hope for the future. I think you will be surprised by the long term effects of the Dorchester Times. Perhaps some of us who read the articles will donate to the Community Foundation which will help improve our "home town" even more. Again, many, many thanks for this informative and stimulating site!! Hopefully the blog writers will focus on more positive comments in the future.
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AnonymousMay 21, 2008 at 6:06 PM
Thank you Dorchester Times for bringing us a story that has provoked a rollercoaster of emotions these past few days. It’s like graduation day itself, a time tinged with nostalgia and a yearning for a future yet unknown. For those of us who left the area, especially us old timers (class of 56!), there is a tendency to view things through the haze of sentimentality. This means discouraging what is viewed as negative comments and a yearning to hear what placates our memories of long ago. To the Dorchester Times, I would encourage you to continue printing those comments that are considered unpopular or even negative. Our town, county, and state will not move forward without vigorous discussion from all sides. To those who left the area, I would encourage you to be receptive to befriending former Dorchester residents and Nebraskans when they contact you with hopes of connecting with “homefolk.” Please do not forget the gracious hospitality taught to us by our parents. The late Lena Weber comes to mind. She always had time even though it may have not been expedient or convenient.

Good Luck!
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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."