Dorchester Times: Recognizing Dorchester's Latest Improvements

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Recognizing Dorchester's Latest Improvements

Since the Dorchester Times went online nearly 14 months ago, we have published numerous stories and reader comments regarding the areas of our community in need of improvement.

In one of our early posts, we took issue with an Associated Press reporter who painted a negative picture of our community's appearance. However, at the time, we said the story served as a good reminder that Dorchester must make improvements to enhance our public image. As we said back then, image does matter.

We wrote: "Public image is what attracts growth or expedites decline in a community ... Dorchester residents should strive for the town to be known for more than its grain elevator ... The legacy we leave for our children and grandchildren is up to us."

Some readers will recall that we even dedicated our first online poll to the subject of community improvement projects.

Well, there have been several changes in our small town over the past 14 months. And while much work is still needed, we would be remiss if we didn't acknowledge and recognize some of the recent enhancements.

The $4 million renovation and expansion of the Dorchester School campus has received the bulk of attention inside and outside of Dorchester. Rightfully so. But today, we pay tribute to those improvements that have been completed over the past year. Here are the top three, as we see them:

No. 3 - Main Street Electronic Marquee: Gone are the days of downtown Dorchester's baby-blue manual

marquee. A larger, orange-and-black electronic sign now graces Dorchester's Main Street median. Installed last spring, the electronic marquee displays the date, time and temperature, while also announcing upcoming town events and special messages, including birthday greetings to residents. The new marquee has not only added some extra livliness to Washington Avenue, it has served as an effective method of mass communication.

No. 2 - Main Street Building Upgrades: Over the past 12 months, we've noted several improvements to Main Street's buildings. The old Conner's Gifts & Roofing building -- damaged by fire in the early 1980s -- was re-sided, as was one of the west side buildings. City Hall is now graced with decorative plants. Sherryl's West Side Saloon has expanded north. And members of the Dorchester Area Community Association (DACA) have worked on displays in the building north of the Saline State Bank.

No. 1 - City Park Shelter & New Playground Equipment: Perhaps the most

notable improvement in Dorchester is the new City Park shelter and playground equipment. The new shelter was one of the first projects initiated by the Dorchester Area Community Foundation (DACF). Many area residents, former residents and DHS alumni have contributed to this project. The Foundation also received a $16,200 matching grant from the Nebraska Game and Parks. The improved and expanded play equipment area is also impressive. Again,

leaders with the DACF applied for and received a $5,000 grant on behalf of the Village of Dorchester for the new playground equipment. The Village Board agreed to match the $5,000 grant from the Kiewit Foundation board. Several volunteers contributed their time to install the playground equipment.

We salute the leaders and property owners of Dorchester who made all of the above improvements a reality. As a result of their service, dedication and efforts, our town is a better place to live. Thanks to them, our quality of life has jumped another notch.

We anxiously await the next round of improvements in Dorchester -- on public and private properties -- and encourage all residents to help in this collective endeavor.

8 comments:

AnonymousJune 9, 2008 at 11:07 AM
I agree with you that image does matter. When I first left Nebraska many years ago, I was shocked at my naïveté. “Our” image to the rest of the country was not the wholesome, friendly picture that I carried in my youthful mind. When I returned to Nebraska, it was difficult to persuade residents that the state’s image prevented it from moving forward. Right or wrong, the outside world does not view us as open and progressive. On a related note, will you be doing a follow-up article on the improvements that have occurred in within the past 14 months?
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AnonymousJune 9, 2008 at 11:33 AM
Thank you for the prompt follow-up.
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AnonymousJune 10, 2008 at 2:36 PM
Some people had asked a while back for a summary of what the new park shelter cost. The shelter itself was $36,200, sidewalk $1,670, picnic tables, trash receptacles & grills $6,460 & serving tables $670Of the total $45,000, the Game & Parks grant paid $16,000 & the Village covered the electricity of $1000. The remaining $28,000 was paid by the Dorchester Area Community Foundation through memorials & various fundraisers. The most successful fundraiser was the engraved brick project that brought in enough dollars to cover the remaining cost of the project.
The DACF would especially like to thank Kristi Nohavec who served as the project's architect (free of charge) for her long hours & hard work.
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AnonymousJune 11, 2008 at 12:27 PM
Dweller, I agree with your listing of improvements. Now can the city remove those ugly old tree stumps? Why would anyone keep those in the park? Isn't a park supposed to be visually pleasing?
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AnonymousJune 11, 2008 at 10:51 PM
Who owns the white building east of the electronic billboard?

It would make a good restaurant or coffee shop.
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AnonymousJune 24, 2008 at 10:48 PM
Handicapped ramp at Donna's Hair Creations new doors outside is Clean with flowers etc but nothing has ever been mentioned about this place this blogger is a hipocrite
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Village DwellerJune 25, 2008 at 9:18 AM
Linda:

We think you mean "hypocrite."
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AnonymousJuly 10, 2008 at 9:14 PM
Joyce Karl said.......
It hard to believe that Linda R wrote the article concerning Donna's Hair Creation and that Linda would misspell hypocrite. Have a feeling someone else wrote that article and signed Linda's name. If people can't sign their own name or at least sign it Anonymous, maybe they should refrain from responding. That being said, Donna's Hair Creations have made some nice improvements.
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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."