Dorchester Times: Make That West Side Saloon, Incorporated

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Make That West Side Saloon, Incorporated

We were somewhat surprised to see a public notice regarding the incorporation of Dorchester's West Side Saloon.

Make that West Side Saloon, Inc.

According to a public notice dated Jan. 28, Sheryll Mead has formed a corporation of her West Side Saloon through the law firm of Hanson, Hroch & Kuntz in Crete. The general nature of the business will remain a "restaurant and liquor establishment."

The notice also mentions the business officially incorporated Jan. 8.

According to several legal sites, the single most important reason people use the corporate form of doing business is to safeguard the personal assets of the owners -- the shareholders (or stockholders) of the corporation. However, there are other benefits to incorporating, including protection of corporate identity; raising capital; and ensuring continuous life -- so that a business can survive its founders. On top of the federal corporate tax rate, Nebraska corporations must pay an additional 5.58 percent on their first $100,000 of taxable income and 7.81 percent on income over $100,000.

We have no additional details regarding the incorporation. But we realize the challenges that face small community business owners in current conditions, and we are are glad to see the West Side Saloon -- Incorporated -- has taken steps to remain a part of Dorchester's Main Street.

6 comments:

AnonymousFebruary 1, 2009 at 10:44 AM
Why not interview Sheryll?
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AnonymousFebruary 1, 2009 at 10:41 PM
she is gone, moved out of state with her husband.
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AnonymousFebruary 2, 2009 at 8:19 AM
word on the street is that the new manager is cutting hours and services.
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AnonymousFebruary 2, 2009 at 10:34 AM
Whatever it takes to survive I'm for it.
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AnonymousFebruary 2, 2009 at 3:58 PM
The federal corporate tax rate is only 15% on the first $50,000 of net income. The corporation can also elect to be an S corporation and then it doesn't pay any income tax itself, but the income is taxed to the owner(s) who pays tax at their individual tax rate.

Another advantage of incorporating is it easier to involve investors instead of through a partnership.
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AnonymousFebruary 2, 2009 at 7:03 PM
Who makes up the difference if the federal corporate tax rate is only 15% on the first $50,000 of net income?
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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."