Dorchester Times: Times Issues Formal Reader Comment Policy

Monday, January 5, 2009

Times Issues Formal Reader Comment Policy

The new year brings new rules for reader comments at the Dorchester Times.

This Web site was designed to promoted and facilitate lively discussion and we want to keep it that way. We value the feedback from our readers and realize that most of the "news" generated by the Times is derived from the commentary after every post. But even here in the "blogosphere", it is important to have boundaries.

Since the Times first went online in April 2007, we have published the vast majority of comments submitted by our readers, unless they contained personal attacks, profanity or contained blatant factual errors. A few were not published because they were incredibly off subject or were direct comments to the Times staff.

As the Times' readership has grown, we feel we owe readers a more formal comment policy.

Since this Web site will still publish almost every comment submitted by readers, let us clearly state what type of comments that will not be posted, as established by the nine staff members of the Times:

Comments containing personal attacks. (Constructive criticism of decisions by public figures, including elected officials or members of the media, will be permitted as long as done tastefully, without libel or "unverifiable hearsay.")

Posts using racial, ethnic or religious slurs; or obscenity or profanity (including expletives with dashes/symbols).

Abusive, threatening or inappropriate remarks.

Incoherent communications.

Spam and unsolicited advertisements.

Posts with absolutely no connections to the topic of the Times story.
Comments intended for the Times staff.

We welcome strong opinions and criticism of this blog. However, we do not want comments to become bogged down with discussion of the Dorchester Times, so we will moderate accordingly. (We plan to offer an "open forum" from time to time, so readers may leave comments pertaining to any issues weighing on their mind.)

Also, if you wish to receive a direct response from the Dorchester Times, please e-mail us at dorchester.times@gmail.com. We will not and cannot always respond to blog comments.

It should be noted that all comments on this blog are the responsibility of the commenter, not the Times staff or its editors. By submitting a comment to the Dorchester Times, you agree that the comment content is your own.

In early 2007, we wrote that the success of this Web site would be determined by our readers. We still maintain that philosophy. It is our goal to continue to provide substantive reader commentary for area residents and others with Dorchester ties. By posting our criteria for reader submissions, Times readers can be assured of a healthy exchange of intelligent and informed ideas that will better our community.

We hope to hear from all our readers -- and often -- in 2009.

1 comment:

AnonymousJanuary 30, 2009 at 7:53 PM
The owner(s) of those buildings that have been abanonded must belong to someone. As such it is
their responsibility to tear down
and remove the debris. If they refuse then a lien should be placed
against the property and when sold
as part of the estate at time of death the village of Dorchester
would receive some money. Surely, taxes are being paid on these
properties by someone. If not then once again a lien is placed on the property.
When the owner or next of kin realizes they have a losing situation then and only then will
the problem be resolved.
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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."