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There are three kinds of men ........................ the one that learns by reading ...................... the few who learn by observation ............................. the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves........................
ReplyDeleteI read recently that a majority of those who voted in a recent Times poll supported providing property tax incentives for businesses buying Main Street buildings.
ReplyDeleteI would advise attaching conditions to any tax breaks given to businesses. You could be left holding the bag like Sidney, NE. Cabela's demanded huge tax breaks and then left the city in a difficult position when they eliminated middle-class jobs at headquarters. People were replaced by computers. In 2005, 200
homes were for sale. Most former employees had to relocate as it is difficult to find work in Sidney. Yet, they could not sell their homes.
Here is another good example: "Millions Spent Luring Dell to NC Can't be Recouped"
http://www.forbes.com/
feeds/ap/2009/10/09/
business-technology-
hardware-amp-equipment-
nc-dell-plant-
closure_6987096.html
Don't forget the 4th kind of man; those who don't have fences.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that the village has the same problems and we are discussing the same issues that have been on here since the blog started.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the new blood on the board?
Are we getting anything done?
Tech Writer:
ReplyDeleteWhen were you last in Sidney? Just curious, because I am out there about once every month. Without Cabela's Sidney and Cheyenne County would be a dried up and blowing away like a tumble weed. It's always easy to blame big business for everything, like the snow, disease, war, etc.
It's time to get the ball rolling, boys and girls. Be tough, be agressive ... you're in office to get things done and improve life for the greater lot, not to win a homecoming popularity contest.
ReplyDeletewe need a sports reporter.
ReplyDeleteI have a BIG question for town leaders.
ReplyDeleteThe Nebraska Department of Economic Development has awarded a combined $73,500 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to Lexington, Plattsmouth and Scribner to complete the Phase I portion of downtown revitalization projects. The CDBG Downtown Revitalization Category is open to incorporated Nebraska municipalities of populations 20,000 or less, having earned designations as Economic Development Certified Communities and having already adopted comprehensive plans, zoning and subdivision ordinances, building codes, code enforcement, and building permit processes.
My question is WHY DON'T WE IN DORCHESTER APPLY TO BE A ECON. DEVELOPMENT CERTIFIED COMMUNITY SO WE CAN HAVE A SHOT A THESE GRANTS? Last I checked, we still must pay income & sales tax to the state, regardless.
I sent a reply earlier, but unfortunately it was not posted. I was in Sidney from 2002 to 2005. I just received an email from a Cabela's colleague. He is helping to set up an offshore computer testing team.
ReplyDeleteApologies to all parties. I posted on the wrong story! Here is the correct response to blogger "November 4, 2009 8:57 AM."
ReplyDeleteI was in Sidney from 2002 to 2005. You are correct in stating that Cabela’s is a large presence in Sidney and Western Nebraska. No one wants to return to the days when the Sioux Army Depot closed in the 1960’s, and the downtown area went into decline. However, I would urge government officials and taxpayers to carefully weigh the benefits of business tax breaks to ensure that everyone wins. In other words, analyze the situation just as any good and ETHICAL business person would do. On a related note, I believe the moral compass of the company changed when the Cabela family stepped down from running the day-to-day operations. They had a philosophy similar to that of the Petersen family of DeWitt. Dick Cabela once stated that it was an honor to locate his business in the panhandle and employ area residents. Dick, Mary, and Jim were “old school”, and their leadership is missed in today’s world.
Most of these grants require mathcing funds from the community.
ReplyDeleteCan out town withstand a millior dollar (or more) bill at this time.
I have noticed at least two articles which specifally names or describes individuals in this community as property that need to be cleaned up.
ReplyDeleteIsnt this against your policy, or has it changed.
If it has, I have some people I want to talk about.
THANK YOU FOR FIXING THE ROADS!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK
ReplyDeleteHaving visited Dorchester a couple of weeks ago, I really don't see a 'blight' problem. A few homes maybe need repairs but a relative few. The economy doesn't help.
ReplyDeleteIf I lived in Dorchester, I'd be reluctant to create new laws and the unintended consequences that would surely follow.
I thought Dorchester looked nice and was a quiet place to live. (Except for the railroad switching cars in the middle of the night! Sounded like an empty stock tank rolling down a rocky hill.)
I live in Los Angeles, You wanna see blight....
At least LA has paved streets.
ReplyDeletePaved streets with potholes....
ReplyDeleteAre we still having water problems ??? Does any one know what is in the water, or how long we can expect to have to boil our water ???? Since it took us so long to find out there was a problem, I don't want to be boiling water for a week after it's "all clear"..... ??????
ReplyDeleteGreat repair work on the streets, nice work Ed and Marvin.
ReplyDeleteGreat repair, the streets are still like driving on a wash board. With paved streets this would not be an issue.
ReplyDeleteDorchester's main street was paved in the Great Depression, when government was throwing around money in hopes to keep people working.
ReplyDeleteWhy in the world isn't our community looking to get our most traveled streets paved today as we are experiencing the next Great Depression and the federal government is again tossing out money?
Why would anyone want to move to our community when they can drive 12 miles in each direction and find towns with paved streets, clean yards, and a swimming pool for the kids.
ReplyDeleteyou can't tell me our paved streets are from the depression. pavement don't last that long without having to repave. but yeah, lets get the town paved. i'm all for it. and yes, the water is good to go, any ways thats what the marque said monday
ReplyDelete"Why would anyone want to live in Dorchester?," asks anonymous (12:13). Let's count the reasons...
ReplyDelete1.) Better school.
2.) No illegal immigrant mobs with gang members roaming the streets at night.
3.) Better sense of "community" than most towns.
4.) We're just the right size.
5.) We're perfect distance from Lincoln and Seward, towns with real growth potential.
6.) We aren't insulated like certain towns to our west and south. We welcome new blood.
7.) Compare our alumni base to any other area school's. Unmatched loyalty.
8.) Our elevator owns your elevator, which is the hub of commerce for all rural NE towns.
I agree there are good reasons to live in Dorchester but I would also 'love' paved streets. It is so 'behind the times' to have to drive on dirt/gravel streets with the dust/mud/holes that come with them, let's move into 'today' and pave the streets.
ReplyDeleteCynical Richard for President
ReplyDeleteI guess putting things off will make them cheaper. "NOT" Things are not getting cheaper so lets do the work now before it triples in price. Thats why the school made a good move not to wait. The village needs to follow suit. If there is a will there is a way.
ReplyDeletehahahaha Didn't you know the water was fixed?? Great communication from our lovely city department.
ReplyDeletedick got my vote
ReplyDeleteI agree we have a good school, but how do we compare to the surronding schools. Where is our proof we are the best school in the area. Every town in our claims they have a good school. As for the immigrant problem only one town in our area is dealing with this. Also as for our COOP owning other ones that is not a key component in attracting new people espcially when we do not have paved roads or clean yards. Finally we are close to Lincoln, but so is 7 other towns with the similar populations, but with paved streets and clean yards. If we want to attract people to our nice little town we need to be the best at everything clean yards, paved streets, good school system, and community pride with progressive thinking.
ReplyDeleteTown Board Members,
ReplyDeletePlease start up a paving plan now and set goals for the community to look towards. It is time for us to start planning now ... please, please, please, please, please!
Sincerely,
Concerned resident
WOW, you think paving the roads is the answer. I know the gravel roads are bad, but the few paved streets are NOT much better. Drive them, there are craters and pot holes in them.... So what if we get all the streets paved, then in 10 years when they are full of cracks and pot holes (like the current ones) you'll be complaining about that !!!!! They need to try to fix and clean the paved streets we already have before we add more to their plate.... Maybe we need to think about budgeting in another full time city worker that has the umph to work and get things done!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMore paved streets = Less mess on currently paved streets
ReplyDeletePaved streets are not the only answer, but it is a big improvement and paved streets will not be rough if we take care of them by making grain trucks and semis only use certain streets that have enough concrete to support them.
ReplyDeleteI will agree with past posts though all we do is talk about things we want and nothing ge,ts done. This is why we are stuck we need to quit talking and start doing or we will not grow.
If Wilber can do it, so can Dorchester.
ReplyDelete“Wilber was among the Southeast Nebraska towns that received recognition at Saturday's Nebraska Community Improvement Program awards banquet. The Good Neighbor Award, presented to a community that has assisted, supported and encouraged a neighboring community or region, went to Wilber. For more than 40 years, Wilber has helped with Seward's Fourth of July Celebration.”
Source: Journal/Star
Dorchester has momentum and lots of good intentions.
ReplyDeleteNow we need some leaders to push and then push some more.
I agree with the Tech Writer concerning the Cabela and Petersen families. The world could use more of their "noblesse oblige." Wealth, power, and prestige come with responsibilities. "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." Luke 12:48 Bible KJV
ReplyDeletePaving will not fix anything,most of us live in dorchester, because we choose to do so. Be happy that we have the great community that we have. Life is to short to sweat the small stuff. Rome wasnt built in a day.
ReplyDelete9:42 comment why will it not fix anything. yes people choose to live, but that does not meant we do not want to make this place better. Also how many kids that have graduated from here have moved back or how many young families have moved in. If we do not do something we will continue to get smaller.
ReplyDeleteTo 9:42 anonymous comment. I bet you're the guy whose wife wants to remodel/update your house that was probably built in the 50's or 60's & your response is "that won't fix anything, be happy with what you've got, you've got a great house". That's the kind of thinking that leads to excess gambling, drinking & eating. As humans we need to feel good about something & driving the streets of Dorchester isn't going to release any endorphins so we'll see you at the local bar.
ReplyDeleteI noticed some posts about why people would or would NOT want to move to Dorchester.............
ReplyDeleteHere's my thought(s), reply, experience(s) when we wanted to move to Dorchester..........
Let me say this first: WE TRULY and HONESTLY WANT(ed) to move to Dorchester.
A.) We were treated like the plague by everyone other than those that knew us.
B.) The "banks" treated us like royalty when I mentioned buying an abandoned business, WITH CASH!
** I don't expect nor do I like having my behind kissed!!**
C.) I think Dorchester is BEAUTIFUL and A GREAT PLACE TO RAISE A FAMILY
MOST IMPORTANTLY:
D.) The real estate agent told us that we "...probably couldn't afford the property we were looking at...".
*** I guess that since we were in a rental car and I was in my work clothes, (Daddy always said wear your work clothes when you go to buy a high dollar item)
I was ready to PAY WITH CASH! and close ASAP on the property. I guess he didn't know that I had my $70,000.00 vehicle in Lincoln being serviced!
Some people in Dorchester need to change their attitude and actions!
to the people who wrote about meeting at the bar. You must go there alot. Many people go there to eat and help our business, as do I. You need to quit making things such a big deal. There is more to worry about than paved streets. It would be great, but there are many small towns, that dont have them. If we could get them, it would be nice. You figure it out, and the world would be a better place. Do you think.
ReplyDeleteWith the exception of C, the atmosphere sounds like the East Coast or California. I hope the poster’s experience is not the norm for Dorchester.
ReplyDeleteSome of these comments (Anonymous of 11-16, 8:06pm, have the affect of driving on bad streets...I am assuming that they have bought their own town...or have discovered the wonderful game "Sim-City". Give me a break!! You won't find more welcoming or accepting people than in Dorchester.
ReplyDeleteTo anonoymous on paved streets. You say there are many small towns that don't have paved streets. I travel a lot of small towns in the area & I can't think of any that have more dirt/gravel then paved. Used to be but not anymore, they have all moved into the current century.
ReplyDeleteI presume this will make many bloggers happy.
ReplyDeleteImmigration Officials to Audit 1,000 More Companies
WASHINGTON — Immigration enforcement officials said Thursday that they were expanding a program for auditing companies that might have hired illegal immigrants and had notified 1,000 companies this week that they would have to undergo such a review.
http://www.nytimes.com/
2009/11/20/us/20immig.
html?_r=1&hpw
I having been keeping my eye on this blog since it started and it seems to me that their is a group of people who want us to pave streets. Why has the nothing been talked about at a town meeting? Why has not a survey been taken to see if the majority is for or against? This could not cost that much. Who do we need to talk to get something going? Maybe someone needs to start a group for paving and gather signatures and take this to the town board. Its time we either put up or shut up. The time for change is now. My last comment is "Change is Hard, but change is Good"
ReplyDeleteI agree with the last comment, maybe someone needs to do something like this. This blog gets a lot of hits but nothing happens. The town board has to know what is going on and what people are saying about issues like the streets, yards, and things to do for the kids.
ReplyDeleteI am so sick of our vain, so-called "president." Look at the cover of the magazine he's holding
ReplyDeletehere
Politicians and vanity go together. It's called "Vanity Fair."
ReplyDelete