Dorchester Times: NEWS BRIEFS: At Least Five Challengers Applying For Village Board

Saturday, April 3, 2010

NEWS BRIEFS: At Least Five Challengers Applying For Village Board

Happy Easter From The Times: The Times wishes our readers a happy Easter. May you and your families enjoy the holiday together, as you remember the many the blessings bestowed upon Dorchester and our country. “He has risen!”

At Least Five Challengers Filing For Village Board Seats: According to various reports, at least five challengers will seek one of the three town board seats up for election this fall. Sources tell the Times four of the five challengers support at least partially paving Dorchester streets. The fall elections could mean big changes to the Village Board. Currently, two of the five board members staunchly oppose paving, while only one publicly supports it. The other two board members appear to be undecided. Those who want to run for the village board have until Aug. 1 to file at the county election clerk's office in Wilber -- unless they already hold another elected office, in which case they have until July 15.

Wind Energy Legislation Appears Likely To Pass At Legislature: Remember all that talk about a wind farm being located in Saline County? Some supported the idea; others said it was plain goofy. Whatever the case, the proponents of that plan will likely have more ammunition in a couple of weeks. It appears the state Legislature is about to pass a wind energy bill that would allow private development within a public power state to develop wind for export. The bill is LB 1048. The Lincoln Journal Star has a story about it in their April 3 edition.

4 comments:

AnonymousApril 3, 2010 at 8:27 PM
I just hope some younger residents are running for town board, say under 60 years old. I have nothing against older fellow residents, 'cause Lord knows I'm no spring chick. I just thinking younger taxpayers (ages 25-45) need to start having more of a stake in this town if they are going to live here and raise families here. Be part of the answer and help lead. Help make Dorchester into the town you'd like it to be. Don't let others dictate how things must be and shove it down your throat.
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousApril 3, 2010 at 8:28 PM
I just hope some younger residents are running for town board, say under 60 years old. I have nothing against older fellow residents, 'cause Lord knows I'm no spring chick. I just thinking younger taxpayers (ages 25-45) need to start having more of a stake in this town if they are going to live here and raise families here. Be part of the answer and help lead. Help make Dorchester into the town you'd like it to be. Don't let others dictate how things must be and shove it down your throat.
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousApril 5, 2010 at 9:04 AM
Wind farm in saline county? Crazy! Outside of the legislature seems to make more sense. Plenty of hot air coming out of there.
ReplyDelete
Replies
Todd JensenApril 5, 2010 at 2:58 PM
Citizens of Dorchester,
I am running for the village board. I support the paving of the streets and any other improvements we are able to do to the village. I have heard a lot of different opinions about the paving. Everyone needs to show up for meeting tonight so we can find out some real facts. The one fact that is common sense is the value of your property will go up. I feel it is a good thing if my assets gain value. Todd Jensen
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

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."