Dorchester Times: Ten Reasons To Put Paving On The Ballot

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Ten Reasons To Put Paving On The Ballot

Since we published a top 10 list yesterday, we thought we would add one more for the weekend.

More than 35 years ago, the Dorchester Village Board decided to abandon its attempt to not pave all of the community's streets.

Much has changed since 1979 -- and so have many of the people. The residents of Dorchester 2015 deserve to have their voices heard on the issue of street paving.

The Times supports paving some of Dorchester's streets, those that are most traveled or hold potential for new housing development. But since this blog was create in 2007, the Dorchester Village Board has not permitted the town's resident from voting on the street paving issue.

Once again we urge the village board to let the residents of Dorchester decide on paving. Now is the time.

Ten Reasons to Let the Voters Decide on Paving

Isn't 35 years of wondering where the people stand enough?
Paved streets would greatly improve Dorchester's overall quality of life.
Paved streets would likely bring new and improved housing to town -- and increased property tax revenue for city hall and the school district.
Paving would appeal to out-of-towners and rural residents considering a move to Dorchester.
Paving would save money in the long term. Since 1979, the Village of Dorchester has spent roughly $2.2 million on upkeep of gravel streets (not including pay of village employees to do the work).
Paved streets would help encourage more baby boomers to spend their retirement years here -- and encourage more young people to stay.
Paved streets mean less damage to vehicles.
Paved streets allow for healthier air quality.
Paved streets will spark a renewal of community pride.
A vote would finally put the paving matter to rest, one way or the other.

4 comments:

AnonymousJanuary 14, 2015 at 10:28 AM
What!?! No comments here? I cannot believe that at least one stubborn Dorchester citizen has not written in "Pavement!! We don't need no stinkin' pavement!"
Seriously, time to move into the 21st century, folks. Shoulda been done a long time ago.
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Sick of Hearing about Paved StreetsJanuary 14, 2015 at 3:59 PM
Can we just give it a rest already about paving? We all know that the blog is all for paving the streets as are certain loud mouth residents. I would love to have paved streets, but I CAN'T AFFORD IT, and neither can the majority of the residents in this fine town. If the city would like to pitch in and pay for paving instead of putting it all on the homeowners. Besides they can't maintain the paved roads that we do have or the gravel ones either and I'm sorry but you can't tell me that they have spent over 2.2 million in the last 36 years thats over $5000 per month. Where the hell is the gravel and if that is the true amount where the hell is the money going to? Not to mention that all the pipes that would need replaced that would also figure in to the cost of updating to pavement, whose going to pay for that? If you want pavement on your road so bad then hire somebody and pay for it, but leave the rest of us out of it.
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LOUD MOUTHJanuary 14, 2015 at 9:24 PM
I won't waste the key strokes. Like the bloggers said, put 'er on the ballot. LET THE PEOPLE SPEAK, WIN OR LOSE.
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9th Street DwellerJanuary 15, 2015 at 9:15 AM
Quit beating around the bush, blogsters. We know why the town board won't allow a vote. They run for the board to stop the paving issue from going forward, plain and simple.

If they put it on the ballot, they know it will pass.
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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."