Small Town Success Workshop To Be Held In Neb. City

The Heartland Center for Leadership Development has informed the Times that its small-town community development seminar is set for October in Nebraska City. "Pathways to Community Vitality: Helping Small Towns Succeed Institute" will be held October 23-25, 2012 at the Lied Lodge and Conference Center.

This year's content includes:

• Building Entrepreneurial Communities
• Creating a Unique Community Brand
• Engaging and Empowering Youth
• Recruiting Alumni and Newcomers
• Utilizing Social Media to Strengthen Community Capitals
• Moving from Vision to Action

For more information, call the Heartland Center for Leadership Development in Lincoln at

(402) 474-7667 or go to www.heartlandcenter.info.

Your News, Announcements Wanted

The Dorchester Times is back, publishing news on a regular basis and doing our best to keep freiends, family, neighbors and area residents up-to-date.  But we are under new management, with new staff and new editors.  In short, we are maintaining this website because we care about Dorchester and its residents' ability to receive timely information.  We feel that a resource such as this website is imperative for any community of any size.

We do not have the time or resources to compose news stories as previous staff did.  We are here to post the news and announcements sent to us by fellow residents, village officials, school administrators or board members, town leaders, etc.  Without your participation, this website cannot be successful and it will go away for good.

E-mail your news, announcements, notices and other postings to dorchester.times@gmail.com.  Please feel free to attach photos to your e-mails, too.  We will always do our best to publish your news in a timely manner.

Saline County's Latest Demographics

The Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America is a  new mapping application produced by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's Economic Research Service.  We want to share the website of this handy application, which provides a spatial interpretation of county-level, economic and social conditions along four broad categories of socio-economic factors:  people, jobs, ag, and county classifications.  Data are based on the 2010 U.S. Census.

Here are some interesting facts for our readers for Saline County:

• Percent of residents 25 and over with a 4-year college degree: 15.34%
• Residents 25 and over with only a high school diploma: 37.54%
• Residents 25 and over with no high school diploma: 17.31%
• Residents 25 and over with some college (including 2-year degrees):  29.83%
• Population classified as "Hispanic":  20.22%
• Population classified as "White": 76.18%
• Female-headed homes: 6.94%
• Non-English speaking homes: 11.24%
• Population under 18:  24.45%
• Foreign-born:  10.49%

The Times is interested in your take on Saline County's changing demographics.

A Fresh Look At Dorchester's Economy

According to recent figures, Dorchester is trailing the state average in personal earnings, but our job growth prospects are much better here than in most parts of the country.

According to data gathered by Sperling's Best Places, a popular website, Dorcheter's unemployment rate is at 4%, which is Nebraska's current average jobless rate. Recent job growth in Dorchester is pegged at 2.03%, compared to a -0.12% for the United States as a whole. Due mostly to the ag economy and Farmers Cooperative, Dorchester's future job growth is an estimated 40.06%, compared to a 31.25% future job growth rate for the rest of America.

Dorchester's significantly lags the U.S. average in personal and household earnings, according to Sperlings, with an income-per-capita average of $19,487 -- which includes all adults and children. The U.S. average is $27,067.

Our community's median household income is $44,950, compared to the national average of $52,954.

DPS Elementary Field Day Set For May 14

One of springtime's annual highlights is just around the corner. Dorchester Public School's Elementary Field Day is set for Monday, May 14 at 9 a.m. As always, the event will take place at Nerud Field, just west of the school building. Be sure to make time to cheer on your favorite rising star!

DHS Athletic Banquet, May 4

It's that time of year again. Dorchester High School's annual D-Club athletic banquet will be held Friday, May 4. This catered event will begin at 6 p.m.

According to school officials, tickets will cost $8 and will be available at the door. Plan to attend, enjoy good food and help the school recognize the accomplishments of this year's athletes.

For more information, call Mr. Scott Pohl, Dorchester School Activities Director, at (402) 946-2781.

EXCLUSIVE: Crete's Pamida Closing

According to several e-mails we received, the Dorchester Times can confirm that Pamida in Crete will soon be closing. The department chain, which was recently purchased by Shopko, has had a Saline County presence since the early 1980s, records show. Our sources could not confirm when Crete's Pamida would be closing their doors for good. UPDATE (April 17): Follow-up e-mails indicate that the building that currently houses Pamida will reopen as a Home Town Store immediately.

Here Comes The Stormy Weather

This weekend will bring a high risk of deadly weather south of Saline County. Here, there is a lesser but still significant threat, according to forecasters. Weather experts are advising folks in southeast Nebraska to pay special attention to changing forecasts on Saturday. Much of southeastern Nebraska, including Dorchester, is placed at moderate risk for Saturday. Much of Kansas and Oklahoma were listed at high risk. Storms are expected to kick up in the late afternoon today and continue into the nighttime hours. To prepare for a forecast like Saturday's, you and your family are advised to plan ahead and always be near safe shelter. Stay up-to-date with the latest weather forecasts by clicking the weather icon in the left column at the Dorchester Times' homepage.

Dorchester Fire Dept. Gets Mentioned For Its Bargain Hunting

In a recent story by the Fremont Tribune, Dorchester's Volunteer Fire Dept. gets an honorable mention for its bargain hunting for new emergency vehicles. The story details how fire departments around Nebraska are snapping up bargains

"Across the state, volunteer fire department interest in the Forest Service’s Fire Equipment Shop, located south of Mead, is picking up. The shop finds local fire fighting uses for federally owned equipment from across the United States, including military vehicles, when the federal government is finished with them. The vehicles are loaned to volunteer departments, who pay only the transportation costs unless they request other repairs or modifications from the full-service Fire Equipment Shop. Departments modify the vehicles to their needs, maintain them and then return them to the Forest Service when they’re finished with them. The program has about 435 pieces of equipment, valued at around $27 million, on loan to more than 200 departments across Nebraska, said Lou Sieber, equipment manager at the shop.

According to the Tribune's story, Sieber "likes to tell the story of a 2006 fire truck he placed at Dorchester. It cost $4,500 to get it to Nebraska, and the department spent about $55,000 fixing it up. To buy a similar truck brand new would cost $200,000. 'If you take a $200,000 fire truck and use it for 20 years, then you sell it, how much are you going to get? I feel I’m being fairly generous at $35,000, so it costs $165,000 to use that truck for 20 years,' Sieber said. 'If you take an equivalent truck and spend $60,000 on it and use it for 20 years, then you give it back, which was the cheaper truck to have?'”

Dorchester Featured In Journal Star's Story On More Corn Acres

According to the Lincoln Journal-Star, corn planting in the Dorchester area this season could begin at the earliest date ever recorded. Part of the reason is that not since 1933 have corn expectations in the state been above the 10.3 million acres forecast by the federal government's ag data service.

In the Journal Star article, local farmer and Dorchester school board official Steve Vyhnalek is quoted as saying: "That's a lot of bushels. But there's a lot more people to feed. Your demand for corn, whether it's cattle feed or ethanol or food, it's a phenomenal number of bushels we use per day in the world."

Local grain prices suggest "another round of robust farm income in the state in 2012 and a continuation of good times for agriculture," according to the LJS story. Kelly Brunkhorst of the Nebraska Corn Board said the cost of planting the most corn since the 1930s will add up to about $2.8 billion for the state's approximately 25,000 corn farmers, as "more corn acres in the state reflects a move away from alternating corn and soybean planting in a field and toward corn two years in a row."

"Dorchester farmer Vhynalek is part of that trend.The 50-50 split on his farm now is closer to 70-30, corn versus beans."A guy can make more money growing corn after corn than he can growing soybeans," he said. Current grain bids can be viewed at Dorchester's Farmers Cooperative website.

BREAKING NEWS: Dorchester Times Gearing Up To Go Back Online

The Times can report that talks are underway to resume publishing of the Dorchester Times, under new management and staff.

Complaints have reached a boiling point across town and the surrounding countryside that The Crete News and other local media outlets have failed to deliver adequate coverage of Dorchester's community and school news.

DEVELOPING...