The Times poll, which sampled 79 readers over three weeks, revealed about 25% would prefer merging activities with Friend, while 11% were undecided.
Over the past decade, Dorchester High and Junior High have experienced a significant decline in the number of students who participate in athletics and other school activities. This falloff has also been seen in many other smaller and mid-sized schools around the state.
The Times has learned that Dorchester will appeal a Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) ruling that would prohibit the DHS from combining with MHS next season for football. Regardless of the NSAA's decision, it appears the merger will go into effect for junior high football next year once both school boards have given their approval.
The merger will be conducted on a two-year trial basis, according to insiders.
It is still unclear what other student activities might be impacted, such as basketball, volleyball, softball, and track. It's also unclear whether the merger would apply to student clubs, such as FFA, drama, FBLA, etc.
As we reported earlier, the shrinking number of DHS and junior high student athletes and club participants has caused many parents with elementary-aged students to wonder if Dorchester will be able to continue supporting current programs a few years from now. This season, the DHS football team has been reduced to a 10-man roster due to injuries.
Milford is a class C-1 school in team sports. Merging with a D-2 school like Dorchester would not impact Milford's C-1 status, judging by the numbers needed for Class B attainment.
Im so sad to hear about this Hate to see us merge with anyone Guess its reality these days
ReplyDeleteOld DHS Linebacker
Dorchester High and Junior High have experienced a significant decline in the number of students who participate in athletics and other school activities.
ReplyDeleteDo you suppose they might be doing mathematics and science homework? Or helping around the home? Or have a part time job?
Good for them if they are!
On the surface, this might sound good. But the reality is that the increased competition that will result from competing with the athletes from Milford will actually result in less playing time for many Dorchester kids. In fact, I feel this activities merger will result in fewer kids from Dorchester participating in sports and various activities.
ReplyDeleteThe best solution would be to convince more kids to go out for the various teams/activities. Second best would be merging sports/activities with a smaller school than Milford...as this would provide more opportunity for our kids to earn playing time.
I really don't know what option is best, but I urge caution in merging activities with Milford if you think it will give more playing time for our kids...because it won't.
Milford has 20 kids out in a C1 school. If a DHS kid is good enough, he will play. I look back 20 and 30 years ago, man there were some studs at DHS. Could have played for most class B schools. I'm sure that Dorch can have the same again with a little more competition.
ReplyDeleteKids need competition... Not a guaranteed starting spot because of his last name. That's what would happen if we merged with friend, you know it and I know it. Thats no way to prepare a kid for real life or build character
ReplyDeletePlaying or not playing because of a last name? That has happened a lot in Dorchester as well as other places so don't condemn Friend. I can name a lot of people who got to play in Dorchester because of their last name while some real talent sat on the bench. I agree with the writer who said that the kids from Dorchester will sit the bench in Milford. Maybe one or two kids will be able to play. Eventually there will be no kids from Dorchester playing any sport. Sad day.
ReplyDeleteWho runs this web site??? How do you know what the helmets will look like already???
ReplyDeleteFriend ignored and laughed the state's rules by playing 8 man for years when their school enrollment had them at 11 man ... and were ineligible for playoffs because they felt they were above Nebraska's rules.
ReplyDeleteMilford is a small but not tiny school with ethical people and a tradition of winning and a program that goes to state almost every year.
You decide what team you'd rather have your kid play for ... i know which one my kid would rather play for if we must consolidate football.
By the way Friend lost 65-3 last week ... to merge with them would be going from bad to worse.
How can we count out our kids before they even try. Yes they will have to probably work harder but is that a bad thing. Lets not forget we are in this situation because of lack of participation and just lack of students in our school system. Times are changing small towns are just getting smaller and kids are not involved in extra-curriculers like they use to be. The issue we are having is happening every where look at all the new coops or consolidations that have pop up in the last 5 years. Yet areas like omaha, elkorn, gretna, and lincoln keep getting bigger. No matter who we decide to coop with it will be ok we will survive. This town has enough pride in it to over come anything. So we have to cheer for a different mascot or colors, lets not forget we are really cheering for our kids and hope they have success in what ever they do weather it be sports or the fine arts and more importantly success in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteMilford is 0-3 on the year in football so I'm guessing they would welcome the help from Dorchester kids.
ReplyDeleteWell sports fan , in case you have forgot to follow Dorchester football I do believe that they have been blowed out by at least 22 points every game and that was Deshlers first win. Otherwise it has been 43 and 39.
ReplyDeleteAlso sports fan and lots of others commenting on here, Do you really think that the name game don't take place in Milford ?? Give me a break !!
Last but most important. I think that sports are viewed as a must have in schools ? Isn't your kids in school to learn and move on in the world ?? Or is it better for them to be a sports jock and be as smart as a box of rocks ???
Ok everyone , How many professional sports players have come out of Milford, Dorchester or Friend over the last 30 years ?? I know of 1 and that had nothing to do with high school sports!!! I think if you look at the numbers theres way more people in high places with a job than playing sports .
Regarding the post above, I don't know how many professional athletes have been produced by area high schools, but I do know the writer above is certainly no grammar pro. Holy cow! Maybe our efforts need to be focused on the classroom -- lest we add to the 47%.
ReplyDeleteStay on topic people --- and stay loyal to dorchester or find some other web site to spew your negativity.
ReplyDeleteI am very disappointed in how this entire process has been handled. Last year I sat through a meeting talking about working with Friend. Many of the concerns aired were:"Are our facilities going to be used?" "Are the coaching duties going to be shared?" Much was made about these and other fine points to a partnership with Friend. There was not one mention of these issues at the meeting about the Milford agreement. This was disturbing to say the least. All we heard was "Milford wants us." What school wouldn't want more participants in activities when asked for nothing in return other than buying uniforms?
ReplyDeleteThe comment "Consolidation will not happen to Dorchester for 20 years" is another thing said at that meeting. How can anyone have that foresight? We are currently under 60 kids in high-school. Fringe land is eligible to be opted into other districts at that level. Do you think the state is going to keep funding school systems with declining enrollments, and land that can be easily transferred into the next district? I don't necessarily think consolidation is the answer now, but it better not be overlooked when planning for the future. The State of Nebraska will not ask you who you want to consolidate with. When this happens you will be looking at the next Tamora, Nebraska right here in Saline County.
The person above should know that neither Dorchester or Friend will get state aid this year and probably never will with agriculture land values busting at the seams. Therefore the state will have no input on forcing consolidation for the foreseeable future.
ReplyDeleteWhoever said that Milford has only 20 kids out for football is very wrong. I go to the games and they have many more than 20. I would say the number is closer to 35
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised at the diehard who won't give up her qwest to have Dorchester consolidate with Friend. Why do her comments even get published.
ReplyDeleteComments like the one opposed should get published. It is called an opposing opinion. This banter is what made our country great. I agree with most arguments they pointed out. Our school will make a great junior high for Milford!
ReplyDeleteTo the person that commented about the grammar pro. Looks to me like everyone on here is no pro including you. Have a great day !!
ReplyDeleteI am grammar pro and I'm proud to say I have a master's degree in English. I'd love to run circles around you and your babble, anytime and anywhere. Meet me at Joe's Place tonight, 8 PM, and I'll buy the adult beveridge.
ReplyDeleteInteresting conversation here.
ReplyDeleteMy kids have long since graduated from Dorchester and moved on, so maybe my opinion doesn't count for much, but I do like the idea of combining Milford and Dorchester for football purposes. I think its easy to see that fewer and fewer farms have led to a smaller student body and maybe less physical athletes. Also I can understand how intimidating it is for freshman and sophomores to be hit by 215 pound seniors. I remember my son didn't want to go out for football for that reason and that was when there were 30 or 35 kids out.
Like many here in town, I don't like the idea of consolidating with Friend for any reason or any sport. Too much bad blood over the years, mostly stemming baseball and family fueds. Walk away from that fight because its not worth the wasted breath.
Give Dorchester boys 2-4 years to get experience playing class C-1 football while the younger ones learn from the bench. Dorchester football can be made proud once again.
Does a Masters Degree in English included spelling ?? You need to get back to the topic of a sports merger with Milford, not how good you are in English or how much you can drink. But if you are in fact buying adult beverages at Joe's Place tonight I'am sure that it will be packed and everyone there will be extra thirsty tonight.
ReplyDeleteI miss the old days when the Village Dweller would intervene when two or more dolts started a back-and-forth like this one.
ReplyDeleteAs I read through all of the comments the only question that runs through my head is " Do people understand what a sports coop with Milford really is?" The schools are not consolidating. They are only going to play Jr. High sports starting next year and then high school football and wrestling the following year. It is a 2 year contract and if it doesn't work out or if there is a huge increase in participation at Dorchester, when the contract is up they don't have to continue. As for working with Friend, the major thing that stood out for me was the fact that they straight up said they would not play 11 man football which they would have the numbers for. Why would you want to set your kids up for playing all season long and NEVER have the opportunity or experience of playing in a state playoff game because they are too stubborn to change from 8 man to 11 man. They currently have enough kids out to play 8 man so where do you think the Dorchester kids would be sitting during the games? My answer would be the bench with no chance to play.
ReplyDeleteAmen to the comment above.
ReplyDeleteDid our leaders at the school ever consider the option of playing six man football until numbers increased?
ReplyDeleteI heard the reason we we working with Milford is that after that we could offer FFA..
Very selfish foa person who is supposed to be representing the public
Why not 6 man? Do you know the teams that play 6 man? They are mostly way out west. The closest to Dorchester is around 123 miles and the furthest in the East Division is over 300 miles. The East Division has 6 teams in it, so we would play them all, then since we usually have 8 games, we may get to play 2 teams from the West league...I wonder how far that would be to travel??? That is why 6 man is not really an option.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone realize what just happened yesterday? We had to forfeit our first game because of low numbers due to injury. You can't play an 8-man football game with 9 or 10 players. You are worried about names and who will play if we co-op with Milford... maybe you should think about who will play if we don't co-op... No one! If we can't field a team because of low participation, we won't have teams to play. Why not give those who want to be competitive and want to play the sport a chance. Life is about working for what you have, everything shouldn't be handed to you. So a little competition wouldn't hurt these kids because after high school they are going to have to face this reality.
ReplyDeleteSo alot of you think that playing with Milford will give your kids more playing time? I think you need to rethink this....Milford will have their "Names" that they want to play and I don't think they include any kids from small town Dorchester. I don't know what the answer is. I agree if we don't co-op with someone our kids won't play at all....but are you sure Milford is the right choice?
ReplyDeleteBetter to work out a temporary arrangement with our friends to the north than sell our soul to friend to the west
ReplyDelete"sports fan said...
ReplyDeleteFriend ignored and laughed the state's rules by playing 8 man for years when their school enrollment had them at 11 man ... and were ineligible for playoffs because they felt they were above Nebraska's rules."
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It would be wise for you to inform yourself about what actually happened instead of running your mouth and sounding ignorant. The truth in this situation is that Friend’s enrollment was up, but was expected to go back down in one to two years (according to state officials). So, Friend school officials gave the STUDENT ATHLETES on the team at the time (note: not parents or school board) the choice of either staying 8-man or going to 11-man. The STUDENT ATHLETES chose to stay with 8-man. Would you like to know what they based their decision on? (No, it was not to laugh in the state’s face.) They felt that it was more beneficial to the underclassmen to learn the system that they will be playing in two years when they would be forced to go back to 8-man football when enrollment went back down again (again, state officials told them this). So these young men gave up their opportunity to make it to the play-offs for two years to make sure that the younger athletes would know the system and get a better experience from their high school football career.
Hats off to the young men on that team – they were looking to the future and wanted to help build a program. I love seeing people like you, “sports fan,” who smear the character of young men like these. So, to your comment about knowing which team you’d rather have your kid play for, while I have nothing against Milford, I would have absolutely no problem having a kid of mine play with a group of young men like those at Friend, as long as the kids don’t have parents like you.
PS – this is coming from a Dorchester Alum who is proud to come from a town with someone like “sports fan” (sarcasm intended). Quit ragging on other towns and show some respect for yours.
Friends to the north??? The only reason you want to go there is because you don't have a clue about anybody up "north". You are hoping that Milford will give the kids a chance but who is to say that will be happening? Friend and Dorchester kids know each other and I think they get along pretty well. I have a feeling it is some parents from Dorchester who have the issue with the Friend. Maybe ask the kids where they want to go and include them in the thinking process.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you to the writer for clearing up the 8 man vs. 11 man in Friend. I am sure some people won't believe it but facts are facts and some people just don't like facts but would rather run the mouth and cause issues. Thanks again!
I'm guessing the same one or two people are writing the comments in support of a friend-dorchester consolidation on football, track, wrestling, etc. Give up the fight lady or guy, you have a better chance at changing the sky's color to green.
ReplyDeleteprobably a friend school board member hoping for total school consolidation to bump up the property tax rolls for that new 10 million dollar gym
ReplyDeleteGlad to clear up the 8-man/11-man situation at Friend. Also, this is just my second post on here, so quit thinking that everyone is against a Friend-Dorchester merger, it's just not true.
ReplyDeleteI hate to see the situation that the students are going through right now, so I am for whatever allows the student athletes to participate in a sport - regardless of which town it mergers with. It seems as if it will be hard to fill a team roster at Dorchester in years to come, so do what has to be done to ensure that the students at least have an opportunity to participate.
Just a side note. I was able to participate on the track team when it was a co-op with Friend, it was a great experience. I had an actual track to run on during practice and our team as a whole was more competitive than it would have been if it were just Dorchester alone (how can you compete with 10 people on a team - boys and girls combined).
Not from Friend but nice try. And not the same people writing the comments. There are more of us in the area who are just interested in the best things for our kids. I am not saying Friend doesn't have their issues because all schools have issues. Would love to see all the schools continue on their own but we have to be realistic. Go to Milford or Crete or whereever it works for the best of the kids, just stop with the belittling of other towns. Let's make some smart comments instead of the trash talking.
ReplyDeleteGolly gee whiz, guys. Get a life. Quit arguing amongst yourselves and work to make things better for the kids. If Milford is embracing the football merger, why not try it for two years?
ReplyDeleteThe way I see it, as a former DHS student, Milford offers a lot more opportunities for the current crop of kids. Also Milford is in much better financial standing based on the Milford papers story.