Dorchester Times: It's Voting Time

Monday, November 5, 2012

It's Voting Time

Finally, Election Day 2012 is here. That means it is time for you -- the voter -- to decide who will lead our community, our school, our state and our country into the future.

Best of all, it means you won't hear or see any campaign advertising for a long while.

Here is our last-minute summary of the 2012 election as it impacts Dorchester and the rest of Nebraska.

National Election: We asked Dorchester area residents which issues mattered to them as they consider which presidential candidate they will vote for. Here is what our sampling revealed.

Economy/Jobs -- 59%
U.S. Debt -- 56%
Tax Burden -- 29%
Energy Development -- 21%
Education -- 21%
National Security -- 16%
Social Issues -- 8%

U.S. Senate Race: Following a poll conducted by the Dorchester Times, it appears Deb Fischer holds a clear lead among Dorchester-area voters in the race for U.S. Senate. Our survey of readers showed Deb Fischer winning among area voters, 53% to 46% over Bob Kerrey.

Dorchester School Board: For the three open positions on the Dorchester Public School Board of Education, the Times is endorsing: Mark Bors, Brad Havlat and Lindsey Zoubek.

Dorchester Village Board: For the two open spots on the Dorchester Village Board, the Times is endorsing: Brandon Koll and Lyle Weber.

Be sure to vote tomorrow. Make your voice heard.

6 comments:

AnonymousNovember 5, 2012 at 10:45 AM
Bob Kerrey is a slimy mud slinger.

http://righttoworkcommittee.org/survey_nes.aspx?pid=nes1&gclid=CLTw1eOiuLMCFZGiPAodxFwARA
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AnonymousNovember 5, 2012 at 12:09 PM
Dont forget that L.J. Barley is runnig as a write in, on the ballot.
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AnonymousNovember 5, 2012 at 7:50 PM
Write in LJ Barley for the village!
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AnonymousNovember 5, 2012 at 9:11 PM
I'm voting for LJ
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AnonymousNovember 6, 2012 at 6:37 AM
I cannot vote for someone who can't spell on their campaign signs. If you are to be taken seriously as a candidate at least learn to spell correctly.
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AnonymousNovember 6, 2012 at 11:23 PM
Got a question for the bloggers

Why was the comment above about barley allowed to be printed?

Your policy has always been to not allow personal attacks.
Sounds like one to me

Just because it wasn't a candidate you were supporting it's ok ?

We get some young people in this town who is willing to stand up to the things going on in the community and the bloggers allow people to take cheap shots.

Give up on your one sided piece of garbage and do something worthwhile that would help the community
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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."