UPDATE: Longhorns End Season As District Runners-Up

UPDATE: The DHS boys basketball team's season has come to an end, as Sterling beat the Longhorns 49-38 to advance to the state tournament for the fifth consecutive year.  

The District D2-1 final Tuesday night at Firth featured Sterling opening the game with an 8-0 run and leading 12-4 after one quarter. The Jets put together an 8-2 run that featured five points from Kody Benson to stretch the lead to 26-11, and led 31-14 at halftime. The Longhorns mounted a run to begin the second half, trimming the Sterling lead to 34-23. The Jets responded with a 7-2 run.  DHS' scorers were: Donohoe 8, Zahourek 14, C. Bird 3, E. Bird 4, Pohl 5, Palky 2, Roelen 2.

The Dorchester boys basketball squad is headed to district play.  There are only six district Class D2 tournaments in the state; the winners of each will play at State.

On Saturday afternoon at the Class D2-2 subdistrict final in Friend, Dorchester was able to fend off a late rally from Nebraska Lutheran in regulation to force double overtime. 

The Longhorn's Cody Bird scored six of his eight points in the second overtime, which included a three-point play with two minutes left to lift the Orange and Black to the 45-43 victory.

Scorers for DHS were: Pohl 11, Donohoe 10, Kasper 8, C. Bird 8, Zahourek 5, E. Birk 2, Palky 1.

The DHS boys basketball team will now play this Tuesday, Feb. 26., at 7 p.m. at Norris High School. They will face the Sterling Jets, who barely beat Falls City Sacred Heart by a score of 42-41.  Again, the winner will go onto State Tournament play.

Sterling, 18-7 on the season, will be a tough match for the Longhorns, now 9-14.  But DHS has picked up six of its wins since Jan. 1 and appears to be surging at the right time.

A large number of DHS fans say they plan to make the trip to Norris on Tuesday evening.

Big Farm Show, Feb. 27, At Saline Center

Get ready for the area's biggest farm show.

On Wednesday, February 27, the Wilber-Clatonia FFA Alumni will present “Showcasing Nebraska Agriculture" at Saline Center Hall from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

This will be the Wilber FFA's 10th annual farm show.

A pork meal will be served from 11 a.m.until 1:30 p.m. Entertainment will be provided by the Wilber-Clatonia Schools.  A silent auction will be held during the Farm Show to further support the Wilber-Clatonia FFA Chapter and to provide scholarships for FFA members.

The show is free to all agricultural producers and other interested individuals. More than 80 exhibitors are expected.

Directions from Dorchester:  Three miles west on Highway 33 to Highway 15, then 9 miles south on Highway 15 (Highway 15 and County Road M).

For more details, go to www.wcffaalumni.org.

DHS Boys Subdistrict Final Is 2 P.M. Saturday In Friend

* UPDATE:  The DHS boys basketball team will now play this Sat., Feb. 23, at 2 p.m. at the Class D2-2 Subdistrict final in Friend.  DHS will face Nebraska Lutheran (7-13), which beat Deshler Tuesday by a score of 36-31. The winner will go onto district play.

In Game 1 of the subdistrict tournament, Dorchester beat Meridian by a score of 56-49.  DHS took an early five point lead in the first quarter and extended that lead to seven points by halftime. Scorers for the Longhorns were: Donohoe 11, Zahourek 18, Bird 2, Pohl 11, Kasper 4, Palky 8, and Roelen 2.

Dorchester defeated all three subdistrict teams earlier in the season.  

REVISED: Up To 10" Of Snow Thurs. -- And More Next Week

UPDATED: We've all heard it by now -- a major winter storm could dump 8" to a foot of snow over much of eastern Nebraska today and tonight.  That's according to the weather experts.

The Dorchester Times has revised its forecast, after reviewing a compilation to forecasting models. 

Snow will be falling in large amounts by late Thursday morning and through the night.  

Total snow accumulation for Dorchester: 8 to 10 inches. 

Dorchester Public Schools is closed Thursday.

See the latest radar and forecast updates by clicking here.

Another winter storm, similar to the one this week, could bring more snow to Lincoln and the rest of eastern Nebraska late this Sunday into Monday, according to forecasters.

Is Crete Trying To Nab Dorchester Ball Players?

We were alerted by a reader of the following Facebook post by the Dorchester Baseball & Softball programs:

"We were informed today that Crete is trying to recruit our kids to play baseball there. Please, we have something good going on in this town.  Let's not end it by sending our kids over there to play when we have quality baseball and softball right in our own backyard. If anything, they should come and play for us!"

We at the Times could not confirm if this alert is true, although one source involved with Crete recreation programs e-mailed us back and said he wouldn't be surprised if the accusation has some merit.

Our source told us: "(Crete) has had such a large influx of Hispanics who aren't getting involved with traditional athletics and, at the same time, we've seen an outmigration of Caucasian kids who typically go out for baseball and softball."

Developing...

DHS Wrestling Coach Matt Carroll Profiled By Crete News

The Crete News' B.J. Fictum reports on first-year Dorchester High School wrestling head coach Matt Carroll, a recent DHS graduate himself. 

Carroll is experiencing success "after qualifying one Longhorn for the state meet in his first year as a coach," according to Fictum's article.

"Carroll has made the trip to state ... in previous years, but as a grappler on the DHS squad."

The story notes that DHS' Eliseo Ruiz was the only Longhorn to make the trip last week to the CenturyLink Center in Omaha.  He was joined by Clay Dickinson, Zemua Baptista, Brian Scarf and Patrick Dempsey from Friend and Meridian grapplers Riley Noel, Brandon Jackson, Cody Lundholm and Bryce Schweer.

"If feels real good to qualify as a first-year coach, but at the same time it makes me hungry for more success," Carroll said.

Dorchester Baseball Looks To Recharge Program

Loyal Times reader "CJ" reports that leaders of the Dorchester baseball are looking to add a spark to the program, which dates backs more than 115 years, according to our research. 

As a part of the longstanding SFS League, the Dorchester baseball program consists of three levels of competition, CJ writes -- PeeWee (ages 6-10), American League (12 and under) and National League (ages 15 and under).  But Dorchester has been unable to field a National League team for the past two seasons due to low numbers of participants.  (Dorchester won the National League won the SFS championship in 2010.)

According to a Facebook post by the Dorchester Baseball/Softball program, Dorchester baseball leaders are looking for enough players to field a National League team this year. 

The Facebook post noted that: "We want our kids to stay here and play for their town. So if anyone out there has a child the would like to play for the National League team, please sign him up. We are also looking into attracting kids from Milford to come play for us. We believe this would be a good relationship builder for the kids for when they start the co-op in school sanctioned sports."

For more information, CJ says that interested parents and players should contact Zech Williams (402-525-4770) or Tommy Hicks (402-416-9352).

Jason Kotas Suspected Of Long List Of Burglaries

As we reported recently, former DHS student Jason Kotas, now of Lincoln, is scheduled to appear in district court March 25, facing multiple counts of burglary and drug possession.  Kotas and his fiance are suspected by the Saline County Sheriff’s Office to have committed a string of burglaries and thefts in late 2012.  The criminals have mostly targeted Saline County farms and fields, including rural Dorchester.  The Friend Sentinel ran the following information as compiled by the Saline County Sheriff’s Office. 

• Oct. 29, 2012 – Burglary at a rural farmstead in the Crete area. Stick welder with cables and two gas cans taken.

• Oct. 31, 2012 (or shortly before) – rural Friend area, Pivot radiator and battery taken;

• Rural Friend area, close to the above location, Pivot radiator and battery taken;

• Rural Friend area, close to the two previous above locations. Pivot radiator and battery taken;

• Rural Dorchester area. Pivot radiator and battery taken; and

• Rural Dorchester area, close to the above mentioned location. Pivot radiator and battery taken.

• Nov. 7, 2012 – Burglary at rural farmstead in the rural Friend area. Numerous radiators, batteries, wire and misc. items of metal were taken.

• Nov. 9, 2012 – Burglary at rural farmstead in the rural Milligan (Saline County) area. Numerous radiators, batteries, wire and misc. items of metal were taken along with air compressors and tools.

• Nov. 13, 2012 – Burglary that occurred in the rural Crete area (same location as the Oct. 29, 2012, burglary investigation). Suspects forced entry and stole six vehicle batteries and two radiators from vehicles kept in a machine shed.

• Nov. 14, 2012 – Burglary that occurred in the rural Friend area. Suspects forced entry into a machine shed and stole five vehicle batteries and two vehicle radiators from vehicle kept in the shed.

• Nov. 7 to Dec. 2 – Burglary at rural farmstead in the Dorchester area. Restored 1990 GMC pickup bearing NE license plate 22 TF 304 stolen. 

• Nov. 25, 2012 – Burglary at rural farmstead in the Western area. Radiator, starter and a 5 hp boat motor stolen.

• Nov. 28, 2012 – Burglary at rural farmstead in the Dorchester area where 3 large semi batteries were taken.

• Dec. 3, 2012 – The Saline County Sheriff’s Office received a report from the Gage County Sheriff’s Office that the above mentioned stolen vehicle had been reported as a suspicious vehicle in the Barneston, Gage County, Nebraska on Nov. 29, 2012.

• Dec. 8, 2012 – At approximately 3:50 a.m., the Saline County Sheriff’s Office received information of an active law enforcement pursuit that was occurring in the York and Seward Counties of Nebraska, with the suspects traveling in a dark colored Chevrolet pick-up truck. Troopers from the Nebraska State Patrol as well as deputies from the Seward, York and Saline County Sheriff’s Office engaged in the pursuit.

The pursuit ended in the rural areas of Seward County where the suspects -- Jason Kotas, 38, and Sheena Kotas, 28 --were apprehended after they attempted to flee from law enforcement by jumping into a body of water. The suspects were captured and lodged at the Seward County Jail. The vehicle was confirmed to have been the vehicle that was reported as being stolen from Saline County on Dec. 3, 2012, from the rural Dorchester area.

Sheena Kotas admitted to authorities in taking part in three burglaries in Saline County from October 2012 to December 2012. She reported that the stolen contents would be sold to Alter Scrap or Capital City Metal Recycling in Lincoln and they would buy methamphetamine with the money. Sheena reported that Jason Kotas and William Rasp would sell three pickup loads of metal per day as often as six days a week.  

20th Annual DHS Alumni B-Ball Tourney, March 15-17

The Times has received word that the annual DHS Alumni Basketball Tournament will be held March 15, 16 and 17.

Tourney organizers are requesting that team rosters be submitted by e-mail to spohl@esu6.org or by calling the school at (402) 946-2781. Rosters should include T-shirt sizes and player numbers. There is a $25 per player entry fee.

Those wishing to play in the alumni tournament should send in their entry no later than March 1.

We have not been able to confirm if there will be food and drinks available at the tourney.  

The Times strongly encourages players, families and fans to support the town's business community, as well as the school, for this special tradition.

Times reader "CJ" -- who sent us this notice -- also informs us that this will be the 20th alumni tournament since the first held in the spring of 1994.  "That tournament was won by 1985 alumnus Lyle Weber's squad," wrote CJ. 

"This tournament will be the 15th organized and coordinated by DHS athletic director Scott Pohl," he added.

Saline County Being Hit By Norovirus

The norovirus has made its way through the Saline County area.  That's the news being reported by the Friend Sentinel.  The norovirus is more commonly known as the stomach flu, viral gastroenteritis, acute gastroenteritis or even food poisoning, according to Public Health Solutions.

“We have seen norovirus in a couple of nursing homes in Saline County this year,” said Kate Lange, disease surveillance nurse at Public Health Solutions.

So what is the difference between the norovirus and the influenza and how do you know which one you have?  “The norovirus is a gut virus, and influenza is a respiratory virus,” Lange said. “Symptoms of the norovirus include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and some stomach cramping.” 

Noroviruses can be found in the stool or vomit of infected people. People can become infected with the virus in many ways, including eating food or drinking liquids that are contaminated with norovirus; touching surfaces or objects contaminated with norovirus, and then placing their hand in their mouth; or having direct contact with another person who is infected and showing symptoms, according to Public Health Solutions.

“Once you have norovirus, it will take anywhere from one to three days to pass,” Lange said. The norovirus infection cannot be treated with antibiotics. 

Fewer Dorchester Homes On The Market

The national press tells us the housing market is recovering.  Judging from the local real estate market, maybe they're correct.  With interest rates at rock bottom lows, now is a great time to buy in Dorchester, whether to upgrade or downsize. 

According to a search of multiple databases, there are only a few Dorchester area homes currently on the market.  One is at 1539 County Road K.  This completely remodeled home sits on more than six acres.  The owner recently added a three-stall detached garage that is surrounded by new concrete and the home has a new deck to relax and enjoy the scenic views. New tile floors, new stainless steel kitchen appliances, new kitchen cabinets, remodeled bathroom, new carpet, a new water heater, new ceiling fans and motion lights. The heat pump has a new motor. The property includes an outbuilding big enough for all your toys and a second storage building for smaller items. Enjoy all this land and the peace and quiet that comes with it.  The listing price is $230,000.

Another property for sale is at 704 Lincoln in Dorchester.  This three bedroom, three bathroom property was built in 1999.  Taxes last year were around $1500.  This home could be quite a steal if someone is willing to give it a small amount of tender loving care.  What a bargain at $87,500.

There's the home at 508 W 8th Street, which has been on the market for a while, now. This is a fine home priced to sell at $107,000 -- with two beds, 1.75 baths. The property includes a generous kitchen (14 x 20) and spacious 15 x 25 family room with a stone fireplace. Just a block from the new school.

We have learned that another Dorchester property at 1536 County Road K is currently listed as "sale pending."  But if you're interested, you may want to inquire to see if you can still make a bid.

There is a foreclosed property somewhere on Sumner Avenue (we suspect the trailer home just north of the school property that you can have for $35,000. Also, there is a home just north of the football field with a Zalesky realty sign, but no online listing could be found.