Dorchester Times: Saline Co. Drug & Alcohol Prevention Coalition Meets Aug. 25 In Wilber

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Saline Co. Drug & Alcohol Prevention Coalition Meets Aug. 25 In Wilber

The alcohol makers and pro-drug crowd won't like us for reporting this, but the facts are the facts.

Since the overall economy hit troubled times six years ago, America's use of drugs and alcohol has skyrocketed and been largely ignored by political leaders.

A 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 23.9 million Americans (nearly 10% of the population) aged 12 or older were current illicit drug users, meaning they had used an illicit drug during the month prior to the survey interview. Daily or almost daily use of marijuana (used on 20 or more days in the past month) increased from 5.1 million persons in 2007 to 7.6 million persons in 2012. The number of past year heroin users increased between 2007 (373,000) and 2012 (669,000). Among youths aged 12 to 17, the current illicit drug use rate was 10.1%.

Meanwhile, nearly one quarter (23.0%) of persons aged 12 or older were binge alcohol users in the past 30 days. This translates to about 59.7 million people. Among young adults aged 18 to 25 in 2012, the rate of binge drinking was 39.5%, and the rate of heavy drinking was 12.7%. The rate of current alcohol use among youths aged 12 to 17 was 12.9% in 2012. An estimated 9.3 million underage persons (aged 12 to 20) were current drinkers, including 5.9 million binge drinkers and 1.7 million heavy drinkers. Among current underage drinkers, 36.6% got it from an unrelated person aged 21 or older, 23.0% got it from a parent, guardian, or other adult family member, and 18.8% got it from another person younger than 21 years old.

If you would like to help stem the tide against the growing dependence on drugs and alcohol, you can attend the next meeting of the Saline County Drug & Alcohol Prevention Coalition -- scheduled for Monday, August 25, 2014, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Saline County Extension office, 306 W. 3rd St. in Wilber.

All county residents are encouraged to be a part of the prevention discussion and efforts. If you have questions or would like additional information, contact Tim at (402) 821-3581.

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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."