Dorchester Times: Random Thoughts: Vacant Homes, Prisons, Potato Dinner

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Random Thoughts: Vacant Homes, Prisons, Potato Dinner

Here are some random thoughts on this blustery October day:

Prisons In Nebraska: Earlier this year, the Nebraska Legislature got soft on crime, watering down several provisions of the state's criminal code. We were disappointed that state Senator Laura Ebke joined the majority in passing a bad bill. The far left in the Unicameral, along with some libertarians, say we just have too many people in jail nowadays, and that 30 years ago, the state would have simply slapped such people on the wrist and utilized probation. The picture above is that of a 22-year-old arrested this morning in Shelby for a shooting. Thirty years ago, how many individuals like this did you see walking among us (at least outside of a carnival freak show)? How common are such lost souls today? The truth is, we don’t have enough jails and prisons. Protect innocent, law-abiding Nebraskans at all costs, we say.

Vacant Properties: We've noticed the increase of vacant homes in Dorchester, including a couple on main street. Small towns like Dorchester are hard hit by vacant homes and commercial properties, and often lack the resources and expertise that some larger cities can bring to bear on the problem. For our money, no one is better situated than the members of the village board to to articulate a long-term vision for the community and lay out a strategy to get those houses filled or on the market. In the past, we've called for a blight tax. Whether or not that is the right solution, we hope our elected town leaders and the village employees will communicate with property owners to formulate an abandoned property strategy. While vacant properties are a problem, they also represent an opportunity for revitalization and community redevelopment. By reusing abandoned properties, towns of any size can improve neighborhoods, build new markets, and enhance their quality of life. Why wouldn't we get on the ball and do so right away?

FBLA's Baked Potato Feed Is Thursday: Dorchester Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) is holding a baked potato dinner Thursday, beginning at 5 p.m. at the school prior to the Longhorns' regular season finale. Be sure to show your support for the FBLA, as well as the ladies in Orange and Black.

4 comments:

AnonymousOctober 28, 2015 at 4:25 PM
Lost souls. A very accurate description.
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AnonymousOctober 28, 2015 at 4:43 PM
I'm disappointed in Ebke, period! I think she forgot who her constituents are, the ones who voted her into office. She won't get my vote again!
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AnonymousOctober 30, 2015 at 8:10 AM
I agree that Ebke is a big disappointment. She didn't get my vote the first time & never will. And Steve is right, too. Ebke comes from a well-to-do family in Fairbury. She's never had to go hungry or wonder if she would be homeless due to a job loss.
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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."