Dorchester Times: NEWS ROUNDUP: Water Park Rumors Confirmed; City Slickers Grill Opens Monday

Thursday, February 25, 2016

NEWS ROUNDUP: Water Park Rumors Confirmed; City Slickers Grill Opens Monday

Water Park Rumor Seems To Have Legs: Earlier this month, the Times reported that our staff had caught wind of a possible water park soon coming to Dorchester. We have confirmation now that there are discussions and plans to pursue such a project. This would certainly be an entertainment boon for area children and families, if the project becomes reality. We don't have any further details right now, other than that the Village Board has not yet officially signed off on the project and that a large private fundraising effort would be necessary.

City Slickers' New Grill Opens Monday: The wait is finally over. City Slickers' new grill and completely refurbished dinning quarters will be open starting Monday. City Slickers' Facebook account announced the news. In other breaking news, we've learned Tyser Auto Sales will be hosting the "First Grand Re-Opening Wings Night" at City Slicker's this coming Thursday, March 3. The City Slickers' grill has been closed since mid-November when a minor fire caused smoke damage and shut down the establishment for several weeks. Earlier this month, City Slickers unveiled the outdoor portion of their renovation, revealing three new and attractive windows on the north section of the establishment. The new-and-improved City Slickers' features: a new kitchen; much larger dining area, with many tables separate from the bar area for a pleasant dining experience; deluxe salad bar; a pool area; and a dance floor with a band/DJ area.

Job Opportunities Available At City Slickers: Early work experiences play a critical role in youth development. All of us over a certain age remember working summer jobs or after school or on the farm. (Most of us had no choice, thanks to dad.) These jobs allowed us to explore career options, discover personal interests and strengths, learn about work culture, develop skills and earn a paycheck. Yet fewer high school kids today -- even in rural communities -- work to earn a part-time paycheck. We thought we'd share the news that the refurbished City Slickers Bar and Grill in downtown Dorchester is currently seeking cooks and wait staff to work a variety of shifts. Apply within or call (402) 946-2171.

Design A Flag For Saline County: The Saline County Identity and Marking Committee is working to engage local schools and the community at large to create a flag design and a seal that will be symbolic and meaningful in its description of the county and its people. The contest will run until May 26 at 5 p.m. Entries can be in various forms; chalk, pencil, water colors, paint, and digital files submitted in PDF, JPG or PNG format. Eligible submissions for all designs will be accepted if participants are current residents or full-time students in Saline County. Complete contest criteria and submission forms can be found on the Saline County website at www.co.saline.ne.us/ or by visiting the County Clerk at the courthouse in Wilber.

Insanity Disguised As Political Correctness In Oklahoma: The University of Oklahoma’s College of Engineering made news by celebrating its “year of diversity” -- and in doing so, attempting to shame white students by telling them to own up to their “white privilege.” The college placed red “footprints” in the college hallways, with each footprint inscribed with sayings like, “It’s not your fault if you experience privilege; it’s your fault if you deny it." Another said that only a small percentage of all engineering Ph.D.s went to African Americans last year. (Note: African American's comprise only 12.5% of the overall U.S. population.) Dividing young people by having them focus on their differences via a dumbed-down, race-based campaign achieved only one thing -- it made the holier-than-thou organizers feel better about themselves. To the bleeding hearts at OU (and NU, in case this story gives Chancellor Harvey Perlman any ideas): If you really want to cleanse your mortal souls for the sins of your white privilege, get your engineering degree and your teaching certificate. Then take a job at the worst inner-city and poor rural school you can find. You'll find privilege has more to do with economics, family structure, morality, work ethic and discipline than skin color. We could all play victim for one reason or another.

4 comments:

AnonymousFebruary 26, 2016 at 11:43 AM
This would be YUUUUUUUUGE if true
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AnonymousFebruary 26, 2016 at 12:57 PM
A water park would be a GREAT addition to the town. Hopefully it would make more people want to move here. Now we just need more houses built(and paved roads wouldn't hurt either) Great to hear the bar will start serving food again!
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AnonymousFebruary 26, 2016 at 1:53 PM
What a great idea. Wish there has been one 40 years ago...or more.
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West SiderFebruary 26, 2016 at 4:38 PM
This would be a great chance for the board to vote on at least some version of paving. :)
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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."