Polka, Polka, Polka Tonight In Dorchester

Don't let the dreary weather get you down.  Instead, get ready to party to polka.

Back by popular demand, the Dorchester American Legion today (Sunday, April 30) will once again host a polka dance at the Dorchester Legion Hall.

According to an e-mail sent to the Times, the Accordionettes Band will show you how polka was meant to be played.

Today's event will kick off at 5 p.m. and continue until 9 p.m.

Only a $10 cover charge and the Dorchester Legion kitchen will be open.

Dinner will be served and will feature two choice of meats.

Proceeds will go to the Dorchester American Legion.

And here's a little trivia: Polka originated as a Czech peasant dance. Historic folklore has it that a peasant girl named Anna Slezak invented the steps one day for her own amusement.  The word “pulka” is derived from the Czech phrase for “half-step,” which refers to the dance pattern of lightly stepping from one foot to the other.

Antiques Roadshow-Like Event Comes To Dorchester This Sunday

Do you enjoy the "Antiques Roadshow" TV program on PBS?

Then you'll love this Sunday's event at the Saline County Museum in Dorchester -- and you'll be able to get your antiques' value appraised for free!

The Saline County Museum, located in south Dorchester just off Hwy. 33, will open at 1 p.m. tomorrow (Sunday, April 30) as it hosts an Antique Appraisal Fair conducted by Tom Bassett of Lincoln.  

This event will be like Antiques Roadshow in our own community, according to information sent to the Times.  

Please note that while the museum will open at 1 p.m. tomorrow, the actual fair will start at 2 p.m. and is slated to last until 5 p.m.

There will be no charge for the event.  

Every person attending may bring up to three items for Mr. Bassett to appraise. 

Admission to the Saline County Museum is always free and donations are accepted.

NEWS ROUNDUP: Young Longhorns Go Fishing, DHS Journalists Rack Up More Awards

Dorchester Grade Schoolers Go Fishing:  It's fishing season and Dorchester Public Schools recently shared pictures from the 4th and 5th grades' Tuesday field trip to Aksarben Aquarium near Gretna. The young Longhorns went to release their trout, according to the schoool's Facebook post.

Dorchester Journalists Compete Against Some Of Nebraska's Largest Schools: Dorchester High School this week placed fifth in the the sweepstakes titles in the Nebraska School Activities Association state journalism contest in Norfolk. DHS, which is a small Class D-2 school, has a longstanding reputation for producing high quality journalism students.  At this week's NSAA contest, Longhorn journalists finished behind Columbus Scotus, Yutan, Sandy Creek and Mount Michael.  That's fifth place out of nearly 40 schools competing.  In the Yearbook Sports Writing contest, DHS' Brittney Zoubek took first place.  Meanwhile, Zoe McKnight placed 4th in Sports/Action Photography and 5th in Yearbook Theme Copy Writing; Makenna Bird placed 3rd in Yearbook Feature Writing and 3rd in Yearbook Sports Feature Writing; Michelle Kotas placed 5th in Advertising and 4th in Yearbook Theme Copy Writing; and Brittney Zoubek also placed 2nd in Yearbook Feature Writing. The team of Makenna Bird, Michelle Kotas, and Brittney Zoubek placed 7th in Yearbook Theme Development (just one place away from medaling). Breanna Muff placed 8th in News/Feature Photography. (She was the only freshman in the event, and almost all of the competitors were seniors).  Congrats to Brittney and all of DHS' budding journalists.

All About The Housing:  The Dorchester Times has frequently written about the lack of available housing in Dorchester, as well as the number of vacant homes that are neither for sale nor rent.  Recently, we received an e-mail from a reader who works in Dorchester who wrote this: "I am hoping you can help me. Several times, I have had people ask about available houses to rent or buy. The city has been of no help; they have told people to drive around and look for signs. Is there anyone or anything I can get more info? I would like to help Dorchester grow." Sounds like its time to get a housing plan in place, Dorchester.

Marilyn Hockman Passes At 78

Marilyn K. Hockman, 78, of Dorchester, passed away on Thursday, April 20, 2017 at Tabitha in Crete. 

She was born on January 3, 1939 to Earl and Bernice (Knabe) Hockman. She lived on a farm in the Dorchester area until she graduated from Crete High School in 1956. Marilyn then attended and graduated from the National Business Institute in Lincoln in 1957. 

She was employed at State Farm Insurance as a secretary while living in Lincoln until 1971 when she had to retire due to a disability. At that time, she moved back to the Dorchester area. Marilyn had a love for animals and nature and after she moved to town, she still always had a cat or two. 

She was preceded in death by her parents: Earl and Bernice. Survivors include 2 cousins: John Knabe and Margaret Staples, many more second cousins and family members and her cat: Flossy. 

Funeral services were held today, April 24th at 10:30 a.m. at the Dorchester United Methodist Church. Memorials are suggested to the Dorchester United Methodist Church. Kuncl Funeral Home in Crete was in charge of arrangements. 

Meet Dorchester's Class Of 2030

What will life be like in 2030?

Futurists say more change will take place over the next 13 years than in any previous time in human history.  (Of course, that's their job.  These same folks said we'd be flying around like the Jetsons by the 1990s.)

Futurists tell us that by 2030 the average person in the U.S. will have 4.5 packages a week delivered with flying drones. They will travel 40% of the time in a driverless car, use a 3D printer to print hyper-individualized meals, and will spend most of their leisure time on an activity that hasn’t been invented yet.

They say 80% of all doctor visits will have been replaced by automated exams; that a growing number of highways will be designated for driverless-vehicle only; and that the space tourism industry will establish regular flights to space hotels.

Who knows if any of this will come true?

What we do know is that Dorchester got a glimpse of its future in mid-April when Dorchester Public School held its roundup for the 2017-2018 Kindergarten class.  

Dorchester's future looks bright with this sharp group of kids.

These Longhorns should inspire all of us, regardless of age, to help plan for Dorchester's coming years in the areas of business, housing, population growth, school growth, and quality of life.

The future starts now.

PSA: Award-Winning Dorchester School Now Accepting Option-Enrollment

Are you a student, or a parent of a student, in Crete or another nearby community who would like the benefit of a smaller school and individualized education?

We received an e-mail this week announcing that Dorchester Public School is currently offering option enrollment to students who live outside the Dorchester school district, but want to be part of DPS.

Below is an ad making the announcement.  

"At Dorchester, every student matters," the advertisement reads.

Those who would like their students to attend Dorchester next school year may contact the school at (402) 946-2781.

Fairmont Learning Lessons From Other Towns To Save Grocery Store

Down the road, on Highway 6, the fine folks of Fairmont are trying to save their small grocery store. 

It's a familiar story -- one that Dorchester lived in 2010.  Earlier this year, Friend's longtime grocery store, Orv's, also closed.

The York News-Times earlier this week reported that "the Family Market on the main street of Fairmont is at risk to close … but not if a committee of local go-getters can find a way to keep it open."

According to the York newspaper, it's the same old story of minimum order requirements that makes maintaining a small-town grocery store so difficult.

Soon after learning of the current owner's plan to divest herself of her Fairmont store and her store in Kenesaw, Fairmont residents formed an SOS (Save Our Store) Committee to find a way to keep the Family Market open.

Derek Betka, Sheila Lauby, Rhonda Veleba and Village Clerk Linda Carroll of that committee sat on the bench in front of the business Monday to discuss the situation.  Other members of the committee include Aaron and Jodi Fintel and also Pat Lentfer, Fillmore Co Economic Development director.

The story continues: 

"The committee invited leaders from Henderson to explain how that community put together a group of investors to buy its grocery store and keep the lights on. Norm Yoder, retired Heartland superintendent of schools, was one of the key cogs of that successful project who brought what advice and information he could to Fairmont residents.

"Utica’s store was also purchased by locals there and relocated to a new building at the edge of downtown. Inventory for Utica is purchased through arrangement with a store in Seward."

The group in Fairmont is also working with Jim Crandall of the Cooperative Business Development Specialists and UNL. 

Here's what Cradall -- a small-town grocery store expert -- told the York paper:

“There are several small towns in Nebraska who have seen their grocery stores close due to a number of reasons. Most of the time it is lack of family to carry on as aging owners near retirement. Some instances of medical issues with owners not able to continue or other circumstances. A few places where stores closed from lack of customers patronizing the store and yet often times those stores were not meeting the needs of the community in a variety of ways from hours open, selection, lack of fresh produce or meats, etc.

“My experience has been that we are seeing struggles with store closures in towns under 1200-1500. On the other end of the spectrum, low population towns struggle with enough buying capacity to support a store. He said 350-400 seems to be the minimum size unless they are in a very, very rural area. 

“As towns lose their stores or see owners wanting to change ownership, communities first look for local solutions. Is there a family who will own the store, is there a larger grocery nearby that would put a branch store in our town? Corporate stores will not enter communities that small. 

“Sometimes communities find themselves in a situation where they consider some kind of community or small group ownership. That could be in a cooperative of community members who have purchased shares in the business to capitalize the costs of buildings, inventory and staffing. I have cooperatively owned grocery stores with 160-plus members, another has about 110 owners. Each owner invested money in the coop by purchasing one or more shares,” he explained. “I have an LLC in one community with about 80 shareholders. Another LLC has 20 and each shareholder put in fairly large amounts of money. So there are a variety of approaches, but the general approach is to spread the risk over many people, share the talents of many people, elect a board of directors from the membership to oversee the business and then hope that everyone spends more of their grocery dollars at home.”

The York News-Times reports that Fairmont leaders are hopeful someone will by the store because the community, just off Highway 81, is starting to turn things around.

“Young couples are moving back to town. They are leaders and they are active,” one town leader said, adding her opinion that those new folks be brought onto the village board.

The age old adage that losing its grocery store or school is hard for small communities to overcome may be true, “But we still have our school,” another Fairmont leader said, referring to Fillmore Central Middle School. “It still brings 200 people into this town every day.”

The railroad plays a role in local commerce. It’s the same for the ethanol plant nearby and Betka spoke of a wind turbine project in Fairmont’s future, too.

Former DPS Superintendent Takes Plea Deal

A former Dorchester Public School superintendent who was accused last year of threatening to kill his wife by driving into an oncoming semi and choking her took a plea deal Wednesday in Hall County District Court.  That's according to the Hastings Tribune.

Brian Redinger, 45, of Hastings, pleaded no contest to third-degree domestic assault and reckless driving.  Instead of facing 20 years in prison, he is most likely to receive between a couple months to a maximum 15 months.

Redinger had been superintendent of Shelton Public Schools at the time of the incident.

From 2008 through 2011, Redinger served as Dorchester's superintendent.  Prior to that, he served as principal of DPS.

In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped charges of terroristic threats, strangulation and attempted first-degree assault, which is a Class 2A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Third-degree domestic assault is a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.  Reckless driving is a Class 3 misdemeanor punishable by up to three months in jail and a $500 fine.

Hall County District Judge John Marsh ordered a pre-sentencing investigation and scheduled Redinger’s sentencing for June 8 at 10 a.m.

The Hastings newspaper reports that "according to the arrest affidavit, Redinger was driving with his wife, Kelleene, in rural Hall County when he threatened to kill her on April 10, 2016.  Kelleene told police that Redinger told her to pick a color and he was going to drive in front of a semi of that color to kill them.

"Kelleene was scared and turned the vehicle off. Brian then allegedly put his hand around the back side of her head and started hitting her head against the dash. Then she said he started to choke her.

"Kelleene was able to get out of the vehicle and Brian continued driving. She said he turned around and started driving toward her at a high rate of speed, but she jumped off the side of the road so he didn’t hit her.  She then flagged down a truck driver who took her to a truck stop, where she called police."

Due to the sensitive nature of this story, and out of respect for the Redinger children who attended DPS, comments on this story will not be published by the Times.

Dorchester Business Students Compete With State's Largest Schools

Can Dorchester High School compete with the likes of Lincoln East, Bellevue West, Bellevue East and Columbus?

In the area of business competition, it appears so!

Last Friday, April 7, DHS students competed at the FBLA State Leadership Conference in Omaha.

Here is a list of Dorchester students who won awards at FBLA Student Leadership Conference.

• PSA 2nd Place – Kyra Creamer, Hailey Weber, Abi Plouzek
• Marketing 5th Place – Tim Havlat, Jacee Weber, Brittney Zoubek
• Sales Presentation 6th Place – Tim Havlat
• Advertising 7th Place – Jacee Weber
• Mobile App Development 8th Place – Josh Thompson
• Leader Business Achievement – Jacee Weber
• Who’s Who – Michelle Kotas
• Sweepstakes – Dorchester Chapter

Honorable Mention: 

• Business Calculations – Makenna Bird
• Accounting I – Makenna Bird
• Job Interview – Ripley Creamer & Michelle Kotas
• Intro to Financial Math – Josh Thompson
• FBLA Scholarship Runner Up – Brittney Zoubek
• Intro to Business –Nathan Cochnar, Daisha Hoffman, Abi Plouzek

For those who are unfamiliar, the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) is a nationwide career and technical student organization.  FBLA is the largest student-run organization in the United States.  

DHS did not have an FBLA charter until the 1991-92 school year.  A quarter century later, while numbers in some other DHS activities have declined, DHS' FBLA membership remains strong -- impressive for a Class D school.  (DHS dropped from Class C to Class D in school year 1991-92, ironically.) 

Over the years, Dorchester has become a force to be reckoned within the FBLA universe and its statewide competitions, and DHS students have been elected as statewide FBLA officers.

CONTEST: Win Two Free Tickets To Dorchester's June 3 Jerrod Neiman Concert

(UPDATE: The winner of our ticket giveaway is Karl Feeken of Riverside, California. Congratulations, Karl.)

The Dorchester Times turns 10 years old today.  

A decade ago, the Dorchester Times made its debut.  Now, 120 months later, the Dorchester blog has gathered more than 1.7 million page views.  

To  celebrate, we are giving away a pair of tickets for the Saturday, June 3 Jerrod Neiman concert in downtown Dorchester.  

This is a $50 value.

To enter, simply e-mail us at Dorchester.Times@gmail.com and write "TICKETS" in the subject line.  Be sure to send us your mailing address in the body of the e-mail so we know where to send the tickets.

The tenth e-mail we receive will be the winner.

If you're not lucky enough to win tickets from the Times, you can still purchase them at City Slickers in Dorchester.  There are a limited number of tickets available for this event, according to organizers, so get yours soon. More information can be obtained by calling 402-946-2171.

City Slickers restaurant recently announced it's hosting the first annual "City Lights, Country Nights" street party on Dorchester's main street.  This has led some to call Dorchester "Little Nashville" and the music hub of southeast Nebraska.

For those who don't know, Niemann is a country music singer and songwriter.  He has released one single and three albums: Judge Jerrod and the Hung Jury (2010), Free the Music (2012), and High Noon (2014). 

These albums have produced a combined six Top 40 entries on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, including the number-one singles "Lover, Lover" (a cover of Sonia Dada's "You Don't Treat Me No Good") and "Drink to That All Night."  He has also co-written three singles for Garth Brooks.

DHS Student-Produced Commercial Gets Airtime On 10/11 News

As we reported back in February, four Dorchester students earned a first place finish -- and a $500 award -- in the Better Business Bureau's commercial contest.

Today, the Dorchester-produced commercial was aired and spotlighted on a 10/11 News special feature.

You can see the 10/11 News story and the airing of the commercial by clicking here.

Back in January, the DHS sports marketing class submitted its commercial for the contest. The students' marketing spot is entitled: “Finding Trust: The Lonely Sow" and it features a pig -- specifically a sow -- in search of a “hot date.”

The sow turns to online dating and BBB-endorsed websites.

To win, the commercial needed many online views. The class’ goal was 1,500 views. At last check, the commercial had compiled nearly 1,800 views.

The competition was aimed at giving students the chance to express their creativity while learning the values of BBB: being trustworthy, ethical, reliable and objective.

CRIME ALERT: Crete Woman On The Run From The Law

(Note from the Dorchester Times: As a community service, the Times plans to run stories like these more often. If you have a crime alert, e-mail them to Dorchester.Times@gmail.com.)

A Crete woman is apparently running from the law after helping her Lincoln boyfriend to steal from car washes.

According to the Columbus newspaper, 24-year-old April Fulmer of Crete, who is being sought by authorities after failing to appear for a court hearing in the case, is charged with aiding and abetting burglary and attempted burglary in connection with four break-ins. All of the crimes were recorded by security surveillance equipment.

Fulmer is accused of helping Dustin Fauth of Lincoln for burglarizing Typhoon Car Wash in Columbus on multiple occasions last spring and summer.

Platte County District Court Judge Robert Steinke last week sentenced Fauth to two to three years in prison after scolding the father of three young children, according to the newspaper. 

“You drove from Lincoln to Columbus on multiple occasions because you saw the car wash as too easy a target to pass on,” Steinke told the defendant during sentencing. “It was easier to drive to Columbus and commit burglaries than to go to work.”

Fauth’s lengthy criminal record gave the judge pause. “It’s alarming,” Steinke said. “It tells me you can’t or are unable to learn from your past mistakes.” The Lincoln man has burglary cases pending in district courts in Lancaster and Seward counties.

We at the Times would note this story appeared in the Columbus Telegram one week ago.  We could find no updates on Ms. Fulmer.

NEWS ROUNDUP: One Reader's Wish; DHS Journalism Students Qualify For State

Here's what's trending in the Dorchester area...

One Reader's Vision For Our Main Street:  This week, a reader sent us the picture to the right. She wrote: "If I could restore Dorchester's main street, this is what it would look like." She says the photo was taken in Lincoln, and according to a Facebook commentator, these particular buildings are in the Union College area on 48th Street.  We like this reader's vision and wanted to share it with all our readers.

Longhorn Journalists Headed To State Competition: Dorchester just keeps building on its storied reputation for being a journalism training ground. Congratulations go to the following DHS journalism students who qualified to compete at Nebraska's State Journalism Competition: Brittney Zoubek in yearbook feature writing, yearbook sports feature writing, and yearbook theme copy writing; Makenna Bird in yearbook feature writing and yearbook sports feature writing; Michelle Kotas in yearbook theme copy writing and advertising; Zoe McKnight in sports/action photography; and Breanna Muff in news/feature photography.  In addition, the team of Zoubek, Bird and Kotas qualified in Yearbook theme development. This is Zoubek and McKnight's third time of qualifying for state, and Bird's second. They are advised by Mrs. Sandy Severance.  A big thumbs-up to these budding journalists.

Saline County Museum Keeps Expanding In Dorchester: The Friend Sentinel reports that a new building is going up at the Saline County Museum in Dorchester.  The story quotes Saline County Historical Society President Judy Rada as saying that this new building will be the museum’s 12th since it was established in 1956. The new building will serve as a research station for the museum’s large obituary archive and other records, and the rest of the space will likely be used for storage.  "The museum opened for the 2017 season on April 2 and features new items donated, including a scrapbook of school pictures collected by Bernice Filipi, a cement block maker, and a doll house on loan from the Nebraska State Historical Society based on the Kiddle House in Friend."  The story notes that more than 1,000 different people and entities have donated at least one item to the museum.

Dorchester Alumni Golf Tourney Set For June 3: The fourth annual DHS Alumni Golf Tournament is scheduled for June 3 at the Friend Country Club.  Reservations are needed by May 19.  Four-person teams may enter for $160, or single players can enter for $40.  T-shirts are an additional $15 per person.  For more information, contact Brent Zoubek at 402-946-2781 or bzoubek@dorchesterschool.org.

Big Changes Could Be Coming To Nebraska's Small School Athletics

In the 1980s, Dorchester athletics had to compete with nearby Lincoln Christian, which was able to cherry pick some of the Capital City's better athletes for its Class C teams.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, DHS competed with Class D Falls City Sacred Heart, which, like Lincoln Christian, was able to select high caliber athletes.

Dorchester isn't the only small public school in Nebraska that has often found itself outgunned by private schools in athletics.  Over the past decade, in football, volleyball and boys and girls basketball, 50% of the state's 1st and 2nd place medals have gone to non-public schools, even though those schools comprise just 13% of NSAA member schools.

KWBE Radio reports that could begin to change after an upcoming vote by the Nebraska Schools Activities Association on Friday.

A proposed NSAA rule would penalize schools that have continued athletics success in concurrent years by requiring a jump in class size in a particular sport.

According to KWBE, "If passed, individual sports programs would need to accumulate 10 success points over a four-year period to jump a class. In order to receive a point, a program would need to get into the top eight in their class. A semi-final berth, or a 3rd-4th place finish, would give a school another point, advancing to the championship game or placing 2nd would give a school three points in total, and if you win a state title, four points would be given to the program for that season."

"Once a school reached ten points, they could lose -- or gain -- points based on a few other factors: percentage of students on free or reduced lunch, percentage of students in special education and a school’s proximity to a Class A school."

The rule has already been approved by three of the NSAA's six districts, but it was rejected by three other districts.

The meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. at the NSAA Office in Lincoln on Friday. A three-fifths majority is required to pass the vote.  Click here to see who will be voting.

NEWS ROUNDUP: Get Ready For DHS' Class Of 2030!

Here is what is trending in the Dorchester metro area...

April 11 Is Kindergarten Registration: The DHS Class of 2030 is getting ready to start school already.  In fact, registration for the 2017-2018 Kindergarten class will be held April 11 from 5-7 p.m. at the school.  Then, two days later on April 13, the Kindergarten Roundup will take place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., also at the school.  For questions or more information, call Mrs. Carroll at 402-946-2781.

EPAC Sloppy Joe Dinner, Reading Carnival Is Friday: The Dorchester EPAC Reading Carnival and free-will donation dinner is this Friday evening at school from 5:30 to 7 p.m.  EPAC will be serving sloppy joes and chips during the carnival as a free-will donation fundraiser.  For the kids, there will be games, prizes, raffles, a bounce house, ring tosses, and more.  EPAC is overseen by parents and the school to help DPS teachers and students with classroom supplies, while also advancing the academic pursuits of Dorchester's elementary students. 

DHS Girls' Basketball Golf Fundraiser Is May 20: Want to hit the golf course for a good cause? The Dorchester Girls' Basketball Golf Tournament will be held Saturday, May 20 at 9 a.m. The cost is $100/team (cart and lunch included). There will be mulligans, flag prizes, and a cash pay out for the winners. For more information, contact Brandon Bruha (402-326-3858) or Kyleigh Lewis (402-928-0135).

NSAA Recognizes Four Dorchester Scholar Athletes: It takes a dedicated person to excel in both the classroom and athletics.  So we say congratulations to DHS seniors Jacee Weber, Brittney Zoubek, Tim Havlat and Dustin Nelson.  Those particular students were honored by the Nebraska School Activities Association as scholar athletes. To receive the NSAA honor, an athlete must not only play a key role on their varsity team, they must also maintain a 93% or better in their class work.  Nice job, Longhorns!