Dorchester Times: Superintendent: Dorchester Needs Housing, Economic Development Now

Thursday, June 1, 2017

Superintendent: Dorchester Needs Housing, Economic Development Now

Today, we feature another editorial from Daryl Schrunk, who gives our readers his thoughts on Dorchester and its school after a year on the job. Mr. Schrunk took over as superintendent of Dorchester's K-12 school at the start of the 2016-2017 school year.

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At last month's Village of Dorchester Board meeting, I had an opportunity to visit with the village's elected representatives.

First of all, I would like to thank the board for allowing me the time.

My “talking points” to the board focused on my concerns regarding the school's enrollment. Key points I discussed were:

The need to attract more families with school-aged children to Dorchester;

The need for more economic development to create more economic opportunity;

The need to recruit potential businesses to town; and

The need for housing development.

I started by telling the village board members that Dorchester Public School is not closing its doors anytime soon. However, I have a real concern with our enrollment.

I'd like to do some joint “marketing” with others in the community to attract families (especially Dorchester alumni back) to the community. I envision an advertisement that says: “Dorchester -- a small community with lots to offer. Great school system. Affordable housing available..."

However, the fact is Dorchester does not have houses available.

Our community needs economic development in recruiting both housing and potential businesses.

I have spoken to many alumni especially between the ages of 25-35 who desire to move back to Dorchester. I believe that available housing brings people (which brings families, which equals kids).

With our location -- and our proximity to Lincoln, Seward, Crete, Wilber and Friend -- Dorchester alumni could come back to enjoying the safe, small town life, yet not need to travel far to work.

As for local employment, there are many agriculture-related opportunities that could bring young people back to Dorchester, as well.

Perhaps our town leaders can think of new financial incentives to encourage young couples to buy a house to remodel or build new. Perhaps there could there be incentives for potential businesses to build/relocate in Dorchester?

Again, I want to thank the Village Board for allowing me to share my ideas and concerns. I am certainly not an expert in economic development, but I am willing to be part of the solution.

Daryl Schrunk

Superintendent
(402) 946-2781

dschrunk@dorchesterschool.org

Dorchester offers a quality education, supportive staff, new facilities, advanced technology and many opportunities for students in grades pre-Kindergarten through grade 12. At Dorchester, every student truly matters.

1 comment:

AnonymousJune 2, 2017 at 9:33 AM
Dorchester has a very, very positive vibe right now and you can feel momentum building with the right people doing the right things.

Steve
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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."