The following is a news release sent to the Times by Renew Dorchester. We are publishing it in its entirity.
***
Renew Dorchester – a new, non-profit charity organization –
has announced the winners of its student essay contest.
The “Vision 2030” essay contest asked Dorchester Public
School students (grades 3-12) for ideas on how Dorchester could improve and
grow during the next dozen years, by the year 2030. According to Renew Dorchester officials, the
group received many good ideas, especially from the elementary classes, which
had near 100% participation.
The contest was divided into three divisions, each with its
own minimum-length requirement and cash awards.
Below are the winners as determined by a panel of judges. (Names on the essays were covered to ensure
impartiality.)
Grades
3, 4 and 5
1st
place -- Blake Cerny ($75)
2nd
place -- Hadley Brandt ($50)
3rd
place -- Livia Schweitzer ($25)
Grades
6, 7 and 8
1st place -- Baylor Behrens ($100)
2nd place (tie) -- Andrea Pavlish ($25)
Hailey Schweitzer ($25)
3rd place -- Atley Zoubek ($25)
Grades
9, 10, 11 and 12
1st place -- Alli Novak ($200)
2nd place -- Kyra Creamer ($50)
3rd place -- Ben Nohavec ($25)
The winning essays were formally announced to the Dorchester
Public School student body at a Feb. 6 pep rally held in the school
gymnasium. Renew Dorchester
Secretary/Treasurer Deanna Bird, along with Renew Dorchester board member and Dorchester
Superintendent Daryl Schrunk, presented the cash awards.
Renew Dorchester is a
member-driven, 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to enhance the community’s
quality of life, while expanding Dorchester’s opportunities for the future –
including its main street and housing.
Renew Dorchester is an affiliate of the Nebraska Main Street Network.
Membership
to Renew Dorchester is open to all individuals who care about the village and
its future. Applications are available by
e-mailing RenewDorchester@gmail.com, or
calling 402-418-1021. All donations,
including membership dues, are fully tax deductible.
###
Below are
excerpts from the winning essays.
Grades 3-5
1st place -- Blake Cerny
“First, I
think we need to pave all roads in our village.
This way everyone can have the same advantage of nice road, not just
some people. … Second, I would like to see a grocery store (so) we don’t have
to drive to Crete or Lincoln to buy our food.
Last, I feel we need to build newer homes. Most of the homes in Dorchester are 100 years
old and need upgrades. This is not the
1990s anymore. But I don’t want us to
grow as big as Lincoln. I like
Dorchester being a small community.”
2nd place -- Hadley Brandt
“I want
people to clean up their yards so they look nice and more people want to move
here. … We need a website to give people all over town information about houses
that are for sale and other things that are happening. Technology is growing quickly, so the town
needs to grow with the technology.”
3rd place -- Livia Schweitzer
“One of my
favorite things about Dorchester is that it is very calm and peaceful. Dorchester has lots of friendly people. I think that it is cool that when I pass
someone I can smile and say “hi” and know they will say “hi” back. … By the year 2030, I think we can add paved
roads. One of those roads could lead to
a drive-in theater. There could be a
bowling alley, a gym for training, (and) a place with free wi-fi that served
milkshakes.”
Grades
6-8
1st
place -- Baylor Behrens
By the year 2030, it would be marvelous to see some more
entrepreneurs settle and start more businesses. … Since I was very young, I
have dreamt of towns that have every house up-to-date and filled with pleasant
people greeting you as you pass by. I
speculate that Dorchester will be the first town to achieve this … Dorchester
will become a very well-known town. …
Digital advertising is just one way to spread the word.”
2nd
place (tie) -- Andrea Pavlish
“Most kids can only dream of living in a place like
Dorchester. The future splash pad, affable
people and a remarkable school. … In 12 years, I will be 23 years old. (By then), I could be observing construction
of an apartment building in Dorchester.
Dorchester has this small-town spark that keeps us going and makes us
want to improve every single day. … 2030
will be a year that will see more buildings built and streets paved, with a new
sign that says: “Dorchester, population 1,000.”
To get there, you need attractions.”
2nd place (tie) -- Hailey Schweitzer
“What other students and I can do right now to improve
Dorchester is participate in school sports and show Longhorn Pride. We can show other communities that Dorchester
is a great place to live by respecting their property when we visit other
towns. We can also keep our town looking
nice by participating and organizing community clean-ups. The community residents should all
participate in town events such as the Fourth of July celebration. Young community members can watch how the
more experienced members run and support community services. Dorchester’s FBLA are great community leaders
to look up to.”
3rd
place -- Atley Zoubek
“I’ve lived
in Dorchester my whole life and absolutely love it! If we can get more houses
built, or even fixed up, I see our town growing with great people who others
can trust. … In the future, I hope to
see Dorchester get a bakery, grocery store, and maybe even a bowling alley. …
We need to use technology better to promote events and get the word out more
efficiently to help more people get involved in our community. We can also promote our businesses more.”
Grades
9-12
1st
place -- Alli Novak
“I hope that
by 2030, Dorchester will have paved streets throughout the town, a grocery
store, and maybe a truck stop. … Since Dorchester is near two major highways, a
truck stop would attract people to our beautiful town. … One way for students
to help improve Dorchester right now is by fixing up some of the broken-down
buildings, like the old telephone office, the building next to the bank, and
the building catty-corner to Donna’s Hair Creations. The students could fix them up to what they
looked like before. This way they would
become tourist attractions.”
2nd
place -- Kyra Creamer
“If we were
able to get rid of abandoned, old houses and replace them with new homes and
improved the surrounding land, this could definitely increase Dorchester’s
population. … By expanding our
community, our student population would grow, also, meaning new opportunities
for the town and the school. … What
students like me and others can do now to improve Dorchester is participating
in community service. Simply helping out
others can make a positive impact on the community as a whole.”
3rd
place -- Ben Nohavec
“There are
three things I hope to see in Dorchester in 12 years – a finished splash pad,
more stores and shops, and paved streets. … To fill the commercial buildings on
main street, it doesn’t have to be a grocery store necessarily. A new store could be a high-tech shop that
allows kids to experiment with technology that they didn’t even realized
existed. That would also bring more people to Dorchester.”
(UPDATE: Up to 12 inches are now expected, but as few as 4 inches is also a possibility according to the NWS.) 
