Happy New Year, Times Readers

The year of the COVID was a challenge. 

As the new year approaches, here's to hope. Here's to courage. And here's to better days ahead. 

We wish our readers a happy, heathy 2021 filled with peace, prosperity, and positive perspective.

Colonel Potter always says it best.

Merry Christmas, Dorchester!

The staff of the Dorchester Times wishes our readers and everyone else a Merry Christmas. 

Thank you for allowing us to come into your home and continue to be a part of the community. 

We are grateful for yet another wonderful year online, and we celebrate this special day by sharing with you the following poem, which reminds us of our little town.

A Small Town Christmas

by Linda Watson Owen

At last! Tomorrow is the day

When our little church has its Christmas play.

Girls and boys, men, women, too,

Will deliver lines in quaint costumes.

Shepherds and wisemen will walk the aisle

To center front then stop and smile.

'The King is born!' will be the story

Of the infant Babe Who came from glory.

Tiny tots with fluffy stuff

Will be the lambs and sweet cherubs.

A star will shine and candles glow

When we perform our Christmas show.

Grandmas will "Ooh!" and gramps will grin

To see their grandkids marching in.

"Away in a Manger" was never so good

As it will be tomorrow in our neighborhood.

Tomorrow is it. All the practice is done.

The music will rise as the story is sung.

And somewhere far deep in the depths of our souls,

The glory of Christmas rises. It flows.

Amid all the flurry of costume and pageant,

A holiness greater than we can imagine,

Will visit our church, settle into our hearts

For that is where Christmas, God's Gift, truly starts.

The love Jesus brought, the joy that He brings,

Is the melody every heart here truly sings.

Yes, tomorrow our evening of pageant will say,

"It's Christmas again in Small Town USA."

Here's A Look At Dorchester's Government Budget

According to public documents, the Village of Dorchester's cash reserve for fiscal year 2020-21 is significantly lower compared to the past two years.

The village's official budget form shows the 2020-21 budgeted cash reserve -- as approved by the village board -- at $83,610 or roughly 6% of the village budget. This compares to a cash reserve of more than $844,000 last fiscal year and more than $900,000 for fiscal year 2018-19. 

Other interesting figures revealed in the village's official budget for the current fiscal year include:

• Dorchester's village government will take in around $175,000 this fiscal year in property tax revenue.

• Total expenditures and transfers for this fiscal year are budgeted at nearly $3.2 million. That's compared to about $2.3 million two years ago. 

• $197,000 has been budgeted for the village streets. Last year, that amount was more than $630,000. Six years ago, in 2014, more than $213,000 was budgeted for streets.

• The largest budget item is electric utilities, consuming a budgeted $989,000. That's more than double what was spent in this category last year.

Operating a village's essential services is an expensive endeavor. See the village's budget, made available through the Nebraska auditor's office, for yourself by clicking here.

Longhorn Basketball Teams Split Contests Against Osceola

Dorchester's girls basketball team picked up its third victory of the young season on Thursday night, Dec. 17, beating the Osceola Bulldogs 44-26.

The contest was not close after the half, when DHS commanded a 24-10 lead.

The Lady Longhorns were led by Jacee Zoubek, who poured in 27 points. Other scorers included: Novak 9, A. Zoubek 3, Schweitzer 3, Kotas 2.

The girls team, now 3-2, are preparing for the Dec. 28-29 Weeping Water Holiday Tournament.

Meanwhile, the DHS boys basketball team did not fare as well this week, dropping their contest against Osceola 54-35.

Leading scorers for the Longhorns in the loss were Blake Hansen with 12 and Kohl Tyser with 10. Other scorers included: Tachovsky 8, Ladely 4, Cerny 1.

The boys squad, 2-2 on the season, are also preparing for the Weeping Water Holiday Tourney.

NEWS ROUND-UP: DHS Basketball Teams Beat Harvard, Grandparents Can Now Attend Games

Dorchester Basketball Teams Win at Harvard: Both of Dorchester's basketball teams picked up another win on Tuesday night, Dec. 15 with victories over the Harvard Cardinals. The Lady Longhorns (2-2) won 48-26, while the boys (2-1) won 42-37. Both DHS teams will play their last game of 2020 on Thursday night, Dec. 17, facing Osceola in Dorchester.

Grandparents May Now Attend School Activities: Dorchester school officials report that the Nebraska School Activities Association has revised its COVID-19 guidelines for winter activities, which run until Jan. 4. DHS will continue to utilize the guest/pass system it currently has in place (fan attendance limited to households of participants), but it will now include grandparents. This will apply to the home basketball games vs. Osceola this Thursday, Dec. 17.

Friend Students Getting a Greenhouse: The Friend Public School Board of Education recently approved the purchase and construction of a greenhouse to be built on or near its grounds. We share this only because we think more young people today need to be instilled with basic survival skills, and we commend this thoughtful action by the Friend school board.

Leading Candidate for Stupid Thief of the Year: The Crete News reports that a 21-year-old Crete man has been charged with felony theft after allegedly stealing thousands of dollars in lottery tickets from the Lincoln gas station where he worked. Odds of winning: 1 in 250,000. Odds of going to prison: better than winning the lottery.

TIME Picks Biden, Harris as Persons of the Year: In the year of COVID-19, after more than 300,000 Americans have died with the disease (not necessary from it), TIME magazine has selected Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as its "persons of the year." As health care workers fight daily on the front lines -- resulting in the majority of them contracting the disease -- TIME's selection of two longtime, wealthy politicians during a time of major human suffering and political division is an insult. And that's the way it is.

Times Is Now on Parler: The Dorchester Times has been on Facebook and Twitter for years. We're now on Parler as well. Check it out. The newer social media platform is gaining popularity because it does not censor content. (Facebook has tightened it algorithms, limiting our audience reach as the company relies increasingly more on advertising. So far, we've been impressed with Parler's format, which is less clunky and cluttered than Facebook.)

Wanted: Your Nominations For Dorchester's Citizen Of The Year

The Dorchester area has plenty of movers and shakers.  

These are the people who improve the quality of life in and around town. 

Now it's time to call them out. And you have only a short time to do so.

From business owners to school staff and students, elected officials to organization leaders, our town and area community are comprised of many people who deserve recognition for their work to improve their neighbors' quality of life.

The Times wants to know which Dorchester area resident has contributed the most to his or her fellow citizens in 2020. Who should be named Dorchester's "Citizen of the Year"? 

We want your nominations. And tell us why he or she is deserving of the accolade. 

Nominations may be submitted in the comments section of this story or by e-mail at Dorchester.Times@gmail.com.

The Times will name its Dorchester "Citizen of the Year" in late December.

NEWS ROUND-UP: Andrea Pracheil Elected Village Board Chair; DPS COVID-19 Risk 'Moderate'

Pracheil Elected Chair of Village Board: Andrea Pracheil was elected chair of the Dorchester village board by her fellow board members at the board's December meeting on Dec. 7. Matt Scholz has been elected chair pro tem, meaning he will be in charge of meetings when Pracheil is not present. The village board has also assigned its members to key oversight posts in the following areas of village business: Parks (Sarah Wenz), streets (Roger Miller), sewer/water (Pracheil), cemetery (Scholz), electricity (Miller), buildings (Kelly Vyhnalek), and safety (Wenz). Gloria Riley was reappointed as town clerk and treasurer. (We would post minutes from the meeting, but they haven't been updated online since September.)

DPS COVID-19 Risk Remains Moderate: Dorchester Public School's COVID-19 risk meter remains at the "moderate" level, despite school case numbers being very low. This is because Saline County's overall risk remains in the red zone, as determined by local public health officials. The school reminds parents that they will be contacted if their child(ren) is/are deemed to have been in close contact with a positive individual.

DHS Boys Basketball Team Suffers First Loss: The Dorchester boys basketball team struggled last night (Friday, Dec. 11) in its first road contest of the season. DHS fell to Bruning-Davenport/Shickley by a score of 38-13. 

DHS Girls Drop Two This Week: The DHS girls basketball team lost its two contests this week. On Thursday, Dec. 10, the DHS girls dropped its game against Exeter-Milligan 35-17, despite being led by Jaycee Zoubek's nine points. The Lady Longhorns then fell to BDS last night (Friday, Dec. 11) by 52-26. DHS was again led by Jaycee Zoubek, who scored 11.

Consumer Alert - Fake N95 Masks: In this era of COVID-19, be careful who you're buying masks from. Federal authorities seized over 100,000 counterfeit N95 masks from a warehouse in El Paso, Texas. The masks looked exactly like N95s produced by 3M.

No Thanks to You, Andrew: One hundred fifty-four years ago this month, in December 1866, Congress overrode President Andrew Johnson's veto of a resolution that named Nebraska as the 37th state. It is the only time in the nation's history that a statehood measure became law despite a president's veto. It makes us wonder why Nebraska has a Johnson County or anything else named after Andrew Johnson.

NEWS ROUND-UP: Village Board Meeting Is Tonight; Zoubeks Named To All-State Volleyball Team

More Legal Actions Coming Against Messy Property Owners?: Tonight (Monday, Dec. 7) at the Dorchester Volunteer Fire Department Hall, the Village of Dorchester board will hold its December meeting at 7 p.m. There's speculation that the board could take further action to crack down on negligent property owners following last month's legal victory.  In late November, a resident in the northwest quadrant of town pleaded guilty to violating Dorchester's ordinances prohibiting neglected or littered properties.

No Fireworks Stand in 2021?: It was brought to our attention that at a recent Village of Dorchester board meeting this fall, the Dorchester 4th of July Committee informed board members that there were no plans to have a fireworks stand in town next year. This would mark the first time in many years there would be no official town fireworks stand. A victim of COVID or a lack of community support, it seems.

Zoubeks Named to All-State Volleyball Team: Dorchester volleyballers Jacee Zoubek and Abigail Zoubek have been named to Lincoln Journal Star's honorable mention list for Class D-2's all-state team. Congrats to these Lady Longhorns.

Dorchester Native Lorene (Divoky) Trachta Passes at 92: Dorchester native Lorene Edna Trachta of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, passed away Wednesday, Dec. 2. Lorene was born Feb. 26, 1928, in Dorchester, the daughter of Albin and Helen (Srajhans) Divoky. See her obituary here.

Dorchester Basketball Teams Jump To 1-0 Starts

Dorchester High School basketball is off to a great start as both the girls' and boys' teams opened their 2020-21 campaigns with victories on Friday evening.

The Longhorn boys rocked Meridian 54-32 in the season opener. At halftime, DHS commanded a 26-10 lead and never looked back. 

Senior Kohl Tyser led the Longhorns with 24 points. Other scorers for DHS included: Ladely 3, Brummett 6, Hansen 13, and Tachovsky 8.

The Lady Longhorns also won by a comfortable margin, 42-27. At halftime, DHS had already put the game away, leading 31-6.

The girls will face a big challenge on Thursday, Dec. 10 as Exeter-Milligan comes to town. The Timberwolves are already 2-0.

The boys will next be in action on Friday, Dec. 11, hitting the road to take on the always-tough BDS (Bruning Davenport Shickley). 

See the DHS boys' full season schedule here.

See the DHS girls' full season schedule here.

***

Keep in mind these guidelines if you plan to attend any winter sporting events at DHS this season. Fans are required to wear face coverings at all times (must cover the nose and mouth), and capacity restrictions will be in place. Of course, restrictions are subject to change based on the COVID-19 risk.

A smarter option, especially for older fans, might be to watch the the Dorchester's home contests by using DHS' Striv streaming channel.