Dorchester Times: NEWS ROUND-UP: DHS Girls Blaze To 7-1 Start

Sunday, January 4, 2026

NEWS ROUND-UP: DHS Girls Blaze To 7-1 Start

DHS Girls Off to 7-1 Start: Last season's D-2 girls state basketball runners-up are off to an impressive 7-1 start this season. Over the holiday break, the DHS Lady Longhorns defeated Elba, 47-32, and Class C-2 Cedar Bluffs, 32-23. Fans have told the Times that the team's tenacious defense and good ball movement are signs of a well-coached crew. Up next is a Jan. 6 road game at Grand Island Lutheran (1-8) and a Jan. 8 contest at Sterling (3-5). The team returns to Dorchester Jan. 10 to face Palmer (0-7).

Where are DPS School Board's Upcoming Meeting Notices?: We have all seen the staggering increase in property tax bills. (Note: The average $3,100 annual property tax burden on a $300,000 Saline County property is still lower than the average $3,640 state income tax burden on a $70,000 annual salary. But both are too high.) In Nebraska, K-12 school districts receive the largest portion of property tax bills, averaging around 60% of total property taxes collected -- about $1,860 of that average tax bill. So it's important that residents attend their local school board meetings to monitor spending decisions and staff salaries. While we know it's not required by state law, we hope DPS can do a better job at posting upcoming board meetings on the school website. Readers can view past board meeting minutes online.

Saluting Two Longtime Saline County Servants: The Times staff wants to salute two longtime Saline County employees and Dorchester residents on their well-deserved retirements. Treasurer Debbie Spanyers and Roads Maintenance Manager Bill Velder served residents well for several decades, performing their jobs with diligence and respect for the taxpayer and fellow citizens. Mission accomplished, Deb and Bill.

Phil Weber Turns 91: The year 1935 was a memorable one. Amelia Earhart became the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California, the first canned beer was sold, and the first parking meter was installed. Just as important, Dorchester's Phil Weber made his debut in this world. Phil turns 91 today, Jan. 4. Be sure to wish him happy 91st!

Ina Rediger Passes Nov. 7: Here is a late notice on the passing of longtime Dorchester resident Ina Rediger, who died Nov. 7, 2025. She and her husband Ferman -- and their three children, Lynette, Earnest, and Gretta -- called Dorchester home for decades. Read Ina's obituary here.

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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."