Dorchester Times

Saturday, February 27, 2021

Dorchester Baseball, Softball Sign-Up Is Monday, 6 P.M.

Counting down the days until spring?

Here's a sign that warmer days are fast approaching.

On Monday night, March 1, at 6 p.m. in the Dorchester School cafeteria, baseball and softball sign-up will be held.

All Dorchester area boys and girls (ages 6-15) are encouraged to join the team and be part of Dorchester's proud baseball and softball traditions.

If you cannot make the Monday night sign-up, you'll have until March 15 to get registered.

For questions on girls softball, call Brent Zoubek at 402.418.1019 or email brent.zoubek@dorchesterschool.org.

For questions about boys baseball, call Julie Behrens at 402.826.7260 or email julie.behrens4@gmail.com.

NEWS ROUND-UP: COVID-19 Variants, DVFD Meal, Pitch Nights At Legion Hall

U.K. Variant is Here: KFAB reports that Nebraska’s first case of the U.K. variant of COVID-19, known as B.1.1.7, has been confirmed in Douglas County. Health Director Dr. Adi Pour said. “This strain is more easily transmitted, but the available vaccines have shown to be effective against it.” This strain is expected to be the dominant strain in Nebraska by the end of March or first week of April.

Area Risk Meters Are at 'Moderate': The COVID-19 risk meters for Dorchester Public School and Public Health Solutions (serving Saline County) are both currently at the "moderate" level. Things look positive as trends improve, but that could change as variants spread or if people let down their guard.

DVFD Serving Brisket Sandwich Meals: Next Saturday, March 6, the Dorchester Volunteer Fire Department will be serving brisket sandwich meals to go. Meals will be served from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. and can be picked up at the fire station. This is a free-will donation event. Call 402-946-4641 to place an order, or text 402-826-7346.

Pitch Nights at Dorchester Legion: The Dorchester American Legion will be hosting five-point pitch card nights on Monday evenings. The games will begin at 5 p.m. Munchies and refreshments will be served. This event is open to everyone, so come on down.

Anti-Wind Bill Introduced in Legislature: State Sen. Tom Brewer, a western Nebraska Republican and decorated war veteran, has introduced a bill to force counties to enact zoning regulations before authorizing wind energy projects. According to News Channel Nebraska, LB 424 would help control the development of wind energy projects that Brewer says have torn the fabric of communities. He even mentioned the division in Saline County caused by the roughly 100 wind turbines scattered across central and western portions of the county.

Saturday, February 20, 2021

DHS Girls Conclude Season; Boys Prep For Meridian In Sub-District

(Update 2-22-21: The DHS boys lost their sub-district contest to Meridian, 42-48. The team concludes its season at 5-17.)

Earlier this week, the DHS girls basketball team saw their 2020-21 campaign come to a close, falling to Lincoln Parkview Christian, 31-34, in the sub-district D2-2 tournament at Exeter.

Unfortunately for the Lady Longhorns, this was seen as an upset considering DHS had defeated Parkview by double digits earlier this month.

The girls finished the season well above .500 with a 13-9 record.

The Lady Longhorns will lose valuable seniors to graduation, as the Orange and Black Attack now looks to several young players to take control next season under the tutelage of Coach Brandon Bruha.

Meanwhile, the Dorchester boys team concluded their regular season this week, falling to Exeter-Milligan 31-51.

The good news is DHS (5-16) will play 1-19 Meridian on Monday, Feb. 22 in the D2-2 sub-district at Diller-Odell High School. Smart money is on the Longhorns.

Friday, February 19, 2021

Longtime DPS Teacher Doris Kohout Passes

Doris Jean Kohout, 90, was born on a farm five miles northeast of Wilber on June 11, 1930 to Edward and Blanche (Koci) Hronik and passed away on Feb. 16, 2021 at the Wilber Care Center.

Her education started at five when she entered first grade at District 4. She only spoke Czech since that’s what her parents spoke at home, but quickly learned English with the help of her Czech teacher. She graduated with the Crete High School Class of 1947. Then Doris attended 12 weeks of summer school at Peru State College and received her teaching certificate and taught for three years. On Nov. 21, 1950 she married Adolph J. Kohout, Jr. at the Grace Methodist Church in Crete. They lived on the farm ¾ mile north of Saline Center Hall. They had two children, Marilyn and Marvin. She returned to teaching in 1957 and continued her education and received her Bachelor’s of Education from Doane College in 1971. She taught twelve years in rural Schools’ Districts 9, 4, 94, 32 and 57 and in 1970 she taught at Dorchester Public Schools as a Kindergarten teacher for two years and 21 years with first graders, retiring in 1993 after a 35-year career.

Doris enjoyed her retirement, working on her family genealogy, sewing and quilting for her family, gardening, especially flowers that would bloom all summer, raising chickens, ducks, geese and even tried raising turkeys. Her pride and joy were her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

She was a member of ZCBJ-WFLA Saline Center Lodge #389, receiving her 50-year membership pin in 1991, Saline County Educational Association, Dorchester Education Association, Eastern Nebraska Reading Council, Blue Valley Quilt Guild, and a 4-H leader for many years.

She is survived by her daughter Marilyn (Owen) Jensen and son Marvin (Lorraine) Kohout, four grandchildren, and six great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Adolph, sister Betty Favre, and brother Robert Hronik.

A visitation will be held Wednesday, Feb. 24 from 1-7 p.m. at Kuncl Funeral Home in Wilber. Family will greet friends from 5-7 p.m. The service will be held the following Wednesday, March 3, at 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home. The service will be livestreamed and can be accessed via the Facebook icon at the bottom of our website homepage. Memorials have been established to the Doris Kohout Memorial Scholarship Fund at the Dorchester Public School. You can leave condolences here.

Thursday, February 18, 2021

Farmers Cooperative Has Seven Job Openings In Dorchester

Looking for a good job (let's call it a career)? One that isn't in Lincoln?

Farmers Cooperative currently has seven open positions in Dorchester.

According to the agri-business' website, here are the open positions that are based in Dorchester:

Commercial Truck Driver
Custom Applicator
General Application
Maintenance and Millwright Specialist
Refined Fuels Delivery Driver
Service Station Manager
Summer Internship

You can see all these job openings here.

With sales of nearly $800 million, 60 locations, and 600 employees, Farmers Cooperative is a full service supply and marketing cooperative. It's also one of the largest cooperatives in the nation, according to the National Cooperative Bank Co-op 100 list.

For a full history of Farmers Cooperative, see this well-done history brochure.

Sunday, February 14, 2021

DHS Basketball Teams Pick Up More Victories; Preparing For Sub-Districts

It's mid-February and basketball season is winding down. At Dorchester High School, the girls basketball team is preparing for its sub-district contest this Tuesday, while the boys team will play its final regular season game Friday.

The Lady Longhorns won their last five of six games to conclude the regular season with a solid 13-8 record. On Feb. 5, DHS whipped up on Giltner 51-20. Last week, the girls squeaked past Hampton 55-54, only to lose a 34-35 heartbreaker to McCool Junction a few days later.

This Tuesday, Feb. 16, the Lady Longhorns take on Parkview Christian (8-12) in the Class D2-2 sub-district tournament at the Exeter-Milligan School (in Exeter). It's win or go home for both teams.

Meanwhile, the boys basketball team picked up a win this past week, beating Hampton 36-40 in a road contest. The Longhorns, now 5-15 on the year, will take on Exeter-Milligan (6-14) in Dorchester.

Go 'Horns!

Saturday, February 13, 2021

National Weather Service: -40 Degree Wind Chills Possible Through Tuesday

For those who are not tuned into local news, the National Weather Service has issued wind chill advisories and watches from now through midnight Tuesday, Feb. 16. Meanwhile, a winter weather advisory goes into effect tonight.

Here is what weather officials are saying for today, Saturday, Feb. 13:

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 9 PM CST SUNDAY... ...WIND CHILL WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM LATE SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING...

Over the next few days, until Tuesday morning, wind chills of -20 to -30 degrees are expected. Even colder wind chills are possible Monday and Tuesday, possibly as cold as 40 below.

Stay tuned to Dorchester-area weather via our trusted sources at AccuWeather.

Developing...

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."