MHS-DHS Football Gets Second Victory; DHS Volleyball Loses Two

The Milford-Dorchester football team snagged another victory on Friday evening in a nail  biter at David City.  The MHS-DHS squad came away with a 8-6 victory, despite a late surge by David City.

Milford-Dorchester found itself up early, 2-0 in the first quarter, due to a safety.  In a defensive struggle MHS-DHS led 8-0 at halftime thanks to a 10-yard TD run, but surrendered a 55-yard sprint to the goal line in the third quarter.

The football team will return to action Friday in Milford as they prepare for the Holdrege Dusters.

In volleyball action, the Lady Longhorns have fallen to 1-3 on the season, as they dropped two matches in Hampton on Thursday night.  In the first contest, Hampton defeated Dorchester, 25-11, 25-17.  In the second match-up, Class D powerhouse Giltner defeated the Lady Longhorns, 25-9, 25-17

The Dorchester volleyball squad returns to action on Thursday against next-door rival Friend High School, followed by a one-day tournament on Saturday in Shickley.

Advice For The Young -- And The Young At Heart

This blog and its staff place much importance on Dorchester's history. We do this because there are lessons to be learned from days gone by.

We also believe in listening to those who are older than us. (Yes, there are still a few people older than those of us on the Times staff.)  For those people, too, carry valuable lessons.

Today, we share with our readers a worthwhile article and an interview with a 104-year-old Florida woman.  In it, the centenarian attributes her long life to an optimistic outlook, a healthy way of life, and an active mind (including reading).  

She also notes that she liked to travel and still likes to gamble. She believes in God and goes to church. She never worried much about money. And she doesn't watch the movies of today because they've "changed" (even though she was a fan of "the pictures" the 1930s and '40s).

The article mentions a recent survey of Americans who have reached age 100 or older. More than one-third of those centenarians said that – if they could do it again – they would spend more time with loved ones.  Another 21% said parents should be stricter with their children.  Those were the top two answers given.

So the point here is, go ahead, invite your friends and family over tonight.  

Take time to reconnect with old friends.  

Don't coddle your kids or be their best buddy, but instill them with life lessons and teach them right from wrong at all times.

Do now what so many can no longer do but wish they had.

Is Six-Man Football An Option At DHS?

There's quite a discussion taking place on the Dorchester Times' Facebook page.  It centers around a question we posed to our Facebook followers: Should Dorchester High School play 6-man football in 2015 -- after the two-year cooperative agreement with Milford has concluded?

Entering the second school year of Dorchester's football merger with Milford, we see benefits, including better competition and a chance to have a sustainable program in an era in which students are not pushed to participate.  However, there are also clear drawbacks:

• Decreased participation. Boys who would likely go out for a stand-alone DHS team don't want to ride the bus to a nearby town everyday.
• Fewer opportunities for Dorchester kids to start/play on merged athletic teams. 
• Loss of revenue suffered by DPS due to no home games at Nerud Field.

Six-man football may or may not be a feasible option for DHS next season. There are only a handful of Nebraska schools -- 18 to be exact -- that play the six-man game, but the number is definitely growing.  Currently, six-man football isn't even a sanctioned program of the Nebraska School Athletics Association, which may not be a bad thing.

The nearest school to Dorchester participating in the state's Six-Man Football Association is Deshler.  Most of the six-man schools are much further west.  

The most obvious negative to playing six-man football would be the travel time.  (Another drawback is you need to be a mathematician to tally some of the high scoring games.)

However, with an organized effort and some phone calls by eastern Nebraska school administrators and coaches, we are certain that six-man football could return to its glorious past.

As we wrote on our Facebook page, Dorchester's six-man teams of the 1950s were quite successful. The reality is, the size of Nebraska's small schools today resembles 1950 more than they do 1980.  Our urban areas have grown, while rural areas have lost population, especially among farm families. Fewer students are participating in sports, even when class sizes are healthy.  

So tell us: Is it time for DHS to bring back six-man football? Check out the Times' survey in the left column of our webpage (non-mobile version) and vote.

Area Rainfall Amounts: Dorchester Gets Another Half Inch

More rain has filled the rain gauges of Saline County this week, as the Times' official gauge showed around 0.50 in. following Tuesday evening's precipitation.

That makes for a little more than 5.60 inches over the past two weeks in Dorchester's village limits.  

Everything is our area is rather saturated, as evidenced by Dorchester's main street drainage -- or lack thereof -- last night.

Areas north and south of Dorchester saw much heavier rainfall.  Here are the area totals:

DeWitt (0.3 miles WNW) ........ 1.15" 
Western (1.2 SE) ...................... 0.69" 
Friend (3.4 E) ........................... 0.55" 
Wilber (7.0 WSW) ................... 0.45"
Dorchester (2.1 NW) ............... 0.41"
Dorchester (4.5 SSE) ............... 0.35"
Tobias (4.7 SSW) .................... 0.20"
Western (4.4 NNE) .................. 0.13"

This Autumn, Send Your Fall Pics To The Times

Dorchester area residents this weekend have received their first real taste of fall, as temperatures dropped into the 40s at night and the days were a bit cooler.

Autumn in Nebraska is a wonderful time of change, filled with vibrant colors, pleasant weather, football Saturdays, fresh fall air, and optimism for a bountiful harvest.

If you live here at this time of year, you probably feel lucky and blessed.  If you don't live here, we will do our best to share the season with you.

The Dorchester Times asks its readers to send us your autumn pictures so that others can see this wonderful change of seasons -- even if they're not in Nebraska.

Send your pictures to: Dorchester.Times@gmail.com.  Be sure to note the "dot" between "Dorchester" and "Times."

DPS Art Teacher Recognized For Inspirational Design

Here's some happy news coming from the Dorchester Public School's art program.

A week before the new school year commenced, DPS art instructor Mrs. Stacy Lutjemeyer received an e-mail asking for artists to submit designs for the Illuminating Lincoln Lighthouse project.  Each piece of art was to be designed in the shape of a light bulb.  Mrs. Lutjemeyer thought this would be a great project to start DPS art classes.  

Mrs. Lutjemeyer informed the Times that the Dorchester students submitted some extremely creative pieces of art -- from  Husker designs to a rural landscape.  Each student also wrote a description of why they chose this design for their light bulb.  

Mrs. Lutjemeyer, who paid the students' entry fee out of her own pocket, took the time to design a bulb herself.  A week later, she received an e-mail with some very nice comments about the student work she sent in.  Also, she learned that her own designs had been chosen to be part of the exhibit next summer -- if a $3,000 sponsor steps forward.  

There was an article in last weekend's Lincoln Journal Star about the project.  

The Times has been informed that if Mrs. Lutjemeyer's design gets a sponsor, she will get a 6 ft. tall light bulb and funding for supplies to decorate it with her design.  Money that is leftover, will go to help support The Lighthouse in Lincoln.  (It is The Lighthouse's 25th year, serving local at-risk youth with year-round programs.) The completed lightbulbs will be on display next summer around Lincoln.  They will be auctioned off after that.

Mrs. Lutjemeyer's design was a tribute to the late actor and comedian Robin Williams.  

Mrs. Lutjemeyer said: "Depression is a ongoing problem everywhere.  Hopefully, this bulb design will promote happiness and spreading it to others that may be down."

As a side note, Mrs. Piper substituted for Mrs. Lutejemeyer while she was in Lincoln yesterday with her design.  Pictured is Mrs. Piper and the Dorchester 8th graders, as the class worked on a project to promote positive things that happen in education at school. 

DHS Volleyball Begins Season Tonight

The 2014 Dorchester High School volleyball team will see its first action of the new season tonight at the Weeping Water triangular.

The Lady Longhorns are looking to forge a culture of winning traditions under a second-year head coach Ty Peteranetz.  

Coach Peteranetz is a self-described "transplanted, Colorado-born Husker fan," who moved to Omaha in 2011 after 30 years in Colorado to be the assistant volleyball coach at the College of St. Mary.  He missed teaching terribly, so he resigned his position with CSM to be an educator and coach at DHS.  He teaches Dorchester's fourth grade.

In 2013, DHS fielded one of the youngest high school volleyball teams in Nebraska.  This season, the Lady Longhorns will have the depth to accomplish some great things, with more than 20 girls expected to be competing for starting roles on the squad. 

Insiders say the increased numbers of players will definitely bring more success, with young but experienced players like Jacee Weber, Kacey Zoubek and Avery Behrens, all of who helped lead the team last season.

2014 DHS Longhorn Volleyball

09/04/14 Palmyra, Weeping Water (Triangular @ Weeping Water)

09/11/14 Hampton, Giltner  (Triangular @ Hampton)

09/18/14 @ Friend

09/20/14   BDS Invite (1-Day Tournament, Several Teams) @ Shickley

09/23/14 Osceola

09/25/14 High Plains Community, Shelby/Rising City (Triangular @ Shelby/Rising City)

09/27/14 Nebraska Lutheran Tournament (1-Day Tournament, Several Teams) @ Waco

09/30/14 @ Sterling

10/02/14 Meridian, Diller-Odel (Triangular @ Diller-Odell)

10/07/14 @ Parkview Christian

10/09/14 Exeter-Milligan, Cross County (Triangular @ home)

10/14/14 BDS, McCool Junction  (Triangular @ home)

10/18-21 Crossroads Conference Tournament (2/3-Day Tournament) @ York

10/28/14 Parkview Christian, Nebraska Christian  (Triangular @ home)

10/31/14 @ Nebraska Lutheran

Dorchester Housing Costs: 52% Below U.S. Average, 29% Less Than Lincoln

If you follow the Times regularly, and you read today's earlier post about Dorchester's

electricity rates, you knew there would be reaction -- both good and negative.  

(Editor's Note: Even when we point out problems, we are always disappointed to see how quickly some people -- friends whom we know and like -- are to publicly disparage the community in which they live.  We wish they would change their ways or just keep quiet on social media.)

Going forward, town leaders should work to find ways to ensure that Dorchester's electric rates are always at or below the state average.  

But we want to remind Dorchester residents of the community's best-kept secret: it's cost-of-living advantage.  

Most of our readers know already that we have it pretty good in Dorchester. Now it has been confirmed by Sperling's Best Places -- a national website that provides data on thousands of metro areas, cities, and neighborhoods.  

We used Sperling's cost-of-living index to see how Dorchester stacks up. Keep in mind that Sperling's indices are based on a U.S. average of 100.  An amount below 100 means Dorchester is cheaper than the U.S. average.  A cost-of-living score above 100 means Dorchester is more expensive.  

Below are the results.

Here's what the analysis tells us:

• Dorchester housing (almost always a family's or individual's biggest expense) is a whopping 52% cheaper than the U.S. average.  This include mortgage, rent and property tax.  52% cheaper -- let this one sink in!
• Groceries in our area stores are 5% cheaper than the U.S. average.
• Health care services in our area are 6% cheaper than the U.S. average.
• Transportation -- which includes gasoline and auto repair -- is 6% cheaper than the U.S. average.

Overall, Dorchester's cost of living is 79.70 based on a U.S. average of 100.  That means in every category other than utilities, Dorchester is less expensive than the U.S. average. 

Other key findings from our research on Sperling's:

• Dorchester holds a cost-of-living advantage over Crete, Friend, Wilber, Pleasant Dale, Milford, and other nearby communities.
• Dorchester's utility rates, according to Sperling's, are in line with Friend, Crete and Wilber -- and are cheaper than Milford and Pleasant Dale (which had an index score of 107).
• John Cougar Mellencamp once sang: "Got nothin' against the big town." And we say the same thing.  But housing in Lincoln and Omaha is nearly 29% more than Dorchester.  

Dorchester Residents, Businesses Face Higher Than Average Electricity Bills

On this website, we often boast about Dorchester's low cost-of-living -- from our community's affordable housing to our school district's below-average tax levy.  Cost of living is a key component to our quality of life.  And as we tell our friends, if you can't afford to live in Dorchester, you're going to struggle almost anywhere else in these great United States.

But we believe in reporting both the good and the bad.  So when we examined utility rates, we were disappointed to see Dorchester utilities are above the Nebraska average.

The average residential electricity rate in Dorchester is 11.79¢/kWh, according to ElectricityLocal.com, a website that compares local utility rates.  This means Dorchester's average residential electricity rate is 17.43% greater than the Nebraska average rate of 10.04¢/kWh.  Crete, Friend and Wilber all have residential electricity rates below the Nebraska average (Crete's rate is nearly 25% less.)

The good news is the average residential electricity rate in Dorchester is 0.76% less than the national average rate of 11.88¢/kWh. Residential rates in the U.S. range from 8.37¢/kWh to 37.34¢/kWh.  The average residential electricity bill in Nebraska is about $100/month, ranking 29th in the U.S. and 6.54% less than the national average of $107.

But we were especially concerned to find that the average commercial electricity rate (for businesses) in Dorchester is 12.45¢/kWh -- 48.57% greater than the Nebraska average rate of 8.38¢/kWh.  The average industrial electricity rate in Dorchester is 13.33¢/kWh, or 90.16% greater than the Nebraska average rate of 7.01¢/kWh.  This is an unfair burden on businesses in our town.

Keep in mind that the Village of Dorchester oversees and owns Dorchester's electrical delivery service, even if the day-to-day maintenance is being performed by the City of Crete for the time being.  This means profit from the utilities stays in Dorchester, which is a good thing, as opposed to sending it to a larger entity like Nebraska Public Power District.

Also, we realize that Dorchester's lower housing costs and property taxes more than offsets the higher than average utility bills.  Nonetheless, this in an area Dorchester leaders should address.

Harvest, A Hundred Years Ago

Soon it will be harvest time in Nebraska, so today we are sharing this postcard photograph taken in 1914 in the rural Dorchester area.  

We are unable to identify the individuals in the photo.  

The back of the postcard simply reads "Farm, Dorchester, Nebr."  

While corn is still corn, much in Nebraska has changed since 1914.  

Back then, the Cornhusker State had 1.2 million residents.  Today we stand at 1.9 million.

In 1914, most farms held between 80 and 120 acres -- and as the photo shows, you harvested your corn by hand. Today, 5,000-acre operations are common. 

A hundred years ago, the average Nebraska farm's value was around $16,000, including land, buildings, livestock and equipment.  Today, we can't count high enough to estimate one farm's modern equipment, muchless what the land is worth.

And in 1914, more than 60% of Nebraska farms were not making any payments to a lender, since most in those days believed in carrying no form of debt, if possible. Today, local bankers rely on farmers to keep borrowing, whether corn is $8 or $3.

To our area farmers, we salute you as harvest time nears.

Getting Rocked!

UPDATE: As of 10 p.m. Sunday night, another 1.15" had fallen on Dorchester.  That makes more than 5" of rain since mid-week.

Late summer thunderstorms are rocking the Dorchester area and much of eastern Nebraska on this last day of August.

Up to another inch of precipitation is predicted over the next hour in Dorchester. Rainfall should cease around 6:45 or 7 p.m.

A tornado watch remains in effect until 9 p.m.  A flood warning has been in effect for the Dorchester area for the past three days.

Stay up-to-date with Dorchester's weather and radar outlook by clicking here.

Flooding Hits Dorchester Area After Big Rains

The heavy rains of the past four or five days have resulted in significant flooding in our area.  In fact, the Dorchester area remains in a flood warning.

The picture on this post is from a Times reader who sent us a glimpse of Turkey Creek near Pleasant Hill as it appeared Friday evening.

Turkey Creek has been out of its banks since Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service tells us that the Big Blue River near Crete was at 22.6 ft. as of 10 a.m. this morning.  That's 4.6 ft. above the flood stage of 18 ft.

The river will continue rising, likely above 23 ft., but it should fall below flood stage by Monday afternoon -- if there is no additional rainfall.

See what the weather forecasters are predicting for the Dorchester area by clicking here.

MHS-DHS Kicks Off Season With 27-6 Win

The Milford-Dorchester football team opened the high school season last night with a convincing victory against Louisville in a Class C-1 battle.  The MHS-DHS squad won 27-6.

Milford-Dorchester is in its second season as a co-op, but this is the first year Dorchester students can play games on varsity.

The MHS-DHS Eagles are coming off a 3-6 season, but coaches and players believe momentum could swing their way in 2014.  Last night, the team moved the ball with relative ease, while the defense showed it was much faster than last year's squad.

Milford-Dorchester returns an impressive 13 starters. One of them is tight end and linebacker Daniel Mitchell, who is a key contributor. 

Dorchester Deluged: 72-Hour Rainfall Amounts In Saline County

UPDATE: Late August rain is quickly ensuring that our area of Nebraska will have a big, big surplus of yearly precipitation heading into autumn.

In parts of York County, they've received more than 10 in. over the past four nights.  Most people there have stopped counting.

Here is a look at rainfall amounts in Saline County over the past 72 hours:

Dorchester (In Town) ................ Around 3.85"
Milford (5.9 miles SSE) .............. 3.20"
Dorchester (2.1 miles NW) ......... 2.60"
Dorchester (4.4 miles SSE) ......... 1.42"
Friend (3.4 miles E) ................. 2.21"
Friend (4.8 miles SSE) .............. 1.99"
Wilber (7.0 miles WSW) ............ 0.90"
Wilber (4.1 miles W) ................ 0.88"
Western (1.2 miles SE) .............. 0.90"
DeWitt (0.3 miles WNW) ........... 0.58"
Tobias (4.7 miles SSW) ............. 0.71"

Dorchester Gets More Rain, But Avoids Huge Amounts So Far

Dorchester was drenched earlier today, but we've avoided the heavy soakers that have hit York county.  One report, compiled by the NeRAIN reporting program, shows that the area just southwest of the communnity of York was deluged with nearly 6.5 inches.

See the York News-Times for images from that community.

In the meantime, rain and thunderstorms are supposed to resume around 5:30 p.m. tonight and continue off and on until tomorrow afternoon.  Keep up on the weather by clicking here.

For the sake of record keeping, here is a list of rainfall totals from our region over the past 36 hours:

• York, 0.6 mile SW -- 6.42"
• York, 1.0 mile ESE -- 5.01"
• Hampton, 2.6 miles ESE -- 2.41"
• Henderson, 3.4 miles ENE -- 2.39"
• McCool Junction, 1.1 miles ENE -- 1.62"
• Seward, 4.7 miles NE -- 1.28"
• Dorchester, 2.1 miles NW -- 0.46"
• Friend, 3.4 miles E -- 0.15"

Dealing With Negative People In A Small Community

Every small community has its handful of negative residents. In a small town, most everyone knows who those negative people are. (Social media even makes it easier to spot them these days.)

These are the folks who can spot flaws in the best of situations.  They are the ones who like to air their negativity publicly. They typically believe that nobody can or could do the job better than them, if ever they were to actually help around town.

Obviously, no one can be happy all the time; no one who isn't on some type of drug can keep a permanent smile on their face.  Yet, putting up with constant negativity is, at best, draining. And at worst, it's a morale killer that negatively affects the attitudes and efforts of fellow residents.

Here are our five strategies we've devised for dealing with negative people in and around a small town:

1.)  Don’t write off the negativity. It’s easy to dismiss negative attitudes and comments with remarks like, “That’s just the way she is.” But sometimes, negative people are pointing out very real problems and legitimate concerns that can and must be addressed.  Town leaders, school administrators and group organizers need to take into consideration all serious comments and complaints, even if from the consistently-negative crowd.

2.)  Consider the circumstances. If an always-negative resident is coping with a personal matter that is affecting his/her behavior, be sympathetic.  In a small town, we often hear what other people said, but we don't know the circumstances that may have prompted the comments.  The truth is, those constantly negative people probably have a big void somewhere in their lives.  (This happens in the big cities just as often, if not more. The Negative Nancys simply aren't as visible there.)

3.)  Make Negative Nancy part of the solution. Sometimes, community leaders simply need to let those who are constantly negative know that their concerns are being heard -- and that it would make more sense for them to tell someone who can do something about it, instead of airing their negative comments for all to hear (or read).  Establishing a special committee and offering a committee spot to the negative person would put the burden on Mr./Ms. Negative to be part of the solution.

4.)  Be rational in your approach.  Negativity is mostly emotional.  Don't combat emotion with more emotion; combat negativity with facts.  For example, if someone is constantly saying the cost-of-living is too high in Dorchester, show them Dorchester has the lowest school levy in Saline County; show them that Nebraska, overall, is one of the very least expensive states in which to reside. 

5.)  Know when to say goodbye. We realize our words aren't so powerful that we can change personalities. Let's all work to bring the negative personalities around by making them part of the solution.  But at the end of the day, in a small town -- just like a big city -- some people only want to complain and wear a constant frown.  Perhaps they feel isolated or can't see it's their own attitude acting as an impediment to making their own community a bit better.  For these people, it's best to leave them alone and not give them a platform.