Sunday Will Kick Off DHS Homecoming Events

With no football team playing at Nerud Field this season, Thursday, Oct. 9, has been designated at DHS' homecoming.

Dorchester's homecoming week will begin tomorrow, Sunday, with 5 p.m. pep rally at the Dorchester School.  

A pancake feed in the school cafeteria will follow from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.  Pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs and juice will be served.  

Dorchester's Farmers Cooperative has generously donated the pancake mix, plates and eating utensils.

On Thursday, the DHS volleyball team will host 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. games against Nebraska Christian and Parkview Christian, which will serve as the school's homecoming contests.

The DHS-Milford football game will be at Raymond Central on Friday, Oct. 10.

MHS-DHS Beats Lincoln Christian, 26-18

In a chilly early October contest in Milford Friday night, Milford-Dorchester opened up a first half lead against a solid Lincoln Christian squad and never looked back.  The combined Eagle-Longhorn squad beat the Crusaders 26-18.

Christian did score first in the opening quarter, but MHS-DHS answered relatively quickly with a 46-yard run.  The Crusaders recaptured the lead in the second quarter, only to find themselves trailing following a long march by MHS-DHS that was capped off by the first extra point of the contest.  

MHS-DHS added another TD and point-after, increasing their lead 20-12 at halftime.  Things got a little tight in the third quarter as the score narrowed to 20-18, but a TD run by DHS-MHS' Havlat ensured a 26-18 victory.

The Milford-Dorchester squad is now 4-2 on the season.  This coming Friday, they will travel to Raymond Central in a 7 p.m. contest, followed by a game in Milford against Lincoln Lutheran on Oct. 17.

DPS Students Demonstrate Academic Skills On Assessment Tests

In recent years, some have criticized statewide and national assessment tests given to

measure the performance of our public schools.  We have never understood this fear of what amounts to a measuring stick to ensure that taxpayers are getting their money's worth -- and that our kids are actually learning in the classroom.

Fortunately, results from Nebraska's most recent student achievement test indicate Dorchester Public School students and faculty are focused on learning and on outperforming their peers.

• According to information from DPS administration, since 2009, Dorchester students have shown an increase in the percentage of students who've demonstrated proficiency on the statewide reading assessment, up from 68% to 83%.  

• Since 2010, DPS student proficiency in math has grown from 74% to 77%, while proficiency in science has average 80%.

• Dorchester's current ACT test scores (used for college admittance) show DHS students have outperformed their Nebraska peers for each subject category on the ACT assessment.  The average composite score for Dorchester last school year was 24.2; compare this to the state average of 21.7.

That's real progress being made in the classrooms of DPS -- even though let's not forget Dorchester has traditionally outperformed many area schools.  Congratulations, Longhorn students and teachers.

Leonard Bartek Passes At 69

Leonard J. Bartek, age 69, of Dorchester passed away on Monday, September 29, 2014. He was born on March 2, 1945 in Staplehurst, Neb. to Jerry and Georgia (Dvorak) Bartek. Leonard joined the U.S. Air Force in September, 1965 and served until February, 1969. He was married to Teresa (Vargo) Bartek on July 11, 1970.

He was preceded in death by father Jerry, mother Georgia, step-mother Bessie, brothers Valerian and Albert, sister Angela Lucas, and step-sister Pauline Nannen.

He is survived by wife Teresa, son Mark, brothers Gerald and Benedict, half-sister Marlene, step-sisters Wilma Chrastil and Evelyn Kasl, step-brother Art Pracheil, and many nieces and nephews.

Memorial Services are Friday, 3 pm, Kuncl Funeral Home, Crete. Cremation; no visitation.

Dorchester Area Receives Up To 5" In 24 Hours

Since yesterday morning, Dorchester has received more than 3.5 inches of rain in gauges in town.  

That's considerably less than the totals reported in parts of Crete and Lincoln, but it's still a sizable amount of precipitation for the end of September.  

Area corn and soybean fields will be wet for days to come.  More rain is possible today and Thursday.

Since Aug. 28 -- just 35 days -- Dorchester and the surrounding area have received around 8.5" to 9" of rain.  

Parts of Lincoln 9 inches of rain in parts of Lincoln.  In Crete, rainfalls topped 6 inches.

Unofficial rainfall totals reported to the National Weather Service included 8.9 inches at the Lincoln wastewater treatment plant, 8.5 inches near West O and 20th streets, and 7.2 inches near 56th and Holdrege streets, according to the Journal Star.  (The LJS photo above is from Holmes Lake in Lincoln.)

Flood warnings are up for several creeks and rivers, including the Big Blue River and Turkey Creek.

Here are the area rainfall totals since Tuesday morning:

Crete (in town) ................................ 6.42"
Dorchester -- 4.5 miles SSE ............ 5.00"
Wilber -- 4.1 W ............................... 4.85"
Western -- 4.4 NNE ........................ 4.40"
Wilber -- 7.0 WSW ......................... 4.31"
Western -- 1.2 SE .......................... . 3.56"
Tobias -- 1.8 E ................................ 3.30"
Dorchester -- 2.1 NW ..................... 3.10"
Friend -- 3.4 E ................................ 2.72"
Friend -- 4.8 SSE ............................ 2.69"
DeWitt -- 0.3 WNW ....................... 1.52"

Crisis: Nearly 1 in 3 Saline Co. Residents Are Obese

A new report says Nebraska had the nation's 23rd highest adult obesity rate in 2013. 

That's according to the Associated Press, which reports the Trust for America's Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that 29.6% of adults in Nebraska were obese last year.  

This is nearly a 2% jump from the previous year.

Nebraska's obesity rate was higher than in Colorado and Wyoming but lower than its neighboring states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota.

The Dorchester Times did its own research and found Saline County is a bit heavier than the average Nebraska county. 

More than 31% of Saline County residents -- nearly one in every three -- are obese, according to health data.  

The definition of obese is "the condition of being grossly fat or overweight."  The medical definition is having a body mass index (fat to muscle ratio) in excess of 30.

Meanwhile, obesity rates have tripled nationwide since 1980.  The age group where the rates are growing the fastest? Children.

Parents take the blame for this, but our society on the whole is the problem. Kids lack the ability to buy and choose their own food. They’re at the mercy of what the rest of us give them.  One of the biggest causes in our bad nutrition is that we’re reluctant to eat at home, opting instead for fatty, high-carbohydrate fast food, sodas and convenience food (such as cereals, so-called 'nutrition bars', and the like).

In 2009, almost 50% of our food spending was made on fast food or other food not cooked at home.   When we do eat at home, it's typically lots of starches, breads and processed foods -- which pack on the pounds.  It's actually rare to see families dine around the table nowadays, sharing lean meat, cooked veggies and fruits, and a glass of skim milk.

We hope Dorchester parents (and teens who are old enough to know better) are making wiser choices.

Lady Longhorns Enter Exhausting Part Of Schedule

It has been a busy week for the Lady Longhorns volleyball team, also known as the "Orange and Black Attack."  The team now sports a record of 4-10, but half of those losses have been to Class C2 or D1 teams.

The young DHS squad started last week by beating the Osceola Lady Bulldogs in Dorchester, where team members celebrated Parents Night.

Last Thursday, the Lady Longhorns dropped contests to High Plains Community and Shelby/Rising City at the Shelby triangular tournament.

On Saturday, DHS picked up another win against Parkview Christian, but lost games to Lawrence-Nelson and Nebraska Lutheran, who will take on Dorchester again in the final regular season game.

The Lady Longhorns are back in action tomorrow, Sept. 30, against a 1-10 Sterling team. On Thursday, Oct. 2, DHS will be part of a triangular event at Diller-Odell.

Smile, Dorchester -- You're In One Of America's Happiest States

You have good reason to smile, Dorchester.  Nebraska has just been named (again) one of America's happiest sates.

In a new study conducted by financial website WalletHub.com, Nebraska has been named one of America's five happiest states.  

To determine its findings, WalletHub examined 26 key metrics from each of the 50 states. 

This included statistics on financial security, mental and physical health, job situation, environment, social connections, sports participation, volunteerism and general outlook on life.  

Nebraska, according to the study, is ranked the No. 5 happiest of all the states.  Only Utah, Minnesota, North Dakota and Colorado are ranked higher than the Cornhusker State.  Nebraska outshines Colorado in the areas of "work" and "community."

In the category of "work," Nebraska scored very high marks (fourth best) due to its commute times income levels as compared to cost-of-living, and low jobless rate.

Nebraska also performed well in the category of "community, environment and recreational activities" due to its high volunteerism rate, percentage of children in married families, fewer divorces and low crime.

We suggest Nebraskans -- and especially those in Saline County -- need to reinforce to our kids how the grass really is green on OUR side of the fence.  Encourage our young people to make their home here at home.

Hampton Situation Is Reminder Of Expense Of Aging Buildings

The Associated Press is reporting that even though voters in Hampton (population 439) approved spending $750,000 to construct a new city hall, officials now say the project might cost more -- around $900,000 after only one bid was made for the project.

Village Clerk Sue Dallegge, who has worked at city hall since 1989, said the current building has a leaky roof and cracks in some walls. Moreover, some city equipment, such as a backhoe, won't fit inside. "It's in sad shape," Dallegge said.

This story is a reminder that buildings, no matter how well constructed, have a limited life span.  We suspect that most, if not all, of the commercial buildings on Dorchester's main street are in need of structural rehabilitation. 

This leads us to ask the following:

• What is the long-term plan to repair Dorchester's downtown structures? 
• How do we encourage private owners to make the necessary improvements? 
• Does Dorchester need a "building improvement fund" to match the efforts of business owners? 
• Should the village get in the business of repairing commercial buildings and renting them to budding entrepreneurs?

Without a doubt, these are tough questions.  Nonetheless, the community probably needs to start having this discussion now to plan for Dorchester's future.

DHS Grad Gerry Znamenacek Passes At 54

Gerry L. Znamenacek, 54, of Lincoln passed away at home on Sept. 20, 2014. He was born Dec. 9, 1959 in Crete, Nebraska to Lester and Joann (Horky) Znamenacek. Gerry graduated from Dorchester High School in 1978, where he wrestled, played football and baseball. Gerry worked for Nebraska Correctional Services for 22 years. He loved fishing, camping, the mountains, and Husker football.

Preceded in death by his father; grandparents, Fred and Agnes Znamenacek and Henry and Rose Horky; and cousin, Randy Portsche. Survived by his mother; sons, Michael (Allie), Tyler, and Mitchell; sister, Leslie (Mark) Kinzie; brother, Kevin (Jane) Znamenacek; aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.

Funeral Services will be Friday, Sept. 26, 2014 at 10 a.m., Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home, 6800 So. 14th St., Lincoln. Family requests casual attire. Visitation will be Thursday (9/25) from 4-8 PM. Interment at Lincoln Memorial Park. Memorials in care of the family. Condolences may be left online at www.lincolnfh.com.

OPINION: Church Members, Baseball Players Lead By Example

Today, we wanted to give a shout out to the leaders and members of the Dorchester United Methodist Church, as well as the Dorchester Little League Baseball players.

Both organizations require money to make needed upgrades and improvements.  And both are leading by example, raising money to meet those needs -- not by just holding out their hands, but by working hard to earn those funds.

In just one week, the Dorchester baseball players sold raffle tickets to raise more than $650 for new equipment.  In a single afternoon, the church raised thousands of dollars with its annual auction, conducted by Novak Auction Service.

It's not the amount of money raised that impresses us most.  Instead, it's the initiative demonstrated by the church's congregation and the ball players to improve their lot.  

As with any effort, some did more than their fair share of the heavy lifting.  But the main point is that a rising tide lifts all boats.  In short, everyone affiliated with these organizations will benefit.

Way to go, Dorchester.  Give yourself a pat on the back.

DHS-MHS Falls To Holdrege; Lady Longhorns Take 5th

The Milford-Dorchester football team suffered its second loss of the young season on Friday night against Holderege.  The final score from Milford was 27-6.

With Holdrege leading by a touchdown in the fourth quarter, MHS-DHS gave up a 46-yard run that changed the momentum of the game. Cole finished with 92 yards on 14 carries.

MHS-DHS is now 2-2 and will face Fairbury on the road next week.

Meanwhile, the DHS volleyball squad took fifth place at the Bruning-Davenport-Shickley tournament.  Hampton defeated Dorchester 25-14, 25-14.  Silver Lake defeated Dorchester 25-22, 25-14.  But the Lady Longhorns bounced back to defeat Harvard 25-20, 25-10.

The DHS volleyball squad will have a busy week ahead, being in action Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Friend Proves Too Powerful For Lady Longhorns

Last night in Friend, the Class D-2 Dorchester Lady Longhorns (1-3) took on the Class D-1 Friend Lady Bulldogs (8-3) in a battle of the next-door rivals.

Some Longhorn fans said before the game they were optimistic about DHS' chances, considering the talent on this year's team.  

But FHS, whose volleyball team earned third at last year's Nebraska High School Volleyball Tournament, let the Dorchester squad know they have some maturing and improving to do if they're going to compete with the area's top talent. 

Friend soundly defeated the Dorchester girls, 25-10, 25-19, 25-8.

Tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 20, the Longhorns head to Bruning-Davenport-Shickley for a tournament.

Fall Pictures From Dorchester

Fall is still officially a week away, making its debut Sept. 23.

But it certainly feels like autumn already as temperatures last week were well below average -- coming dangerously close to our first frost on Sept. 13.

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 during this time of year, you should feel lucky and blessed.  

The Dorchester Times recently asked its readers to send us their autumn pictures.

Today, we share with you a fall photo we've been sent.  We hope you it as much as we did.

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

Dorchester UMC Auction, BBQ Is Sunday, Sept. 21

Dorchester United Methodist Church’s Annual Community Auction will be held Sunday, Sept. 21, 2014.

All Dorchester area residents are encouraged to join the fun, which will be held on the church grounds. 

The day's activities begin with a beef and pork barbecue from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  

The auction starts at 1 p.m. and will continue through approximately 4 p.m.  

During the auction, time will be set aside for the annual children's cake raffle -- always a big hit with grandparents.

There will be numerous auction items that will be of special interest. Novak Auction Service will be taking the bidding.

We hope all Times' readers will enjoy the first weekend of fall by supporting the community's church and the good work of its members by contributing generously at this Sept. 21 auction.

Check Out This Fantastic Dorchester Home; Available Now

Dorchester is a great town and it's getting noticed for all the right reasons. Just consider what Dorchester has to offer:

• A new K-12 school.
• A peaceful and safe community.
• A new water tower and upgraded sewer system.
• The lowest school tax levy in the county.
• Affordable cost of living.
• One of the largest agri-businesses (Farmers Cooperative) in the state.
• Good people for neighbors.
• A 10-minute drive from many employers in Crete and Seward. And only 30 minutes to jobs in Lincoln. Located next to two highways and minutes from Interstate 80.

However, one challenge facing Dorchester is housing.  We've heard from many readers who've said they would like to move to Dorchester, if only homes were available.

Today, we showcase the latest Dorchester home available right now.  If you're ready to call Dorchester home, we encourage you to take a look.  

404 W 11th Street:  If you like small town living, this is the house for you.  All new inside and out! Owner has updated the interior with new kitchen, bath, plumbing, flooring and paint. Has new windows, vinyl siding, a/c, furnace, roof and gutters. This is ready to move into and has four possible bedrooms, with one of them being on the main floor, along with the laundry. Located on a very large corner lot with new two stall garage and plenty of room to add a shop or out building.

Click here for more information.