Will Dorchester's Water Park Open This Summer?

Just a few months ago, Dorchester residents -- especially the under-12 set -- were busting with excitement over news that the final features, including a "mega soaker," had been installed at the city park's new water park.

Then a global pandemic came along.

Sources tell us there are currently no plans to open the Dorchester splash pad this summer. That decision was reached earlier this month by the Dorchester Village Board, which oversees the splash pad's maintenance and operations. 

In the era of COVID-19, it seems there are liability fears. Lawsuit concerns have plagued Dorchester's governing body -- and volunteer organizations -- ever since legal action was taken by a town resident in the early 2000s following a July Fourth accident.

Now several parents are weighing in on the Dorchester Community Foundation Fund's social media, saying they want the splash pad opened immediately. (The Foundation was responsible for raising the money needed to fund the splash pad.) 

One resident wrote: "Can we have a community vote to open the splash pad??? If you are scared just stay home."

Another parent weighed in, saying: "Other towns are opening their pools. (The splash pad) is safer than a pool. I thought sun was good and killed the virus anyway."

We should mention that the Dorchester Times has been bombarded with emails asking when the water park will open. We cannot answer that since none of the six staff members of the Times currently has a role in village government.

Because the splash pad is the property of the village, it can be opened only by the village board. 

Some residents have suggested the use of liability waivers, signed by parents, to absolve the village of any liability. Others have said that parents will need to take turns patrolling the kids if the water park operates this summer. And some have recommended that small blocks of time be reserved so the pad can be used just by kids who live in the same households.

As of today, June 13, there is no announcement regarding the splash pad on the village's official website, leaving parents and their kids in the dark.

Developing...

Saline County Man Snags Nebraska Record With 89-Pound Catfish

PHOTO: NEBRASKA GAME AND PARKS

Saline County's Richard Hagen's recent outing to the Missouri River resulted in him landing an 89-pound flathead catfish. The Omaha World-Herald says he also landed a new state record with the catch.

The state's previous record for a flathead was 80 pounds.

Hagen, of Swanton, caught the monster he named Brutus along the river near Brownville, according to the World-Herald's account. He was fishing overnight Saturday with his brother, Darin.  

He hooked Brutus using a bluegill for bait with a Meat Hunter rod and a Penn Fierce 3 bait-running spinning reel. He had Whisker Seeker 50-pound monofilament line.

“That’s the biggest freshwater fish I’ve ever seen up close,” conservation officer Matt Seitz said. “It was an amazing fish.” He expects it to be a long time before the record is broken again.

The 61-year-old’s phone has been blowing up since news of the state record has spread. 

The Omaha paper says Hagen had hoped to find it a home for Brutus, but the tanks at Schramm Education Center can’t accommodate a fish that size, and he couldn’t get any of the big sporting goods stores to bite. So he released Brutus back into the Missouri River.

See the full article here.

FLASHBACK: Three Years Ago, Jerrod Niemann Rocked Dorchester's Main Street

Three years ago this month -- on June 3, 2017 -- big-time country artist Jerrod Niemann conducted a concert on Dorchester's main street.

The concert was part of City Slickers Bar and Grill's "City Lights, Country Nights" street party. 

For those who don't know, Niemann is a top-ten country music singer and songwriter who hails from Liberal, Kansas, but has gone on to become a Nashville celebrity.  

Niemann's debut single, "Lover, Lover", was released in early 2010. In March 2010, the song became Niemann's first Top 40 single on the country music charts and in August hit number 1. The song is included on his first major-label album, Judge Jerrod and the Hung Jury.  The album's second single, "What Do You Want", debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in October. In May 2011, "What Do You Want" peaked at number 4. The album's third single, "One More Drinkin' Song", reached number 13 in December 2011.

Niemann released his fourth Arista single, "Shinin' on Me", on April 9, 2012. His second Arista album, Free the Music, was released on October 2, 2012. The album's second single, "Only God Could Love You More", was released to country radio on October 29, 2012.

"Drink to That All Night" was released in late 2013 as a single for his third album for Arista. The album, High Noon, was released in March 2014, and in April "Drink to That All Night" became his second number 1 single.

In March 2017, Niemann released the single "God Made A Woman," a song he called "my favorite song I’ve ever recorded." It served as the lead-off single to his fourth studio album, This Ride, which was released via Curb Records on October 6, 2017. "I Got This" was released as the album's second single, and it peaked in the top 40 of the Country Airplay chart.

He has also co-written three singles for Garth Brooks: the Chris LeDoux tribute "Good Ride Cowboy", as well as "That Girl Is a Cowboy" and "Midnight Sun". Jamey Johnson, Neal McCoy, Julie Roberts, Flynnville Train, and Zona Jones have also recorded Niemann's songs.

NEWS ROUND-UP: Cerny Resigns From Village Board, New Homes Going Up, Graduation Date Set

Cerny Resigns From Village Board: Thomas Cerny, chairman of the Dorchester Village Board of Trustees, has stepped down from his position due to health concerns. Cerny, a longtime and active volunteer in the community and in organizations such as the Dorchester American Legion, was elected to the village board most recently in 2018. Last year, he announced he was battling a resurgence of cancer. No word yet on who will replace Cerny since board minutes are not posted to the village government's website. Here's a heartfelt salute to Tom Cerny for his dedication and service to his community.

DHS Graduation Ceremony Set For June 19: Dorchester Public School recently announced that graduation for DHS' Class of 2020 will take place Friday, June 19, at 6:30 p.m. Social distancing and other safety protocols will be in place, and the gym will be allowed to fill to only 25% capacity. For those who cannot or should not attend in person, the ceremonies will be broadcast live on the school's online streaming service.

DPS Principal Moving On: Speaking of school news, it was brought to the Times' attention that Ade Allen, Dorchester Public School principal, is departing the school after eight years at DPS for new career opportunities. In a social media post, Allen wrote: "These years have been full of friendships, hard work, support, laughs, challenges and love. We have so many amazing memories to take with us that we will forever cherish. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all you have done for our family. We will miss you all!"

More New Homes Going Up In Dorchester: For those who haven't yet seen the construction on Dorchester's north side, another new home is under construction. This home, which will lie north of 12th Street, will be the first home in Dorchester's newly annexed division. This won't be the only home built in 2020, according to several sources. A new home is also going up on Dorchester's east side, as well as south of the highway on Whitmar Ave. Ironically, these are the same building sites the Times notified the public about just a couple of years ago. Last year, Dorchester saw the construction of two new homes -- the first new construction in several years. We predict small town living will only grow more trendy in coming months and years ahead.

Acosta, Thompson Named 'Class Acts' By Lincoln Newspaper

Two members of Dorchester High School's Class of 2020 have been named "class acts" by the Lincoln Journal Star for their accomplishments in and outside of the classroom.

Jaquelin Acosta, who is headed to UNL to major in marketing, wants to own her own business. 

While at DHS, she played represented DHS at Cornhusker Girls State, all while serving as National Honor Society president. 

Acosta was also class valedictorian and class president, and was a nationals qualifier for DHS' chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). This was in addition to taking part in many other extracurricular activities.

Joshua Thompson, who will attend Nebraska Wesleyan University to major in mathematics, also accomplished several impressive feats during his DHS days. 

Thompson represented DHS at Boys State and was the salutatorian of his class. He made the FBLA national competition and scored a 30 on his ACT. A

All this while he played an active role in DHS' varsity basketball and football teams.

Congrats to these two Longhorns. 

Make your hometown proud!

Rural Dorchester's Irene Reiss Passes At 81

On Wednesday, May 20, rural Dorchester's Irene Kay (Yost) Reiss, age 81, passed away at her home after her 16-year battle with Parkinson’s Disease. 

She was born on Nov. 10, 1938 in the town of Western, Neb. to Goldie (Krauter) & Al Yost. She was baptized in the Methodist Church in Western and later confirmed. Her family moved to Wilber when she was in the 4th grade and she graduated from Wilber High School in 1956. She was married to Delbert Reiss at the St. John’s Lutheran Church in Kramer on Sept. 16, 1956. 

Irene’s biggest love in life was being married and having children. As the children grew and left home, she continued showing her love with acts of kindness by sharing her artistic abilities. Her hands were never still. She created flower arrangements and donated them to businesses in Dorchester and Crete for several years. She found happiness in making people laugh by telling a joke or two from her collection. She worked at the Lincoln News Agency, Blue River Meats, the Crete Manor Nursing Home, the Crete Hospital, and the City of Crete, but did her hardest work on the family farm. After retiring, she attended her grandkids’ activities on a weekly basis. She loved her grandkids. 

She was a member of the St. John’s Lutheran Church in Kramer and was a Ladies Aid Member there. She was also a member of the Jolly Doers Extension Club, the Ladies Auxiliary Club, and the Alumni Band in Wilber. 

She is survived by her husband Delbert Reiss; twin sister Lorine and husband Bob Mares of Wilber; her four children and their spouses, Mike and Sandi Reiss of Crete, Robin and Kent Grotelueschen of Octavia, Neb., Randy and Annette Reiss of Denton, and David and Julie Reiss of Waverly; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Private family services. Memorials are suggested to St. John Lutheran Church in Kramer. Kuncl Funeral Home in Crete is in charge of arrangements.

Consider Donating Now To The DHS Alumni Association

The Dorchester Alumni Banquet was supposed to be held this coming Saturday, but a Chinese virus had other plans. 

As we reported earlier, Linda Woolsey, who oversees DHS alumni activities, says twice as many classes will be honored next year. 

That will be a great celebration.

In the meantime, alumni who have changed their email and/or physical address should let Linda know by contacting her at lwoolsey@dorchesterschool.org.

Because the alumni banquet was cancelled for this year, the Dorchester Alumni Scholarship Fund will suffer a setback, without a doubt.

All readers with DHS ties should consider donating to the Dorchester Alumni Association. 

It is important to keep good things going in these tough times. 

Send your check -- big or small -- to: Dorchester Alumni Association, P.O. Box 7, Dorchester, NE 68343.

FLASHBACK: Ten Years Ago, Karmen Lawver Won Her Second Consecutive State Gold In Discus

A decade ago this month, in May 2010, Dorchester's Karmen Lawver captured gold in the discus competition for the second time in her career at the Nebraska State Track and Field Meet.

Lawver successfully defended her Class D title with a winning toss of 131'-4". 

The season before, in 2009, Lawver had made history by becoming the first DHS athlete to win a gold medal at the state track and field meet since 1976.

Also in 2010, Lawver fell just 10 inches short of repeating as state champion in the shot put, as well. The DHS flag flew high at the state meet in the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

In the years that have passed since Lawver's back-to-back wins, other Longhorn athletes have placed at state -- even second and third. 

But no Longhorn has captured two state gold medals in consecutive seasons, according to our records.

See our original story here on Lawver's amazing feat.

NEWS ROUND-UP: Dorchester Voters OK 1.5% Sales Tax

Dorchester Voters OK Sales Tax: After years of talking about it -- including many Times editorials -- Dorchester voters have approved a 1.5% local sales tax, as allowed under state law. The aim of the village's new sales tax is to help reduce property taxes, pay for infrastructure (think streets), pay down debt, and help fund general operations. The ballot question passed on Tuesday, May 12, by a slim margin, 47 to 40. In our opinion, Dorchester has just approved a better future. (By the way, here's the list of Nebraska communities that already have a local sales tax in place.)

Jeana Scholz Completes Graduate Degree: Dorchester's Jeana Scholz is graduating Saturday, May 16, from Midland University with her master's degree in elementary education teaching and leadership. Caps off to Jeana!

Trump, Biden Win Easily in Nebraska's Primary Election: President Donald Trump scored an easy primary election victory in Nebraska this past Tuesday, receiving nearly 240,000 votes statewide. His Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, also won his Nebraska primary contest, collecting just over 119,000 votes. To see all Nebraska's primary election results, click here.

OUR VIEW: Close Main Street, Provide Outdoor Seating For Dorchester's Restaurants

As summer approaches, some local officials around the nation are considering shutting down certain city streets to allow for extra seating for restaurants and bars, thereby enabling larger seating capacity for these establishments.

We think this idea should be tried in Dorchester -- at least on Fridays and Saturdays -- to ensure the survival of our two restaurants, City Slickers and Eastside.

Not only would outdoor dining be fun for the community, it would provide patrons with a greater sense of security, encouraging many more people to dine out and experience Dorchester's fabulous restaurants.

Many safety experts are advising restaurants and bars impose drastic measures, such as physical barriers, adequate social distancing, making customers wear masks when not eating, and use of physical barriers. That doesn't sound all that enjoyable.

Outdoor dining on Dorchester's beautiful main street would definitely be more fun than donning a mask. Moreover, it would be a memorable experience for Dorchester diners. It's worth a shot.

COVID-19 ROUND-UP: Making Your Own Mask, Boosting Immunity, Grocery Shopping Safely

Making Your Own Face Covering: When it comes to homemade masks, the type of fabric you choose matters. Some materials prevent more infectious particles than others, according to Nebraska Medicine. Tea towels and t shirts work best. No matter which fabric you choose, it's better to use more than one layer by doubling up on the fabric. Find out how to create, wear and clean face masks using these CDC guidelines. Keep in mind that your mask could infect you. Wash it often! During "donning and doffing" (putting on and taking off) the mask, there's a danger of self-contamination. Watch this video to see how to properly don and doff a face mask.

Boosting Your Defenses Against COVID-19: No medicine or supplement currently exists to prevent COVID-19. But your actions do influence your immune system to an extent. Find out how your immune system protects you against invaders, as well as what you can do to help fight the coronavirus.

Three Steps To Guarding Against Coronavirus While Grocery Shopping: Buying groceries is still one of the few reasons to leave your home. You can do it in a way that guards not only your health but allows you and your family to continue eating healthy foods. See the secrets to staying safe here.

Donations Needed For Matching Grant To Help DPS Students With Technology Needs

The Dorchester Community Foundation Fund -- with assistance of the Dorchester Schools -- has been awarded a "Bridging the Homework Gap" grant of $20,000 for a one-to-one match totaling $40,000. 

This generous funding is being made available by the Nebraska Community Foundation. But to be realized, the Dorchester Foundation needs to secure $20,000 in contributions locally.

The homework gap refers to the difficulty students experience completing homework remotely. Some of the most common causes are:

• Lack of access to a high-speed internet connection at home;
• Prohibitive cost of a high-speed internet service at home;
• Lack of access to a properly equipped device to use at home.

As more and more school assignments move online, the educational discrepancy between students with technology at their fingertips at home and those who lack access has grown dramatically. The pandemic has only exacerbated the education gap.

To raise needed funds for technology for Dorchester students -- things like Chromebooks, MacBook Pro’s, and wireless delivery devices -- the Dorchester Community Foundation Fund is working with DPS Superintendent, Daryl Schrunk to meet this challenge.

The Dorchester Foundation hopes to raise the $20,000 by the end of July so that the equipment is available for the 2020-21 school year.

The Dorchester Community Foundation Fund is a non-profit organizational fund, so your contribution will be tax deductible. If you'd like to help the Foundation realize this goal of $20,000, donations may be sent to:

Dorchester Community Foundation Fund

101 Washington Avenue

Dorchester, NE  68343

Thank you for your continued support of Dorchester.

Paying Tribute To The DHS Class Of 2020

Yesterday would have been graduation day for 14 Dorchester seniors. But a worldwide pandemic had other plans.

There are still tentative plans to hold a graduation ceremony in the coming months. For now, the ceremonies have been moved to June 19, 2020. An alternative date of July 10, 2020 has also been set.

While DHS seniors had to settle for a Cruise Night instead of a formal ceremony yesterday, we still wanted to share the following graduation details to recognize the DHS Class of 2020:

• Class colors: Navy and nickel

• Class flower: White lily

• Class motto: "Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory."

DHS Alumna Jean (Vavra) Skala Passes At Age 87

Gladys (Vavra) Skala, better known as Jean, died on May 5, 2020. She was born on Feb. 20, 1933, the sixth child born to Charles and Francis (Kubicek) Vavra. 

She grew up on a farm north of Dorchester. She attended Country School #103 and graduated from Dorchester High School in 1950. 

She attended summer school at Doane College in the summers of 1950 and 1951. Jean was a country school teacher for two years at District 65, was a nurse’s aide at St. Elizabeth's Hospital and worked at the Elgin Watch Factory until it closed. 

Jean married James Skala on July 9, 1955 at the Dorchester Methodist Church and they were married for 51 years. They lived and worked in Lincoln until Jim started the OK Tire Store in Crete in 1961. 

Graveside services were held today, Saturday, May 9, at Riverside Cemetery, Crete. For the full obituary, click here.

Dorchester Cruise Night Will Be Held In Honor Of Class Of 2020

Forget the gowns and tassles. Trade in your mortarboard for a motor.

After all, when it comes to ceremonies, a sweet ride on Main Street makes for a better last hurrah!

As we reported previously, Dorchester has been holding Cruise Nights on Main Street every Saturday evening during the COVID-19 emergency. This has allowed residents from the area and all over southeast Nebraska to show off their wheels and get out of the house, while also supporting our local restaurants -- Eastside Bar and Grill and City Slickers, both of which offer curbside service.

This weekend, May 9, will bring a special Cruise Night -- one that will be held in honor of Dorchester High School's Class of 2020. 

By the way, this Saturday was supposed to be DHS' graduation.

If you'd like to come out and support DHS' seniors -- or just show off your hot wheels -- the cruise will start at 5 p.m. and continue through at least 6:30 p.m., just like every weekend.

Cruise on!

Dorchester Coaches Deliver Honors To Student Athletes' Homes

Last week, we reported the annual DHS Athletic Banquet had fallen victim to the COVID-19 shutdown. This is unfortuante for all student athletes and parents, but especially for the DHS seniors who missed their final athletic banquet.

So the Dorchester coaches, assistant coaches and staff stepped up and made this athletic honors season memorable in its own way.

On Tuesday, May 28, they hand delivered the students' honors and recognition certificates to their homes -- all while maintaining appropriate physical distancing, of cource. (Below are some of the images from this special day in Dorchester history.)

One mom of a DHS student wrote: "With all this virus stuff going on right now, (daughter's name omitted) has been losing more and more motivation every day. That is until tonight. Thank you Dorchester School and coaches for finding a special way to recognize all the student athletes since a banquet was not feasible this year. This is just the motivation (daughter's name omitted) needed!"

Here is a complete list of DHS letter winners for school year 2019-20. Let's take time to celebrate these and all Dorchester's student athletes for representing DHS by donning the Orange and Black.