Longhorns Take Fourth Place At Neb. Lutheran Tourney

Dorchester's Lady Longhorn volleyball team keeps improving, capturing another fourth place finish Saturday.  

DHS took down Parkview Christian 26-28, 25-19, 25-12, earning a spot in the third-place game, which the Longhorns lost to Nebraska Lutheran, 25-19, 26-24.

Earlier in the day, Exeter-Milligan defeated Dorchester in a well-played contest, 25-18, 25-21.

Exeter-Milligan took the first-place trophy, beating Lawrence-Nelson 25-22, 25-20.

DHS Art Students Making Museum Mural

Dorchester High School's Art I class has been working on a mural on a wall in the newest building of the Saline County Museum, located on Dorchester's south side.  

The DHS art class was sought for the job after their tremendous work on the Veteran's Memorial at the Saline County Courthouse a couple years ago.  

Local resident Larry Kaspar became aware that Judy Rada, director of the county museum, was looking for someone to paint mural in the building, so he asked DHS art teacher Stacy Lutjemeyer if she would be interested. She accepted, saying, "It is very important to keep students involved with their community."  

Seven DHS students comprise the current Art I class: Lydia Wells, Laura Davidsen, Bryce Rockenbach, Taylor Vavra, Agustine Perez, Justin Schwiso, and Derek Pohl.  These students are responsible for starting the museum mural, which will show the transition of farming in Saline County, while paying tribute to the communities of our county -- all under a sunset sky.  

Other students will be brought in to help with detail work.

Hostetlers Dedicate Park Bench To Bob

This week, the Shawn Hostetler family dedicated a beautiful new bench in the city park to Dorchester's Bob Hostetler, who passed away a year ago following his long, courageous battle with cancer.

In an e-mail forwarded to the Times, Shawn (a 1997 graduate of DHS) wrote:  "I want to say thank you to everyone who helped with this beautiful and awesome gift we were able to leave in memory of my dad, a beautiful and awesome guy who we lost one year ago today.  

"I'm so thankful for all of you and your support -- not just financially, but emotionally as well.  I thought it was very important to do something in memory of my dad and something my kids could see in memory of their grandpa.  Thanks again -- and if you get a chance stop by and check it out in person."

Bob Hostetler was an active member of the Dorchester community.  Over a span of three years, he had surgeries to remove cancerous tumors from his esophagus and stomach. Remarkably, he continued to stay active and productive, continuing his lawn care service and even returning to work in Seward after months of treatment.

One Times reader wrote: "Bob was part of Dorchester's community backbone. Always willing to lend a hand and help a fellow resident. He was also one hell of a fighter, defying cancer and the doctors' odds just so he could spend more time with his family and friends. Dorchester lost one of its best ... God bless Bob and God bless the Hostetlers."

DHS Volleyball Team Captures Fourth Place At BDS

The DHS volleyball team captured fourth place at the Bruning-Davenport-Shickley (BDS) Invitational at Shickley on Saturday after winning their first contest of the young season.  

Dorchester defeated Harvard in two sets 26-24, 25-19 to advance to the semi-finals of the tourney, but fell to Hampton 25-9, 25-18.  

In the third-place match, the Lady Longhorns fell to Silver Lake in a well-played contest, 25-19, 25-18. 

BDS took top spot in the event, while Hampton claimed the runner-up trophy.

Dorchester is back in action tomorrow, Sept. 24, at Osceola.

State Lawmakers Coming To Saline County Re: Education Funding

Should you be forced to fund your own school district -- while also being required to subsidize schools with large populations of non-English speaking students?  Should you be forced to fund your own school -- while you're also forced to subsidize Lincoln and Omaha schools?

Like it or not, that is how it is working in Nebraska. 

In our state, most property tax dollars go to your local K-12 school district.  To help those districts that are outspending their property tax revenues, the state government has traditionally kicked in around $1 billion of state aid every year. It's all based on a complex, ever-changing formula that even governors can't explain.

But did you know that currently 114 out of 249 districts receive no equalization aid? Not a dime. And Dorchester Public Schools is one of those districts that receive no state aid. (Recall our previous report that showed Dorchester has the lowest levies in the county, which, combined with no state aid, makes for another reason to praise current DPS administrators and school board officials.)

However, next door, Crete Public Schools is a huge recipient of equalization dollars, primarily due to their Spanish speaking population.  Schools in Omaha and Lincoln and most of Nebraska's larger cities are also large state aid recipients.  

In short, the state is telling small, rural school districts to provide for themselves, while subsidizing urban school districts with general tax dollars from income and sales taxes.

Seems like a raw deal to us.  Most Nebraskans we talk with don't think it's fair, either.

State lawmakers want to hear what you think about public school funding.  The Nebraska Legislature's Education Committee is studying possible changes to funding of K-12 schools.  

One of the Education Committee's upcoming stops will be in Crete.  The meeting is set for 4 p.m., Monday, Oct. 7 at the Crete High School Auditorium, 1500 E. 15th Street in Crete.  

We think it's worth our time time to show up and tell lawmakers to stop forcing rural school districts, like Dorchester's, to pay for larger school districts that have much more residential wealth and assets.  

If they don't hear from us, we have no room to complain.

Bert Hrdlicka Passes At 87

Albert Joseph Hrdlicka (better known as Bert), 87, of Dorchester died Thursday, September 12, 2013.

He was born November 1, 1925 near Western, Neb. to Emil &amp and Ida (Kotas) Hrdlicka. Attended Country School District #120 Fairview and graduated Wilber High School 1943.

Bert served in the U.S. Navy during World War II from 1944 to July 1946 on the USS Karnes and the Pine Island ships.

He married Betty Ann Rezabek of Dorchester on April 15, 1947. They were married for 66 years, having moved to Dorchester on October 1, 1949.

Bert is survived by his brothers Harold and Robert Hrdlicka, children Sandra Lynn, Roger Warren and Joyce Ann (Ozolins), grand daughter Jasmin Amber Ozolins and great grandson Zerano Lux.

He was a member of the Crete VFW

Services will be Friday, September 20, 10 a.m. at Kuncl Funeral Home, Crete. No Visitation. Interment at Wilber Czech Cemetery with military services conducted by Crete VFW Post 4959. Memorials to Saline Center.

Property Owners Who Haven't Cleaned Up Get Heard This Week

Last year, the Village of Dorchester kicked off its new Nuisance Abatement Program to encourage residents to clean up their unsightly properties. Dorchester officials are working with Southeast Nebraska Development District (SENDD) to help identify and notify resident of potential violations. 

The first area of town assessed was the area between 7th Street to 11th Street and Washington Avenue to West Line.  To date, most owners of properties requiring clean-up have responded properly.  However, some have not, while others are still objecting to the clean-up notice.  

This week, special meetings are being held for property owners who have not complied with the clean-up orders, as well as those who feel they have been unfairly targeted.  The meetings will include elected officials on the village board, as well as the village's legal representation.

In the meantime, residents in all areas of town are encouraged to keep their properties maintained.  Common concerns include unlicensed vehicles (including yard and boat trailers), auto parts, dead trees, brush, lumber and trash.

The village board will review properties with continued nuisance concerns at their regular board meetings.  For those properties not cleared, formal action may be taken and the property could be declared a nuisance by the board.  SENDD is the designated nuisance officer for this project.

One village leader, a business owner, told us that he agrees with the clean-up effort being conducted by village officials.  He added that he hopes people don't forget all of the improvements that have been made across town in the past few years.