(Jan 26) Whitewater Fire Department had its Annual Meeting at Randy's Restaurant and elected Don Gregoire as Fire Chief, Patrick Wellnitz and Mike Higgins as 1st and 2nd Assistant Chiefs and Brian Fuerstenberg and David Haberman were elected Treasurer and Secretary. Chief Don Gregoire and members of the Department expressed thanks to the citizens of Whitewater and the surrounding townships for their continued support.

The following company officers were also elected:
Company 1 Captain: Terry Phelps, Lt. Scott Mckenzie, Secretary: Art Graham
Company 2 Captain: Bob Gabbey, Lt. Zach Acker, Secretary Terry Malone
Company 3 Captain: Joe Uselding, Lt. Don Kelley, Secretary: Phil Frawley
Hook and Ladder Company Captain: Ron Kelley, Lt. Scott Strait, Secretary: Carl Peterson.

Following rescue squad officers were named:
Captain: Tom Schopen, Secretary: Lt. Carl Peterson, Equipment: Lt. Roy Rockwell, Treasurer: Lt. Terry Malone, Training: Lt. Steve Chene.

Following crash crew officers were named:
Captain Don Brokmeier, Lt. Kelly Freeman, Lt. Joe Uselding

Patrick Wellnitz 1st Assistant Chief, Don Gregoire Fire Chief and Mike Higgins as 2nd Assistant Chief Fire Fighter of the Year David Haberman with Chief Don Gregoire Fire Officer of the Year Mike Higgins and Chief Don Gregoire Rescue Squad Captain Tom Schopen, EMT of the Year Todd Lindert and Chief Don Gregoire Scott Strait receiving a gold watch for 20 years of service from Chief Don Gregoire Joe Uselding recognized as fire fighter who had the highest % of calls in the Department with Chief Don Gregoire. Hose Company #2 had the highest % of calls made by any company. Rescue Squad Captain Tom Schopen, Retired Rescue Squad Medical Director Dr. Ken Kidd who had served for 28 years and Chief Don Gregoire. Rescue Squad Captain Tom Schopen, New Rescue Squad Medical Director Dr. Jason Welch and Chief Don Gregoire.

(Jan 25) Morning Kiwanis Meeting Program - Irene Potocki, in the absence of Rollie Cooper, introduced the program for the day, David and Mary Olsen of Evansville.

David and Mary Olsen of Evansville

The Olsens brought a program from the National Pork Producers Board. David was raised on a hog farm and until recently was still employed raising hogs and cows. Mary, a UW Home Economics graduate, spent her working years in Madison schools. Together they offered a program detailing the changes that have occurred with pork producers. Between 1979 and 1985 the sales of chicken was up and pork was down as Americans' dietary habits were changing. As a result pork producers began producing hogs with less fat, 75% leaner, so that meals with pork could prepared to be health conscious. With saturated fat down 27% pork can be cooked at a lower temperature [to 145 degrees internally] still slightly pink, and don't overcook. As a result of market changes there are few small pork producers today and with global economics, almost half of America's pork production is shipped overseas with Japan and China major customers, along with neighboring Mexico. Export demand is increasing with $4.78 billion in sales in 2011. Hogs are raised on large farms generally, in sanitary confinement units not in a field, in specialized barns, with great emphasis upon animal health. David mentioned that birds are a major concern as they carry diseases to which pigs are very susceptible, therefore the confined barns help prevent the spread of disease.

(Jan 23) School Board Meeting The Board recognized 2 WHS Alumni, Michael Zweifel and Loussaint Minett, University student athletes, who excelled on the Football Field this past season. Few, if any, High Schools can say they have two athletes accomplish this recognition in the same year or a Coach, Doug Parker, that coached them as well as one other student Athlete at Palmyra Eagle High School, Justin Beaver, who attained the same awards. It is assumed that no other WI school or in the nation can point to this combination of student athlete and coaching excellence. Michael and Loussaint addressed the Board and recognized their experiences at WHS. Both athletes, Michael and Loussaint, at WHS, were also athletes in multiple sports and attained State recognition in Track and Field. Both their Head Football Coach, Doug Parker and Track Coach Mark Maas extolled the virtues of the two student athletes.

Michael Zweifel (Class of 2007) NCAA - All-Time Receptions Leader, 2011 NCAA Division III Most Valuable Player, Gagliardi Trophy Recipient. Loussaint Minett (Class of 2009) 2011 Division III Stagg Bowl National Championship Game MVP. Classic Action Pictures for the recognition were provided to the Districtcourtesy of Bob Mischka. It should be noted that the the Gagliardi Trophy, is presented annually since 1993, recognizes the student-athlete who excels in three areas: football, academics, and campus/community service. The award, presented by the Jostens Company and the J-Club of Saint John's University (MN), is named after legendary Hall of Fame Coach John Gagliardi of St. John's. (l-r) HS Principal Doug Parker was Head Football Coach of both athletes, Loussaint Minett, Michael Zweifel, Michael's mother Diane, Track Coach Mark Maas, Assistant and now Head Football Coach Ben Cooper.

The Board also was presented the following 2nd Friday of January Attendance Report. A total of 2001 students as compared to last Sept. count of 2009.

Whitewater City Manager Kevin Brunner LWV President Ellen Penwell and
David Bretl, Walworth County Administrator

(Jan 21) Impact of the State Budget Repair Bill on City and County Operations Discussed by Whitewater City Manager Kevin Brunner and David Bretl, Walworth County Administrator at a Program sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

The 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 (Budget Repair Bill) is related to state finances, collective bargaining for public employees, compensation and fringe benefits of public employees, the state civil service system, the Medical Assistance program, sale of certain facilities, granting bonding authority, and making an appropriation. 2011 Wisconsin Act 32 (Biennial Budget Bill) relates to state finances and appropriations, constituting the executive budget act of the 2011 legislature.

Kevin Brunner focused on the impact of Acts 10 and 32 on the City of Whitewater and in particular, employee relations, the 2012 budget and local environmental programs and sustainability efforts.

County Administrator Bretl discussed the countywide impact. The program was a narrower follow-up to the LWV well-attended public forum held last May when the topic was the impact of the state budget on an array of local institutions.

Whitewater Community TV - Channel 98/990 Videotaped the Program and it will be replayed:
Sun-Mon Jan 23 -24, 1:00 PM LWV: Budget Repair Bill Update

Sun-Mon Jan 23-24, 8:00 PM LWV: Budget Repair Bill Update

For Community TV Programming Schedule .

(Jan 20) The Young Voices Foundation poetry contest is offered every Fall through the Elementary Gifted and Talented program. Lincoln Inquiry Charter School (LINCS) students Sophie Walton and Emerson Ellenwood placed in the National competition.

Sophie Walton and Emerson Ellenwood

Sophie Walton, second grade, took second place in her age category in the Young Voices Foundation fall poetry contest, with her poem "A Hundred Years Ago." Emerson Ellenwood, kindergarten, took third place with his poem entitled "My Farm." Thousands of students across the U.S. submit poems for consideration, and to be chosen as a winner is a great honor. The poems may be read online .

(Jan 20) The School Board unanimously approved having an April 3rd Referendum requesting the residents' OK to exceed State Revenue Caps by $600,000 for the next three years. This Referendum issue with one question was the referendum amount ($600,000) question for three years. The vote was unanimous with the six Board members in attendance 6-0, Board member Steve Ryan commented in a telephone conference call that he was in agreement with the Board actions but could not vote in abstentia.

It was noted several times by Board and Administrators that after the three years the Board may or may not need another Referendum since the District is scheduled to end payments on some long term debt, which may - free up funds for operational expenses.

Therefore there will only be one referendum question in April for $600,000 with an estimated tax rate impact of $0.4398/ $1000 or roughly $43.98 for $100,000 property, $65.97 for a $150,000 property, and $87.97 for a $200,000 property.

The implications of the Referendum

(Jan 18) Common Council Meeting

At the meeting there was a discussion of the proposed revisions regarding heavy truck traffic through the City that included the map below. The Common Council also recognized the UWW Football Team on their National Championship season. For the news story in the Daily Jefferson County Union on the meeting that also included the items below :
Approval of amending Chapter 5 of Municipal Code, extended hours of operation for Class A Alcohol licensees;
Approval of the building inspection contract with Greg Noll of Municipal Zoning and Inspection Services;
Approved a renegotiated 2012-13 ambulance agreement with the Town of Cold Spring;
Appointment of Jacob Henley to be a citizen member to the Planning & Architectural Review Commission.

Common Council recognized members of the UWW Warhawks Football Team for their third consecutive NCAA Division III championship at the Stagg Bowl Dec. 17.

Common Council Member Stephanie Abbott presented the Warhawks Head Coach Lance Leipold with a plaque honoring the team. Coach Leipold was also presented one of several Banners that were produced for the first time this year to hang on light poles in the City when a UWW Team attains National Champion status. The Team members present introduced themselves to the audience present and also the TV audience. Pictured above (r-l) Coach Lance Leipold, Nick Romani (WHS Graduate), Joe Hansen, Jim Norris, Ryan Wenkman, Noah Tim, Steve McCollom, Casey Casper, Jason Ford, Alex, Misialek, Aaron, Samplawski, Brian Gensrick, Loussaint Minett (WHS Graduate), Luke Groth (partially hidden), Chancellor Richard Telfer and Athletic Director Paul Plinske. WHS 2010 Graduate and UWW Sophomore defensive end Loussaint Minett was presented the "Key of the City" for his selection as Most Valuable Player in the Stagg Bowl.

(Jan 1) Mark F. Moran Appraisals, an antique appraisal program, is coming to the area, the Milton Public Library on Jan. 30, starting at 5 p.m.

Mark F. Moran
Photo by Corey Wilson/Green Bay Press-Gazette

Mark, author of dozens of antiques reference guides and former senior editor for antiques and collectibles books with Krause Publications in Iola, Wis. He conducts community events that involve appraisal of antiques, collectibles and decorative arts in the Upper Midwest. Mark states: "my program always holds a few surprises, even for me!" Check his web page with pictures and comments on prior programs

SPORTS

(Jan 25) Whitewater Girls' Basketball Team (11-1, 8-0) overcame Evansville 63-33The Lady Whippets win extended their league leading record to 8-0. Three players scored in double digits. Their next game is on Tuesday, Jan 31, at Big Foot. Their next home game is Friday, Feb 3, against Orfordville. Come out and see them play. They are exciting to watch.

Whitewater is ranked 6th in the January 23rd AP State Poll as voted upon by a statewide panel of sports writers and broadcasters. Whitewater is ranked 10th in the January 24th WisSports Coaches Poll as voted upon by Division 2 Coaches.

JV Score: Whitewater, 53-41 and Freshmen Score: Whitewater, 37-27

Scoring: Nicole Masterson 4-7-17; Sam Piper 0-1-1; Sabrina Hookstead 1-0-3; Brooke Trewyn 1-5-7; Erin Gabbey 0-2-2; Kailey Reynolds 4-2-10; Molly Griep 6-0-12; Morgan Harty 2-1-5; Sarah Schumacher 1-0-2; Courtney Samuels 2-0-4; - 3-Pointers Made: Masterson (2), Hookstead

(Jan 25) The Whippet Boys Swim Team won their dual meet, against Jefferson, with a 106-56 score.

Wentao Guo Josh Mesner Keagan Stonewerth

Leading the way, was freshman Wentao Guo, who won both of his individual events (200 IM and 100 back) and was a member of 2 winning relays (200 medley relay and 200 free relay).

Josh Mesner was part of the same 2 relays and also won the 500 free (5:39.46), dropping almost 12 seconds off his previous best time and coming with a couple of seconds of the school record.

Ethan Mikos, Cody Fiedler, and Matt McCrea were part of a winning relay and won an individual event. Mikos won the 200 free and, along with Matt McCrea, was part of the 200 free relay. McCrea also won the 100 free. Cody Fiedler was part of the 200 medley relay and won the 100 breast (coming close to breaking the school record).

Other top performances:
Jason Shelbourne - 200 free relay (1st) and a 2nd place finish in the 100 back
Cody Fiedler - 200 IM (2nd - 200 IM)
Matt McCrea - 50 free (2nd)
Jacob Papcke - best times in both 2nd place finishes (200 free and 500 free)
Keagan Stonewerth - 100 fly (2nd) - another big drop as he dropped 3 seconds
Matt Meiners - 50 free (3rd)
Ethan Mikos - 100 free (3rd)
Jon Zimdars - 500 free (3rd)
Vlad Zirngibl - 100 back (3rd)

The Whippets will be back in action next week, at the JV Conference meet, on Tuesday, January 31st, followed by the Varsity Conference meet, hosted by Jefferson, on Saturday, February 4th.

(Jan 25) Whitewater Girls' Basketball Team (10-1, 7-0) overcame McFarland Whitewater is ranked 6th in the January 23rd AP State Poll as voted upon by a statewide panel of sports writers and broadcasters. Whitewater is ranked 10th in the January 24th WisSports Coaches Poll as voted upon by Division 2 Coaches. Next is a home game against Evansville on Thursday, January 26. JV tips off at 5:45 with Varsity at 7:30.

Brooke Trewyn		Molly Griep
Sarah Schumacher		Sabrina Hookstead

Pictures courtesy of Peter Mischka

Whitewater FG-FT-PTS Stats: Nicole Masterson 2-1-7; Gina Hollingshead 0-3-3; Sabrina Hookstead 1-0-3; Brooke Trewyn 3-12-19; Molly Griep 3-4-10; Morgan Harty 1-3-5; Sarah Schumacher 2-0-4.
3-Pointers Made: Masterson (2), Hookstead, Trewyn
JV Score: Whitewater won: Freshmen Score: Whitewater won.

(Jan 25) Due to some recent injuries, the girls gymnastics team was short staffed and lost their home dual to Burlington last night by a final score of 95.325 to Burlington's 139.2 Cassidy McQuillin had one of her best meets of the year improving her floor score to 8.55 and her new best in the all around of 32.3. Our last home meet will be Monday, January 30, against Jefferson (Coach Tom Werth)

(Jan 21) Despite scoring a season high 122.475, the Girls' Gymnastics Team took 7th place at the Southwestern Cuba City gymnastics Invite. The girls are starting to show improvement, but just need to clean up the routines a bit. Cassidy McQuillin was our only medal winner, placing 5th on the vault. (Coach Tom Werth)

Cassidy McQuillin Shaundra Rasmussen Tessa Hennessy Emma Peters Pictures courtesy of Bob Mischka

(Jan 23) Wrestlers claim 2nd at Monroe Invitational

Jose Ramirez at 132 - Gold Medal Winner

Nathan Wright at 126 - Silver Medal Winner

Bryan Edwards at 160 - Silver Medal Winner Sam Tisdale at 195 - Gold Medal Winner Pictures courtesy of Bob Mischka

Coach Schimming notes: "On Saturday the Whitewater wrestling team traveled to Monroe, Wisconsin to participate in a ten team invitational. When the dust settled Whitewater found themselves in 2nd place, behind first place Lancaster. This is a tournament with some very good individuals in it so it was nice to see the boy come and compete well.

Coming home with a gold medal from Monroe included; Jose Ramirez at 132 and Sam Tisdale at 195 pounds. Jose wrestled very well on the day winning two his matches by pin. Both of his pin victims are currently honorable mention in the state so Jose did a great job. In the finals Jose wrestled a young man from Lancaster who had defeated Jose two times last year. Jose had a 3-1 lead in the 3rd period when he ended up pinning his opponent.

Sam continues to show improvement as the season progresses. On the day Sam was 3-0 and surrendered only one point. He pinned his first opponent, defeated his second 7-1 and in the finals came out on top 7-0.

Coming home with a silver medal for Whitewater included Nathan Wright at 126 and Bryan Edwards at 160.

Finishing in third place were Jake Kanack at 120 and Zach Miles at 170 pounds. Zach had a nice tournament as he had a very tough opponent in the semi finals but then bounced back winning his consolation semi final by a technical fall and then a pin in the third place match. Zach stated this was the first time he ever got a technical fall, with a big smile on his face.

Going 2-2 on the day and finishing in fourth place were Irving Sedano, Alberto Rodriguez, and Thomas Hernandez. Also going 2-2 on the day but taking 5th was James Ehlen. James also shows improvement each time he is on the mat. Going 3-2 and taking 5th was Steven Sobolewski. Steven started the day off slow but finished strong. Steven has shown a lot of improvement since last season in all aspects of his wrestling ability.

The varsity wrestlers are now off until they conclude the dual meet season at Janesville Craig on Jan. 31. The JV wrestlers are next in action this Saturday when they compete in the Fort Atkinson JV tournament."

(Jan 23)Whippet wrestlers fall to Evansville - Coach Schimming notes: " On Thursday night the Whitewater wrestling team hosted a Rock Valley Conference dual meet against Evansville. With both teams undefeated in the conference this dual would decided the RVC North champion. Coming into the dual there was anticipation that there could be a lot of close matches. Both coaches also knew that bonus points could be the difference in winning and losing the dual. This proved to be the case and unfortunately for the host whippets they ended on the down side of too many of the swing matches and on bonus points falling to the Blue Devils 39-20.

Jake Kanack got things going for Whitewater when he got a first period pin over his opponent. Jose Ramirez then followed with an 18-1 technical fall victory over his opponent. James Ehlen wrestled a hard fought match at 138 but came up just short falling 4-3. Getting the whippets back on the winning track was Steven Sobolewski, Thomas Hernandez and Tim Boyer, all with regular decisions. This brought the whippets to within 1 point down 20-21. That would be all that went Whitewaters way bringing the final score to 20-39."

Photographer covering Whippet Sports -
Pictures courtesy of Bob Mischka
Thanks Bob for doing this service for our students, families and also for access by the Banner.

WHS OFFICIAL MERCHANDISE PROGRAM

(Jan 15) Men's Basketball ... Whitewater upended by UW-Stevens Point UW-Stevens Point, ranked sixteenth in the D3hoops.com poll, pulled away in the second half to defeat second ranked UWW 71-60

Alex Merg scored 12 Luke Knoble scored 10 Eric Bryson Scored 7 Quardell Young scored 2 Pictures by Peter Mischka and provided courtesy of Bob Mischka

Story from UWW

Story fromUW-Stevens Point
Game States:
UW-Whitewater will host UW-Eau Claire Saturday at 5:00 in Kachel Gym of Williams Center, the second half of a 3:00/5:00 doubleheader with the Warhawk women.