Month: March 2018

UW-Whitewater Baseball Doubleheader Moved to Friday

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team’s doubleheader against Ripon originally scheduled for Saturday has been moved up to Friday, March 30, at 3 p.m. at Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium due to anticipated inclement weather in the Whitewater area.

The No. 2 ranked Warhawks recently finished their spring break trip to the RussMatt Invitational in Central Florida with a 6-2 record.

To review the start of the Warhawk baseball season, head over to the UWW Baseball Schedule page at UWWSports.com.

Jeanette Lucille (Kitzman) Lee passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 25, in Kenosha.

Born in Whitewater on July 30, 1925 to the late Emma and Charles Kitzman, she is survived by her children, Eleanor Kay (Dean) Amhaus, Richard (Laurie), and Robert (Kathleen).  Jeanette was also the much-loved grandma to Rena, Andrew, Christopher and Nicholas, and great-grandma to Doran and Adara.

The seventh of nine children, she and her siblings shared a life-long passion for cut-throat card games and a love of music.  After her retirement from UW-Whitewater in the late 1980’s, she became an avid quilter and expert nickel slot machine player.  The last surviving member of her large family, she was also preceded in death by her husband of almost sixty-eight years, Eugene.

A celebration of her life will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 29, at the Congregational Church 133 S. Franklin St. Whitewater, WI., with the viewing at 10:30. Burial to follow at Hillside Cemetery, Whitewater, WI.

Memorials to the Congregational Church would be appreciated.

The family would like to thank the staff of Allay Hospice of Waterford, WI.

The Nitardy Funeral Home, Whitewater, WI is assisting the family, www.nitardyfuneralhome.com

Charles R. King, aged 91, died in Hales Corners, WI on March 21, 2018.

Charles was born in Eldred, Illinois where he spent his childhood. After high school, he served in the Navy at the end of World War 2. He obtained his B.S. degree at the University of Montana in Missoula and his M.S. and EdD degrees at Montana State University in Bozeman. He taught high school science in South Dakota and Wyoming. He was a professor of Biology and Science Education at UW-Whitewater from 1960 until his retirement in 1989.

He is survived by a sister, his wife Clarice, his children Marcia, Richard and Kerry and 3 stepchildren Susan, Nancy and Gary.

A memorial service will be held later this year in Montana.

Ferradermis, the second year WHS FIRST Robotics Team, qualified for the FIRST Championship in Detroit at this weekend’s Wisconsin Regional.

Article by Laura Masbruch

Team 6574, Ferradermis, a second year FIRST Robotics Team from Whitewater High School, qualified for the FIRST Championship in Detroit at this weekend’s Wisconsin Regional in Milwaukee. There are extensive hurdles that any team must pass to qualify for the Championship, much less a second-year team. Those challenges could not be overcome without other FIRST teams demonstrating the best the organization has to offer.

Ferradermis was founded in 2017 when then Whitewater High School seniors Justin Brantmeier and Roberto Soto, along with teacher Laura Masbruch reached out to other local teams for help. Their first contact was Team 3692, the Rock N’ Robotics club based at Janesville Parker. The Janesville mentors helped the trio navigate into the world of FIRST, and a connection with the Whitewater Makerspace helped make the reality of a team seem possible. Team 1306, Badger BOTS, based in Middleton, led by President and 2017 Dean’s List winner Grace Fanson, immediately jumped in to help. 1306 provided extensive background help and tips on forming and administering a team, as well as advice on how the competition worked. 1306 additionally lent a full drive train for 6574 to use to familiarize the new competitors with the base of a robot to help develop controls and electronics and programming knowledge, as well as scouting support and replacement parts at the 2017 Seven Rivers Regional in LaCrosse.

But help for the new competitor was also provided by other FIRST teams. Two of 6574’s lead mentors are alumni of Team 1259, Paradigm Shift, of Pewaukee. In a fortuitous bit of foreshadowing, at the 2018 Wisconsin Regional this past Friday, 6574 experienced reliability issues across multiple components of their robot, leading to a number of match losses due to the robot shutting down. Numerous teams at the event jumped in to help, lending hands, materials, and parts to get the robot working. Team 2202, BEAST Robotics, of Brookfield, lent a broken 12V pneumatic solenoid to the team that functioned flawlessly after a quick repair. Team 1259, over all three days of the regional, worked to ensure 6574’s continued progress, sending their own students, tools, and components including a replacement gearbox component for the intake mechanism. 1259 mentor Dale Noll, and his son, Ben Noll, provided a combination of electrical and mechanical expertise and support in order to ensure the robot performed at its best. Team 2574, RoboHuskies, of Saint Anthony, Minnesota, lent mechanical hardware and tools on the first day to ensure the team was able to fully integrate newly made parts intended to upgrade the robot. After the team noticed a stripped screw terminal on a motor controller, Team 3418, RoboRiot of Sheboygan County, jumped to offer two spare motor controllers in order to ensure 6574’s conveyor system would function through the eliminations.

All of this help from other teams contributed to 6574’s strong bounce back on day two. The team’s drivers were now able to fill up the vault entirely by themselves with time to spare, cleanly winning all three Saturday qualification matches with the support of their alliance members, as well as a match replay of their last match. Knowing the troubles 6574 suffered on Day 1, and confident in the repairs the new team made to their bot, 1259, the top seed at the Wisconsin Regional, invited 6574 to join their alliance with 2481, Roboteers, of Tremont, Illinois, for the playoff round. That alliance swept through the playoff rounds to claim the Wisconsin Regional, undefeated.

The help of other teams, however, did not end there. Post-match photos courtesy of 1259 were taken and circulated. Team 537, Charger Robotics, out of Sussex, immediately offered their help in preparing a shipping box for 6574 to send their robot to the Championship. So, 6574 Ferradermis goes to the Championship—-but takes parts of many other teams with them, courtesy of the guiding principle of FIRST: Gracious Professionalism in action.

Ferradermis would like to thank the Whitewater community as well for their endless support. The welcome home on Saturday night courtesy of the Whitewater Fire Department was nothing short of fantastic. The department provided team members with a phenomenal cap to a phenomenal day. The Whitewater Unified School District’s support of the young team is also impressive with an immediate assurance that the trip to Detroit would be possible. Ferradermis also thanks our numerous community sponsors without whom none of this would have been possible: Generac, Whitewater Manufacturing, HSI Rentals, anonymous community members, the Kiwanis Breakfast Club, LS Power, First Citizens State Bank, Basin Precision Machining, Hudapack, The Knights of Columbus, and the Salverson Family. Funding from these local sponsors in addition to grants from Pentair, the Argosy Foundation, and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction have provided a solid funding foundation for the team.

If you would like to learn more about the team, visit us on Facebook at facebook.com/ferradermis or on the Web at ferradermis.org. The team is always looking for additional adult mentors to help advise on CAD, electronics, or mechanical work. If you are interested in helping sponsor the team or sharing your expertise as a mentor, please contact Laura Masbruch at lmasbruch@wwusd.org. To learn more about FIRST or this year’s competition, visit firstinspires.org/robotics/frc. The team is open to all Whitewater High School students at the start of each school year. Go, Ferradermis!

 

Warhawk Gymnastics to Celebrate National Title on Fire Truck April 28

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater gymnastics team will celebrate its 2018 National Collegiate Gymnastics Association championship with a fire truck ride through Whitewater on Saturday, April 28.

The Warhawks will depart from Perkins Stadium at 11 a.m. and be driven through downtown Whitewater.

Fans are invited to line Main Street and cheer on UW-Whitewater as it celebrates its fifth national title in the program’s history.

Richard Craig Lombard, age 66 years, passed away September 27th, 2017 with loving family by his side.

Richard is the loving father of Cassie (Matt) Wolfgram, Sacha (Luke) L. Helling- Christy, Jordan Lombard, and Hannah Lombard.  He is the dear grandfather of Avi, Maliya and Vivian Wolfgram, Alyana, River, Cyprus and Vienna L. Helling- Christy, and Alexis Lombard.  He is the cherished brother of the late Charles Lombard, Jana (Jerrold) Schneider, Randy (Monica) Lombard and John (Armeda) Lombard.

He was born to Emogene and Cecil Lombard on April 15th, 1951 during a flood in Prarie Du Chein.  He was raised in Greenwood and after graduating from high school attended university at Eau Claire and Madison.  He was a professor in the Special Education departments at the universities of Eau Claire and Whitewater.  After retiring from teaching, he enjoyed living in Key Largo, Florida and spending time at his cabin in northern Wisconsin.

Richard Craig Lombard was a man who loved deeply and was very proud of his family. He appreciated everyone and saw the good in people. He had an amazing sense of humor and knew how to make people laugh.  He was deep and intelligent, and optimistic about life. He was not impressed by titles and was kind and compassionate to everyone he met. He stood for justice and was always rooting for people who are less fortunate.  He had a passion for traveling and visited many countries over the years.  He appreciated nature and spending time outdoors, including camping, hunting and spending time at the ocean in Key Largo and in the woods in Northern Wisconsin.  He also had a passion for teaching and mentoring students at the university and wrote several books and articles about Special Education during his career.  He enjoyed spending time with his family and was very proud of his children and grandchildren.  His love and laughter lives on with the memories that family and friends hold deep within their hearts.

A celebration of life will be held by his family on Sunday, July 1st, 2018 at 1:00 pm at the Silver Dome Ballroom in Neilsville, Wisconsin.   In lieu of flowers, the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater’s Special Education Department has established a scholarship fund in Richard Lombard’s name.  To make a Cash Gift, checks can be made out to the “UW-Whitewater Foundation Inc. in Memory of Rick Lombard” and sent to UW-Whitewater Foundation Inc., 800 West Main Street, Whitewater, WI 53190. Gifts can also be made online at www.uww.edu/foundation/give/form; find drop down: Designation “Special Education Dept. (Rick Lombard Memorial).

Gene “Dixon” Telfer, 79 of Fort Atkinson, passed away Tuesday, March 20, 2018 surrounded by his family.

Dixon was born on October 14th, 1938 in Fort Atkinson to Harlow and Jeanette (Romig) Telfer. In 1958 Dixon married Jean Behm, they shared a life until her death in 2001, together raising four wonderful children.

Dixon spent his life on his father’s dairy farm in Hebron WI. Agriculture was his life’s passion and he will be remembered for his dedication to the local farming community. He leaves behind a legacy of hard work and appreciation for quality dairy farming.

Dixon had a bright spirit and warm heart. His life was encompassed by a big loving family and was fortunate to have been embraced by his four stepsons and devoted wife of 15 years, Connie (Loeder-Beckard) Telfer who he married in 2003. Dixon will be remembered for supporting all of his 16 grandchildren; 8 great-grandchildren and 5 step-grandchildren throughout all of their endeavors and will be dearly missed.

Dixon is survived by his treasured wife, Connie; beloved children, Gary (Mary) Telfer, Wendy (Jeff) Begovatz, Kevin Telfer and Brian (Tammy) Telfer and step-children Robert (Lana) Beckard, Ryan (Jessica) Beckard, Ryder Beckard and Richmond (Jameson) Beckard.

Dixon was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Norma Bickle; wife, Jean Telfer, and step-granddaughter, Katherine June Beckard.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, at First English Lutheran Church in Whitewater.  Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on Monday, March 26 at the Dunlap Memorial Home in Fort Atkinson and from 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday at the church until time of service.  Burial will be in Union Cemetery, town of Sumner.  A luncheon will follow at Busy Barns Adventure Farm in Fort Atkinson.

www.DunlapMemorialHome.com