Month: May 2018

Whitewater High Student, Matthew Lucht, earns Ag Scholarship

Matthew Lucht with presenter Warin Behselich.

The Jefferson County Agri-Business Club awarded nine scholarships to area youth pursuing a college education at their recent meeting, including one to Whitewater High student, Matthew Lucht.

Matthew Lucht attends Whitewater High School. He is an FFA officer, was on the Dairy Products and Meats judging team, and was on the Parliamentary Procedure team. He earned his Wisconsin State FFA Degree. He played baseball and basketball in high school, as well as legion baseball the past two years. He has participated in three mission trips with his church group.

He was President of his 4-H club. Matt exhibited market lambs at the Jefferson County Fair as part of his FFA project, and beef, sheep, and goats through 4-H.

Matt has earned money by mowing lawns in the area and working at Pleasant Valley Acres where he picked produce, loaded it, and prepared it for distribution.

Matthew plans to attend UW-Platteville majoring in mechanical/environmental/agricultural engineering.

Applicants must be planning a career in agriculture, be active in FFA and other high school activities, as well as community organizations. They must also show proof of employment, have strong academic marks and express financial need. Scholarship applications are judged by the club’s youth committee.

 

Ferradermis, the WHS Robotics Team, Competes at FIRST Championships

From Tuesday, April 24, through the early morning hours of Sunday, April 29, twenty-six members of the Whitewater High School Robotics Team Ferradermis and seven adult mentors traveled to Detroit for the FIRST Championships. While there, the team competed with and against 405 teams from around the world including France, Poland, Chinese Taipei, the Netherlands, and Canada as part of the high school level FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC). The Cobo Center in Detroit simultaneously played host to the middle school FIRST Tech Challenge Championships and the elementary school FIRST Lego League and Lego League Junior Championships.

Altogether, the four events hosted more than 15,000 students from 700 teams and 37 countries. Ferradermis had one practice match and ten qualification matches on Tesla, one of the six competition fields for FRC, with randomly assigned alliances of three robots, finishing with a qualification record of 4-6 and ranked 48th out of 67 teams in the Tesla division. One of the highlights of the qualification matches was playing with the number one overall team in Tesla and helping set a high score for the event.

Ferradermis would like to thank the dozens of businesses, organizations, and community members who came forward to help the team in its fundraising efforts which made the trip possible.

Photos from the event:

 

Michael L. Simon, age 73, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, April 28, 2018, at  Fort Memorial Hospital, Fort Atkinson WI.

Mike was born June 17th, 1944 in Milwaukee, WI.  He was the son of Donald M. & Mary A. (Dufrane) Simon. Mike attended St. Patrick’s Grade School, grades 1-8, and St. Mary’s Springs Academy & graduated from Goodrich High School in Fond du Lac in 1963.

Mike married Maureen H. Lawrence of Fond du Lac in 1965.  They settled in Southern WI shortly thereafter. Mike worked for the A&P Food Stores before getting his insurance license.

He sold insurance for Mutual of Omaha Ins. Co. before becoming an independent agent and owning his own business, Simon and Associates.

Mike was a proficient pool player in his early years, loved to play sheepshead and had a passion for golf.  He also enjoyed fishing, baking bread, and fermenting foods.

Mike is survived by his wife of 53 years, Maureen.  Sons: Daniel (Virginia) Simon of Fort Atkinson, Patrick Simon of Fort Atkinson, and grandchildren Morgan and Logan Simon of Fort Atkinson.  He is also survived by siblings: Donnie (Barb) Simon from Lomira; Peter (Nury) Simon of Belmont, CA; Louie (Barb) Simon of Paducah, KY; Marcia (Billy) Long of Sevierville, TN; Sharon (Rob) Sharp of Fond du Lac; Rosanne Kowal of Fond du Lac;  Karen (Jim) Gallagher of Menasha, sister-in-law Ronde (John) Zoelle of Fond du Lac; Brother-in-law Michael (Michelle) Lawrence of Omro; Brother-in-law David Lawrence Thailand; as well as many cherished friends, nieces, nephews and cousins.

Mike was preceded in death by his parents, a sister-in-law Dorothy Simon, a brother-in-law Leo Kowal, and a son Steven Michael Simon.

A celebration of life will be at Nitardy Funeral Home, 550 North Newcomb, Whitewater, WI. on Saturday, May 12, 2018, starting at 10 am with a service following at 12 pm.

In lieu of flowers, direct donations to the American Heart Association (http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/) would be greatly appreciated or a charity of one’s choice.

www.nitaryfuneralhome.com

Learn How to Attract and Nourish Birds and Butterflies in Your Own Backyard, May 5 at Irvin L. Young Memorial Library

Monarch butterflies feeding on New England Aster, one of the plants that will be offered at the Books, Birds & Butterflies event.

Looking for inspiration for your yard or want to keep your nature vibe going after Earth Day?

Stop by the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library on Saturday, May 5th from 10 am to 1 pm to learn how to attract and nourish birds and butterflies in your own backyard. The Kettle Moraine Land Trust is partnering with libraries to encourage wise stewardship of local landscapes. Volunteers will be available at East Troy, Elkhorn, Delavan and Whitewater libraries with tips, guides and even free native plants and seed to get you started. There will be several native plants to choose from, one plant per household.

The Kettle Moraine Land Trust (KMLT) is a nonprofit conservation organization that protects local lands and waters for your enjoyment and future generations. Contact Maggie Zoellner, Executive Director with questions or for more details at 262-949-7211 or visit the KMLT website, www.kmlandtrust.org.

Whitewater City Outdoor Market Today!

The Whitewater City Market returns to its outdoor location at 301 W Whitewater Street today from 4 – 7 pm.  Click on the Facebook post below for a complete list of vendors and entertainment.

Be sure to follow the Whitewater City Market on Facebook for updates on market dates and any last minute information about each market day.

WMS Robotics Team Competes in Regional Event

On Saturday, April 28th the Whitewater Middle School Robotics Club traveled to Northeastern University in Chicago, Illinois to compete in the MATE Regional ROV competition. There, the team had to pass a safety inspection to prove that their robot, also known as an ROV (remotely operated vehicle), was waterproof and safe to go in an aquatic environment. They were also required to display a marketing board which showcased their ROV’s design features and presented their underwater robot to a panel of engineers before taking it to pool. For the competition, the team had two attempts to complete the mission. This year’s theme was “Jet City” and the mission involved using their ROV’s camera to identify a plane crash and recover debris from the site among other things. The WMS Robotics Club has been working really hard since December to prepare for this competition. They encountered several challenges along the way but with teamwork and determination, were able to persevere.

Members of this year’s club are: Aldo Rodriguez, Anisa Dauti, Brett Wicker, Emma Weigel, Cole Schlicher, Keith Cameron, Skylar Staebler, Abby Olson, Jason Briese, Henry Mortimer, Monica Juette, Jack Cohan, and Jeffrey Dean. The club is supervised by Ms. McGowan and Mrs. Weigel.

 

Lincoln Elementary Growing and Learning School Garden Planted by Kindergarten thru 5th-grade Classes

Peas, carrots, swiss chard, kale, radishes, lettuces, and spinach were all a part of the first crop. These seeds and seedlings tolerate the cooler spring air and soil temperatures. The K4 classes will be planting the sunflowers in May to make this a school-wide project. Students also learned more about the emerging perennials in the pollinator gardens.

Gardens help promote life-long healthy lifestyle habits- eating healthy, moving our bodies and being outside. School gardens also enrich classroom curriculum, build community and provide wonderful hands-on, life-long learning for all ages.

The community is welcome to join us for Monday Garden Gatherings. 3 – 4:30 pm until June 4. Come help tend to the garden, learn, do a project, relax, and meet your neighbors.

To get involved or questions, please contact Garden Leader Liesl Schultz Hying at LINCSGarden@gmail.com.