Month: June 2018

The WRAP show at the Whitewater Arts Alliance’s Cultural Arts Center is now open. There will be a reception, free and open to the public, on Sunday, June 10th from 1-4 pm. The CAC is open noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays.

The workshop for the event will be Saturday, June 23rd beginning at 9:30. All entrants are invited to the event for free. The workshop is open to anyone for a $5.00 fee.
The judge and presenter will be Tom Jewell, a professional artist from Fort Atkinson, WI.

Call for Photography – 9th Annual Fran Achen Photography Competition

Entry Form Deadline: Thursday, June 14
Photo Drop-Off: Thursday, June 28, from 4 pm to 6 pm at the Cultural Arts Center.
Photo Pick-Up: Sunday, July 29, from 3 pm to 5 pm.

Whitewater Arts Alliance 9th Annual Fran Achen Photography Competition
July 5 – 29, 2018
Cultural Arts Center
402 West Main Street
Whitewater WI 53190

Opening Reception & Awards Presentation: Sunday, July 8 from 1 pm to 3 pm at the Cultural Arts Center. Awards will be presented at about 2 pm.

Open to all photographers — beginning, intermediate, and accomplished photographers of all ages are invited to submit their photographs.

Judges will name 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prize winners in each of three divisions: Youth/Teen (ages 18 and under), Amateur (ages 19 and up), and  Accomplished (any age). Judges will also name a Best of Show Award and attendees of the exhibit will vote for a Viewers’ Choice Award. Each prize and award will include a cash prize.

Full information including rules and entry forms are available at www.whitewaterarts.org/fran-achen-2018.html

For tips on basic framing, please refer to the free video, “Basic Photo Framing Using Frame Kits”, available at www.jmacpix.com/blog/2017/2/25/basic-framing-video-class

For other questions please contact the event’s chairperson, Jeff McDonald, at jeff.mcdonald@gaelicarts.com

The UW-Whitewater Theatre/Dance Department is seeking ushers for Dear Ruth (June 26-30). Ushers report one hour before show time and stay until the end of the performance.

Being an usher is simple and rewarding…and when you sign up, you get to see the show for FREE! Need community service hours? This can count!

For more details and sign up, please visit: http://signup.com/go/CrfqeVB

The volunteers of the Whitewater Food Pantry would like to thank the community for the 5,500 pounds of food that was collected for the Whitewater Food Pantry in a recent food drive.

Additionally, the pantry is grateful for the community members and the local post office’s hard work for helping with this effort.

More about the Whitewater Food Pantry:

The Whitewater Community Food Pantry is located at 146 North Street on the second floor. There is a ramp for disabled folks and an elevator.

The pantry is open Wednesday and Thursday morning from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon for anyone who needs groceries aiming to serve low-income people who are in need. In 2017, the pantry was able to serve over 300 families.

Donations can be brought to the pantry Wednesday or Thursday mornings or by calling the pantry at 262-458-2720.

Monetary donations can be mailed to:
The Whitewater Community Food Pantry
P. O. Box 63
Whitewater, Wisconsin, 53190

The City of Whitewater thanks Chief of Police, Lisa Otterbacher for her 28 years of service as she retires from the department and starts a new chapter in her life.

From the age of seven, she knew she wanted to go into law enforcement. Helping others was a part of who she was even at a young age. Coming to the defense of others and sometimes even getting in trouble for beating up the boys in order to save the girls.

Lisa became an officer in Crystal Lake where she grew up followed by being the first female officer hired in Whitewater. She credits her parents for supporting her lifelong goal.

While performing an undercover drug search at Richmond High School in Illinois, an article was written about her work by the mother of an officer in Williams Bay. She urged her son to meet this young female officer and arranged a blind date. Tim and Lisa have now been married for 29 years.

The two have a strong friendship and partnership. “I would not be where I am today if it were not for Tim.” Along with Lisa’s parents, Tim was always a lifelong supporter of Lisa challenging herself and climbing the ladder saying, “If you don’t apply, you’ll have no options.” Tim helped as a dad while Lisa got an education, both a bachelors and master’s degree in order to follow her dream. Tim’s passion was to work as a deputy in the field where he recently retired as a sergeant from the Walworth Sheriff’s department with 33 years of experience.

“Tim kept me humble and in line with what was going on,” Lisa said. “If you hold people accountable for the little things, big issues won’t happen and we don’t get lost in our jobs.” Both worked 2nd shift and then switched shifts to parent their two kids, whom Lisa speaks of proudly. “Our son Calvin is 21 and in the Army. I am proud of his service work and willingness to serve and defend our country. Our daughter Kaylee works in Washington DC. I am proud that both of our children have it in their hearts to work in public service.”

Through her time as an officer, Lisa fondly remembers her mentors, Chief John Coan and Lt. Tom Guequierre. “Tom was on my interview board and we had an instant connection. He felt I could do the job. And Chief Coan saw what I never saw in myself, leadership.”

Photo Gallery from the Change of Command Event

Read more

Are you interested in an exciting, challenging and highly rewarding career in public service?

Consider joining our Communications Center team by becoming a Public Safety Dispatcher with the Whitewater Police Department. As the initial point of contact, our dispatchers provide 24/7 coverage to ensure emergency service needs are managed professionally and efficiently for the City of Whitewater, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and surrounding townships.

For more details on the position,

From Coach Houwers:

The Whippets finished off the 2018 track and field season at LaCrosse this weekend. The weekend started off with excitement and anticipation as we climbed into vans for the trip. About 40 minutes into the trip, it came to a complete halt, with all traffic coming to a complete standstill for an hour and a half due to an accident. It added a little stress to the morning, forcing some changes in the plan. But we arrived with plenty of time to get checked into our rooms and get ready for the meet to begin at 3 pm.

Miranda Reynolds was the first Whippet to go. She cleared 4′ 10″ in the high jump, and then bowed out at 5′. She had some nice attempts at 5′, but showed a little inconsistently, the result of only jumping in 3 meets prior to to the state meet due to a quad injury. She was disappointed with the result, as she was hoping for better. She’s been forced to deal injuries at inopportune times each of the last two years. But she ended her high school career as one of the top high jumpers in WHS history, as only the 4th high jumper to even qualify for state.

Sashi Popke was next up, starting what would be a very busy weekend. He got things going in the pole vault. He vaulted as good as he ever has, equaling his lifetime bet of 13’6″. This meet, he cleared that bar without a miss. Unfortunately, 6 other competitors cleared the next height of 14′, meaning Sashi would finish 7th, just one place off the podium.

The 4x200m relay team of Tyler Sheffield, Will Leibbrand, Popke and Jack Mayer had their preliminary race on Friday, running a very solid race, and very close race. The Whippets were edged out at the line by Aquinas by only .01 seconds. Oddly, in the second heat, the team from Wautoma managed to finish between the Whippets and Aquinas, leaving 3 teams within .01 seconds of other heading to finals. On Saturday, the Whippets ran well again, equaling their seed from Friday, finishing 5th. The effort resulted in a trip to the podium and the highest finish for the Whippets this weekend.

The same four boys ran in the 4x100m relay and also competed both Friday and Saturday. On Friday, the team struggled a little bit, with a poor handoff almost costing the team an opportunity to compete on Saturday. They managed to sneak into finals with the last qualifying time. It was a chance for redemption. Saturday was a better race, but only enough to finish 8th overall. While they scored, it wasn’t quite enough to make the podium. Their best race proved to be at Sectionals, where they set a new school record.

The final event of the weekend was the long jump, where Popke got an opportunity to make one more trip to the podium. The timing of the event ended up less than ideal for him, as it fell right between the two relays he was running on. The 4×200 went first. Then he had to come back to the runway to get approaches in. He was ushered away for the 4×100 before he could make adjustments to his approach due to the headwind they were jumping into. After the 4×1, meet officials quickly ushered him back to the event even though he was supposed to be allowed 15 minutes to check out for his event. He put two of his jumps on the board and managed to make finals, seeded 7th. His one scratch was by a fraction of an inch, and clearly his best jump of the day. In finals, the wind picked up and not a single jumper better their jump. He finished 7th, and again 1 spot off the podium. Even without the medals, Popke ended one of the best track seasons ever for a Whippet as just the second WHS athlete to qualify in 4 events for the state meet.