News & Events

The City of Whitewater Lakes Advisory Committee is hosting informational sessions to increase awareness regarding the upcoming City of Whitewater Trippe & Cravath Lake District resolution, which will be presented to the City Council on May 6, 2025.

The final sessions will be held this Saturday, April 5 at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. at the Municipal Building.

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

The following are unofficial election results based on reports from Jefferson, Rock and Walworth Counties. All results are subject to review by the local Boards of Canvassers.

City of Whitewater Referendum
Yes – 1880 = 54%
No – 1599 = 46%

City of Whitewater Common Council, District 1
Mike Smith 430
J. Christopher Wilt 392

Whitewater Unified School District Referendum
Yes – 3189 = 52%
No – 2933 = 48%

Whitewater Unified School District School Board (2 will be elected)
Jennifer Kienbaum 2553
Miguel Aranda 2541
Nick Baldwin 2488
Wayne Redenius 2079

State Races
Superintendent of Public Instruction – Jill Underly is projected as the winner.
Justice of the Supreme Court – Susan Crawford is projected to win.
Voter ID amendment passed.

The Banner will provide the outcome of a number of other area races soon.

Editor’s Note:  The following interview was done by Marjorie Stoneman on behalf of Whitewater Unites Lives.

Dr. K. Praveen Parboteeah is a well-respected and world-renowned professor, researcher, and textbook author who lives in Whitewater, Wisconsin.  His journey to Whitewater began in the small country of Mauritius, an island near Africa. He grew up in a family of teachers and his maternal grandfather was one of the first non-Christian principals during British rule in Mauritius.

Praveen earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mauritius.  A professor from California arranged for one student to attend Chico University in California to earn an MBA and Praveen was chosen to follow the research track.  He then earned a PhD in Business Administration at Washington State.  Washington State is also where he became a United States citizen.

“I really liked what my advisor was doing and the quality of life in the United States.  I wanted to have the best option to stay here and do research and flourish as a scholar,” he said.  At that time, Mauritius had limited opportunities for a PhD education.

Praveen said when he first went to California, he was really homesick, being 10,000 miles and 22 hours away from his family. His mom came the first summer to help him adapt.  He said now he enjoys talking with his father regularly on the phone and Facetiming his family on the weekend.  Technology has made the distance bearable.

Praveen speaks French, Creole, and English fluently.  One of Praveen’s challenges was changing from the British style of writing to the American style of writing.  He said the British style is much wordier, and so he learned to write in a clean, direct style for academic papers.

He has published 60 articles and five books (three books with more editions).  He won the UW-W Award for Outstanding Researcher twice, and he received an award from the Prime Minister of Mauritius. He also surpassed 10,000 cites on Google Scholar.

Praveen’s first position after earning his PhD was to teach Business at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.  He had applied to many universities, but he really liked the chair of his department, Chris Clements. He and his wife, Kyong Pyun, moved here 25 years ago.  He said it was difficult to adapt at the beginning, but once he and Kyong met people through work and the community, it became much easier socially.  Praveen has had many offers to teach at other universities, but he loves it in Whitewater and doesn’t plan to leave.

In 2014, Praveen spearheaded the DBA (Doctorate of Business Administration) program at Whitewater, which has been an important financial and status boost for the university.  Working business people can earn their DBA by attending sessions on the weekend.  The program is geared toward professionals.  In addition, other state professors have been able to advance at their universities by earning a DBA at Whitewater.

“When I think about all of the experiences I have had, I know I am privileged to be at UW-W,” he said.

Praveen’s wife, Kyong (featured in another whitewaterbanner.com article) was born in South Korea, so Praveen made connections with South Korea University, where he teaches each summer.  He has also made wonderful professional connections with other international scholars from Germany, China, and India.

“I have enjoyed all of the cultural experiences.  In Mauritius, I was able to meet Muslims, Hindus and Christians.  I’m interested in different cultures and have had good experiences whenever I’ve interacted with people from different countries,” he said.

Praveen and Kyong raised two children in Whitewater.  One is currently attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the other recently graduated from there.  Both Praveen and Kyong are dedicated to the Whitewater community.  Praveen is a volunteer for Whitewater YES for Education, served on the Whitewater Grocery Co. Board, and was involved in creating the Lincoln Elementary Charter School.

Editor’s Note: The following was provided by Whitewater Unites Lives.

The compost site, located at 599 N. Jefferson St., will on open on Saturdays beginning April 5, 2025, from 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. and Wednesdays, starting April 9, from 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

The compost site is available to City of Whitewater residents only. Residents can bring yard waste to the site for disposal. Residents are required to empty the yard waste from any container used in the transportation of the yard waste and take the container home.

Residents can also help themselves to composted material or wood chips at the site. Residents must load their own compost or wood chips. The City will provide a loader for loading chips and compost beginning Saturday, April 5. This loader will be available on the first Saturday of each month until the site closes for the season on Wednesday, November 19, 2025.

*Please allow enough time for unloading as the compost site will close promptly at the posted times. *

NOTICE: City Ordinance Chapter 12.08 – Street Obstructions, Section: 12.08.010 – Residents are prohibited from depositing any yard waste debris on…right of ways other than City of Whitewater designated days.

If you have any questions, please call the Department of Public Works at 262-473-0560.

For other requests, visit https://www.whitewater-wi.gov/RequestTracker.aspx.

Whitewater Police Credit Card Skimming Public Service Announcement

On March 18, 2025, the Whitewater Police Department Detective Bureau provided the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office with information that led to the apprehension of an individual suspected of credit card skimming. At the time of the arrest, the individual was in possession of what is believed to be cloned credit/debit card data from numerous victims. Multiple victims have been identified as Whitewater residents.

The Whitewater Police Department is asking anyone who used the following ATM to speak with a member of the WPD
Detective Bureau at 262-473-0555, and provide the last four digits of the card used so our staff can compare it to the list
of compromised data:
Whitewater Kwik Trip #493, 305 Elkhorn Rd. Whitewater, WI
The transactions occurred between January 20, 2025 and January 23, 2025.

Additionally, the Whitewater Police Department reminds everyone of precautions consumers can take to protect
themselves from credit card skimmers and fraud:
 Inspect ATMs, point-of-sale terminals, and other card readers before using. Look for anything loose, crooked,
damaged, or scratched. Don’t use a card reader if you notice anything unusual. Use tap to pay when possible.
Use ATMs in a well-lit indoor location with less vulnerable targets.
 If you use a debit card at a gas station, run it as a credit card instead of entering a PIN. That way, the PIN is safe,
and the money isn’t deducted immediately from your account. If that’s not an option, cover your hand when
entering your PIN. Scammers sometimes use pinhole cameras located above the keypad area to record PIN
entries.
 Be alert for skimming devices in tourist areas, which are popular targets.
 Use debit and credit cards with chip technology. In the U.S., fewer devices steal chip data than magnetic strip
data.

Editor’s note: Police Chief Dan Meyer indicated that “no additional information regarding the suspect or the investigation will be released as it remains an open investigation.”

Singer/songwriter, Whitney Rose, is performing in the next Wright House Concert in Whitewater on April 12 at 7 pm.

Currently based in Dodge County, Wisconsin, Rose wears many hats: woman, mother, teacher, musician, human being. She weaves all of these roles together in her art. Her voice is soulful and maternal, and will draw you in. Her music is the story of her experience, as a Human Being and as a Divine Being. Come, listen. Be human. Know that you are loved. That it is OK to be.

The Wright House is an old brick home in Whitewater, Wisconsin, originally built by the Wright family in 1857. Sarah Beth Nelson, the current owner of the Wright House, will host.

Register on Eventbrite: https://whitneyrosewrighthouse.eventbrite.com

Ferradermis competed at the Phantom Lakes Regional at Mukwonago High School over Spring Break from March 27-29 and finished qualifications ranked #5 out of the 39 participating teams with an 8-3-1 record. The 39 teams came from around the world – 2 from Mexico and 1 each from India, Turkey, and Chinese Taipei! The field also included teams from 5 states – Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri.

The mechanical team, programmers, and drive team had been working hard since the team’s first competition in Duluth at the end of February to make improvements to the robot. In the three weeks since Duluth, the robot had been adjusted to score additional points in the autonomous period, handle algae (the large green playground balls) and pick up coral from the ground. All of these changes improved the offensive capabilities of the robot, and the team’s EPA (estimated points added) rating jumped nearly 10 points at this competition.

The Whitewater High School team became the captain of the #4 seeded alliance for the elimination round and invited Team 6223 – Arsenal of Engineering from Menomonee Falls and Team 2202 – BEAST Robotics from Brookfield to join their playoff alliance. After getting hung up on top of an algae during the first playoff match, losing to the #5 seed, Ferradermis led their alliance in a valiant effort in the second match before falling 151-148 to the #8 seed.

Dean’s List nominees Erison Dreksler and Chacha Binagi each interviewed with a panel of judges during the event, highlighting their personal contributions to the team. A Dean’s interview is something like a job interview and is the only time in FIRST that the focus is on the individual student rather than the team.

Ferradermis members participating in the event and filling various roles from drive team to impact presenter to safety captain to pit crew to match strategist to scout to media team member to mascot included seniors Andrew O’Toole, Zoe Olson, Emerson Dunham, Andrew Zimmermann, and Maddi LaHaie, juniors Erison Dreksler, Elora Wildermuth-Breitzman, Nina Heim, Georgia Esch, Chacha Binagi, Ace Hudec, and Margaret Brown, sophomores Toby Kapfer, Colby Long, Preston Miller, and Carson Miller, and freshmen Emilie Bruns, Asher Downs, Eli Gonsior, Cooper Housel, Jayden Kehrer, Virginia Nelson, Sam Raupp, and Letty Trautman.

The team is next in action this coming weekend at State Fair Park in West Allis for the Wisconsin Regional where 48 teams from Wisconsin and Illinois will go head to head. The public is invited to attend this free event on Saturday, April 5 and Sunday, April 6.

Ferradermis continues its fundraising efforts for the trip to the FIRST Championships in Houston, Texas in April. If you would like to support the team, online donations are accepted at https://www.ferradermis.org/ or checks made out to WHS can be sent to the team at Whitewater High School c/o Laura Masbruch, 534 S Elizabeth Street, Whitewater, WI 53190. Team members are also selling Kwik Trip cards and planning several upcoming restaurant nights.

Article and Photos Submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor
lmasbruch@wwusd.org