City of Whitewater Urban Forestry Commission – Monday @ 4:30 p.m. Agenda includes Discussion and possible action on planning 2025 4th Annual Tree Sale Cravath Lakefront room 2nd floor 312 West Whitewater St *In Person and Virtual Citizens are welcome (and encouraged) to join our webinar via computer, smart phone, or telephone. Citizen participation is welcome during topic discussion periods. Please join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. https://meet.goto.com/424012725 You can also dial in using your phone. Access Code: 424-012-725 United States: +1 (571) 317-3122 Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts: https://meet.goto.com/install
Whitewater Unified School District School Board –Monday @ 5:15 (closed session) – 7:00 (open session) Whitewater High School Library 534 South Elizabeth Street, Whitewater, Wisconsin 5:15 p.m. ———————————————– 5:15 p.m. via Zoom Online – URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87278796737?pwd=IvA44gayDFXVtdPEdkhjDlrtuOjWUQ.1 – Passcode:748046 ———————————————– – Dial-in: 1-312-626-6799 – Webinar ID:872 7879 6737 – Passcode: 748046 ———————————————– Closed Session ———————————————– 7:00 p.m. via Zoom Online OPEN SESSION Agenda (Click on “meetings/agenda” in upper right corner) includes WUSD Strategic Planning & Scorecard Review, Lakeview, Lincoln and Washington Elementary School, and staff survey
Rated R (violence, language); 2 hours, 14 minutes (2017)
Two men, black and white, return from World War II, to work on a farm in rural Mississippi , where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war. A highly regarded film depicting the times. Nominated for 4 Oscars; an AARP Best Movies for Grownups.
Seniors in the Park is located in Starin Park, 504 W. Starin Road. Although there is no charge to attend, regular participants are encouraged to join Seniors in the Park. The annual fee for residents of the Whitewater Unified School District is $10 and non-residents is $15. The funds support about half of the cost of our front desk staff person for 15 hours per week. The rest comes our of our fundraising monies. If you cannot afford the fee, we have a fund that will cover it for you. Fees are accepted at the Starin Park Community Building or online at https://schedulesplus.com/wwtr/kiosk/
By Lynn Binnie Whitewater Banner volunteer staff whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
A new state law passed in 2023 requires an orange and black “EV Hybrid” sticker to be attached to the license plates on electric (EV) and hybrid vehicles. There were nearly 146,000 such vehicles on the road in 2023.
The law was enacted in order to to quickly alert first responders that a vehicle has electric components. Per wearegreenbay.com, “Chief Alan Matzke of the De Pere Fire Department says determining the type of vehicle involved in a crash is one of the first things responders do when arriving on the scene. “With regular vehicles, we can tell when they’re running or not because we can hear the engine running. One of the things that we do is stabilize the vehicle and make sure that the engine is shut off so we don’t have any surprises of that vehicle moving in case of an accident. Electric Vehicles make no noise, so we have no idea if that vehicle’s going to lunge forward or backward,” Matzke says. With the style of EVs evolving, Matzke says it is now more important than ever to start using the stickers. He says, “Certain EVs have a distinctive look, but as they progress and new models come out, they look more and more like an everyday combustion automobile. The stickers are going to be really fundamental in identifying that for us.”
Per ems.gov, in a crash, a high-voltage (HV) lithium-ion battery in a damaged EV or HEV can off-gas or ignite (what’s known as thermal runaway) rapidly with little or no warning. The gas and smoke emitted when the battery is off-gassing or burning is not just flammable but highly toxic. Battery fires also burn much hotter (3000+ degrees) than those in an ICE vehicle, which burn at about 800 to 1000 degrees.
Several other states are either mandating a special EV plate or sticker, while others are making this optional, which sometimes allows a vehicle to use HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lanes. Illinois is among the states with a special plate. The Wisconsin legislature considered issuing a plate but opted instead for a sticker, which initially was proposed to cost drivers $1.
All current owners of electric or hybrid vehicles with valid registration will automatically be sent their EV Hybrid sticker(s) and should receive their sticker(s) by June. Starting this summer, those who apply for title and registration for a new electric or hybrid vehicle (including those purchased at a dealership) will be provided a sticker(s) with their new plate(s). Anyone who purchases an electric or hybrid vehicle ahead of that time will receive their sticker by mail. There is no need to contact the DMV for EV Hybrid stickers.
By the way, there is a $75 annual surcharge for the registration of a hybrid car, and effective July 6, 2023 the surcharge for registering an EV increased from $100 to $175. The intent of these surcharges is to compensate for not collecting the 30.9 cents per gallon state gas excise tax that helps to pay for road improvements.
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has announced Rebecca Hagerman as the next head coach of the Warhawk women’s bowling program.
Hagerman comes to UW-Whitewater from Jacksonville State University where she recently capped a successful collegiate career. “I am extremely excited for Becca to begin her coaching career with us,” said Athletic Director Ryan Callahan. “She is one of the best bowlers in the country and has won on the biggest stages.”
Hagerman is coming off of a phenomenal final year at Jacksonville State. She led the Gamecocks to a NCAA title, the second of her career, en route to earning NCAA Division I Player of the Year accolades. The Conference USA Bowler of the Year, Hagerman was a First Team All-Conference and First Team All-American selection in 2024. In 2023, Hagerman was selected to the Team USA roster before wrapping up her collegiate career at Jacksonville State.
Hagerman began her collegiate journey at McKendree University. A two-time All-American with the Bearcats, Hagerman helped lead the squad to a NCAA title in 2022 and an Intercollegiate Team Championship in 2023. Successful on the lanes and in classroom, Hagerman is a two-time recipient of the NCAA Elite 90 honor – awarded to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average competing at the finals of each sport.
“I am very excited for this opportunity,” said Hagerman. I can’t wait to give back all of the knowledge I’ve learned from the O’Keefe’s.” Shannon and Bryan O’Keefe coached at McKendree University before starting the program at Jacksonville State in the fall of 2023.
“Leann Sullivan left the program in great shape and I’m confident Becca will continue to move the program forward,” added Callahan.
A native of Loves Park, Illinois, Hagerman received a bachelor’s degree in biopsychology from McKendree in 2023. She is currently working toward a master’s degree in integrated studies from Jacksonville State.
Sullivan Named NTCA DIII Coach of the Year in Final Season
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater head bowling coach, Leann Sullivan, has been named the National Tenpin Coaches Association Division III Coach of the Year in her final season at the helm for the Warhawks.
This season, Sullivan’s squad led Division III in nearly every statistical category including traditional frame average, Baker frame average, Baker double percentage, strike percentage, single pin spare conversion percentage and overall spare conversion percentage. Additionally, bowlers Rachel Nelson (Poplar Grove, Ill./Belvidere North) and Kelly Whipple (Sheboygan, Wis./South) led Division III in Baker frame average and Baker double percentage respectively.
The 2024 Warhawks are ranked 22nd in the NTCA’s power index rating with a season record of 58-46. The power index rating includes programs from each division taking into consideration team record and strength of schedule. UWW’s 190.3 average in Baker games this season is ranked 16th in the field of 91 teams across all divisions.
Sullivan announced her retirement from leading the program following her 14th year as the head coach. She retires as arguably the most successful Division III bowling coach in NTCA history. A three-time NTCA Division III Coach of the Year (2013, 2015, 2024), Sullivan has amassed a record of 744-536 competing against teams from all divisions.
Sullivan led the Warhawks to their first-ever berth into the NCAA Championships in 2013. The team finished seventh that season, but returned the next two years to finish third in both 2014 and 2015. In 2021, UW-Whitewater finished third in the United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championships.
Over the course of her tenure, Sullivan has coached eight NTCA Division III Bowlers and Rookies of the Year including Nelson (Bowler-2024), Whipple (Bowler-2023, Rookie-2022), Skye Farr (Sun Prairie, Wis./) (Rookie-2023), Caitlin Mertins (Bowler-2022), Amanda Van Duyn (Bowler-2016, Rookie-2013) and Katie Zwiefelhofer (Bowler-2014). In fact, every NTCA Bowler of the Year and Rookie of the Year in UW-Whitewater women’s bowling history has been coached by Sullivan. She has coached five bowlers to seven NTCA All-America honors and two that earned NCAA All-Tournament Team recognition.
Sullivan’s bowlers have also excelled academically. Warhawk bowlers have earned more than 60 Academic All-NTCA honors under Sullivan’s tutelage. Mertins was named a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American and was the UW-Whitewater Student-Athlete of the Year for her success in the classroom and on the lanes in 2022.
Prior to the 2019 campaign, Sullivan played an integral role in starting the Central Intercollegiate Bowling Conference. UW-Whitewater won the inaugural CIBC Championship in 2019-20 while Mary Conneely was named the CIBC Player of the Year.
Under Sullivan, the Warhawks have been ranked in the final NTCA Top 20 poll nearly every season and have appeared in the final DII/III rankings each of her 14 seasons.
Sullivan was a four-year letterwinner for the Warhawks from 2006-10. She was a captain of the 2010 squad that earned a berth in the USBC national tournament.
“What Leann was able to do at UW-Whitewater with the women’s bowling team was nothing short of amazing,” said Athletic Director Ryan Callahan. “Her passion, knowledge and overall love for Warhawk women’s bowling is going to be tough to replace. The Warhawk community is grateful for her hard work within athletics, and we’re all grateful that she is staying on campus to continue to impact the student experience at UWW.”
Robert Karl Webb passed away peacefully with his loving wife Adrienne by his side on June 14, 2024, at Hearthstone Memory Care in Whitewater, WI. Dr. Webb was born in Trenton, Missouri on September 29, 1926, to parents Karl and Esther (Kull) Webb. During World War II, he served in the Navy aboard the USS Pennsylvania and was honorably discharged in 1946. He received his undergraduate and doctorate degrees in music from the University of Illinois in Urbana.
Dr. Webb was a composer and taught in the public schools of Moberly, Missouri, and was the director of the Hobart, Indiana High School Band. He then taught music at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, retiring in 1989 after teaching there twenty-three years. He was professor of flute and clarinet, coordinator of the music education faculty and director of the University Flute Choir. He was affectionately known as the “Father of the Flute Choir” as he organized, arranged and published many pieces for the flute choir.
Dr. Webb is survived by his wife, Adrienne, his daughters Karla Scobie (Jon) and Kathryn Thorson, four stepchildren, his grandchildren Sarah Liebelt (Stephen), Kate Martinez (Ron), Andy Thorson (Ashley), Leslie Grant and Michael Flood (Erin), ten step-grandchildren, and numerous great-grandchildren. He is predeceased by his first wife, Janice, his daughter Karen (Tom) and his son-in-law Playford.
Funeral services will be on June 28, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at the Rock Prairie Presbyterian Church 8605 CTH A, Janesville, WI. Friends may call at the church on Friday, June 28, 2024, from 9:30 a.m. until the time of the service. A reception will immediately follow the service. Burial will be in the Hillside Cemetery, Whitewater with military rites.
Memorials may be made to the Robert K. Webb Family Scholarship Fund.
Steve Watson writes, “A new personal discovery. These photos were taken in a hurry. It’s a sora ( porzana Carolina) also called Carolina rail, soree, meadow chicken, sora crake, and orlotan. The sora is an elusive dweller of the cattail marsh that builds nests over the water.”
Our thanks to Steve Watson for sharing a new personal discovery. He’s captured and shared photos of so many species of birds that it must have been a delight to see something new!
— Our Readers Share: We hope that you might have something that you’d be willing to share. Anything that’s been created by someone else should, of course, be credited, and you should ask their permission if you’re able. We cannot post copyrighted material without permission. We can’t guarantee that we’ll have space for all submissions, and contributions will be subject to editorial board approval. The one definite exclusion is anything politically oriented. We will assume that you’re willing for us to include your name as the submitter unless you indicate that you prefer to remain anonymous. Send to whitewaterbanner@gmail.com. Thanks for thinking about this!
It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society.
Today we have a photo from the summer of 1999 taken by member George Scharfenberg, who left the society hundreds of photos of things happening in Whitewater in the decades of the 1990s and 2000’s. Here he documents the remodeling of the Starin Park Community Building. The building was damaged by a fire in March of 1998 and in the summer of 1999, the building underwent an enlargement and remodeling that gave us the great Senior Center building we have today.
Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society.
(Photo from the George Scharfenberg collection, Whitewater Historical Society)
We invite you to help celebrate the rich history of dairy in Wisconsin, at our annual “MILKTASTIC” Dairy Days Celebration Friday, June 21st from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Stop in and sample free dairy products like string cheese, yogurt, ice cream and of course MILK!
We are also celebrating with a coloring contest! Stop in and grab a copy of our Wisconsin America’s Dairyland Coloring Sheet! Once colored, drop it off at any office and on June 28th, we will randomly draw 10 winners from each location (Whitewater, East Troy and Palmyra) to win Culver’s gift cards!
Plus, baby calves will visit the Whitewater Main office; come pet the calves! We can’t wait!!!
MADISON, Wis.–Three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference track & field standouts have secured spots in the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials.
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Sam Blaskowski and UW-Oshkosh’s Davian Willems will compete in the 100-meter dash, while UW-Whitewater’s Shelvin Garrett II will participate in the triple jump.
Blaskowski and Willems are the only NCAA Division III individuals of the 34 declared competitors in the event. Both student-athletes qualified for the trials at the UW-La Crosse Eagle Open on May 10. Blaskowski had a time of 10.09 seconds, while Willems posted a time of 10.14 seconds.
Garrett II is one of two NCAA Division III student-athletes participating in the triple jump. He had a leap of 52-4 3/4 (15.97m) at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships on March 9 to qualify for the trials.
The trials will take place June 21-30 at historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon and will be available to watch live on NBC, Peacock and USA.
The Young Auditorium will host Kids from Wisconsin’s “Larger Than Life: The Great Entertainers” on Wednesday, June 26 at 7 p.m. Kids from Wisconsin is composed of Wisconsin’s most accomplished youth, ages 15-20, as they take the stage for a two-hour performance featuring 22 singer/dancers and a 14-piece stage band.
The Kids from Wisconsin were founded in 1969. The 56th annual production will showcase historic bands and orchestras, kings and queens from rock to pop, and legendary Broadway stars and classic entertainers.
The non-profit organization showcases the best of Wisconsin’s young talent and provides a unique pre-professional tour opportunity. This summer’s tour features approximately 40 communities and features daily performances at the Wisconsin State Fair.
All seats are $25 with no extra fees. Tickets may be purchased here.
Editor’s note: Kids from Wisconsin performed at the Young Auditorium last summer, and though the group deserved to have a larger audience, those in attendance seemed to enjoy it very much. It was a very high energy show with great talent.
