A fatal shooting on Friday, August 30 took place in an apartment above M.E. & My Pets. [Lynn Binnie photo]
By Lynn Binnie Whitewater Banner volunteer staff whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
The above image is posted on the UW-Whitewater Warhawk Athletics Facebook page
In a press release on Saturday afternoon, the Whitewater Police Department reported that the fatal shooting on Friday evening, August 30 occurred at 147 W. Whitewater Street, apartment #203. This apartment is located above M.E. & My Pets. Officials identified the victim as Kara Welsh, age 21, of Plainfield, Illinois. In a post on the university’s website, Chancellor Corey A. King described Welsh as a “standout member of the Warhawks gymnastics team, winning an individual national title on the vault in 2023.” According to the Facebook post shown above, Welsh was a senior. The chancellor indicated that counseling services will be available to students and faculty. “We know the news of Kara’s death is heartbreaking for our close-knit university community. It is a time when we are all called upon to support one another, to process, and to grieve,” King stated. Fall classes begin on Tuesday, September 3, and the chancellor ordered the university’s flag to be lowered to half-staff that day in Welsh’s memory.
The suspect, a 23-year-old male has been arrested and is confined in the Walworth County Jail. Per the Whitewater Police Department’s usual protocol, the suspect will not be identified until he is charged. The charges that are being forwarded to the Walworth County District Attorney’s Office are First-Degree Intentional Homicide, Endangering Safety by the Use of a Dangerous Weapon, and Disorderly Conduct While Armed.
The department indicated that no additional information is being provided at this time due to the fact that this is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information relevant to this investigation should contact the Whitewater Police Department at 262-473-0555 option #4. Anonymous tips may also be shared using P3Tips.com.
A previous Banner article regarding this incident may be found here.
The 100 block of West Whitewater Street was still closed on Saturday at 11:30 a.m., nearly twelve hours after the homicide investigation began. [Lynn Binnie photo]
Update: Police Chief Dan Meyer confirmed to the Banner that the shooting took place at 147 W. Whitewater Street, above the M.E. & My Pets store.
According to a press release, Whitewater police responded at 11:54 p.m. on Friday, August 30 to an apartment in the 100 block of W. Whitewater Street [in the Wisconsin Dairy Supply Co. apartments] for a report of a person with a gunshot wound. Upon arrival officers found a deceased 21-year-old female with multiple gunshot wounds. A 23-year-old male who was known to the female was also present in the apartment. Investigation revealed that an altercation between the two individuals had led up to the shooting. The male was taken into custody.
An investigation is ongoing, with police indicating that they do not believe there is any ongoing threat to the community. Further information will be released as it becomes available. Whitewater Police request that anyone with information relevant to this investigation should contact them at 262-473-0555, option #4. Anonymous tips may also be shared using P3Tips.com.
The Police Department offered condolences to the family of the deceased. Appreciation was expressed to the Wisconsin State Crime Lab, the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office and the UW-Whitewater Police Department for their assistance.
Richard Ehrenberg writes, “On May 18, 2024 a Painted Turtle from Trippe Lake created an egg nest in the Clay St. Nature Park. After 3 months and 8 days, 13 hatchlings emerged from the soil on Monday, August 26, ready to begin their new journey above ground by walking over a hundred feet to the North shore of Trippe Lake.
However, the lawn grass under which they hid in right-away, and some plastic netting laid near the shoreline to help restore some seeded lawn grass, both posed obstacles for these little one inch diameter hatchlings to make it all the way. I therefore carried them to the lake. Once in the water among the Floating Duck-weed (a native aquatic plant) they dispersed immediately up to 12 inches distance and then poked their small heads out of the water and pause to look around at their new watery habitat, on a warm, sunny, Summer day.”
Our thanks to Richard Ehrenberg for this fascinating story and photo.
— 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!
Hannah Smith, second from left, was recently recognized for her generosity in front of a national audience at a premium sports awards show. Los Angeles, CA – July 11, 2024 – Dolby Theater: 2024 ESPYS presented by Capital One. (Photo by Allen Kee / ESPN Images)
Hannah Smith, a communication major at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, took the words of her mother to heart when she was recently recognized for her generosity in front of a national audience at a premium sports awards show.
On July 11 in Los Angeles, Smith was honored as a winner of the Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award at the 2024 ESPY Awards for her efforts to create opportunities for athletes with disabilities in and around her hometown of Richmond, Virginia.
Hannah Smith, center, is recognized as a recipient of the Sports Humanitarian Award at the 2024 ESPY Awards. Smith is joined in the photo by fellow award winners Conor Campbell, left, and Ayanna Shah. (Submitted photo)
“My mom always told me — if you see a need and have the means, fill it,” Smith said. “There was a need (for growth of accessible opportunities) on the East Coast.”
Smith was recognized on the ESPYs stage alongside two other award winners by women’s tennis legend Serena Williams, who hosted the annual awards show.
When Smith learned she had won the award about a month before the ESPY Awards, she was “shocked and grateful.”
Attending several pre-show events in Los Angeles, Smith met sports celebrities and several champions of accessibility and inclusion in sports, including the person who started American sign language broadcasts for National Hockey League games.
“I was so excited to meet everyone at the red carpet at the ESPYs, but what was equally as meaningful was meeting my role models — other people with disabilities who have paved the way for me to even get an award at the ESPYs,” she said.
Hannah Smith, right, poses with a camper at a Sportable wheelchair basketball camp, one of the youth camps Smith helped start in Richmond, Virginia. (Submitted photo/Brian McWalters)
Drawing on her own experience playing youth wheelchair basketball, Smith teamed with Sportable, a Richmond-based organization that creates sports and recreational opportunities for individuals with physical disabilities and visual impairments, to launch wheelchair basketball camps and clinics and an adult women’s wheelchair basketball team. In 2023, she started the “See It, Be It” social media campaign, which highlights individuals with disabilities succeeding in sports, careers, and everyday adventures to inspire youth with disabilities and those with new injuries or diagnoses to pursue their dreams.
Smith became a part of Sportable when she was 11 and began competing in wheelchair basketball two years later. She remembers playing in her first national tournament at age 13 in Louisville, Kentucky, and feeling a sense of belonging.
“It was a giant building (with) 12 basketball courts, and there were more people with disabilities or using mobility aids than people who weren’t,” she said. “For the first time in my life, for the entire week, no one asked me ‘what’s wrong with you?’ or ‘what’s your disability?’ or ‘why are you in a wheelchair’? They looked at me as competition, not as different. That meant a lot to me.”
As a high school student, Smith immersed herself in wheelchair basketball, playing and coaching with Sportable and speaking at local schools as a champion of inclusivity. During the pandemic, she trained in Richmond with Cor’Rales Dupree, who played for the men’s wheelchair basketball team at UW-Whitewater and graduated with a degree in communication in 2021.
Smith attended wheelchair basketball camps at four different colleges, including UW-Whitewater. She was impressed by the hospitality and care shown by the coaching staff, which at the time included head women’s coach Christina Schwab and head men’s coach Jeremy “Opie” Lade, as well as the other camp coaches, including Warhawk alum Lindsay Zurbrugg, a member of the Team USA women’s wheelchair basketball team playing for Schwab at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Smith also noticed the way the community supported the wheelchair basketball programs — she saw a schedule poster posted at a local restaurant and knew Whitewater was a place where she would be valued.
Hannah Smith, left, an elementary education major from Henrico, VA, and current member of the Warhawks Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team enjoys a laugh with campers during a women’s wheelchair basketball camp on Tuesday, June 21, 2022. The campers, from left, are Mia Bartolotta, Kylee Koenig and Chloe Johnson, back to camera. UW-Whitewater staff, alumni and students presented two wheelchair basketball camps last week, a women’s wheelchair basketball camp and a co-ed wheelchair basketball camp. (UW-Whitewater photos/Craig Schreiner)
Since joining campus, Smith has been a member of UW-Whitewater’s Campus Crusade for Christ and Delight Ministries chapters. She was a member of the Warhawk women’s wheelchair basketball team from 2021-23, earning National Wheelchair Basketball Association All-Rookie Team accolades as a freshman and Academic All-America honors as a sophomore, and was a peer mentor with the First Year Experience office in fall 2023. She has also worked with students in the Pathways for Success and LIFE programs on campus.
After starting as an elementary education major, Smith switched to communication while maintaining special education as a minor. She cited several faculty members who’ve supported her academic journey, including communication faculty Corey Davis and Kathy Taylor and special education professor Rowand Robinson. Smith specifically called out the support of Taylor, who she took a class with in cross-cultural communication.
“Being at Whitewater proves to me every single day that this is where I belong,” Smith said.
This fall, Smith plans to work with the American Sign Language Club to improve her communication skills with those who are deaf and hard of hearing.
The Warhawks’ Hannah Smith, front, is greeted by her mother Amy, from Richmond, VA, after a Friday morning game. The UW-Whitewater Men’s and Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Teams host the first day of a two-day tournament of elite college teams at Kachel Fieldhouse on Friday, Dec. 2, 2022 (UW-Whitewater photo/Craig Schreiner)
After receiving her degree, Smith plans to return to the Richmond, Virginia, area — where she’s already made a giant impact — to seek a job incorporating communication and her desire to work with people with disabilities.
Smith looks to continue working with Sportable in wheelchair basketball, including joining the women’s team she helped start. She also hopes to expand the “See It, Be It” project to connect people with disabilities to opportunities for career exploration and athletic development.
For the next year, Smith will engage in the Sports Humanitarian leadership program with current and past winners of the award with the goal of raising awareness and support for her work in accessibility.
Written by Chris Lindeke | Photos by Craig Schreiner and submitted
M.E. and My Pets posted an announcement on their Facebook page in April indicating that the owners were thinking about retirement and were looking to sell their two stores, one of which is at 147 W. Whitewater St. in Whitewater, with the other being in Fort Atkinson.
In a Facebook post on August 30, the business announced the sale of the Fort Atkinson location, while also indicating that the inventory of the two stores will be consolidating in Fort. The Whitewater store will be closing on September 14. A July, 2024 post stated that the Whitewater store was celebrating its 23rd anniversary.
The August 30 post closed with the message, “We appreciate the support we have received from our Whitewater customers for over 20 years and we hope you will continue to support the Fort Atkinson location. The Fort Atkinson store will be under the new ownership beginning September 16th, and Eric will stay on board until the end of September to help with the business transfer.”
The City of Whitewater is excited to announce a new feature on our municipal website: a dedicated Community page that is designed to host the links to local organizations’ calendars. Currently included are the links are to the city Parks & Recreation Department, the school district, the university, and the Chamber of Commerce. This centralized platform is designed to keep residents and visitors alike informed about activities, celebrations, and gatherings happening throughout our city.
As part of our commitment to fostering a vibrant community atmosphere, we invite local organizations, clubs, and community groups to share their event calendars with us. By featuring your events on our Community page, you can reach a wider audience and ensure greater participation.
How to Get Your Events Featured: To have your calendar included on our Community page, please send your link to Becky Magestro, Chief of Staff, at bmagestro@whitewater-wi.gov. We are looking forward to showcasing the diverse and dynamic events that make Whitewater a special place to live and visit.
Editor’s note: This announcement has been adapted from a press release from the city.
It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society. For the last summer image from the Scholl collection of glass plate negatives from c.1900 we offer this salute to Labor Day coming up on Monday. Here is a group of men working in a Whitewater area quarry. It may be the one off of Franklin Street, or elsewhere in the area, but it illustrates how hard some c.1900 jobs were. Many of you may remember the 1960s song, “I Fought the Law,” that starts “Breaking rocks in the hot sun. . .” Well, that is what these men appear to be doing. Fortunately, most labor is not as physically demanding today, but all labor is valuable, and we salute all workers on Labor Day!
Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society.
Ernest Walter Regelein, 93, Fort Atkinson, formerly of Whitewater passed away on Tuesday, August 20, 2024 at Wellington Meadows in Fort Atkinson.
Ernie was born on March 14, 1931 in Fort Atkinson to Benjamin and Ana (Busche) Regelein. He served his country in the United States Army during the Korean War. Ernie married Mary Clark on March 23, 1985. She preceded him in death on June 26, 1987. He was a home builder and worked for 28 years with the United States Post Office. Ernie also owned and operated the Western Aire Supper Club in Oconomowoc. He was a lover of fine wine, stamp collecting, Owen Gromme prints, gardening, the Milwaukee Brewers. He was known for causing good natured trouble. He was a member of First English Lutheran Church.
He is survived by his nieces and nephews Jerry Wolfram, James (Rose Schroeder) Wolfram, John (Beverly) Wolfram, Tom (Helene) Regelein, Ray Regelein. He is preceded in death by his parents, wife, brothers Richard (Beverly) Regelein, Harvey (Connie) Regelein, sister Florence (Harold) Wolfram.
A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, September 7, 2024 at 11:00 am at First English Lutheran Church, 401 W. Main St., Whitewater, WI 53190 followed by military rites. Friends may call at the church on Saturday from 10 am until the time of the service.
The family would like to thank Wellington Meadows staff and Rainbow Hospice for the care they provided Ernie. Online condolences may be made at www.nitardyfuneralhome.com
Talen Jourdan (Left) is one of six Whitewater alumni on the U.S. men’s team in Paris; Christine Schwab with her Olympic gold medal in wheelchair basketball from Rio 2016 (Craig Schreiner/UW-Whitewater)
An article by Ben Pickman in The Athletic (a New York Times publication) on August 28 was titled “Welcome to UW-Whitewater, the bedrock of the U.S. Paralympic wheelchair basketball teams.” Excerpts of the story, which is behind a paywall, are shown below.
“The scuff and skid marks help tell the story. Of collisions, of wheelchairs tipping over, of abrupt stops, pivots, and turns. The banners on the walls around the court’s perimeter serve as a complement to those tales — of a World Championships in Amsterdam, of a Parapan-Am Games in Toronto, of the 2012 London Paralympics, of the three women’s and 14 men’s collegiate national titles.
From the outside, the Roseman Building…looks like another indistinguishable administrative hall….But “Roseman,” as its inhabitants call it, is home to some of the best wheelchair basketball players in the United States….It is one of the most understated venues used by high-level athletes.
…As the Paralympic Games get underway in Paris, the core of the U.S. wheelchair basketball program has roots in the school and the Roseman Building.
Of the 12 members on Team USA men’s wheelchair basketball squad, six are alumni of UW-Whitewater, the most of any university. The women’s team has two players, and one alternate, who competed collegiately at UW-Whitewater…Two alums will play for Germany and another is on the Netherlands roster.
That a university with Division III athletics, and a student body of around 11,000 (more than 1,300 of which have disabilities) became a leader in the wheelchair basketball space stems from serendipity.
In the early 1970s, only a few programs provided services to students with disabilities across America. Less than a half-dozen had wheelchair basketball teams.
John Truesdale was working for Wisconsin’s division of vocational rehabilitation when UW-Whitewater received grant money to support students with disabilities. Shortly after, he was brought into the university to address campus accessibility needs, eventually starting the school’s disabled student services office — which then served around 10 students — and its adaptive recreation program.
Truesdale played stand-up basketball recreationally throughout his youth but had no prior coaching experience. Nevertheless, he took over the sideline duties…. A group of non-disabled students practiced with them because they liked the competition. “I really didn’t know anything,” Truesdale said. “It wasn’t anything that I did as much as it was students and staff buying into it because they saw the need.”
The existence of the program was a starting point.
Shortly after the program’s launch, the university rewrote its mission statement and committed to developing and providing services for students with disabilities. Its intentions were clear. Buy-in followed. “Interest spread throughout the entire campus,” Truesdale says. “It was somewhat unique.” Nowadays, more than 12 percent of Whitewater students use the services offered by the center for students with disabilities on campus.
…..Talen Jourdan represents this generation. Jourdan is from nearby Deerfield. He didn’t know much about the program’s history when he enrolled. But he does now. And on top of the tales of those before him, he appreciates that the men’s team has their own locker room, space for chairs, and a weight room.
Jourdan’s hands are full of calluses and his forearms have countless scars because he uses them to help brake. The marks have been worth it. This spring, he learned he had made his first Paralympic team.
While the U.S. women are looking to win their first gold since 2016, the men are seeking a third consecutive title and to complete the first Paralympic three-peat in men’s wheelchair basketball. “It would mean a lot to everybody,” says Jourdan, who graduated from Whitewater in May…“I love playing at Whitewater because everybody knows about wheelchair basketball and the success the program’s had.”
A comment made by a readerof The Athletic:
Bruce G. Thanks for the great article celebrating UW-Whitewater. Both of our boys swam at UWW but went to wheelchair basketball games and had their players come to their meets. I remember watching wheelchair basketball games during tournaments UWW would host and being in awe of the athletes. Our experience at UWW was all athletes from all the sports fully supported each other.
When are the U.S. wheelchair basketball teams in action?
Men’s fixtures
Aug 29: vs Spain (10am ET) US 66 / Spain 56
Aug 31: vs Netherlands (9 am CDT) — US 60 / Netherlands 34
Sep 1: vs Australia (3.30am CDT) — “Digital only”
Sep 3: quarterfinals (Begin 6:45 am CDT) Sep 5: semifinals; Sep 7: bronze medal match and gold medal match
Women’s fixtures
Aug 30: vs Germany (9 am CDT) US 73 / Germany 44
Aug 31: vs Netherlands (11.15 am CDT) – Netherlands 69 / US 56
Sep 2: vs Japan (6.45 am CDT) – Broadcast on USA
Sep 4: quarterfinals; Sep 6: semifinals; Sep 8: bronze medal match and gold medal match
How do I watch the Games?
Live coverage of the opening ceremony will be shown on USA Network at 12pm CDT. Then on every sporting day, starting on Thursday, August 29, USA Network will provide coverage of the most exciting events, including live finals. Streaming service Peacock will also broadcast around 1,500 hours across all 22 sports throughout the 12-day event, including the hugely popular ‘Gold Zone’ whip-around show.
NBC will have three primetime windows: Friday, August 30 at 8pm CDT; Sunday, September 1 at 6pm CDT; and Friday, September 6 at 8 pm CDT, while CNBC will present live action each weekend. NBCParalympics.com will have the most up-to-date listings and information for viewers in the States.
The Paralympics YouTube channel will also provide live coverage, replays, highlights, creator content and athlete features.
A comment made by a readerof The Athletic:
Bruce G. Thanks for the great article celebrating UW-Whitewater. Both of our boys swam at UWW but went to wheelchair basketball games and had their players come to their meets. I remember watching wheelchair basketball games during tournaments UWW would host and being in awe of the athletes. Our experience at UWW was all athletes from all the sports fully supported each other.
Person
Team
Role
At UW-W
Jake Williams
USA Men
Player
Former student athlete
AJ Fitzpatrick
USA Men
Player
Current student athlete
Talen Jourdan
USA Men
Player
Former student athlete
John Boie
USA Men
Player
Former student athlete; Current academic advisor
Nate Hinze
USA Men
Player
Former student athlete
Jeromie Meyer
USA Men
Player
Former student athlete
Becca Murray
USA Women
Player
Former student athlete
Lindsey Zurbrugg
USA Women
Player
Former student athlete
Christine Schwab
USA Women
Head coach
Former women’s coach; Manager Learning Communities Program
