Lynn Binnie

Editor’s note: The following announcement was received from Rock River Community Clinic.

Rock River Community Clinic Welcomes Elizabeth Lucht as Behavioral Health Director & Integrated Care Specialist

Rock River Community Clinic (RRCC) has recently announced the hiring of Elizabeth (Beth) Lucht as a Behavioral Health Director & Integrated Care Specialist to implement and oversee the addition of integrated behavioral health services at all RRCC clinics located in Whitewater, Fort Atkinson, Jefferson & Watertown.

“We are delighted to have Beth join our RRCC team and lead our efforts towards providing integrated behavioral healthcare to our patients,” states Olivia Nichols, CEO/Executive Director of RRCC. “Behavioral health is a vital component to the overall health of our patients, and it’s something we know our communities are lacking. Having someone with Beth’s background, experience and passion for this type of care will help ensure that our transition into this crucial service is as effective as possible for all those we serve.”

Lucht is a Certified Physician Assistant (PA-C) and Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with Masters of Science degrees in both Social Work and Physician Assistant Studies with Pathway of Distinction in Global Health, both from University of Wisconsin – Madison. Her three decades of experience have spanned positions as a Physician Assistant, Psychiatrist Physician Assistant, Clinical Specialist, Psychotherapist and Adjunct Faculty member of the UW-Madison Physician Assistant Program.

“During my time as a PA, I’ve worked in specialty mental health care, primary care and in leadership positions. This has given me a lot of insight into the primary care world, and strengthened my belief that patients do best when we can meet as many healthcare needs as possible at the primary care level,” states Lucht. “Offering patients integrated behavioral health services removes barriers, allows a team approach that can be tailored to their needs and desires, and ensures more seamless communication between primary care and behavioral health clinicians.”

Lucht’s role will be responsible for helping build and support patient care teams of providers, therapists, social workers, and care navigators at all RRCC medical and dental clinics. Her overall duties will include, but are not limited to, developing clinical policies and procedures, supporting clinical operations of behavioral health integration, recruiting and training physicians to engage in behavioral health services, working with the Quality Assurance committee to achieve program goals and objectives, establishing behavioral health services priorities, creating long-range development strategies, and much more.

“I’m passionate about helping people access behavioral health services, especially people with limited resources and barriers to care,” states Lucht. “I also love the chance to build something from the ground up, so helping RRCC get a behavioral health program going was exactly the kind of job that fits for me in terms of my values and what I enjoy doing.”

In December of 2022, RRCC received an official designation as a Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike (FQHC-LAL). A primary goal of becoming an FQHC-LAL was to expand access to needed behavioral health services in the community. Integrated Behavioral Health services are a cornerstone of many FQHC’s in the state of Wisconsin, and have a track-record of strong success in supporting access to services.

“Our organization is in an exciting time of transition and growth, and we knew our next step was to focus on integrating more care services and addressing behavioral health needs,” adds Nichols. “Our designation as an FQHC-LAL puts us in a stronger position to pursue and sustain that work long-term, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to work and learn with Beth to do so.”

“I’m excited about the opportunities to collaborate with RRCC community providers,” adds Lucht. “I’m also excited to collaborate with the wonderful primary care providers and support staff already in place at the clinic and work together to make sure our patients can get their behavioral health care needs met. The energy at RRCC is fantastic! I love the focus on the patient and the opportunities for creativity and creation.”

Lucht officially began her role with RRCC in early February, and will begin seeing patients through their primary care visits in April.

Rock River Community Clinic is actively hiring for additional clinic positions, including a part-time nurse practitioner or physician assistant at their Watertown location. The Fort Atkinson dental clinic also has open hygiene and dental assistant positions. Both part-time and full-time options are available. Interested applicants can visit https://rockrivercommunityclinic.com/careers/ for full details.

All three RRCC medical clinics accept BadgerCare, Medicare, and most private health insurance plans for health services. RRCC dental clinic accepts BadgerCare and continues to be the only provider for BadgerCare/Medicaid in Jefferson County. Financial assistance is also available for uninsured families to ensure all have access to high quality, affordable healthcare. For a full list of insurance plans and eligibility details, visit https://rockrivercommunityclinic.com/eligibility/.

Rock River Community Clinic (RRCC) provides comprehensive and cost-effective health care services to ensure all community members have access to care. Serving families in Jefferson, Dodge, and Walworth County, RRCC includes three medical clinics located in Whitewater, Watertown, and Jefferson, and one dental clinic located in Fort Atkinson.

At RRCC, all community members are welcome and accepted, regardless of ability to pay, with discounted prices for patients who are uninsured or underinsured (high deductible plans). RRCC also provides care coordination services to help patients overcome barriers to accessing healthcare and coordinate referrals. Bilingual staff (Spanish & English) are available to support patients and their families. By increasing access to health care services, offering care at affordable costs, and assisting with healthcare navigation, RRCC works to create a healthier, more equitable, community. For clinic hours and directions, visit www.rockrivercommunityclinic.org

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

When the body of a deceased infant was found in a box in a field at the Twin Oaks Mobile Home Park, 755 N. Tratt Street, on March 4, investigators indicated that they believed that the boy’s body had been there for less than 48 hours. According to the Probable Cause and Criminal Complaint documents filed in Jefferson County Circuit Court, however, the newborn’s body had been in the field for five weeks.

Per the Probable Cause Statement submitted by Whitewater Police Detective Anthony Heilberger, he and Special Agent Bob Juarez of the WI Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation interviewed Santos Asucena Caseres Cruz twice on March 24. On the first occasion Caseres Cruz denied being pregnant and denied knowing information about the deceased infant. Later in the day she admitted that at approximately 6 p.m. on January 27 she gave birth to a baby boy, indicating that the baby did not appear to be breathing, did not cry, was not moving and started to turn purple. Although she believed the baby was choking she never aided the baby to help it breathe, and did not call 911 because she was scared that her children would be upset that she was pregnant and that this was with a different man than their father. After having hid the baby from her family she eventually wrapped it in a new shirt, placed the baby in a cardboard box in a garbage bag, and drove to a field near the trailer park at approximately 5 a.m. on January 28, leaving the baby behind. She stated that she checked on the box every day and cried.

An autopsy was conducted on March 6 by Brian Linert, M.D. of the Milwaukee Medical Examiner’s Office. Dr. Linert indicated that he was not able to determine a cause of death.

Caseras Cruz, age 39, of 755 N. Tratt Street, Lot 42, was charged in Jefferson County Circuit Court on March 28 with two felonies: Neglecting a child – consequence is death and Move/hide/bury corpse of child. Upon conviction an individual may be fined not more than $100,000 and $25,000 respectively for those offenses, or imprisoned not more than 25 years and 12 years and 6 months, or both. Caseras Cruz is currently confined at the Jefferson County Jail on a $10,000 cash bond. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 4. A charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proved guilty.

According to Lake Geneva Regional News, “Whitewater man steals XBOX from an apartment, faces burglary charge after lengthy process: Owen W Peroutka Kress, 27, of 100 block N Fremont St., Whitewater, has been charged with burglary of a building or dwelling. On April 29, 2022, Whitewater police were dispatched to an apartment in the City of Whitewater for a burglary complaint. The resident said he heard his door slam while he was sleeping. When he woke up, he noticed his Microsoft Xbox Series S was missing. Security footage at the apartment complex showed a man wearing orange shorts, a dark colored baseball hat, a black shirt, and a tan jacket enter the apartment. On Nov. 3, 2022, an officer conducted an internet search to determine the IP address where the XBOX was logging in from. The officer completed a subpoena for records at Charter Communications for all account holder information of the IP address. On Feb. 23, 2023, the officer received the subpoena results from Charter Communications that listed Owen W Peroutka Kress, the defendant, with the IP address. A search warrant was done three days later at the defendant’s apartment where they found the XBOX in the living room, a driver’s license belonging to Peroutka-Kress and the tan jacket seen in the security footage.”

Per Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, Peroutka Kress is charged with burglary – building or dwelling, a felony. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 17, 2023. A charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proved guilty.

Editor’s note: The following press release was received from the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office.

On Friday, March 31st, 2023 at approximately 11:26 AM, The Walworth County Sheriff’s 911 Communications Center received a report of a head-on collision between two vehicles on County Hwy A near Johnson Rd. in the Town of Richmond, Walworth County, WI. Initial reports indicated one of the vehicles was on fire.

Upon the arrival of Sheriff’s Deputies, they observed a vehicle fully engulfed in flames. The driver was out of the vehicle and sustained critical injuries. The injured driver was treated on the scene by Medix Ambulance and the Delavan Fire Department. The driver was transported from the crash scene to a trauma center via Flight For Life. The driver’s name is being withheld pending family notifications.

The initial investigation indicates an eastbound vehicle crossed the center line of County Hwy A, East of Johnson Road, and struck the victim’s vehicle. The operator was cited for operating left of center causing great bodily harm.

The Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Wisconsin State Patrol, the City of Delavan Fire Department, Medix Ambulance, Mercy Hospital MD1, and the Walworth County Highway Department.

Pursuant to the directive of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, as found in Supreme Court Rule 20:3.6, Trial Publicity, you are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proved guilty.

It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society. This week’s image is from the 1970s. Do you remember when the old Bank building on Main Street was painted in a colorful mural?

The mural was designed in 1975 by Sachio Yamashita and painted specifically for the upcoming bicentennial celebration of the United States in 1976. The project used some money from a grant meant for communities to celebrate the bicentennial. Needless to say, its colorful appearance and design did not please everyone and a number of letters to the editor of the Whitewater Register were highly uncomplimentary. Faculty from the UW-Whitewater, though, defended it for its artistic merit.

While most historic building experts do not recommend painting murals on buildings today, if this artwork still existed, it would probably be considered “historic” in its own right and worthy of preservation as an example of 1970s art done to celebrate the nation’s 200th birthday.

Online registration opens Monday, April 3 for 4K and new-to-the-district kindergartners for the Whitewater Unified School District. Please be sure to visit our enrollment webpage for more information on enrollment: https://www.wwusd.org/page/4k-and-new-to-the-district-kg. The next step after online registration is attending our Registration Day event on April 12 to ask questions, meet the staff, and collect helpful resources. 

Jeanine and Rick Fassl are again taking their art to new heights.  They are participating in the Whitewater Arts Alliance Public Art Project by creating wooden barn quilts that will hang on the light poles downtown for the summer. They have enjoyed creating fish, chairs, water barrels, bikes, kites, hearts and more for the many years the Whitewater Arts Alliance has been hosting the project.  

Blanks are available at the Cultural Arts Center or the Chamber of Commerce office. The finished boards are to be returned by April 15 unless an extension is requested. Further information is available here.

Our thanks to Jeanine and Rick Fassl for sharing their beautiful work in progress with us.

— 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 or click on “submit a story” near the top right of our homepage.  Thanks for thinking about this!

High School Mission Trip Fish Fry Fundraiser

What: Fish Fry (Fried fish, French fries, coleslaw, bread, water, and lemonade)

When: Friday, March 31 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. (Cod and Tilapia)

Where: Berry Hall—Upstairs (St. Patrick Church, 1225 W. Main St.)

Cost: $15 for 3 pieces/ $12 for 2 pieces—Soda or milk for $1

Carry-outs are available.

(All proceeds support the St. Patrick Church’s High School Mission Trip to Kansas City this summer.)