Lynn Binnie

Residents of the Whitewater Unified School District are encouraged to consider seeking a position on the School Board.  The final day for filing is Tuesday, January 3, 2023, by 5:00 p.m. 

Any person who is a United States citizen and a qualified elector of the Whitewater Unified School District is legally qualified to become a member of the School Board.  In addition, Board candidates should have a genuine interest in and devotion to public education, a willingness to give time and effort to the position, a capacity to understand people, and the ability to work cooperatively with others.  

The School Board is the District policy-making authority and is responsible to the public for the success of all education services offered by the District.  This success is dependent on many individuals, but also upon each Board member’s understanding of the workings of the District-wide operations and each member’s ability to participate meaningfully in the decision-making process that governs the District. 

Three positions will be on the spring ballot.  The incumbents are Casey Judd, Thayer Coburn, and Steve Ryan.  Incumbents have until Friday, December 23, by 5:00 p.m. to file their Notification of Noncandidacy. Under section 120.06(6)(b)3m of state statutes, the District Clerk will give the public prompt notice if any incumbent files their Notification of Noncandidacy on the School Board Election page of the District website. Editor’s note: Currently none of the incumbents have filed such a notification.

The Board will provide an orientation for Board candidates in order to help them become quickly acquainted with the election process and Board members’ duties and responsibilities.  The Superintendent has developed, in consultation with the Board, a candidate orientation program to be presented by District staff and a Board member appointed by the Board President. 

The candidate filing documents may be obtained and filed at the office of the School Board Secretary at the Whitewater Unified School District Central Office, 419 South Elizabeth Street, Whitewater.  School Board candidates do not circulate nomination papers, but the School Board Secretary, Jaclyn Tueting, will assist to complete necessary filing documents. 

CENTRAL OFFICE HOURS

Through Thursday, December 22…………………………………………………………….M-Th, 7:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m./ F, 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Friday, December 23 through Monday, January 2………………………………………………….……………………………….Central Office Closed

(Friday, December 23 at 5:00 p.m. is the deadline for incumbents to file a Notification of Noncandidacy)

Tuesday, January 3…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………….…….7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

(5:00 p.m. is the deadline for filing candidacy paperwork)

It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society. Today’s image shows a large steam-powered locomotive sitting at the back of the old freight house (Whitewater’s first depot, located in the parking lot next to the current depot) in 1936. By this time, diesel engines were replacing old locomotives on the rail lines, but this image shows that the old locomotives were still in service. Rail transportation was still highly important in Whitewater and would be until after World War II in the 1950s.

Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society.

(4379P, Whitewater Historical Society)

by Jean Caucutt
November 17, 2022

 The diagnosis of any disease is difficult especially when the diagnosis is dementia. After Ted was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and as the disease progressed, Ted began to sleep less and less. Day was night. Night was day. Nothing seemed to help and sleep deprivation set in for me. I was advised by a triage nurse to have someone spend a night so I could get some much-needed sleep. I had not slept in a bed in several weeks as Ted would only take short naps in his recliner.

            Our son volunteered to help out and arrived late one night after I had Ted settled and asleep. I went to bed ready for a good night’s sleep.

            Ha! “A failed experiment” our son called it. Ted soon woke up and thus began a 7-hour long night of talking and enjoying having company. Ted regaled our son with many stories. I finally got up to try to support and to get Ted back in his chair for sleep. Nothing worked. So, at 5 a.m., I told our son to take Ted for a ride. When they arrived back home at 6 a.m., I had breakfast ready for Ted. He was happy and smiling. No sign of fatigue. After eating, he looked up at both us and exclaimed, “Every day is a gift, and we should be kind.” 

            Just a few weeks after this all-night vigil, and three days before Thanksgiving, Ted moved to Glenwood at Mulberry. He has since passed away. But the message from that night still rings true: “Every day is a gift, and we should be kind.”

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The Dementia Friendly Community Initiative, a program of Whitewater Seniors in the Park, thanks Jean for her 2^nd article with insights from a caregiver. Contact Seniors in the Park for more information.

https://www.whitewater-wi.gov/273/Seniors-In-the-Park

The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) cautions Wisconsin investors to avoid FTX.US and FTX.COM websites as they may be corrupted by malware and/or experiencing cyber-attacks following the bankruptcy of U.S. based cryptocurrency exchange FTX.US along with FTX.COM and 130+ other businesses (“FTX”) affiliated with founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Investors should also beware of “reload” scams where fraudsters purport to help recoup funds that are locked in accounts or otherwise unavailable.

On November 11, 2022, FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The initial filing claimed between $10 billion and $50 billion of estimated assets and liabilities. On November 17, 2022, the newly appointed CEO of FTX reported at least $372 million in unauthorized transfers were initiated on the bankruptcy filing date. FTX immediately began moving cryptocurrencies to cold storage to mitigate further loss. Further, FTX reported that its official Telegram channel was compromised, and that users should avoid the FTX.US and FTX.COM websites as they may be corrupted by malware and/or experiencing cyber-attacks. Investors who wish to unlink their bank account information from any FTX Apps they have downloaded on their mobile phones, tablets, or other electronic devices can find assistance at https://support-my.plaid.com/hc/en-us/articles/10189531069847.

Investors should also beware of “reload” scams where fraudsters purport to help recoup funds that are locked in accounts or otherwise unavailable. For example, law enforcement in Singapore warned about a fake website pretending to be hosted by the U.S. Department of Justice. The phishing website instructs visitors to log in with their FTX username and password, and falsely claims they will be able to withdraw their funds after paying legal fees. There are many versions of the reload scam and investors should be cautious when interacting with any persons or entities whom they do not know and cannot independently verify their identities and credentials.

The FTX bankruptcy follows on the heels of bankruptcy filings by the crypto-lending firms Celsius Network, LLC and Voyager Digital Holdings, Inc. In addition, BlockFi, Inc. filed for bankruptcy this week and Gemini Trust Company, LLC has paused withdrawals from its crypto-lending program.

“As these cases demonstrate, customers who hold their crypto on either a platform or exchange can lose access to their funds – as happened with FTX, Celsius, Voyager, and now Gemini customers,” said DFI Secretary-designee Cheryll Olson-Collins. “Moreover, tech failures, hacks, and volatility in the market can impact crypto fintech firms and their customers. Given these uncertain times, investors should consider whether they can afford to lose the funds they have before investing in cryptocurrency.”

Before making any financial decisions, the DFI recommends investors do their homework, ask questions, and contact the DFI’s Division of Securities by phone at (608) 266-2139 or by email at DFISecurities@dfi.wisconsin.gov for more information.

Editor’s note: The Banner appreciates having permission to use the image on the homepage by 1820796 from Pixabay.

RSVP online

Editor’s note: The Banner appreciates having permission to use the image on the homepage by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay.

The College of Arts and Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater announces the second show of the Theatre/Dance season with “Grounded” by George Brant. Directed by Bruce Cohen, this production will run in Hicklin Studio Theatre from November 29- December 2 at 7:30 p.m. and December 3-4 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale for the performances and can be purchased online at tickets.uww.edu or by calling (262) 472-2222. The Hicklin Studio Theatre is located in the Greenhill Center of the Arts at 950 W. Main St., Whitewater, WI 53190. 

An unexpected pregnancy ends an ace fighter pilot’s career in the sky. Reassigned to operate military drones from a windowless trailer outside Las Vegas, she hunts terrorists by day and returns to her family each night. As the pressure to track a high-profile target mounts, the boundaries begin to blur between the desert in which she lives and the one she patrols half a world away. Warning, this play contains adult language and themes.

The Pilot will be played by Nadia Wolowik. Nadia is thrilled to be in her second show here at UW-Whitewater and her first one-woman show! This show brought so many new challenges and ways to learn, and she is so thankful for the opportunity. She would specifically like to thank Bruce Cohen for his belief in her ability to do this show justice and his unending advice and support. She hopes you come and enjoy the show!

George Brant has many other works such as Marie and Rosetta, Into the Breeches!, Elephant’s Graveyard, The Prince of Providence, Tender Age, The Land of Oz, Dark Room, Grizzly Mama, Good on Paper, The Mourners’ Bench, Salvage, Three Voyages of the Lobotomobile, Any Other Name, Defiant, Miracle: A Tragedy,  Ashes, NOK, The Lonesome Hoboes, All Talk, One Hand Clapping, The Royal Historian of Oz, Lovely Letters, Three Men in a Boat, Borglum! The Mount Rushmore Musical, Tights on a Wire and Night of the Mime. His scripts have received awards like the Lucille Lortel Award, an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award, a Scotsman Fringe First Award, an Off-West End Theatre Award for Best Production, an NNPN Rolling World Premiere, the Smith Prize, the Keene Prize for Literature, a Theatre Netto Festival Prize, a Creative Workforce Fellowship, the David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award from the Kennedy Center and three Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards.

Join Ashley Dimmig, Director of the Crossman Gallery at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, on Dec. 1. for a free talk prior to the performance. The talk will take place at 6 p.m. in the Barnett Theatre, and Dimmig will discuss contemporary art made in the Islamic world, or by artists whose heritage is linked to Muslim-majority cultures that responds to the violence and loss resulting from war. Whether facing the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan or the destruction wrought by Al-Qaeda, the fatal drone strikes in Pakistan or the annihilation of cultural heritage treasures by Daesh (ISIS), people have wielded the power of art to combat and process the death, violence, and destruction plaguing their countries in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Ashley Dimmig is the Crossman Gallery Director at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater and teaches in the Department of Art and Design. After completing her PhD in the History of Art at the University of Michigan (2019), she served as interim curator of Islamic Art as a postdoctoral fellow at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. Her art historical fields of specialization include the art and architecture of the Islamic world, particularly Turkish and Persian spheres during the early modern and modern periods. With a fine arts background in fiber arts and weaving, Dimmig is especially interested in textiles across the Islamic world. She has published numerous scholarly articles in various venues and her research has been supported by nationally and internationally competitive awards, including from the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

“Grounded” will run in Hicklin Studio Theatre November 29- December 2 at 7:30 p.m. and December 3-4 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale for the performances and can be purchased online at tickets.uww.edu or by calling (262) 472-2222. The Hicklin Studio Theatre and the Barnett Theatre are located in the Greenhill Center of the Arts at 950 W. Main St., Whitewater, WI 53190. 

The Walworth County Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) will offer Welcome to Medicare workshops on Thursday, December 1, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. This popular educational session will provide information about Medicare for individuals turning 65 years of age, those over 65 and planning to retire, or individuals with disabilities that have received Social Security Disability benefits for 24 months or have End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease).

“It is vitally important that individuals eligible to receive Medicare are aware of the different parts of Medicare, including Part A and Part B, as well as the prescription drug coverage,” says Elder Benefit Specialist Julie Juranek. “Being knowledgeable about premiums and penalties for not having creditable prescription drug coverage will help people make sound choices when exploring available plans.”

The Welcome to Medicare workshops will be held at the Walworth County Health and Human Services building, 1910 County Road NN, Elkhorn. RSVPs are highly recommended by calling (262) 741-3366.

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About the Walworth County Aging and Disability Resource Center: The ADRC provides information and assistance to older and disabled adults, their friends, family, caregivers, and the public. We can assist by evaluating your current needs and providing options available to meet the needs of your personal situation.

We are announcing The Community Space is going to OPEN in its entirety on Saturday, December 3.  Hours remain the same…
Tues. 8:30 -11:00 a.m.
Wed. 3:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Sat. 8:30 a.m. – Noon                

We will be limiting the number of guests shopping and the amount of time allowed. There will be helpers available throughout the building, including several who are bilingual (a big plus). There will be no carts allowed and strollers only with a child on board. The Food Pantry will continue to be available for all. 

This is a move of confidence. PLEASE help to show us it can work.

 See you soon,

THE COMMUNITY SPACE CREW