Lynn Binnie

Liz Sotherland, who together with her husband John, own BicycleWise, connected with our State officials to proclaim May as Ehlers-Danlos Awareness Month. With some work with local representatives, the past month was officially Ehlers-Danlos Awareness Month in Wisconsin! Thank you Governor Tony Evers. The official document will be proudly displayed at BicycleWise.

The Ehlers-Danlos syndromes are a group of connective tissue disorders that can be inherited and are varied both in how they affect the body and in their genetic causes. They are generally characterized by joint hypermobility (joints that stretch further than normal), skin hyperextensibility (skin that can be stretched further than normal), and tissue fragility.

It’s difficult knowing there’s no treatment or cure, but working toward awareness and more research gives Liz hope for herself and others. To learn more click here or here.

As part of his comments on Memorial Day at the Veterans Memorial Building, Adjutant Steve Smith announced that a dwindling active membership, a lack of resources to maintain the building, and a refocusing on serving veterans led to the decision by the William Graham Post 173 of the American Legion to sell its building, which is 50 years old this year. “To be clear, we are not going away,” Smith stated. “We are downsizing to better focus on our mission, and we will continue to meet and function as we have in the past.” Please click here for the article in the Daily Jefferson County Union.

On Friday, May 31, Whitewater High School will be celebrating its current and future students and alumni by encouraging all current, future, and former Whitewater High School students and their families to post both new and old photos on social media using the hashtag #dayofthewhippet. Let’s celebrate past achievements, bright futures, and great career choices, and show your Whippet Pride!

The Whitewater Arts Alliance is pleased to announce that Taylor McDarison has joined the organization as the Whitewater Cultural Arts Center Gallery Manager. She began her work with the Arts Alliance on April 29, and duties will include general gallery management, working with artists and coordinating exhibits.

A graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, McDarison graduated with a BFA with an emphasis in Sculpture/Ceramics. She has presented art related research in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin and served on the executive boards of over 10 student and community organizations.  She has also displayed work in galleries located in Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, and Washington.

Taylor shares, “Having served for three years as the Whitewater Arts Alliance (WAA) Recording Secretary, I am very aware of how warm, dedicated, and passionate the people surrounding WAA’s inner workings are. From our volunteers all the way up to our board president, I am so happy and proud to be returning to a community of exceptional art advocates. In a way, it feels like coming home, and I am eager to return and be part of a very effective and thriving grassroots art culture.”

The City of Whitewater has partnered with Midwest Computer Recycling Inc. to host an electronics recycling collection, Saturday, May 25.
Electronics can be dropped off between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to city parking lot A, across from the City Municipal Building located at 312 West Whitewater Street, next to the Whitewater Train Depot.
Acceptable items and recycle costs include:
• TVs – $20 each • Tube TV’s – $10 each • Microwaves – $5 each • Large exercise equipment – $5 each
Cash or check payments will be accepted upon drop off. All other electronics including computer monitors will be accepted at no cost.
Midwest Computer Recycling Inc. employees will be present to assist with drop off.
In previous years the capacity of the recycling container was sometimes reached early in the day, so participants are encouraged to arrive as early as possible.

4th and 5th grade students from Lakeview Elementary have much to celebrate about during the recent Math 24 competition held at Whitewater Middle School.  Good job on a job well done! 

Faculty at UW-Whitewater have raised questions about the Chancellor selection process in an open letter. It says UW Board of Regents’ policy changes in 2015 and 2017 have marginalized the role of faculty and other stakeholders in choosing the next campus leader. It also accused UW leaders of not being transparent with faculty or listening to suggestions about extending the process.

“The message is clear that meaningful campus input during the selection of the next UW-Whitewater Chancellor is not valued or wanted by UW-System or the Board of Regents,” the letter said.

For the complete report by Rich Kremer for Wisconsin Public Radio please click here.

UW System officials announced Thursday that Slippery Rock University Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs Philip Way has withdrawn from consideration.

Louisiana State University of Alexandria Chancellor Guiyou Huang withdrew from consideration last week. UW System spokesman Mark Pitsch declined to comment on why Way and Huang dropped out.

Their departure leaves just two finalists still in the running — interim UW-Whitewater Chancellor Cheryl Green and Southwest Minnesota State University Provost and Vice President of Student Affairs Dwight Watson. A regent committee is scheduled to interview them Friday and recommend one candidate for hire to the full Board of Regents.

Middle School Battle of the Books Champions Announced! It’s officially an upset! The 6th-grade WAZzys are the champs over the 8th grade Little Einsteins!  The top two Battle of the Books teams competed against each other on May 7 after school.  The Little Einsteins (Alejandra Diaz-Gallegos, Ilana Lothes, and Maria Verduzco) gave a valiant effort but came in behind the 6th-grade team of Willow Vogelzang, Ava Nygren, and Zoe Olson. There was lots of pizza and ice cream for everyone and the championship battle was great entertainment. This was a great year for Battle of the Books and we are very proud of the hard work and diligent reading that the teams put forth.