Local Students Graduate from Marquette University

This past spring, the following students graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

3,143 students graduated from Marquette in May. The university celebrated its 142nd Commencement with a series of events, including Graduate Recognition Ceremonies at Fiserv Forum and a Baccalaureate Mass on campus. Learn more about the weekend.

Marquette University is a Catholic, Jesuit university that draws over 7,500 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate and professional students from nearly all states and more than 60 countries. In addition to its nationally recognized academic programs, Marquette is known for its service learning programs and internships as students are challenged to use what they learn to make a difference in the world. Find out more about Marquette at marquette.edu.

Whitewater, WI

 Amy Curtis, Master of Science, Nursing
 Andi Markham, Master of Science, Nursing

Interview: U.S. Paralympics Cyclist Competing in Johnstown Today

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

John Ranger Terrell

John Ranger Terrell, age 28, is staying in an Airbnb in Whitewater as he prepares for the time trials for U.S. Paralympics Cycling on Wednesday, June 14. John currently resides in the Olympic Village in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He spoke with the Banner about his para-cycling journey as he also explained the rules involved in the sport.

Rock Prairie Presbyterian Church, 8605 E County Road A in the Town of Johnstown, is the site of the time trials for U.S. Paralympics Cycling on Wednesday, June 14. Dozens of para-athletes will be competing in their ongoing effort to win the right to compete in the 2023 Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Para-cycling Road World Championships in August in Glasgow, Scotland. Their ultimate goal is to make the team for the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris.

According to teamusa.org, “Road para-cycling made its Paralympic debut at New York/Stoke Mandeville 1984 and has been contested at every Games since. Track para-cycling entered the Paralympic program 12 years later at Atlanta 1996. The sport was developed in the 1980s and was first open to vision impaired athletes who competed in tandems with a sighted pilot. Over the following years, para-cycling started to include those with cerebral palsy, amputations and other physical impairments, who compete on bicycles, tricycles and hand cycles.

There are five sport classes for hand cycling, two for tricycle, and five for bicycle, whilst the three sport classes for the tandem compete in one event. Athletes participate in World Cups, world, and regional Championships throughout the year.”

John Ranger Terrell

Many Whitewater residents are probably more familiar with another Paralympics sport, wheelchair basketball. In both sports the athletes are classified by their level of infirmity, a term that Terrell prefers over disability. In the upright bike the classes range from one to five, with five being used for an athlete with the least infirmity. John was hit by a car as a pedestrian when he was 19 and experienced a brachial plexus injury as a result of blunt-force trauma. He tried to salvage his limb for over two years, but his nerve transplant surgeries were unsuccessful, and he finally made the very difficult decision to accept amputation. His journey included struggles with addiction to the opioids that he was prescribed. He would normally be considered a “five,” but due to an additional infirmity in his legs, he’s a “four.” Something that often confuses spectators is that infirmities are not always obvious; for example, John might be competing with someone with cerebral palsy.

In his youth John was a huge BMX racing devotee, working with his friends to build courses with higher and higher jumps in the woods near his home in San Antonio, Texas. His goal was to become a professional BMX rider. After his accident John was told that his BMX dreams were “toast,” but he was in denial. While finally setting his sights on turning his love for BMX into mastering para-cycling, John earned a B.S. in biochemistry and a Master’s degree in sports management. He has already started a nonprofit organization through which he intends to mentor para-cyclists.

The Johnstown time trial will be a 16 kilometer rectangular road course. The roads will be closed to traffic, but John indicated that it is unfortunately not uncommon, and dangerous, to encounter a car on the route. Most of the athletes will complete one circuit, but John’s class will ride 32 kilometers. The athletes start the race one minute apart; they are not competing against each other but against the clock. John hopes to complete the approximate 18.6 miles in about 38 minutes. That would represent an average speed of 29 miles per hour. Yes, he acknowledged, one of the challenges that he had to overcome early in his training was maintaining his balance.

John Ranger Terrell

In this life, John said, “we all get disabled in some way. For some, it happens very early in life; for others, it’s not until the final days.” Every challenge that has come his way in his journey has been an opportunity for growth. Here’s what he said in another interview, “Believe in yourself, define yourself, invest time in yourself and make the most of every single day. Life is a series of decisions, so I want to encourage people to make better decisions and to constantly look to improve their previous efforts. We become good at whatever we practice, so make the choice every day to practice positivity and to implement self-accountability. What is for you will not go past you.”

What’s John’s view of Lance Armstrong, whose seven consecutive Tour de France titles were stripped after an investigation found he used performance-enhancing drugs over his career? John indicated that what most of the public doesn’t know is that every high performing cyclist in those years ultimately tested positive or admitted having used such drugs. What Armstrong accomplished was still unbelievable, and he was the only person who was penalized for the violation, as the sport wanted to make an example of him.

The 2024 Paralympics logo

John is laser focused on making the U.S. para-cycling team for the 2024 Summer Paralympics. He’s enjoyed so much success this season that for a while he was wearing the “leader” jersey. John’s Instagram handle is @fivefingergrip and he’s on Facebook at John Ranger Terrell. (How’d he get his middle name? His father was an Army Ranger.) Here’s an interesting interview with him.

The time trials begin at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, and John hits the track at 11:24 a.m.

Plan Commission Approves Aldi Site Plan

The Whitewater Plan & Architectural Review Commission on June 12 approved the site plan for the proposed Aldi grocery store with very little discussion. Company representatives indicated that no projected timeline can be provided at this time, as bid specifications are still being developed.

The April article in the Banner regarding Aldi’s plans may be viewed at this link.

Local Student Named to Dean’s List at St. Francis University

Saint Francis University congratulates Emma Allamian from Whitewater, WI 53190 for being named to the Dean’s List. Allamian, majoring in Psychology, was among 753 students who earned a spot on one of the honors lists (President’s and Dean’s) for the Fall 2023 semester.

To earn an honors list distinction a student must have full-time status with a quality point average of 4.000 (President’s) or 3.500 (Dean’s) on 12 or more credits during a single semester, with no continuing or incomplete grades.

Saint Francis University in Loretto, PA, is the oldest Catholic-Franciscan college in the United States. Its mission is to help students grow into compassionate, successful professionals through a culture of faith, generosity, respect, discovery, and joy. Saint Francis University offers traditional campus-based learning and competitive online and graduate degree offerings.

Obituary: Scott Alan Batten, 58

Scott Alan Batten
(November 6, 1964 – June 6, 2023)
Scott A. Batten, 58, of Waterford, Wisconsin, went home to be with his Lord on June 6th, 2023, surrounded by his loving family.

He was born to parents James and Janice (Erickson) Batten, on November 6th, 1964, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His family moved to Whitewater, Wisconsin in 1978 when Scott was 13 years old. Scott graduated from Whitewater High School and continued his education at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater becoming a computer programmer. Scott was employed at Aurora St. Lukes, then later employed at US Bank for the past 25 years.

He married Anita Biesterveld in 1990. Scott became the stepfather to Anita’s daughter, Jennifer Walenton. Scott and Anita had one daughter (Kylee) in 2001. They divorced in 2018. Scott enjoyed traveling with his family. His favorite locations were Hawaii, Aruba & Israel. While in Israel, Scott planted a tree in his late father’s memory.  Scott’s interests included building and flying model airplanes, woodworking and building Lego sets.

Scott stated he would like to be remembered as “A Christian man who loved his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and who tried his best.”

Scott is survived by his daughters, Jennifer (Quinn) Walenton of East Troy, Wisconsin, Kylee Batten of Waterford, Wisconsin; granddaughters, Angelita and Kiana Walenton; mother, Janice (Erickson) Batten; two sisters, Jaime (Greg) Goelz, Wendy Batten;  three aunts, Judith Erickson, Jeanne Peterson, Janice Murphy; three nieces, Samantha Biesterveld, Ainsley and Ashlyn Goelz; and two nephews. Maxford Biesterveld, Kyan Goelz; and a great-nephew Koeden Biesterveld.

Scott was preceded in death by his father James Batten; Grandparents, Einer and Doris (Carlson) Erickson, Harold and Ruth (Anderson) Batten. 

Nitardy Funeral Home in Whitewater assisted the family with arrangements.

Service to be held at
First English Lutheran Church
401 W. Main Street, Whitewater, WI 53190
Tuesday June 20th, 2023
Visitation 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Service 12 p.m.

Interment Service to follow at
Hillside Cemetery
400 S. Wisconsin Street, Whitewater, WI 53190

Luncheon will be served following interment service.

In lieu of flowers the family would like donations to go to 88Charlies to keep the love of planes alive in the youth, teach restoring vintage aircrafts, teach flying, and valuable life lessons.

Donate Here: https://www.88charlies.com/take-action

Celebration of Life: Dan A. Newton

A Celebration of Life event will be held 1:00 p.m. Sunday, July 9, 2023, for Dan A. Newton at The Gathering Place, 715 Campus St., Milton, Wisconsin. Dan passed away in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, March 7, leaving a husband, Ron Bates, a sister, Sue Madere, nephews and cousins. Dan was a graduate of Whitewater High School, University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, and a long-serving social worker for Rock County, Wisconsin.

Editor’s note: The previously published obituary may be found here.

Local Student Named to UW-Oshkosh Dean’s List

UW Oshkosh Spring 2023 Dean’s List, Honor Roll released

University of Wisconsin Oshkosh officials have released the names of students who qualified for the Dean’s List and Honor Roll in spring 2023 across its three campuses (Fond du Lac, Fox Cities and Oshkosh).

The term grade-point average (GPA) requirement for University Honor Roll is 3.3; the term GPA requirement for Dean’s List is 3.75 out of a possible 4.0.

To qualify, a student must have been enrolled in a minimum of 12 credits. There can be no individual grades below a “C” and no incomplete or non-reported grades at the time the process is run.

Whitewater, WI

 Hannah Allen, Dean’s List

Person Found Deceased in Rome Pond

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

Sheriff Paul Milbrath reports that on June 12, 2023 at 4:46 p.m., deputies were dispatched to a residence in the Town of Sullivan for a check welfare on a 61-year-old subject.

Deputies located the subject deceased in Rome Pond. Preliminary investigation leads to the subject suffering from a medical event prior to entering the water.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Rome Fire Department, Sullivan Fire Department, Western Lakes EMS, and the Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office.