Editor’s Note: The following was provided by the City of Whitewater.
Common Council President, Lisa Dawsey Smith, and Whitewater City Manager, John Weidl, invite the community to a Meet and Greet event on Wednesday, April 5th from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at City Hall on the second floor. The April Meet and Greet will also include the Chief of Police, Daniel A. Meyer and Officer Saul Valadez. From 1:00 to 2:00 p.m., Common Council Member and Community Development Authority Vice Chair James Allen will be available.
“Over the next several months and into next year, the Common Council president and I look forward to introducing the community to individual council members and department heads as well as showcasing their unique contributions to our City. At the same time, we hope to provide an opportunity for individuals to get to know more about the City employees, ask questions, and make suggestions,” says John Weidl, Whitewater city manager. “We are also pleased to announce that we will have staff that can speak both Spanish and English for our ELL and MLL community members. All are welcome!”
This event is part of a series of open forums to get to know your leadership. All citizens are welcome and encouraged to attend. This is a great opportunity to introduce yourself, get answers to your questions, or discover ways to get involved in serving your community through a board, committee, or commission.
“The future of our community depends in large part on our commitment to meaningful dialogue. Everyone has a role in building a more vibrant community. We need to build a bridge between the conversations we have around the kitchen table and the conversations amongst our community leaders. This series of open forums enables us to build community dialogue,” says Lisa Dawsey Smith, Common Council president.
The April 5th Meet and Greet event will be held at the Municipal Building, on the 2nd floor, in the Cravath Lakefront Conference Room. Coffee and cookies will be served. First come, first served.
Town of Whitewater Walworth County, Wisconsin The Town of Whitewater has a road project planned for April, 2023. The project is for scratch and overlay on Reliance Road from Highway 12 to County Road P. All bids must be delivered no later than 8:30 AM, April 13, 2023. For specific project information, please contact the Public Works Superintendent. 920-723-0458 or public.works@townofwhitewaterwi.gov
By Lynn Binnie Whitewater Banner volunteer staff whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
According to Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, the woman who allegedly was the mother of the deceased infant that was found in a field on March 4 was charged in Jefferson County Circuit Court on March 28 with two felonies. Santos Asucena Caseres Cruz, age 39, 755 N. Tratt Street, Lot 42, faces charges of Neglecting a Child (Consequence is Death) and Move/Hide/Bury Corpse of Child. The Court ordered a $10,000.00 CASH Bond, with conditions: surrender of any passport, not to leave Jefferson County, and the Defendant is to report and comply with GPS monitoring program as administered by Wisconsin Community Services.
Per WKOW, “Although she initially denied the pregnancy, Caseres Cruz later admitted she had the baby on January 27 in secret. She told police she believed the baby was dead soon after he was born. She said she did not call 911 or get help because her other children didn’t know she was pregnant. A probable cause statement said, the next day, Caseres Cruz put the baby in the field where it was later found. ” This purported timing conflicts with the earlier statement from investigators who said that they believed that the child had been in the field for less than two days prior to being discovered on March 4.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for April 4, 2023.
The initial press release from March 4 regarding the incident is available here.
Gov. Tony Evers signed Executive Oder #189 ordering the flags of the United States and the state of Wisconsin to be flown at half-staff on Tues., March 28, 2023, in honor of Army Private First Class William LaVerne “Sonny” Simon, a recently identified World War II soldier whose remains have been identified and returned to Wisconsin for burial.
“A decorated military veteran, Private Simon served our state and country well, giving his life in defense of the values and freedoms we hold most dear,” said Gov. Evers. “We are incredibly grateful for the efforts of his family and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to bring him home so that he will finally be laid to rest in peace.”
A native of Middleton, a Veteran of World War II, and a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 109th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division, Army Private First Class Simon was reported unaccounted for on Nov. 5, 1944, during the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest in Germany. His remains were designated “X-5767” and were interred in the Ardennes American Cemetery in 1950, with his name memorialized on the Netherlands American Cemetery Wall of the Missing, along with others missing from World War II. In April 2019, Army Private First Class Simon’s remains were sent to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency laboratory for analysis and identification, and because of the efforts of his surviving sister and brother and the work of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Army Private First Class Simon’s remains have been positively identified.
Army Private First Class William LaVerne “Sonny” Simon will be buried with full military honors in Middleton on Tues., March 28, 2023. Army Private First Class Simon was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his actions at the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest.
A Proclamation Honoring the Victims of the Tragedy in Nashville, Tennessee
As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on March 27, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of American, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, March 31, 2023.
The Irvin L. Young Memorial Library Community Room will be the venue for monthly Medicare Scholar educational seminars presented by local business owner Jean Linos of ePlatinum Health. The Medicare Scholar program provides timely information about updates to the Medicare program, law changes, benefits, different types of insurance coverage and more. Each seminar includes a visual presentation, handouts on the topic covered are provided to all attendees and time for questions & answers at the end. Upcoming seminars for March and April are as follows:
Thursday March 30th @ 10 a.m. 2023 Medicare Updates
Tuesday April 4th @ 1 p.m. and Thursday April 6th @ 10 a.m. Inflation Reduction Act
Thursday April 13th @ 1 p.m. Diabetic Treatment & Supplies
Tuesday April 25th @ 10 a.m. Medicare Cost Plans
Editor’s note: This announcement was submitted by Jean Linos. The Irvin L. Young Library indicates that this is not a library-run program.
Editor’s note: The following press release was received from the Whitewater Police Department on March 27. The initial report of the incident may be found here.
On Friday, March 24, 2023, Whitewater Police arrested a 39-year-old Whitewater woman, believed to be the mother of the deceased newborn. The suspect is currently confined in the Jefferson County Jail. This case continues to be investigated, but the following charges are being forwarded to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office at this time: Wis. Stat. 948.23(2) – Concealing Death of a Child and Wis. Stat. 946.41 – Resisting or Obstructing Officer. It should be noted that additional charges, or modifications to these charges, may follow based on the continuing investigation. We thank the Wisconsin Department of Justice – Division of Criminal Investigation for their investigative assistance in this case. Due to the fact that this case is ongoing, no additional details will be provided at this time.
Editor’s note: The following press release was received from the City of Whitewater Police Department.
On Sunday, March 26, 2023, at 11:21 a.m., Whitewater Police, Fire and EMS, responded to the Main Street bridge in the 100 block of W. Main St. for a deceased male found suspended from the bridge. The male was identified as 47-year-old, Cameron Bicknell, of Whitewater. Based on the investigation, this was determined to be a suicide that occurred late in the day on Saturday, March 25th. The Walworth County Medical Examiner was called to the scene to assist in the death investigation, and an autopsy has been scheduled. We offer our sincere condolences to those who knew Mr. Bicknell.
We want to ensure our residents are aware of the crisis resources available in the community. There is immediate access to the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988. Additionally, Walworth County residents can connect with Walworth County Crisis resources at 262-741-3200, and Jefferson County residents can connect with Jefferson County Crisis resources at 920-674-3105. Finally, anyone in crisis can get connected to services by contacting the Whitewater Police Department at 262-473-0555 or by calling 911.
Michelle Abraca and Marina Linos will be joining Brooke Mason, Aidyn Amundson, Mayte Navejas, and Andrea Alcala in attending Badger Girls State in 2023! Badger Girls State is a program designed to develop leadership skills in high school students and train future stateswomen in the science of government. The program will be held at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh from June 18-23. Participants are chosen for their interest in the American Government and their outstanding qualities of leadership, character, cooperativeness, dependability, and participation in extracurricular activities. Thank you to Patrick Taylor and the Breakfast Kiwanis Club for sponsoring Michelle and Marina! Congratulations!
Submitted by Pamela Sonmor-Wintz Whitewater High School Counselor (M-Z)
Assistant Professor Andrea Romero, left, and biology major Noel Schmitz react as the counter on a motion detecting trail camera indicates some 3,000 images, but they know many will be wind-blown debris and perhaps a few joggers. Two UW-Whitewater students and their professor, who are contributing wildlife images to the Smithsonian Snapshot USA project, collected trail cameras on the campus nature preserve on Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, the final day of the project. (UW-Whitewater photo/Craig Schreiner)
For Andrea Romero, the rainforests of Costa Rica have become almost a second home. She has been conducting research on the wildlife ecosystem in the Central American country for nearly two decades.
Lately, her focus has been on scavenging — how rainforest creatures use the carcasses of dead animals to maintain the circle of life in their habitat. This fall, she will turn her attention to the ecosystem cycle in a very different climate — the deserts of the Middle East — thanks to a prestigious honor she has won.
Romero, an associate professor in the departments of biology, environmental science, and women’s and gender studies at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, will be a Fulbright Scholar for the 2023-2024 academic year. Romero will spend five months in Jordan, conducting research and establishing a partnership between undergraduate students at UW-Whitewater and Jordanian university students to further the project.
“We will combine my expertise in the rainforests with the expertise of Jordanian scholars and students in desert habitat and ecology, and create an integrative, collaborative project on biodiversity conservation and scavenging research,”
Romero said.
A mouse scampers off the sleeve of biology major and Research Apprenticeship Program participant Annan Afah, who aspires to go to medical school. Behind him are, from left, Anna Catlin, a student photographer for the College of Letters and Sciences, environmental sciences major Brittany Goebel, also a RAP student, and Andrea Romero, assistant professor of geography, geology and environmental sciences as well as biological sciences. Eight mice that were live-trapped earlier in the semester for a study on their feeding states were returned to their home habitat off of a woodland trail in the campus prairie restoration area on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017. Romero worked with students in RAP, which gives undergraduates an opportunity to work with faculty on research in the students’ area of study. Romero said mice are an important organism. “They’re everywhere,” she said. “They serve as food for a lot of other organisms in forests and prairies. It is important to understand how their populations change and what can affect their populations.” (UW-Whitewater photo/Craig Schreiner)
A lifelong passion and pursuit of knowledge
Romero, who spent her early years living in Venezuela, her father’s native country, has been fascinated by animals and wildlife since she was a child.
“I remember going on a trip with my dad and seeing freshwater dolphins. I thought they were the coolest thing in the world, and I wanted to know everything about them.”
She began studying tropical rainforests as an undergraduate student at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. Her initial focus centered on the impact that humans have on the animal population and the rainforest ecology.
“The effect of humans on the landscape can affect really important things the forests provide for us,” Romero said.
More recently, she began looking at scavenging, to understand its role in providing nutrients to other creatures and to the soil. Most of the existing research on scavenging, conducted in North America and Europe, found that vertebrates such as mammals, birds and reptiles were consuming the carcasses. Romero expected that would likely be the case in Costa Rica’s rainforests, too.
But when she left dead mice on the rainforest floor and monitored the area with trail cameras, insects were the first on the scene and made quick work of the remains. Most disappeared within 24 hours. In some cases, ants were the culprits. In other cases, small mounds of dirt appeared where the mice had been placed. She dug one up and discovered that beetles had found the carcasses, prepared them with a special solution, and buried them — to preserve them as a quick meal for their babies when they hatched.
“It was a huge surprise,” Romero said.
Through the Fulbright project, Romero hopes to find out how the heat of the desert affects the scavenging environment. She also plans to spend time in Costa Rica, mentoring students of color in conducting biological research.
Making an impact at UW-Whitewater
Romero, who earned a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Kansas, came to UW-Whitewater as a postdoctoral fellow in 2014 and is now a tenured professor. She teaches classes in her three departments, mentors students and works with them in her research lab.
“She brings her expertise in diversity and inclusion into her biology classes, and she brings her STEM expertise into her women’s and gender studies classes. That kind of cross-pollination is very special and increasingly necessary in our world today,” Kleinfeld said.
She said Romero has developed courses that emphasize conservation biology as well as field research skills, and she seeks out underrepresented students to work in her lab and accompany her on projects in Costa Rica.
“We’re lucky to have her,” Kleinfeld said.
Romero is enthusiastic about the students she works with.
“The best thing about UW-Whitewater is our students. I love how curious they are and how interested they are.”
A big advantage of the campus is its size, she said.
“We are undergraduate-focused. You will get attention, experience and time with your professors. In environmental science and biology, you will be out in the field collecting samples and getting real-life experience.”
Wesley Abramson of Whitewater is included in the Dean’s List for the Fall Semester, 2022. He attends the University of Colorado Boulder Leeds School of Business.
Students in the Leeds School of Business who have completed at least 12 credit hours of CU Boulder coursework for a letter grade in any single semester with a term GPA of 3.600 or better are included on the dean’s list and receive a notation on their transcript.
