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By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

While the total number of COVID-19 tests that were administered at UW-W this past week has not yet been announced, it would be expected to be well over a thousand. It had been announced that testing would continue until Saturday at 7 p.m., as long as there were sufficient supplies. Apparently there were, as it was observed that testing was still taking place shortly before 6 p.m on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Banner has heard from a number of individuals who were tested on the first day of testing, Wednesday, and already on Saturday received notification that their tests were negative. It had been indicated that, although those with positive results should be notified within 2-3 days, those with negative results might not hear for approximately a week.

The City of Whitewater on May 29 released its Reopening Local Government Plan, simultaneously announcing that the city will be entering Phase two of its three phase reopening plan on Monday, June 1. The plan will be updated regularly on the city website as new information is made available. “The plan outlines our operations moving forward,” said City Manager, Cameron Clapper. “However, because new information comes out regularly regarding COVID-19, we expect that the plan will be updated regularly.”

Some highlights include:
– Determining which facilities to open and when was entirely dependent on the ability to ensure physical distancing could be followed for employees and the public.
-Some employees will continue to work remotely, or alternate between remote work and working in the office in order to continue to provide for space between employees and for airflow in the building.
– The lobby and counter areas in the Municipal Building will be open for those wishing to pay a bill, submit/request a permit application, or register to vote. Staff will also be available to respond to emails and voicemails. Citizens needing to meet with a specific staff member are encouraged to communicate by phone or email if possible; if not, please make an appointment in advance for a virtual meeting.
– Many facilities remain closed in accordance with public health guidelines and the inability to provide for appropriate physical distancing if they were to open.
– Day camps will be opening in June, but only because those camps also serve as “daycare” for a number of the participants. Those camps are being spread over multiple locations to ensure that the children are spread out.
– The bathrooms in the parks will remain closed, but this may change soon given recent clarifications from the CDC on cleaning of public bathroom facilities.
– The Skate Park will reopen.
– Playgrounds are being opened with a warning about the City’s inability to regularly clean or disinfect the equipment. Signs encouraging handwashing will be posted.
– Meetings of the Common Council, boards and commissions will continue to be held virtually at least through the month of June.
– The Aquatic and Fitness Center is tentatively scheduled to reopen on July 6. Online fitness programs are available.

Kim Simes is this week’s WUL Hometown Hero.  She is the Director of Special Events for a nationwide organization, Family Equality.  Kim has received the award “For her Leadership in making a difference for LGBTQ and all families in the community, for her tireless efforts to help those in need, for her past volunteer work on the Whitewater Fire Department Rescue team, and for the caring and love she puts into all of her volunteer activities.” 

Just some of the accolades about Kim include, “Kim is one of the strongest leaders I know in the LGBT world and has helped so many youth and adults understand how important they are. I look at Kim as my mentor in life and often ask myself ‘what would Kim do?’ Kim goes out of her way to make sure everyone knows they deserve love and are comfortable with exactly who they are.  Not an easy thing in a small community, but you feel her love the moment you meet her. Kim deserves this award for a million reasons.”

Kim and her wife Robin live in Whitewater with their two daughters.  

Kim said, “We live in a community full of love and strength and grace. I am grateful every day for ‘our village.’ Thank you to Whitewater Unites Lives and everyone involved for ensuring that we take good care of each other!”

WUL (Whitewater Unites Lives) is a locally-focused civil and human rights group that works to connect the people in our community and to create opportunities for all people to learn and support each other in our common humanity.   

Anyone who would like to nominate a local hero of any age should send their nomination, with a short description, to whitewaterunites@gmail.com 

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Press Release) – Connor Dalzin, from Whitewater, is among 3,600 prospective candidates for degree attending University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee May commencement exercises rescheduled for Sunday, October 10, 2020 in Milwaukee. Connor Dalzin is graduating from the Peck School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

UWM is the second largest university in the State of Wisconsin, with approximately 24,000 associate, graduate and undergraduate students.

Stacey Lunsford, Director of the Irvin L. Young Library, provided the Banner with the following additional information related to the reopening of the library.

After the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library closed to the public on March 16^th, library staff began a series of online classes and training webinars.  Many library continuing education sources provided training in customer service and how to navigate a rapidly changing all-digital service environment as well as information on the virus and how long it lives on a paper-based collection of materials.

When Governor Evers loosened the restrictions on services to allow curbside pickup, we created a contactless plan to maintain the highest level of safety we could for both staff and patrons.  Materials are quarantined for 72 hours after they have been returned to the library.  Staff wear masks and gloves at all times while handling materials.  Surfaces are disinfected at the beginning of every shift.  Since we started providing curbside pickup, we have served 531 patrons as of May 22.

As we move into adding a few in-person services on June 1, this is what patrons can expect.  We will not be open to the public in the mornings.  This is so staff can check in items, re-shelve them, and pull items for the hold list, all of which require them to move around the building and makes it difficult to serve patrons and maintain physical distancing.  We will provide curbside pickup in the mornings. The library staff will be having a team meeting and training to prepare for providing additional in-person services so we will not be scheduling any curbside pickup on Friday morning, May 29.  This service will be moved to the north side of the building along Center Street.  Signs will be up to help people navigate the changes.

We will need to limit the number of people in the building at any one time.  We will have a staff member at the door in the lobby keeping track of how many people have come in and gone out.  Visitors will need to enter from the south side parking lot doors and exit through the north side Center Street doors to help maintain physical distancing.   The Friends of the Library Book Shop will not be open and we will not be accepting requests to reserve the Community Room.

We will offer curbside pickup in the afternoons and evenings on weekdays but patrons may also come in to pick up holds and browse the shelves for items for checkout.  We encourage people to use our online catalog at www.cafelibraries.org to place holds whenever possible to limit the time they are in the building.

People who need to use our computers may do so by appointment starting June 1.  We will have removed all seating except for one chair at a table and the tables will be moved much farther apart.  We have space for six people at a time to use a computer.  We will be scheduling one-hour appointments for computer use.  Each patron may have one appointment per day.  Computers, tables, and chairs will be wiped down after every use.

We will not be allowing people to remain in the library to study or read.  We know that many people enjoy reading the newspaper but the limitations on the number of people in the library at one time make this a non-essential service at this time.

One of the most difficult things about this situation is that many in our community are experiencing and will continue to experience economic hardship.  We want people to be able to use the library for whatever their needs may be.  To help people do this, the library board voted unanimously at their meeting on May 18 to eliminate overdue fines on all materials at our library.  Old overdue fines are being gradually purged from our system. 

Items that are not returned at all however or are damaged beyond usability will still be charged to the patron.

Additionally, this won’t apply to fines that were charged at another library.  For example, if a patron uses both the Whitewater library and the Fort library, overdue fines charged at Fort will remain on the account. 

The library open hours beginning June 1 will be Monday – Thursday 1:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Friday 1:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. and Saturday 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.  Updates about the library can be found on our Facebook page and on our website at www.whitewaterlibrary.org.

Per a report on WISN, 20 UW-W research rats found homes after they were involved in a behavioral science research project cut short by coronavirus. Most universities euthanize animals after experiments are completed.

Click here for the report from WISN.

By Lisa Dawsey Smith
Whitewater Banner Staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

Although it was reported that earlier in the day on Wed., 5/27 there was a long line for the COVID-19 testing at UW-W, persons arriving around 2:30 p.m. were in and out within 15 minutes. The testing site is in the parking lot immediately outside the entrance to Warhawk Stadium. Take Starin Road and turn north, just west of the Visitor Center, on Warhawk Drive, which will take you directly to the site.

Personnel from Fort Healthcare were assisting the National Guard with obtaining personal information. There’s no need to bring your own pen, as the personnel are doing the writing. It was indicated that the results may take up to seven days. (Banner comment: Hopefully it will be closer to the 2-3 days stated earlier, as a person with a positive result must be quarantining immediately. Not to mention, someone who is symptomatic must quarantine until results are received.) Email addresses were not being collected. It was indicated that two attempts will be made to phone the results, after which it will be the responsibility of the patient to call for the result.

The swab test was far gentler than a traditional influenza test; in fact, it really wasn’t painful. The swabbing device is relatively short and is placed inside the top of each nostril, but not around the bend. The personnel were polite and efficient. This writer felt terrible that they were in this heat but thankful that they serve.

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner Staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

Long-term care facilities, in Wisconsin and nationally, have been hot spots for outbreaks of COVID-19. As of last Wednesday there were 164 residences in the state (which would include assisted living and skilled nursing) that had had confirmed cases among residents and/or staff. Gov. Tony Evers announced on May 4 that every resident and employee in all 373 Wisconsin nursing homes would receive a free coronavirus test as part of a plan to expand testing to everyone who needs one. According to the Department of Health Services, as of May 26 approximately 76% of these long-term care providers are testing or have tested their residents and staff.

Fairhaven Senior Services decided to take the plan a step further and conduct 407 tests, for all residents and staff members, whether in the apartments, assisted living, skilled nursing, Hearthstone or Prairie Village. It was a project that was a three day effort, with tests being submitted to a Madison lab on a daily basis. Any positive results were to be reported to the infection control nurse within approximately two days.

Paul Kuenning, President and CEO of Fairhaven, told the Jefferson County Daily Union, “It is our hope that all 420 tests come back negative, but we are bracing and prepared for the possibility that it might not be the case.” He concluded: “We feel it is best to continue to keep our residents, family and others informed as we continue to navigate through COVID-19. Knowing that all results will not be in until the weekend, we are continuing to keep all precautions in place for residents, staff and visitors as guided by the CDC and state/local health officials.”

Mr. Kuenning told the Banner that as of the afternoon of Tuesday, May 26, no positive results had been reported to Fairhaven. UPDATE 5/27: Mr. Kuenning reports that all of the tests came back negative. Currently visitors are still not permitted, though Kuenning stated, “We are reviewing the three phase guidelines for facilities’ reentry into the community.  This takes into account resident population, community prevalence and access to medical services and hospitals.”

Meanwhile, a front-page article in The Gazette on May 26 is titled, “Fairhaven Residents in Whitewater Adjust to COVID-19’s ‘New Normal.'” Interviews are featured with several people living at Fairhaven. The life plan community has signs on the entrances to the property saying, “Heroes live here.”