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Shirley Underwood passed away peacefully at Hope Hospice, Cape Coral, Florida, on January 11, 2019.

She was a wonderful mother, wife, sister, grandmother, great and great-great grandmother who truly represented the best of “the greatest generation.”

Shirley was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on January 21, 1928, to Harry and Pearl Traxler. She would call Milwaukee home until graduation from high school. During high school, classmates knew her as “Trixie” Traxler. She was interested in sports and music. After graduation, Shirley was accepted to and attended Bob Jones College, the first in her family to go to college. This decision would profoundly and happily change her life. She met a handsome ex-Air Force navigator and fellow student, Bob Underwood, at Bob Jones; they fell in love and were married in Milwaukee on December 28, 1946, a marriage that lasted almost 66 years until Bob’s passing in 2012.

Bob’s career was as an educator, which took he and Shirley to different colleges and universities as they grew as a family. Son Steve and daughter JoAnne were the lights of their lives, as were their many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

While married, Bob and Shirley lived in many parts of the country, including many years in Whitewater, Wisconsin, where Shirley taught second grade at Washington School, and in retirement at Bella Vista, Arkansas. Shirley loved to play golf with her friends and Bob and Shirley enjoyed their life in Bella Visa. While teaching and during retirement, Bob and Shirley had many great travels together. In 2005 they finally settled in Santa Barbara, California where their son Steve lived. Shirley later moved to Cape Coral in 2017 to be near her daughter JoAnne.

Shirley is survived by her daughter JoAnne Frawley (Mike), and grandson Justin Astin and great-granddaughter Trinity Astin, son Stephen Underwood (Barbara), grandson Nathan Underwood (Kiana) and great-grandchildren Arasteh, Aram and Navid, granddaughter Keely Mann (Mike) and great-grandchildren Ethan, Emerson, Edyn and Kingston, granddaughter Kasandra Bacquet (Daniel) and great-grandchildren Tannyn, Tayli, Trax (named after the Traxler family name), Tavvi and Tyler (Veronica) and great-great grandchild Presley, step-grandson Christian Holst (Tamara) and step-great-grandsons Dominic and Sebastian, step-grandson Josh Worthen, step-granddaughter Paula Frawley, step-grandson Philip Frawley (Jeanette) and step-great-grandchildren Audrey, Peyton, Britta, and step-grandson Brian Frawley (Danielle).

New Banners for Downtown

City crews and Downtown Whitewater, Inc. volunteers removed holiday snowflake decorations and installed new light pole banners.

In 2018, Downtown Whitewater, Inc. designed and printed new light pole banners for the downtown area. It was a unanimous decision by the board of directors to put into production something that was different from logo-based ones of the past.

Board President Lisa Dawsey Smith says, “We’ve added a message to banners because one of the most important parts of any city/neighborhood/area is a sense of community. We hope that each member of the community will feel the same sense of connection to Whitewater that we do. Whether you are simply passing through, here for a degree, or here for a lifetime we truly hope that Whitewater will always feel like home to you.”

There are four different images on the banners: One a traditional Wisconsin fish fry, photographed with the assistance of local restaurant 841 Brewhouse; one a multigenerational family image photographed by UW-Whitewater graduate Leslie Jones; one a photo of a child playing with sidewalk chalk also photographed by UW-Whitewater graduate Leslie Jones; and one a photo of Fran Achen provided with permission by the family of Fran Achen whose studio was located in the Downtown.

Downtown Whitewater, Inc. is a volunteer-driven organization spearheading community efforts to re-energize and enhance our historic downtown. We are community advocates and volunteers who share a passion for Whitewater. We bring people from all walks of life together to celebrate Whitewater’s history and traditions, to care for our downtown neighborhood, and to inspire confidence and investments that are flowing toward an economically vibrant, engaging and exciting place in the heart of Whitewater – a place we love, a place we’re proud to call home, and a place where future generations can grow and take pride in calling their own.

Betty Joyce Hardy, 76, of Whitewater, answered the call of her father in her dream to come home on Thursday, January 3, 2019.

Betty was born on August 24, 1942 in Vesper, WI, daughter of the late Charles and Marie (Fruin) Strooisma. She married Thomas Hardy on May 23, 1970 in Whitewater.

Betty worked at UW-Whitewater for 34 years as a Classified Payroll Specialist and received several awards for her service. She was a diehard Packer fan, and enjoyed sewing and gardening. She also enjoyed art and culture, visiting many museums.

Betty is survived by her husband, Thomas of Whitewater; son, Steven (Tamara) Hardy of Whitewater; brothers, Charles (Darlene) Strooisma, Lyle (Carol) Strooisma and Arlin Strooisma; sisters, Marie (Donald) Rhodes, Harriett (David) Wickland, Diane Huckaby and Arlene Strooisma; sister-in-law, Valerie Strooisma and many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. She was also preceded in death by her brother, Glen Strooisma.

A celebration of Betty’s life will be held on Friday, January 18, 2019, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at her home, N819 Howard Road, Whitewater.

Dunlap Memorial Home in Fort Atkinson is assisting the family. www.DunlapMemorialHome.com

Upcoming City & Community Meetings: Week of January 14 – 20

City of Whitewater Plan and Architectural Review Commission – Monday, January 14, 2019 at 6:30 pm at the Whitewater Municipal Building – Community Room (Agenda)

City of Whitewater Common Council Meeting– Tuesday, January 15, 2019, at 6:30 pm at the Whitewater Municipal Building – Community Room (Agenda)


WUSD Policy Review Committee– Wednesday, January 16, 2019, at 8:00 am at the Whitewater Unified School District Central Office (Agenda)

City of Whitewater CDA Board Meeting – Thursday, January 17, 2019, at 5:30 pm at the Location Innovation Center – 1221 Innovation Dr., Room 105 (Agenda)

Girls basketball downs Jefferson, 54-41


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From Coach Lippens:

We played with patience on offense, aggressive on defense and shot 83% from the free throw line to help us win against Jefferson tonight. Kacie Carollo led with 19 followed by Abby Grosinske with 13, Jocelin Beecroft with 10 and Cassidy Laue with 9.

WHS Boys Swim Recaps

1/5/19 Connor Bourke Relays – Fort Atkinson High School

A small group of boys traveled to Fort Atkinson to participate in the Connor Bourke Memorial Relays. The meet was a ton of fun with some unusual relays and lots of fast swimming. The following were the top finishes for the Whippets:

  • 2nd place, 50+50 Relay – Jack Mayer, Devin Bazeley, Michael Kuhl and Young Liang
  • 1st place, 150 Yard Butterfly Relay – Michael Kuhl, Jack Mayer, Young Liang
  • 1st place, 300 Breaststroke Relay – Jack Mayer, Devin Bazeley, Young Liang
  • 3rd place, 500 Freestyle Crescendo – Michael Kuhl, Jack Mayer, Devin Bazeley, Michael Kuhl

1/8/19 Whitewater 89 vs Platteville Lancaster 81 and Whitewater 62 vs Badger 108

The Whippets took on two teams on Tuesday, January 8th winning the dual meet against Platteville/Lancaster and losing to Lake Geneva Badger. Successes against Badger include a first place finish in the 200 Medley Relay (Aidan Coburn, Young Liang, Devin Bazeley and Jack Mayer), Young Liang finishing first in the 50 and 100 Freestyle, Devin Bazeley winning the 500 Freestyle and the Relay team of Young Liang, Shawn Chan, Devin Bazeley and Jack Mayer pulling off the win.

In the win against Platteville/Lancaster, the Whippets were able to win 9 out of 11 races and also finished one-two in two races. These top finishes include the ones listed in the above paragraph plus the following:

  • 200 Freestyle – 1st Devin Bazeley, 2nd Aidan Coburn
  • 200 Individual Medley – Jack Mayer
  • 100 Butterfly – 1st Jack Mayer, 2nd Shawn Chan
  • 500 Freestyle – 2nd Antonio Aranda
  • 400 Freestyle Relay – Shawn Chan, Aidan Coburn, Jon Zheng and Wesley Salverson

Adding times to the Top 10 Times list were Jack Mayer in the 200 Individual Medley and Young Liang in the 50 Freestyle. Big time drops came from Jon Chan in the 200 IM (-15 sec), Zach Tomomitsu in the 100 Freestyle (-11 sec), Antonio Aranda in the 500 Freestyle (-28 seconds), Jovany Manriquez in the 100 Backstroke (-27 sec), Wesley Salverson in the 100 Breaststroke (-4 sec) and Shawn Chan in the 100 Breaststroke (-6 seconds.) Other best times include Jack Mayer and Antonio Aranda in the 200 IM, Young Liang and Jonathan Manriquez in the 50 Freestyle and Jovany Manriquez in the 100 Butterfly.

Southern Lakes Anthology District Winners

Congratulations to all Whitewater Middle School students that submitted work for this year’s Southern Lakes Anthology competition. The quality of middle school entries was outstanding again this year. These 12 students have been designated as our middle school district winners:

Front Row: 6th graders – Lucy Troxel, Ava Nygren, Nola Coburn, Alex Clarksen

Middle Row: 7th graders – Leah Newmann, Iza Tovar, Andrea Alcala, Ghati Binagi, Michelle Abarca, Cosette Wildermuth-Breitzman

Back Row: 8th graders – Monica Juette, Emma Weigel, Caleigh Yang, Ashlynn Prah

These selected entries will now advance to the regional competition on January 29th where they will compete against entries from approximately 35 different school districts. We wish them the best of luck at the next level.

Whitewater High School FIRST Robotics Team, Ferradermis, raising money for competitions

Whitewater High School FIRST Robotics Team #6574 Ferradermis is currently fundraising as part of the Wisconsin FIRST Raffle. The Grand Prize in the raffle is $1000. Second and third prize are a large flat screen TV and a laptop. Team members are selling tickets for $3.00 each or 4 for $10.00. If you would like to purchase tickets to help support the team on its journey to compete at the Northern Lights Regional in Duluth and the Wisconsin Regional in Milwaukee, please stop by First Citizens State Bank or reach out to Laura Masbruch at lmasbruch@wwusd.org, and we will send a team member your way. The ticket sales will continue until Valentines Day.

If you would like to see the game that the team is designing a robot to play this season, visit https://youtu.be/Mew6G_og-PI?list=PLZT9pIgNOV6bbr6hfD2K0WZgvQT_B6JVX to view the game animation.

Whitewater Police Departement Position Openings -Public Safety Dispatcher, Full Time & Part-Time

Are you interested in an exciting, challenging and highly rewarding career in public service? Consider joining our Communications Center team by becoming a Public Safety Dispatcher with the Whitewater Police Department. As the initial point of contact, our dispatchers provide 24/7 coverage to ensure emergency service needs are managed professionally and efficiently for the City of Whitewater, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and surrounding townships.

Full Time Position

Part-Time Position