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Dennis “Goodwrench” Michael Gantz, 57, Whitewater, passed away on Sunday, May 6, 2018, at his home.

Dennis was born on September 20, 1960, in Rockford, Illinois to Robert and Kathryn (Kelzer) Gantz.  He graduated from Harlem High School in Rockford.  Dennis worked for Kunes Country Auto Group for over 30 years as an auto body technician. He was a kind man who would give the shirt off his back for anyone in need. He enjoyed fishing, shooting trap, restoring cars, NASCAR racing, and snowmobiling.

He is survived by his daughter, Michelle Gantz, Whitewater; step-daughter, Heather Freund; Oshkosh, mother Kay Lindquist; brothers Benny (Brenda) Gantz, Kenny (Angel) Gantz; sister Rose Gantz (Rick); nephew Jacob Gantz; niece Brooke Gantz; former wife Kathleen (Mark) Sumnicht.  He was preceded in death by his father; sister Margaret Gantz; step-father Ty Lindquist.

A visitation will be held on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, from 5 pm to 8 pm at the Nitardy Funeral Home Chapel, 550 N. Newcomb St, Whitewater, WI 53190.

As an expression of sympathy, you may wish to consider memorials to the family.

www.nitardyfuneralhome.com

Ralph Tyree Barton, AKA Rebel, Grasshopper, Scarecrow, 86, Whitewater, passed away at his home on Wednesday, May 02, 2018.

Ralph was born on May 9, 1931, in Kentucky to William and Virginia Lucille (Tyree) Barton.  He graduated from Boy’s Tech High School, Milwaukee, WI. Ralph married Alice Earsley Schuenke on March 13, 1965. She preceded him in death on June 14, 1994. He worked for the City of Milwaukee in their public works department.  He and Alice moved out to Whitewater after he retired and built their home which became known as Rebel’s Roost Ranch.  Ralph had a passion for horses, hunting, and guns. He drove a school bus for Lakeland.  He enjoyed driving all the sports teams from Palmyra to their games and became fond of all the children he got to know driving them to school.

He is survived by his children James (Betty) Schuenke, Merton, WI, Jan Lubasz, Whitewater; grandchildren, Christina (Justin) Meisenheimer, Nicole Lee, Sean Schuenke, Erik (Kathy) Schuenke, Dan Schuenke; great-grandchildren Tyler, Cody, Alex, Dylan, Savanna, Kaeline, Landon, Brayden, Gavin, Paxton; daughter-in-law, Rose Schuenke; several nephews and his niece, Gaye Lynn. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife; son, Richard Schuenke; grandchildren, Anthony Schuenke, Traci Lee Lubasz; brother, Charles Barton; sister, Gloria Cash.

The family would like to invite family and friends to celebrate Ralph’s life on Saturday, May 12, 2018, at 1:00 pm at his home.

Nitardy Funeral Home, Whitewater is assisting the family, www.nitardyfuneralhome.com

 

A Celebration of Young Artists Opening Reception Photo Gallery

A reception for students, from ages 4 to 18, was held on Sunday, May 6 at the Center for the Arts,  and featured the Lincoln Elementary School’s World Drumming Ensemble and the Mariachi Band at 2 p.m.

The exhibit includes a variety of two and three-dimensional artwork by students from area schools.  The art teachers displaying their students’ art are:   teachers from the 4K programs; Sara Sixel at Lincoln Elementary School; Sara Brautigam of Lakeview Elementary School; Mareta Hale of Washington Elementary School; Justin Deegan of the Whitewater Middle School, and Crystal Gill of the Whitewater High School.  Christine Hayes directed the Lincoln Elementary School World Drumming Ensemble and the Mariachi Band.

 

WHS Top Ten students honored at Rock Valley Conference Top Ten Banquet

The top ten students from the Whitewater High School Class of 2018 were recognized at the Rock Valley Conference Top Ten Banquet at Edgerton High School on Sunday, May 6th.

 

Pictured left to right are (front row) WHS Principal Mr. Mike Lovenberg, Lydia Wiley-Deal, Allisan Barrett, Kylie Damhorst, Catherine Strait, Casey Skindingsrude, WWUSD District Administrator Dr. Mark Elworthy, (back row) Jacob Zuehlke, Jacob Korf, Connor Steinke, James Dedrick, and Zachary Gross.

WHS Track teams compete in Edgerton Tider Invite

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From Coach Houwers:

The Whippets track and field teams competed at the Edgerton Tider Invite on Friday night.  Spring weather was finally cooperating, giving us a great night to compete.  The teams struggled early on in prelims, advancing just one individual to the finals of the 100, 200, or 100/110 hurdles.  Tyler Sheffield managed to sneak into the 200 finals with the final qualifying spot.  Jack Mayer got out to a great start in the 110 hurdles and looked to be on his way to finals before catching his trail leg on a hurdle mid-race and falling.  As the meet progressed, things did begin to improve, but not enough to prevent finishing in the bottom 3 teams for both the girls and boys teams.  Even without a good team performance, there were some highlights from the competition.

The highlight for the girls’ team came in the technical events.  Sydney Treder finished second with another 8′ 6″ vault in the pole vault.  Freshman Jenna Caldwell tied for 3rd, clearing 8′ 0″ for the first time this season.  Ali Ketterhagen continues to improve in the high jump.  She finished 3rd, clearing 4′ 10″ for the first time in her career.  She looks to hit the 5′ mark as we come into the championship part of the season.  Hailey Murphy dropped 2 seconds off her 300 hurdles race to also finish third.  Her time moves her into the top ten all-time times in the event.

For the boys’ team, Sashi Popke took home to only gold, winning the pole vault.  Aidan Coburn was a bright spot, trying the 1600, 3200 double for the first time.  He proved ready for the task, as he set personal bests in both events, going under the 5 min barrier in the 1600 for the first time.  Jacob Korf impressed to close out the night, running a great split on the 4×400 relay.

This week is a busy week as the JV teams compete Monday and Thursday, and the Varsity goes Tuesday in Elkhorn at the Walworth County meet and again on Saturday at the Conference Championships in Jefferson, beginning at 10 am.

UW-Whitewater Softball, Women’s Tennis to Host NCAA Regionals This Week

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball and women’s tennis teams will each host NCAA Tournament regionals this week in Whitewater, Wis.

Softball

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team will host the four-team Whitewater, Wisconsin, Regional round of the NCAA Division III Softball Championship this Friday-Sunday at van Steenderen Softball Complex.

The Warhawks (25-11-1 overall) will face Benedictine (Ill.), the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference champion, to open play. The other game will feature a pair of Pool “C”, or at-large, qualifiers in Coe (Iowa) and Trine (Ind.).

UW-Whitewater has won six straight games and 18 of its last 23 games entering NCAA play. The team claimed the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season championship and clinched the league’s automatic bid by winning the WIAC Tournament title for the sixth straight year and 10th time overall over the weekend.

The Warhawks are making their 21st appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

For more on the softball regional event from UWWSports.com, 

Women’s Tennis

The No. 34 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s tennis team will host seven teams for the first three rounds of the NCAA Division III Championship this Friday-Sunday at Wangerin Courts in Whitewater.

The Warhawks (19-6 overall) will face Concordia Wisconsin, the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference champion, on Friday at a time to be announced.

Other first-round matchups include Grinnell (Iowa) against Coe (Iowa) and No. 28 Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) against St. Scholastica (Minn.).

No. 10 Chicago has a bye to the second round and will face the winner of the Grinnell-Coe match.

UW-Whitewater claimed its 11th straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship in the fall and won the WIAC Team Tournament on April 28 to punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the 11th consecutive year.

For more on the softball regional event from UWWSports.com, 

High Honors Recognition Night honors academic excellence

On April 25th, 2018, Whitewater High School held its annual High Honors Recognition Night, honoring students with cumulative grade point averages of 3.5 and above.

The evening began with a dessert reception followed by a program in the auditorium.  The high school was honored to have 1984 WHS graduate Andrea Kreft as keynote speaker. Ms. Kreft is the principal of John Muir Elementary School in Madison. Her message to students was to be proud of Whitewater High School and the community, experience diversity, savor the moment of being in high school, continue to achieve at a high level, hold peer relationships near and dear, and that perhaps one day in the not so distant future, one the students in the audience may be giving a very similar speech.

Following Ms. Kreft’s keynote address, students were recognized on stage.  Sophomores through seniors received commemorative bronze, silver, and gold medals.  Freshmen received a certificate of achievement.

This was the fourth annual High Honors Night and was proudly attended by more than 300 students, family, and community members.

Irene Adler – May 8, 6:00 pm at the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library

To Sherlock Holmes, she is always simply “The Woman.” Laura F. Keyes presents a living literary performance as Irene Adler, the only woman who outsmarted the world’s greatest detective. Hear the famous tale of their meeting from her own lips.  This program is free and open to everyone.  No registration required.

 

WHS students compete in WSMA State Solo/Ensemble Festival

On Saturday, April 28th, twenty-four WHS students performed at the WSMA State Solo/Ensemble Festival on the UW-Whitewater campus. They performed in 22 individual and group events. All students received either a 1st or a 2nd rating for their performances. Congratulations to all who performed!

The performers were Alisha Parboteeah, Henry Bresser, Lydia Wiley Deal, Katie Kuhtz, Caty Strait, Nick Kuzoff, Allisan Barrett, Caroline Crowley, Natalie LaBreche, Grace Ejnik, Kierstin Kehrer, Chris Porcaro, Carter Waelchli, Jacob Zuehlke, Elliott McCulloch,  Amy Earle, Luis Ramirez, Jillian Harkness, Miriam Navejas, Alec Holt, Cally Julson, Angie McKelvey, Weston Lema, and Lauren Harkness.