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Looking for inspiration for your yard or want to keep your nature vibe going after Earth Day?

Stop by the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library on Saturday, May 5th from 10 am to 1 pm to learn how to attract and nourish birds and butterflies in your own backyard. The Kettle Moraine Land Trust is partnering with libraries to encourage wise stewardship of local landscapes. Volunteers will be available at East Troy, Elkhorn, Delavan and Whitewater libraries with tips, guides and even free native plants and seed to get you started. There will be several native plants to choose from, one plant per household.

The Kettle Moraine Land Trust (KMLT) is a nonprofit conservation organization that protects local lands and waters for your enjoyment and future generations. Contact Maggie Zoellner, Executive Director with questions or for more details at 262-949-7211 or visit the KMLT website, www.kmlandtrust.org.

Peas, carrots, swiss chard, kale, radishes, lettuces, and spinach were all a part of the first crop. These seeds and seedlings tolerate the cooler spring air and soil temperatures. The K4 classes will be planting the sunflowers in May to make this a school-wide project. Students also learned more about the emerging perennials in the pollinator gardens.

Gardens help promote life-long healthy lifestyle habits- eating healthy, moving our bodies and being outside. School gardens also enrich classroom curriculum, build community and provide wonderful hands-on, life-long learning for all ages.

The community is welcome to join us for Monday Garden Gatherings. 3 – 4:30 pm until June 4. Come help tend to the garden, learn, do a project, relax, and meet your neighbors.

To get involved or questions, please contact Garden Leader Liesl Schultz Hying at LINCSGarden@gmail.com.

Erin Steuerwald, a former Whitewater resident, was honored at the fifth annual Recognition of Outstanding Early Career Educators and Pre-Service Educator Mentors award ceremony sponsored by the Wisconsin Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and the Meemic Foundation. The ceremony was held at the Monona Terrace Community and Conference Center in Madison on Sunday, April 8.

Miss Steuerwald, a Watertown Unified School District elementary physical education teacher, was recognized for her excellence as an early career educator. She is in her third year of teaching physical education at two elementary schools in the district. She distinguishes herself in the district as a competent, driven and reputable educator. In the classroom, Steuerwald creates unique learning environments for the students as noted by Emily Lessner, principal at Douglas Elementary School. “Erin is dedicated to providing students with a well-rounded, purposeful experience in physical education. She focuses on teaching students skills and applying these skills in an engaging way. Within one physical education class, Erin’s students learn and practice a variety of skills. Erin reflects on student learning, modeling and providing feedback to students to promote growth. We are thrilled to have Erin on the physical education team in the Watertown Unified School District.”

Steuerwald has also been involved as a coach of extracurricular activities including seventh-grade volleyball coach at Riverside Middle School, varsity volleyball coach at Dodgeland High School, varsity assistant volleyball coach at Watertown High School, freshman team basketball coach at Watertown High School, varsity assistant basketball coach at Watertown High School, assistant track and field coach at Riverside Middle School and mentor for Girls on the Run in Watertown.

The extent of her outreach has allowed her to form unique relationships with many students which has opened doors for her to share her philosophy about building a life of character.

This is the fifth year that the Wisconsin Association of Colleges for Teacher Education has sponsored the Early Career and Pre-Service Educator Awards. The awards ceremony continues to grow each year, with over 200 people attending last year. This year 59 teachers from 30 different institutions of higher education across the state were honored for their professional excellence. The keynote speaker this year was Matthew W. Miller Sr., the 2018 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year. The Meemic Foundation sponsors the awards ceremony as well as the keynote speaker.

WACTE is a professional organization composed of the Wisconsin institutions that prepare students for initial teacher licensure. The educator preparation programs offer diversity in size, focus and delivery but are all designed to prepare quality teachers for Wisconsin’s schools. WACTE is an affiliate of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

In celebration of their new office and one year ownership anniversary, Whitewater Grocery Co. is inviting the public to an open house at their new office location in the Whitewater Innovation Center, 1221 Innovation Dr. Suite 118, on Saturday, May 5, 2018, from 1 – 3 pm.

The open house begins at 1 pm and includes light hors d’oeuvres, free beer, free souvenir pint glasses, office tour, and a short presentation at 2 p.m. Owners are encouraged to bring their friends and will receive a raffle ticket for every friend they bring who is not currently an owner, which gets them entry in a raffle for a large gift basket filled with local products. New members who sign up during the open house will receive either a free t-shirt or yard sign. “In our first four days, we signed up 100 owners, making us the fastest growing business of our kind in the country. We are excited to continue that momentum as we work on building our community grocery store together,” Reichwald said.

Since officially incorporating in March 2017, the Whitewater Grocery Co. has reached some significant milestones. As one of the fastest growing start-up food co-ops in the nation, they’ve signed up 365 of the 1,000 owners needed to open a full-service grocery store in Whitewater. Additionally, they’ve elected a board of directors, conducted a preliminary market study which confirmed that Whitewater can support a 10,000 – 15,000 sq. ft. full-service grocery store, and established an office space at the Whitewater Innovation Center. Once the organization reaches 500 members, they can move on to the next step in the development process, Feasibility Stage 2b – location analysis and business planning.

An important part of the feasibility of the grocery store is showing that there is community support – through ownership shares. “The more people we have invested, the more influence we have with lenders and developers,” said board president, Lacey Reichwald. To become a vested owner of the Whitewater Grocery Co., individuals are asked to make a one-time payment of $150, or $25 installment payments for six months, which can be done online, in person, or by mail. The store will be open to anyone who wants to shop there, but owners will receive extra benefits, including special owner sales and discounts.

Whitewater Grocery Co. is a cooperatively owned business in Whitewater, Wisconsin working to build a full-service local grocery store. The mission of this group is to support farm to table eating, to be a model of environmental sustainability, to stimulate the local economy, and to create a “third space” for the Whitewater community.

Individuals interested in joining Whitewater Grocery Co. can find more information at www.whitewatergrocery.co or by emailing contact@whitewatergrocery.co

Longtime teller, Edie Oldenburg, is retiring from First Citizens after 40 years of service! There will be an Open House for her on Tuesday, May 1^st from 1:00 – 3:00 pm at the First Citizens State Bank Main Branch Lobby (207 W. Main Street).

This year marks the 3rd year that the Whitewater Community Foundation (WCF) has awarded grants to nonprofits in Whitewater and those outside Whitewater that serve the Whitewater community. The mission of the WCF is to collaborate with our civic partners to create opportunities for youth and adults to achieve their educational and economic dreams, to create a vibrant city for the arts, and to celebrate and preserve the qualities that make Whitewater exceptional.

Past grants have been awarded to groups that improve the health of Whitewater citizens, as well as providing more opportunities for Whitewater youth to participate in extracurricular camps and workshops and reading programs, providing funding to pay musicians at various nonprofit events and providing help with murals and playgrounds. Please spread the word to those who are trying to effect change in Whitewater. We look forward to working with leaders who are working one goal at a time to make our town a greater place to live.

Interested organizations can find more information at http://www.whitewatercommunityfoundation.org/grants/

The deadline for applications is May 31, 2018.