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The Milwaukee Handbell Ensemble is Coming to Town
The Milwaukee Handbell Ensemble is excited to be coming to Whitewater to do a concert. The First United Methodist Church is hosting the Milwaukee Handbell Ensemble concert on Saturday, June 3rd at 3:00 p.m. The concert will feature multiple genres of both religious and secular music.
Seniors in the Park Presents Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
“Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea”
Tuesday, May 30, 1 p.m. (Action/Adventure/SciFi)
PG; 1 hour, 45 minutes (1961)
Tidal waves! Tsunamis! Earthquakes! Global warming! And the sky is on fire!
A race against time as the fantastic futuristic submarine Seaview attempts to save the Earth before it’s burnt to a cinder! A classic film starring Walter Pidgeon, Joan Fontaine, Peter Lorre, Barbara Eden, and Frankie Avalon.
We’ll be celebrating 12 years of films shown by Mark Dorn. He’ll bring the cake from SweetSpot!
Seniors in the Park is held at Starin Park, 504 W. Starin Road.
Local Man Steals Several Items from a Residence, Allegedly is Caught Next Day
Per the Lake Geneva Regional News:
Whitewater man steals several items from a residence, gets caught the next day
Darwing J Mayorga Ortiz, 28, of 400 block W. Center St., Whitewater, has been charged with [felony] burglary of a building or dwelling; two counts of misdemeanor theft and obstructing an officer. On May 12 in the City of Whitewater, officers spoke with two women whose residence was burglarized. Some of the items missing were Air Pods, two wallets with credit/debit cards, a gas card, keys. ID’s, a Social Security card, and a total of $300 between the two. An estimated $300 Hewlett Packard laptop and a blue and red Nintendo Switch with an estimated cost of $300 was also taken. One of the women was notified by her bank that her card had been used for two Google app purchases. Later on May 13, a black laptop and two women’s wallets were found in a garbage tote, while the Nintendo Switch and Air Pods were found after using a tracking feature at the residence of the defendant.
Editor’s note: This case has not been concluded. Unless a judgment of conviction is entered, the defendant is presumed innocent of all charges.
Women Who Care Donates Over $11,000 to Rock River Community Clinic
Women Who Care is honored to grant Rock River Community Clinic (RRCC) a donation from recent fundraising events. In March, Women Who Care presented RRCC with a check of $11,939 in support of improving the lives of children and families in our communities. This donation will allow RRCC to purchase a nitrous oxide system for pain relief at their dental clinic, and a specialized refrigerator and monitoring system to safely store vaccines at their medical clinic.
The nitrous oxide at the dental clinic will help RRCC see more patients, particularly children in need of more advanced treatment. RRCC is currently the only dental clinic in Jefferson county that supports patients enrolled in Medicaid. Dr. Le’erin Voss, DDS, MPH, a dentist at the Fort Atkinson location, states, “For many families, access to oral health care is incredibly challenging and often impossible. Having nitrous at our clinic will allow us to help more children receive the dental care they need.”
The clinic also is working towards becoming a Vaccine for Children (VFC) provider, and the refrigerator and monitoring system will get them one step closer to that. The VFC program is a federally funded program that provides vaccines at no cost to children. “Being a VFC provider will allow many more families, especially those with limited financial resources, to access essential childhood vaccinations. I’m thrilled and grateful for this investment to support the care we can provide to families with young children”, said Dr. Donald Williams, Medical Director,
and Internal Medicine & Pediatrics Physician.
Olivia Nichols, CEO and Executive Director at RRCC added, “With nitrous at our dental clinic, and equipment to begin the VFC program at our medical clinics, this grant affords us the opportunity to jump start essential services for our pediatric population. We’re so grateful for the Women who Cares organization for providing this support to improve the care we can provide for families with young children!”
About Women Who Care
Women Who Care has its roots in the Women’s Giving Circle established by the Fort Memorial Hospital Foundation in 2004. A group of area women gathered for lunch once a quarter for information and inspiration about their health and well-being. Member contributions were gathered to fund various services at Fort HealthCare. A wide variety of projects were included over the years including hospital equipment, new health and wellness services, and scholarships.
In 2014, a group of members had an idea to expand the way the group functioned. Their idea was to engage the membership to determine ways in which the group could make a measurable impact on the health and well-being of people in our area. From that beginning, a group of philanthropic-minded women was formed, setting out to identify opportunities of service to our area, such as School-Based Behavioral Health Services, School Nurse
leadership training, and forward-thinking initiatives focused on women’s health equity. For more information about Women Who Care, visit FortHealthCare.com/WWC.
About Rock River Community Clinic
Rock River Community Clinic (RRCC) provides comprehensive and cost-effective health care services to ensure all community members have access to care. Serving families in Jefferson, Dodge, and Walworth County, RRCC includes three medical clinics located in Whitewater, Watertown, and Jefferson, and one dental clinic located in Fort Atkinson.
At RRCC, all community members are welcome and accepted, regardless of ability to pay, with discounted prices for patients who are uninsured or underinsured (high deductible plans). RRCC also provides care coordination services to help patients overcome barriers to accessing healthcare and coordinate referrals. Bilingual staff (Spanish & English) are available to support patients and their families. By increasing access to health care services, offering
care at affordable costs, and assisting with healthcare navigation, RRCC works to create a healthier, more equitable, community. For clinic hours and directions, visit www.rockrivercommunityclinic.org
Editor’s note: This news release was provided by Fort HealthCare.
Sports Illustrated: The Brothers Fueling a Wheelchair Basketball Powerhouse
Mark Dorn, “still a print subscriber,” recently found an article, “The Brothers Fueling a Wheelchair Basketball Powerhouse,” in Sports Illustrated. It’s the story of two brothers on Alabama’s wheelchair basketball team, and includes their national championship that was won at UW-W this past March. Click here to read the very interesting article as reprinted in Newsbreak.
Our thanks to Mark Dorn for passing on this article.
Our Readers Share: Paul Jhona – The Spires of Whitewater
Paul Jhona says, “I call this The Spires of Whitewater. Raw photo taken with my DJI Mini 2 drone, no processing.”
Our thanks to Paul Jhona for sharing what we believe to be the first-ever drone image submission for “Our Readers Share!”
— Our Readers Share: We hope that you might have something that you’d be willing to share. Anything that’s been created by someone else should, of course, be credited, and you should ask their permission if you’re able. We cannot post copyrighted material without permission. We can’t guarantee that we’ll have space for all submissions, and contributions will be subject to editorial board approval. The one definite exclusion is anything politically oriented. We will assume that you’re willing for us to include your name as the submitter unless you indicate that you prefer to remain anonymous. Send to whitewaterbanner@gmail.com or click on “submit a story” near the top right of our homepage. Thanks for thinking about this!
Editor’s note: The spire to the left is on the Congregational United Church of Christ; to the right is First United Methodist Church.
UW-W’s Christian Patzka Wins National Title with Record Breaking Performance
Per an article on WKOW, “UW-Whitewater sophomore and Wisconsin Heights alum, Christian Patzka, won the Division III National Championship in the 3,000 meter steeplechase in Rochester, NY on Saturday.
Patzka won the event with a time of 8:42.46, breaking the NCAA DIII record, as well as records for the DIII championship, the facility, and the Warhawks’ program. The win also earns Patzka All-American honors for the third time in his career.
While it’s Patzka’s first ever national championship, he won the WIAC championship in the indoor 5,000 meter run and the 3,000 meter steeplechase in 2022…”
A video from the race may be viewed here.
Further reports on the event from the WIAC website:
Three Teams In Top Seven At NCAA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship; Six Claim Titles
ROCHESTER, N.Y.–Three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) teams placed in the top seven following three days of competition at the NCAA Division III Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship. In addition, five conference individuals and one relay team claimed titles.
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse finished second with 49 points to fall short of the 60.5 points by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which won its first-ever national championship. Rowan University (N.J.) and John Carroll University (Ohio) took third with 39 points, while UW-Eau Claire was fifth with 37 and UW-Whitewater tied for seventh with 24.
Additional WIAC team finishes included: UW-Oshkosh 13th with 17 points; UW-Platteville 14th with 16; and UW-Stout tied for 40th with six. A total of 78 teams scored points at the national event, which was hosted by St. John Fisher University (N.Y.) and Visit Rochester.
UW-La Crosse’s Sam Blaskowski won the 100-meter dash for the second straight season with a time of 10.13 seconds. The mark established a NCAA Division III Championship record. Blaskowski also contributed to the triumphant 4×100-meter relay that posted a time of 39.96 seconds. He was joined by Ryder Smith, Spencer Reichart and Luke Schroeder. It is the fifth time UW-La Crosse has won the event (2004, 2015, 2018, 2021).
UW-Whitewater’s Christian Patzka also established a NCAA Division III Championship mark with a first-place time of 8:42.46 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. He is the second individual in program history to win the event, joining Dawson Miller (2015).
UW-Eau Claire had a pair of individual champions, as Yakob Ekoue secured the shot put with a heave of 57-10 1/4 (17.63m) and Mitch Stegeman claimed the decathlon with 7,165 points. Ekoue is the fourth individual in program archives to win the event, joining Roger Steen (2015), Alex Mess (2016) and David Kornack (2019). Stegeman is the third Blugold to emerge with the decathlon crown, joining Brandon Zarnoth (2015) and Marcus Weaver (2021 and 2022).
UW-Platteville’s Will Lawrence was victorious in the javelin with a toss of 236-8 (72.14m). It ranks as the fifth-best throw in NCAA Division III history.
The following individuals from the WIAC earned All-America recognition from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association for placing in the top eight of their event:
100-Meter Dash: Sam Blaskowski (UW-La Crosse-Champion)
200-Meter Dash: Sam Blaskowski (UW-La Crosse-Second); Londyn Little (UW-Oshkosh-Seventh)
800-Meter Run: Cael Schoemann (UW-La Crosse-Fifth)
1,500-Meter Run: Steven Potter (UW-Oshkosh-Seventh)
10,000-Meter Run: Ethan Gregg (UW-La Crosse-Second); Gunner Schlender (UW-Whitewater-Third)
3,000-Meter Steeplechase: Christian Patzka (UW-Whitewater-Champion); Adam Loenser (UW-La Crosse-Seventh)
4×100-Meter Relay: UW-La Crosse (Ryder Smith, Sam Blaskowski, Spencer Reichart, Luke Schroeder-Champion); UW-Oshkosh (Joey Kean, Aaron Richardson, Londyn Little, Rashaad Henderson-Fourth)
4×400-Meter Relay: UW-La Crosse (Chase Doornink, Addison Hill, Tyler Backes, Caden Pearce-Fourth)
High Jump: Daniel Inyang (UW-Platteville-Sixth)
Long Jump: Sam Blaskowski (UW-La Crosse-Seventh)
Triple Jump: Shelvin Garrett II (UW-Whitewater-Second); Jonathan Wilburn (UW-Oshkosh-Fourth)
Shot Put: Yakob Ekoue (UW-Eau Claire-Champion)
Discus: Yakob Ekoue (UW-Eau Claire-Second); Justin Eichler (UW-Platteville-Seventh)
Hammer: Yakob Ekoue (UW-Eau Claire-Third); Justin Eichler (UW-Platteville-Seventh)
Javelin: Will Lawrence (UW-Platteville-Champion) 236-8 (72.14m)
Decathlon: Mitch Stegeman (UW-Eau Claire-Champion); Mason Barth (UW-Stout-Third); Charlie Nolan (UW-Oshkosh-Seventh); RJ Bosshart (UW-Oshkosh-Eighth)
Local Student Named to Troy University Chancellor’s List
Abby Grosinske of Whitewater, WI has been named to the Chancellor’s List at Troy University for the spring semester/Term 4 of the 2022-2023 academic year.
The Chancellor’s List honors full-time undergraduate students who are registered for at least 12 semester hours and who earn a grade point average of 4.0.
About Troy University
Troy University is a public, historic, international university with 22,500 students and 154,000 alumni. Students choose TROY for its quality academic programs, reasonable costs and availability of financial aid, outstanding faculty, and flexible in-class and online class offerings. Students on the Troy, Ala. campus enjoy a traditional college experience, while adult students are the centers of attention at campuses in Dothan, Montgomery and Phenix City, Ala., as well as at locations around the world and online.
This Week’s City & School Board Meetings
Whitewater Unified School District Retirement Celebration – Thursday @ 4:00 p.m.
Whitewater School Board members will be attending the 2023 Whitewater Unified School District Retirement Celebration at Willow Brook Golf Course. A quorum of the School Board may be present; however, the Board will not be conducting any business during the event.
City of Whitewater Landmarks Commission – Thursday @ 6:00 p.m.
Agenda
Cravath Lakefront Room
312 Whitewater Street
Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://meet.goto.com/302786637
You can also dial in using your phone.
Access Code: 302-786-637
United States: +1 (224) 501-3412