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By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

At a special meeting on June 30 the City of Whitewater Police and Fire Commission voted unanimously for an internal search for a new police chief to be managed by the city and Human Resources with one month to complete. This action coincided with the resignation and retirement of Aaron Raap, who served as chief since June of 2018.

The agenda for the City of Whitewater Police & Fire Commission special meeting on Monday, July 25 includes a closed session discussion titled, “Interview Of Chief Of Police Candidate.” The candidate is not named; however, it is obviously a current police officer in the department since the commission did not open the search to external candidates. The open session to follow the closed session includes the item, “Consideration Of Direction To City Staff To Proceed With A Conditional Offer And Negotiation For Chief Of Police Finalist (Name Will Be Included In Motion).” Per state statute, the hiring of a police chief is the responsibility of the Police & Fire Commission; however, the Common Council has sole responsibility for approving significant financial matters such as wages.

Also on Monday’s closed session agenda is “Nominations And Potential Approval Of Fire Department Command Staff Positions.” The Whitewater Fire Department, Inc. is in the process of finalizing a merger with the City of Whitewater, and has made nominations for the Command Staff positions that will take effect when the integration is complete. Per state statute, it is the responsibility of the Police & Fire Commission to approve the appointments to these positions. The concluding open session includes the item, “Announcement Of Recommendation Concerning Whitewater Fire Department Promotional Process.”

Whitewater Community Fundraising Partners is excited to offer this fun event to help support the Whitewater School District’s Family Emergency Fund. 

Our goal is that all students have the basic necessities to be healthy and successful.  This includes the basic necessities of safe lodging and food.  We raise the funds, then give them to the school, to help the students that are homeless.  Just in this past year, two families lost their homes to fires.  The school helps these families find temporary housing and provide gift cards for food.  Although we are a small school district, we have over 30 students that are homeless.  We want to help these children.

The following products are available for purchase (donation amounts listed):

20 oz. Stainless Steel Tumbler: either all white or with red borders – $25 ($15 will be donated)

16 oz. Frosted Beer Mug or Clear Glass: $19 ($6 will be donated)

15 oz. Coffee Mug: $15 ($5 will be donated)

32 oz. Sports Water Bottle: $30 ($8 donated)

Plus, we are super excited that you can add your name or your year of graduation to any item you order for only $4

Simply click on whitewater-community-fundraising.square.site to place your order. Our goal is to always have orders filled within 7 days from order received. We offer the opportunity for items to be shipped, or either picked up or delivered in the Whitewater area.

These are great for students, faculty, family members, gifts, and so much more.

It is our goal to raise $5000 for families in need.

If you’d like to strictly make a donation to WCFP and do not want to incur any fees, please feel free to utilize our Venmo account at @WhitewaterCFP. Please make sure to note that you are a friend of WCFP when doing so. WCFP is a 501(c)(3) organization, and donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

If you would like to submit a check, please mail it to:

WCFP, PO Box 182, Whitewater WI 53190

Helpful Ordering Tips:

1. Click on item of choice and choose quantity. The system will automatically take you to the cart.
2. To purchase additional items, click on the ‘home’ button to go back to product screen
3. If you would like personalization, click on ‘personalization’ on the home screen and choose which type of personalization you would like. If you want multiples of the same personalization, simply key in the number you would like.
4. At checkout, please provide us with any notes you may have for your order and any personalization information.

If you have any troubles checking out…please email us at whitewatercfp@gmail.com

We are truly grateful for your support.

About Whitewater Community Fundraising Partners: In 2017, the WHS Class of 1982 decided for their 35 year reunion, to find ways to give back to the community they grew up in and love so much. The group decided to plan a Poker Run with the proceeds to benefit the Whitewater Police Department K9 unit. After a successful event, the group decided to make the event an annual occurrence to fundraise money for a special cause each year. In 2018, the group took measures to become a recognized nonprofit – 501c3. A Run/Bike/Golf outing were the marquee events of 2018 and 2019; both of those events assisted in raising funds for local law enforcement K9 units. In 2020 and 2021, our efforts were focused on working towards eliminating homelessness in the Whitewater community. A run/walk in June created funds which were donated to the WUSD emergency fund; remaining funds were used to deliver dinners during the holiday season with the assistance of The Black Sheep. 

Award-winning watercolor artist Ron Stocke will be hosting a workshop for the
Whitewater Arts Alliance from September 23-25, 2022. Stocke has been painting for
well over 30 years and is delighted to instruct a class with a relaxed atmosphere.

Students will take a three day course to learn the core concepts of en plein air watercolor
painting. The classes will be held from September 23 to September 25, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00
p.m each day at Cravath Lakefront Center, 341 S. Fremont St., Whitewater, WI.
The landscape around the Lakefront Center will be used for en plein air teaching.
Additionally, Stocke will be selling his book “En Plein Air: Watercolor” at each
workshop. Students are welcome to buy a copy or bring their own and Stocke will sign
each one.

Those who are interested can register on the Whitewater Arts Alliance website:
https://www.whitewaterarts.org/watercolor-workshop-with-ron-stocke. For members
of the Alliance, the workshop costs $260. For all others, it costs $325. Checks can be
mailed to the Whitewater Arts Alliance (P.O. Box 311, Whitewater, WI 53190).
Deadline to register is August 23, 2022.

Big thanks to our sponsor, First Citizens State Bank.

Editor’s note: This information was provided by the Whitewater Arts Alliance.

Editor’s note: Thanks to Kathy Lynd Roelli for submitting this photo.

The Hawk Bowl 3rd & 4th Grade Baseball Team brought home the Quad County Championship Monday, July 18th, finishing a perfect 17-0 season.

Pictured L-R
Row 1: Christian Retzlaff, Roman Oldenburg, Keaton Kachel, Isaiah Cortez
Row 2: Espen Heim, Camden Kachel, Ben Mcquillen, Maddox Lippens, Cole Ehlen, Sam Brockwell, Asst. Coach Mike Kachel
Not Pictured: Eric Smith & Head Coach James Retzlaff

Editor’s note: Thanks to Mike Kachel for submitting this photo.

Editor’s note: The following press release was received from UW-Madison Division of Extension Horticulture Program.

This fall UW-Madison Division of Extension Horticulture Program is offering the online course, Growing and
Caring for Plants in Wisconsin: Foundations in Gardening. This is a twelve week online course that runs from
September 11 through December 10, 2022.

Growing and Caring for Plants in Wisconsin: Foundations in Gardening (Foundations in Gardening) teaches
participants university research based methods to successfully grow their plants and manage common pests. The
course introduces a decision-making framework used by gardeners that focuses on understanding how plants best
grow, why pests and problems happen, and how to keep plant problems from happening.

The Foundations in Gardening course is divided into three units. The first set of topics is the basics: general
gardening, botany, soils and decision-making strategies for pest management. The next set of topics helps
participants understand how to identify and manage pests they might encounter. Finally, the last group focuses on
specific types of gardening such as vegetables, fruits, lawn and houseplants. As part of the learning experience,
Foundations in Gardening participants will have the opportunity to ask questions of UW-Madison horticulture
experts at live webinars. The webinars are scheduled so that each expert will be taking questions about the material
currently being covered. The webinars are also an opportunity to ask questions participants may have long had but
did not know whom to ask. Q & As with the Experts will be recorded for future viewing in case the live broadcasts
are inconvenient with participants’ schedules.

In addition to the Q & As with the Experts, participants receive a complete electronic (PDF) copy of the
Foundations in Gardening training manual. A bound hardcopy of the manual is available at an additional cost. This
is a valuable reference tool to have on the bookshelf. Participants will receive a certificate of completion and earn
up to four continuing education credits (CEU) for certain professional organizations. For participants wanting a
deeper dive into the learning experience, there are optional live lab webinars to reinforce the material covered in the
course. These give participants the opportunity to work in large and small groups with Extension educators to
answer more in-depth gardening scenarios.

If you are interested in becoming a Wisconsin Extension Master Gardener, this course is considered an approved
learning opportunity from the Wisconsin Extension Horticulture Program. Visit
https://mastergardener.extension.wisc.edu/get-started/ for more information.

Registration is July 18th-August 15th for this fully online, learn-at-your-own pace course. Course fee: $299, includes year-long course access and PDF version of course manual. Whether you are a beginner, avid gardener or professional, you and your plants will benefit from this course. For more information and to register for Foundations in Gardening, visit: https://bit.ly/3aBUGBe

The image on the homepage is an Image by jf-gabnor from Pixabay.

LA CROSSE, Wis. (July 19, 2022) – The following area students completed degree requirements at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in May. The 112th Annual Spring Commencement was held at the La Crosse Center Sunday, May 15.        UW-La Crosse, founded in 1909, is one of the 13 four-year institutions in the University of Wisconsin System. UWL has more than 10,400 full and part-time students enrolled in 101 undergraduate, 28 graduate and two doctoral academic programs.       UW-La Crosse – www.uwlax.edu – is the state’s top-ranked public higher education institution by U.S. News & World Reports for master’s degree institutions and has been ranked among the top Midwestern public institutions for more than a decade.        Students earning degrees in May include: 

Whitewater, WI

 Brady Meudt, Bachelor of Science, Biology Major, Highest Honors

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OSHKOSH, Wis. (July 20, 2022) – The UW Oshkosh 148th spring commencement -with a pair of ceremonies May 14-recognized the accomplishments of students from all three of its campuses (Fond du Lac, Fox Cities, Oshkosh). Nearly 1,500 students earned bachelor’s, master’s, associate and doctoral degrees, and joined the ranks of more than 100,000 UWO alumni.   

Whitewater, WI

 Hannah F. Allen, College of Letters and Science, Associate of Arts and Science
 Michael A. Fernandez, College of Letters and Science, Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering Technology