News

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

Under normal circumstances the ballot for the April 2 Common Council election would now be finalized, as January 2 was the deadline for nomination papers to be filed. Unusual circumstances regarding two of the seats have resulted, per state statute, for the filing deadline to be extended to Friday, January 5 at 5:00 p.m. City Clerk Heather Boehm, who was recently appointed to the position after the resignation of Karri Anderberg, indicated that extension is effective for the At large position as well as for Aldermanic District 4.

At large seat

The only person to have completed the nomination process is Greg Majkrzak, 1294 Tower Hill Pass. Majkrzak previously served on the council in a district position.

Boehm indicates that Keith Staebler has filed a Declaration of Candidacy statement but has not yet submitted the required nomination papers.

The At large seat was held by the late James D. Allen, who passed away on December 23. The filing deadline was extended for this seat due to that occurrence.

Aldermanic District 2

Orin Smith, 901 W. Starin Rd., #502A, is the only person who has filed for this seat, for which there is no filing extension.

This seat is being vacated by Lukas Schreiber, a UW-W ’23 graduate who chose not to run for re-election.

Aldermanic District 4

Brian Schanen, 441 S. Buckingham Blvd., is the only person to have filed for this seat.

This seat is currently held by Jill Gerber, who did not file a Noncandidacy Statement nor a Declaration of Candidacy. The filing deadline was consequently extended except for the incumbent.

How to file

Persons who may be interested in running for the At large or District 4 seat may find information about the process here. Candidacy and nomination papers must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Friday, January 5. Signatures must be obtained from at least 25 people for a district seat or 50 persons for the At large seat. Forms can be printed off at www.elections.wi.gov or picked up and returned to the City of Whitewater Clerk’s office, 312 W Whitewater St. The Declaration of Candidacy may be found here. The Nomination Paper may be found here. In case of questions, the phone number for the Clerk’s office is 262-473-0102.

Since John’s Disposal was closed on New Year’s Day, all routes will be delayed by one day. The city routes will be picked up on Friday, January 5.

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

City Manager John Weidl announced on January 2 that in a letter to the city clerk dated December 27, David Stone resigned immediately from the Common Council, due to an “emergency situation.” Stone has represented District 1 since last April. Per a Common Council policy that was adopted in 2012, at its next meeting on January 16 the council is expected to ask the city clerk to advertise for applicants for the vacant position, while setting a deadline for such applications to be received. The council would then interview the applicants in an open meeting, and may decide to appoint a new council member by a vote of the members. Per state statute 17.23(1)(am), such a member could serve until the term expires in April, 2025, or until a special election is held. It might be expected that if such an election was called, it would likely be scheduled coinciding with the fall primary or general election, with the term still ending in April, 2025.

With the passing in December of Jim Allen, the Common Council now has two vacancies in its seven seats. The members are expected to consider advertising for applicants to fill Allen’s at large seat at the January 16 meeting. If appointed, such an individual would only serve until April 16, since that seat’s term expires on that date. For the present, if more than one member of the council is absent at a meeting, the lack of a quorum will prevent any action from taking place.

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

Last year the Whitewater Unified School District had twelve candidates on the ballot for three School Board seats, which resulted in a February primary to reduce the field to six candidates. Per Jaclyn Tueting, school board secretary, this year only three individuals filed as candidates for one of the two open seats on the board by the January 2 deadline, so no primary will be needed. The election will be held on April 2. The candidates are:

Larry Kachel (incumbent), 457 S. Buckingham Blvd.
Jeff Tortomasi, 658 Waters Edge Dr.
Maryann Zimmerman (incumbent), W7582 R and W Townline Rd.

Steve Watson writes,
“The end of 2023
Has finally come.
Here’s some photos, 
Just for fun. 
Happy New Year,
Everyone.”

Our thanks to Steve Watson for this beautiful variety of photos.

— 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. Thanks for thinking about this!

How have you handled the holidays?

Caregiver GPS

Learn how to navigate the journey of family caregiving

We invite you to join the Aging and Disability Resource Centers of Rock and Dane Counties for a year-long, virtual, family caregiver education series. Webinars will be offered the 3^rd Thursday of each month from Noon – 1 p.m. beginning January 18, 2024. The class is free of charge and open to anyone in Wisconsin. Registration is required to obtain the link. Attend all 12 sessions or just those that are of interest to you.

Family caregivers will learn from experts about topics including: dementia information; communication skills for dementia caregivers; legal, financial and crisis planning; home safety; assistive devices; having difficult conversations; resource connections; travel planning as a caregiver and enjoying your holidays. Each session will allow for question-and-answer time.

For a schedule of topics, more information or to register for the link, please contact Rock County Dementia Care Specialist, Karen Tennyson at 608/741-3615 or karen.tennyson@co.rock.wi.us

Sherry Stanek shared this beautiful photo she took of the moon on Tuesday, December 26.

Treehugger.com provides the following explanation of this ring around the moon: “Also known as lunar halos, these bright white rings of light can appear anytime during the lunar calendar and any time of the year, especially in winter. But if you hope to see one, you’ll want to disregard the number one rule of stargazing: not to stargaze in cloudy weather. Lunar halos are actually caused by thin, wispy, cirrus and cirrostratus clouds and the refraction and reflection of moonlight by their ice crystals.

Similar to rainbows, lunar halos form when light interacts with water suspended in mid-air. That water is frozen and found in cirrus and cirrostratus clouds—veil-like clouds that float 20,000 plus feet (6 km) above our heads where temperatures are too gelid to remain liquid water….As moonlight shines through the cirrus clouds, it strikes the cloud’s millions of tiny ice crystals and refracts, or bends and changes direction, as it enters each. The light then refracts again as it exits a crystal’s other side. 

…like rainbows, halos around the moon (or sun) are personal. Every observer sees their own particular halo made by their own particular ice crystals, which are different from the ice crystals creating the halo observed by the person standing next to you. The sight varies from person to person depending on factors such as personal height and the elevation at the spot where you stand.”

Our thanks to Sherry Stanek for sharing this beautiful and unusual sight.

— 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. Thanks for thinking about this!

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

Per state law, candidates for Common Council and School Board would normally be required to file their nomination papers by Tuesday, January 2, 2024 at 5 p.m. This time there is a filing extension until Friday, January 5 at 5 p.m. for one or two of the Common Council seats.

The following three seats on the Common Council will be up for election on April 2, 2024.

Aldermanic District 2 (Wards 9 & 10) – Currently held by Lukas Schreiber, a UW-W ’23 graduate who has filed a certificate of noncandidacy.

Orin Smith, 901 W. Starin Rd., #502A, has filed nomination papers for District 2.

Aldermanic District 4 (Wards 6, 7 & 8) – Currently held by Jill Gerber, who had not filed a certificate of noncandidacy by the December 21 deadline. The Banner has not received a reply from its inquiry on that date as to whether Gerber intended to run for re-election. The Gazette indicated on December 31 that Gerber had told them that she “did not have an answer” as to whether she was running again. It is possible that there will be a 72-hour extension for filing for this position. The Banner will seek to clarify this matter on Tuesday morning.

Brian Schanen, 441 S. Buckingham Blvd., has submitted nomination papers for District 4.

Council Member at Large – Was held by the late James D. Allen, who passed away unexpectedly on December 23. See this article.

Greg Majkrzak, 1294 Tower Hill Pass, has submitted nomination papers for the at large seat. Majkrzak previously served on the council in a district position.

The Jefferson County Daily Union indicates that Keith Staebler is also running for the at large seat. The Daily Union also states that due to the passing of James Allen the deadline for candidacy filing will be extended to Friday, January 5 at 5 p.m.

Persons who may be interested in running for a Common Council seat may find information about the process here. Nomination papers must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, January 2 unless the deadline is extended. Signatures must be obtained from at least 25 people for a district seat or 50 persons for the at large seat. If there are more than two candidates for any seat, a primary will be held on February 20.

The following two seats on the Whitewater Unified School District School Board will be up for election on April 2, 2024. The Whitewater Banner did not receive a response regarding candidate status from the District office on December 20, the last day the office was open before winter break. If there are more than four candidates, a primary will be held on February 20. The seats are currently held by the following:

Larry Kachel, who indicated to The Whitewater Banner that he will be running for re-election.

Maryann Zimmerman, who indicated to The Whitewater Banner that she will be running for re-election.

Persons who may be interested in running for a School Board seat may find information about the process here. Nomination signatures are not required, and the paperwork may be completed in a matter of minutes. Candidacy papers must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, January 2. The district office is closed for winter break until January 2 at 7:30 a.m.

Wishing you health and happiness in the new year! It’s a leap year.