News

Editor’s note: The following press release was received from Walworth County.

Walworth County Register of Deeds Michele Jacobs will serve as the new Clerk of Circuit Court, replacing Kristina Secord who announced her resignation on November 14. Jacobs will assume her new role on December 11. [She will be filling Secord’s unexpired term until January, 2027. Secord was just elected to a four year term in November, 2022.]

Per State Statute, the judges of a county appoint a new Clerk of Court if that person leaves the office prior to the
end of their term. Jacobs was appointed to the position on November 21 by Walworth County Judges
David Reddy, Phillip Koss, Kristine Drettwan, and Daniel Johnson.

“I look forward to assuming my new role as Clerk of Circuit Court and continuing to serve Walworth County,”
says Michele Jacobs. “I will greatly miss my wonderful team in the Register of Deeds office. But I know they
will continue to serve Walworth County residents with the utmost professionalism.”

Jacobs was elected as Register of Deeds in 2020. Prior to taking office, she worked in the Clerk of Court’s
office for 14 years and in the office of Walworth County Corporation Counsel.

During her tenure, Jacobs launched a new land notification service to help protect property owners from
property fraud. She also increased efficiencies within the office and prioritized the digital preservation of
historical records, scanning indexes to allow them to be available online in the future.

Per statute, Jacobs has until December 11 to submit her resignation to the Walworth County Sheriff. Upon
receipt, her resignation will be forwarded to the Governor for a decision regarding how to fill the impending
register of deeds vacancy.

Exciting opportunity!

We are hiring a part-time Gallery Manager! If you’re passionate about the arts, organized, and have project management skills, apply by Dec 1.

 Requirements:

2 years in admin/project coordination, arts/nonprofit experience
Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Mailchimp, Instagram, and Facebook.

 Essential skills:

Passion for the arts, strong project management, teamwork, communication, and public speaking.

 Preferred skills:

Event planning, exhibition design, familiarity with Wisconsin’s cultural landscape, and basic graphic design.

 Responsibilities include:

Admin tasks, volunteer coordination, exhibition planning, event facilitation, and marketing.
Apply with a resume and cover letter to waa.franachen@gmail.com and to learn more visit: https://shorturl.at/astMQ

#WAA | #ArtsOpportunity | #ApplyToday

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Saturday, November 25th, beginning at 10 a.m. – come shop small at Cravath Lakefront Park!

This FREE event will feature more than 40 local, small businesses that you can support on Small Business Saturday. Enjoy food trucks, sweet treats, live music, pictures with Santa and holiday shopping.

Lovers of all things holidays! Enjoy a Small Business Saturday Shop Small Market at Cravath Lakefront Park to help jumpstart your holiday shopping with unique gifts from local vendors and businesses.

Listen to live music, warm up at Blitzen’s Bonfire, let the kiddos write a letter to Santa and do crafts in the Little Elves Workshop & Play Area, eat good food from food trucks, enjoy hot cocoa, mulled wine, or Second Salem beer in the Gumdrop Glögg Garden, and ring in the holiday season with photos with Santa! Get your name on the list for a carriage ride around downtown!

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.: Vendor Market, Live Music, Little Elves Workshop & Play Area, Food, beer, & wine
11 a.m. – 1p.m.: Meet & Greet and Photos with Santa!
11 a.m. – 2 p.m.: Carriage rides around downtown

This is a FREE, family-friendly event. Learn more: www.whitewaterchamber.com/shop-small-holiday-market/

Featured Vendors:
“Crafts By Rita”
2 Crafty Grandma’s
BaristaCats Cafe
Boy Scout 264
BTHREE.CO boutique
Clark Family Mushrooms
CrafteNook
Darling Lilly Designs
ElevateYourVibez
Ellie Joe Design Co
Finches Landing
Front Yard Homestead Soap
Good Times Clay Co
Grandma Connie’s/caricatures by bok
H & S Jewelry Co.
Heathers Tailoring and Custom Sewing
Just Add Wine Candle Co.
Kettle Moraine Honey
Kit’s Knits
Koi Vintage
Kristies Creative Kitchen
Lady V’s Fun Snow Cones and Snacks
LevelUpWellness.USANA.com
Lucky21woodworks
Lyn Louise Crafting
Lynette’s – Mary Kay
Magnificent Manis In Minutes (Color Street)
Midwest Nest Handmade
Nordskov Coffee
Old School Farmstead
Owl Be There
PaperPie (formerly Usborne Books & More )
Restoration Candle Company
Revamp Nutrition
Rockin Roxies Pupcakes & More
Sarah’s Sweet Treats
Scentsy
SJWHandmade
SpoookyNook
Stephani’s Spot
Studio 84
TDS Telecom
The Food Truck
Universal Windows Direct
Yazmine Ordaz
Whitewater Grocery Co.
Best Taste

Participating Businesses Citywide:
Steve-Os
The Book Teller
Dale’s Bootery
Associated Bank
Whitewater Cinemas
First Citizens State Bank
Fort Community Credit Union
Center Street Cafe 

More details here: https://facebook.com/events/s/whitewaters-shop-small-holiday/962676494704197/?mibextid=Gg3lNB

Editor’s Note: The following was provided by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Department of Music.

Get into the holiday spirit with UW-Whitewater Department of Music’s Gala Holiday Concert on Saturday, Dec. 2 in Young Auditorium. The air is filled with music and excitement as ensembles play throughout the building before the performance, during intermission, and immediately following the large concert. The Gala is an annual tradition that features nearly every student ensemble in the Department of Music. All profits from this event support Department of Music Scholarships. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased in advance at tickets.uww.edu. You can also visit Ticket Services or call 262-472-2222 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Ticket Services is located in the Greenhill Center of the Arts, 950 W. Main St., Whitewater, WI. 

Tickets for the general public are $30; $25 for individuals over 65 and $20 for under 18 years of age. Tickets purchased at the event will include an additional $2.00 surcharge. In addition to ticket sales, we welcome gifts through our Angel donation program. Gifts can be made online at uww.edu/coac/gala-benefit-concert. Alternatively, checks made out to the UW-Whitewater Foundation can be sent to Gala Holiday Concert, 950 W. Main Street, CA2031, Whitewater, WI 53190.  

On the night of Dec. 2, small ensembles will begin performing at 6:45 p.m. throughout the Young Auditorium and in the atrium of the Greenhill Center of the Arts. The first half of the concert begins at 7:30 p.m. and will include performances by the Brass Ensemble, Vocal Jazz, Jazz Ensemble and Symphonic Wind Ensemble. During intermission, various smaller ensembles will perform throughout Young Auditorium. The second half of the concert will feature the Chamber Singers, Percussion Ensemble, Whitewater Symphony Orchestra, Harmonia and Concert Choir. In addition to the festive music, a limited number of commemorative ornaments will be available for purchase as supplies last.   

Glenn Hayes, Interim Department Chair for the Department of Music, will be hosting the event. “Our Holiday Gala concert is a joyous event for the entire family! We present a wide array of styles and ensembles. Literally, there is something for everyone! Do not miss the chance for outstanding live music on December 2nd,” said Hayes. 

Come get into the holiday spirit and support the UW-Whitewater music students at 6:45 p.m. on Dec. 2. The main concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in Young Auditorium located at 930 W. Main St., Whitewater, Wisconsin 53190. Tickets are available at tickets.uww.edu or by calling 262-472-2222. All profits benefit the Department of Music student scholarship fund. For more information or to become a Gala Angel by donating to the Department of Music student scholarship fund, visit uww.edu/coac/gala-benefit-concert. 

The College of Arts and Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater offers rigorous programs in music, theatre, dance, and the visual arts; internships, pre-professional opportunities in journalism, advertising, and applied communication, and innovative interdisciplinary studies. The mission of the College of Arts and Communication is to cultivate and inspire creativity, diversity, expression, inquiry and integrity through embodied education in the fine performing and communicative arts and professions. For more information visit uww.edu/coac. 

Editor’s Note: The following was provided by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Join internationally renowned author Erik Larson as he discusses his bestselling book  “The Devil in the White City” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 29, at Young Auditorium on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater campus. The event is free and open to the public, and a live-streaming option is available. 

Larson will be focusing on the leadership needed to create the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair even as evil loomed in the underbelly of the city in the form of H.H. Holmes, America’s first serial killer. The book won an Edgar Award for best fact-crime writing, and was a finalist for a National Book Award. 

The event is presented by the Tommy Thompson Center on Public Leadership and co-sponsored by UW-Whitewater and the Whitewater Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the national History Honors Society

As part of his visit to UW-Whitewater, Larson will be the keynote speaker at the 39th annual Creative Writing Festival on campus on Thursday, Nov. 30. The festival allows more than 500 high school students the opportunity to connect with peers and writing professionals and attend workshops, keynote speeches and competitions in a college setting.

Order online https://www.avon.com/fundraiser/studio84whitewater?rep=akokan

Editor’s note: We are grateful for you, our reader, and wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. We’d also like to express our appreciation to the many individuals and organizations that provide event announcements, Readers Share submissions, obituaries, etc. for us to share with the greater Whitewater community.

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Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Liberia. It began as a day of giving thanks for the blessings of the harvest and of the preceding year. Similarly named festival holidays occur in Germany and Japan. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and around the same part of the year in other places. Although Thanksgiving has historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, it has long been celebrated as a secular holiday as well.

Prayers of thanks and special thanksgiving ceremonies are common among most religions after harvests and at other times of the year. The Thanksgiving holiday’s history in North America is rooted in English traditions dating from the Protestant Reformation. It also has aspects of a harvest festival, even though the harvest in New England occurs well before the late-November date on which the modern Thanksgiving holiday is celebrated.

[The above information is from Wikipedia.]

The Banner appreciates having permission to use the image on the homepage by Sue Junky from Pixabay.

Editor’s Note: The following was provided by Deb Weberpal.

For November National Caregivers Month, the Whitewater Dementia Friendly Community Initiative recognized local caregivers with gift cards, flowers and cards of thanks. Pictured are some of the caregivers from Rockin’ Respite.

It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society. This week it is Flashback Friday on a Thursday as we use this opportunity to offer everyone a Happy Thanksgiving via one of the penny postcards in our collection. We hope you are all having a wonderful holiday.

Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society.