News

Seniors in the Park Presents “I’m Still Here”

“I’m Still Here”

Wednesday, May 21, 1 pm

(Drama/History) Rated PG-13; 2 hours, 17 minutes (2025).

Oscar Winner: Best International Film.

(Languages: Portuguese, French; shown with English subtitles). 

In 1971, A military dictatorship in Brazil reaches its height. The Paiva Family, Rubens, Eunice and their five children, live in a beach house in Rio. One day, Rubens, a congressman and outspoken critic of Brazil’s newly instituted dictatorship, is taken in for questioning… and does not return. Eunice is forced to reinvent herself and chart a new course for her family. A devastating, true story.

Seniors in the Park is located in Starin Park, 504 W. Starin Road. Although there is no charge to attend, regular participants are encouraged to join Seniors in the Park. The annual fee for residents of the Whitewater Unified School District is $10 and non-residents is $15. The funds support about half of the cost of our front desk staff person for 15 hours per week. The rest comes our of our fundraising monies. If you cannot afford the fee, we have a fund that will cover it for you. Fees are accepted at the Starin Park Community Building or online at https://schedulesplus.com/wwtr/kiosk/

City-wide Garage Sales Saturday [Update: FELC Church Rummage Sale]

Though the city-wide garage sales this Thursday to Sunday is an unofficial event advertised in the Daily Jefferson County Union, there will indeed be many residents participating as sellers and buyers. The Banner publishes garage sale listings free of charge every Wednesday evening.

East side

HUGE sale. LWV Whitewater Area fundraiser. 369 Lakeview Dr, Whitewater. Friday and Sat, May 16 and 17th, 8am-3pm. LOTS of miscellaneous..

Several family rummage sale May 15th (8-4), 16th (8-4) and 17th (8-1).  Address is 736 E Chicago St, Whitewater.   Located on corner of Chicago and Hazel, garage located on Hazel St.   Household items, paint, stains, clothes, and more!!  Wedding decor for sale, too! Still finding more stuff!!!

Downtown

FELC Thrift Shoppe
123 S. Church St. Whitewater WI
In store and parking lot behind building
Thursday May 15th 10 am till 2 pm
Friday May 16th 8:30 am till 4 pm
Saturday May 17th 8:30 am till 2 pm

West side

Rummage sale
Friday, Saturday and Sunday
May 16th, 17th and 18th  8am-4pm
 1236 Tower Hill Pass, Whitewater
Household items, bedding, name brand clothes, jackets, coach hand bags and accessories, grace adele handbags and accessories, Lia Sophia jewelry, holiday items

Friday and Saturday, May 16th-17th from 7:30 am – 3:30 pm or inclement weather. 234 S. Pleasant St. Large quantity of men’s clothes mostly Large sized Eagle, Old Navy, Hollister, sporting; jeans/pants/shorts waist 31 length 32/34. Young women’s clothes and scrubs, Small/Small Petite. Clothes mostly under $3.  Various household items, paintball, air soft items, video games for Xbox One and Xbox 360, gaming remote, gaming keyboard, headset, double monitors, TV mount for a 51 inch or smaller tv, desk and desk chair, and portable Blackstone.  Items priced to sell or will consider offers.

Garage sale
1145 W South St, Whitewater, WI 53190
5/15 8 am-4 pm, 5/16 8 am to 4 pm, 5/17 8 am to 12 pm
Huge sale Women’s clothing – sizes junior, misses and plus. Some male clothing. Pants, jeans, prom dresses, homecoming dresses, shorts, athletic wear, sweaters and tops. Household items and bedding. American Girl dolls NIB.

Brantmeier Wins NCAA Elite 90 Award

By: Matt Bowers
https://goheels.com/news/2025/5/14/womens-tennis-brantmeier-wins-ncaa-elite-90-award

University of North Carolina junior Reese Brantmeier is the recipient of the NCAA Elite 90 award for the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championship, the NCAA announced today.

Brantmeier, double-majoring in exercise and sport science and studio art, currently carries a 3.956 GPA. She was presented with the award on Wednesday night in Waco, Texas.

The Whitewater, Wis., native enters Thursday NCAA quarterfinal match versus LSU ranked No. 3 in the nation in singles and No. 2 nationally in doubles with Alanis Hamilton. She was voted ACC Player of the Year and ACC Championship Most Valuable Player last month.

The Elite 90 award honors the exceptional achievements of student-athletes. This prestigious accolade is given to those who have not only excelled at a national championship level in their sport but have also achieved the highest academic standards among their peers. The Elite 90 is proudly awarded to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 90 championships.

Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above academically who have participated in a sport for at least two years with their school. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed.

For more information on the Elite 90 award winners, go to www.ncaa.org/elite90.

From Chapelboro.com, this update on Thursday’s games:

The No. 5 Tar Heels swept the doubles competition, with Carson Tanguilig and Susanna Maltby winning 6-3 on No. 2 court, while Brantmeier and Alanis Hamilton won in a tiebreaker, 7-6, on No. 1 court to clinch the doubles point in favor of UNC. Thea Rabman and Tatum Evans finished off a 7-5 win on No. 3 court as Brantmeier and Hamilton’s match was concluding.

The match took a somber turn in singles, as Brantmeier was forced to retire from her match after injuring her knee while serving and had to be helped off the court. Brantmeier missed much of the 2024 spring season with a meniscus injury in the same knee. The retirement gave LSU its first point of the match.

The rest of the Tar Heels appeared unfazed in singles, though, as Tanguilig rolled on No. 5 court with a 6-1, 6-1 win against the Tigers’ Kinaa Graham. LSU tied the match again with a win on No. 4, but straight-set victories from Claire Hill (6-4, 6-3 on No. 6) and Evans (6-1, 6-2 on No. 3) clinched the match in favor of Carolina.

With the win, UNC is now 27-4 and has won 12 straight matches. Carolina now advances to the national semifinals to face No. 1 overall seed Georgia Saturday morning at 11 a.m. Eastern. The Tar Heels have already defeated the Bulldogs once this season, winning 4-3 in Athens on February 1.

#FlashbackFriday with the Historical Society: Roger Anderson’s peonies


It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society. This week’s photo is borrowed from Roger Anderson, internationally-known peony breeder. It is from 1986 and shows the new yellow intersectional peony developed by Roger. This peony was an innovation in color and in form. Roger was born and raised in Whitewater and developed his innovative peonies in nearby Fort Atkinson.

Join us this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at the Cravath Lakefront Center for the Historical Society’s Spring program, “Roger Anderson and his Peonies.”

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

(photo courtesy of Roger Anderson)

The Conservancy Announces Its ’25 Bird Festival – Sat.

Geneva Lake Conservancy, with its partner Lakeland Audubon Society, is pleased to announce its fourth biennial Kettle Moraine Bird Festival on Saturday, May 17 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Bromley Woods, W5798 Greening Road in Whitewater.
Participants can expect to see a variety of warblers as well as many other forest interior birds.

Bromley Woods is the Conservancy’s largest public preserve and features an oak woodland, savanna, and kettle pond, which provide habitat for many declining bird populations. Bird walks will be offered at 8, 9 and 10 AM. Be sure to bring your cameras and binoculars!

After the last bird walk, there will be an official opening of the last Bromley purchase of 21 acres, where the Conservancy’s Chair and a member of the Bromley family will speak. This will be open to the public. A ticketed lunch will be available after the Bromley opening with an avian presentation by Beth Martin, lead of the Bald Eagle Nest Watch Program.

The event is open to the public and registration is limited. The bird walk is $5 and the walk with lunch and presentation is $30. To register go to https://www.genevalakeconservancy.org/ [click on “events”] or call 262-275-5700.
Editor’s note: The site indicates that reservations should be made by May 14. A call to confirm availability might be wise.

The Geneva Lake Conservancy is an accredited land trust that has protected over 3,500 acres of open land in Walworth County. Formed in 1977, it offers five public nature preserves for hiking and other recreational activities as well as other programs and educational activities for children and adults, including its Conservation@Home program. For more information, go to GenevaLakeConservancy.org.

Lincoln Elementary School Helmet Distribution

Mr. Smith

Lincoln Elementary School’s Family Teacher Partnership donated a helmet to every student who wanted one! A total of 115 helmets were distributed this year!

We take bike safety very seriously, even Mr. Smith, our P.E. teacher, demonstrates the importance of helmet safety while teaching a roller blading unit.

As the warm weather approaches, we ask that you watch for all the cyclists, children, and people! Be safe and have fun!

Warmly,
Lincoln Elementary Family Teacher Partnership

Severe Thunderstorms Expected 4-7 p.m. Thursday

Key points for the Whitewater area: We are in the area that has a higher risk for damaging winds, damaging hail, and tornadoes. The peak intensity is expected between 4-7 p.m. on Thursday.

According to the National Weather Service Milwaukee/Sullivan Weather Forecast Office, “There continues to be a risk for severe thunderstorms across most of southern Wisconsin on Thursday, with a risk for very large hail, tornadoes, and high winds.  Initial storm development is expected between 2 PM and 4 PM, with peak intensity and storm coverage between 4 PM and 7 PM.  Storms are expected to move east of the area after 8 PM. 

Uncertainty remains regarding how south severe thunderstorms develop on Thursday, with the higher storm coverage expected north of the US Highway 18 corridor.  While coverage may be more sparse south of this area, these more isolated storms may be more intense.

An Enduring Teacher-Student Relationship

Don Deal (L) and Griffin James after a performance in Portage

By Marcia James

You already have read the article about the Madison Brass Band performing at Whitewater High School’s Auditorium this Saturday night at 7 p.m.  But the story doesn’t end there.  In the band are Dr. Don Deal and his former student, Griffin James, a Whitewater High School graduate–1999.

Griffin plays euphonium, Don’s instrument, and when Griffin was a student in the Whitewater School District, he was blessed with having many fine music instructors including Christine Hayes, John Tuinstra, and Don Deal.

Don received his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where his mentor was John Stevens, who later became Griffin’s major professor and father-in-law!

Don and Griffin have collaborated on several projects.  For instance, when Griffin is unavailable to lead his polka band, Don substitutes.  

Griffin is the high school band director for the Baraboo School District.  He is also the UW-Sauk County, Platteville, and Baraboo Community Band Director.  His wife, the former Katie Stevens, is the choir director for the Baraboo School District.

Don and Griffin hope to see you this Saturday!