News

From left: Nelson Raisbeck and Curtis Hall of TDS, Laura Masbruch, Anna Jensen of TDS, Silvana del Val, Greg Stewart

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

The entire student body, teachers and staff at Whitewater High School (WHS) were assembled in the gym on Wednesday, October 23 at 10:15 a.m. for an unannounced purpose. Kate McNulty opened the session by celebrating that the student body had thus far exceeded the goal for attendance, with over 3/4 of the students being present 98% of the time or greater. McNulty then introduced Anna Jensen of TDS Telecom, who announced that the company had reviewed over 40 nominations from around the state for their WI Most Valuable Educator Award, which honors a person working in schools and making a difference in the lives of students and their community. TDS had chosen a WHS teacher, namely Laura Masbruch for the recognition. Masbruch, who was obviously surprised, received hearty applause as she joined Jensen and the two teachers who had nominated her.

Multilingual teacher Silvana del Val, who told The Whitewater Banner that she’s originally from Argentina, shared the following reasons why she nominated Masbruch, who’s been with the school since 1993 and teaches computer science, math, and robotics.

“To me, Ms. Masbruch, Laura, is the epitome of an exceptional teacher. I have the privilege to have been her co-teacher in Pre-Algebra since 2023. During this time, she has always brought to the table innovative approaches to make her classes more appealing, more meaningful for her students. She uses visuals, manipulatives, charts, videos, tables, chants and whatever resource you can imagine to engage her students. This unique feature makes her perfect when it comes to ML [multilingual learner] students, as she naturally offers multiple scaffolding strategies that aid emerging bilinguals in their understanding of new concepts.

Her class notes were amazing last year; she made sure they were translated into Spanish from beginning to end but this year, they are even better! She has incorporated most of the techniques the ML department included in their professional development session in August. As for instructional time, she paces herself when speaking in English and makes a conscientious effort to make herself understood to ALL her students by enunciating with intention and avoiding idioms or proverbs that would only mislead non-native speakers of English. Seeing our students’ eager and frequent participation today speaks volumes of the amazing job Laura has been doing since day 1. Our learners have become more autonomous, enthusiastic and certainly less apprehensive of the big math monster!

She works so hard for her students and dedicates more time to them than anyone I know. Apart from her Pre-Algebra class, she devotes tons of her personal time to the growth of the robotics team, Ferradermis, so much so that last school year, they made it to the national championship in Texas.

In conclusion, as a teacher, Ms. Masbruch is impeccable. As a co-teacher, she is empowering, capacitating, enabling. And most important of all, as a human being, she is simply unique.”

Social Studies teacher Greg Stewart, the other nominator, focused his remarks on Masbruch’s much appreciated many efforts to keep the community informed of athletic and other events. She maintains the school’s Facebook page and also regularly posts news to The Whitewater Banner.

Masbruch, who was described as a big Packers fan, received a Green Bay Packers prize package that includes two tickets to the January 5 game against Chicago, as well as the opportunity to take a group of students to Lambeau Field to tour the stadium and meet with a team alum.

“We’re proud to honor our educators who work tirelessly every single day to help students achieve and make our communities a better place. Laura is an incredible teacher who for years has made a deep impact on students and her fellow educators. We were excited to shine a spotlight on her with the Wisconsin Most Valuable Educator Award,” said Anna Jensen, TDS associate manager of Field Marketing, who presented her with the award.

Madison-based TDS has served Wisconsin for 55 years. The company is continuing construction on a high-speed, all-fiber internet network in Whitewater, with work ongoing to expand to more neighborhoods. TDS is also building in several other Wisconsin communities including Janesville, Eau Claire, Appleton, and Green Bay. For more information, visit TDSFiber.com.

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

Two UW-Whitewater professors, Eric Compas and James Hartwick, together with the Greater Whitewater Committee, have been challenging the state legislature to delve into a decades-old question: why do some of the universities, including UW-W, receive much lower state General Purpose Revenue (GPR) funding on a per student basis than others in the system? The answer from system personnel has never been much clearer than, “It’s complicated.” The Legislative Council Study Committee on the Future of the University of Wisconsin System heard a presentation on the subject by Dr. Compas on September 26, and a letter from Jeffrey Knight, President & CEO of the Greater Whitewater Committee is on the committee’s agenda for their October 24 meeting.

According to Knight’s letter, “In fiscal year 2024, UW-W received approximately half the system average distribution which translates into a $26 million shortfall [which would be an 11% increase in the total budget.] As a result, over the past 10 years, relative to the average GPR distribution per student, UW-W received $238 less than they should have been allocated. This leaves fewer resources to recruit and retain quality faculty, develop innovative programs, provide competitive scholarships, and properly market all that UW-W has to offer.” Knight points out that the inequitable funding not only affects the university, but the community and surrounding areas as well.

The letter continues, “UW-W has repeatedly demonstrated that it responsibly uses the limited state resources it is allocated. Despite the headwinds they face from the UW System funding model, UWW is growing, this year having its largest enrollment in four years, and continues to offer exceptional value to its students and to the state.” After providing a lengthy list of achievements and positive characteristics of the university, Knight concludes, “We are requesting that the Study Committee recommend an end to the current GPR allocation method and req2uest that the Board of Regents establish a fair and transparent GPT distribution formula, with a goal of reaching a much more equitable distribution of GPR per student within 5-10 years. Additionally, we request that the study committee recommend the establishment of a 3-5 year mandatory review and update of a new transparent GPR formula.”

Even if UW-W received a more equitable “piece of the GPR pie,” the school would still undoubtedly not compare with respect to state funding versus the average university in other states. In 2023 the Wisconsin Policy Forum found that the UW System’s state funding ranked nationally in 43rd place for 4-year campuses. According to a FOX11 News report, “Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman says the bigger issue is the need for more funding to the system as a whole. ‘I appreciate the concerns that Green Bay has, I appreciate the concerns that Whitewater has. It’s just difficult in the context of trying to reallocate a dwindling pie to our universities,’ said Rothman.”

Most states have a transparent methodology for allocating state funds to their universities. Essentially all that is known about the Wisconsin formula is that it was developed using undisclosed criteria in the 70’s, and as the state has provided increased funding to the system, for the most part the universities have received identical percentage funding increases. The interesting graphs below were shown by professors Compas and Hartwick at the Greater Whitewater Committee’s October 10 meeting.

Women of the ELCA – FIRST ENGLISH LUTHERAN CHURCH

We are looking for bidders on our annual silent auction, which ends on October 31.

Please click the link below to view the 43 items. If you wish to bid you will need to get authorization by entering your name and email address after clicking on “request access to participate” near the top of the screen.

https://www.32auctions.com/FELC2024SilentAuction

Wave to CWA’s riders!

Peggy Van Scotter writes, “As a cyclist pilot for Walworth County’s Cycling Without Age (CWA) program for several years, I was blessed to pilot for the first time the residents of Mulberry Glen & its Memory Care in Whitewater. Through this volunteerism, one learns about generosity & kindness, slowness, storytelling, relationships, and aging. 

It starts with the generous act of taking one or two elderly or less-abled people out on a bicycle ride. It’s a simple act that everyone can do. Slowness allows you to sense the environment, be present in the moment and allows people you meet along the way to be curious and gain knowledge about CWA because you make time to stop, talk, or wave hello. Older adults have so many stories that will be forgotten if we don’t reach out and listen to them. So, stories are told and heard as we ride, and we also document these stories when we share with others or on social media. These rides are also about creating new relationships: between generations, among older adults, between pilots and passengers, caregivers and family members.  Relationships build trust, happiness and quality of life. Life unfolds at all ages, young and old, and can be thrilling, fun, sad, beautiful and meaningful.

Cycling Without Age is about letting people age in a positive context – fully aware of the opportunities that lie ahead when interacting in our local community. One of the Glen riders is blind and was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She recalls riding a bicycle most of her life and tells me now how much she loves the wind in her face and the smell in the air. It is a gift to bring many seniors out into nature and to enjoy the community they belong to. If you are interested in volunteering one morning or afternoon a month to give these lovely, kind people more than a bicycle ride, please reach out to dfcwalworth@gmail.com

Cycling Without Age was invented in 2012 in Copenhagen, Denmark. There are active chapters in 39+ countries, 4900+ trishaws, 39,000+ trained cyclist pilots, with 3+ million rides and 650,000+ people served. Wisconsin has the most CWA programs in the United States (54) and Walworth County is one of the best!”

Above: Six photos of Mulberry Glen/Memory Care residents 2024

Our thanks to Peggy Van Scotter for sharing this inspiring story.

— 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!

UNWANTED Prescription Drug Take-Back Event – October 26

Wisconsin will host its next Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on October 26! The City of Jefferson Police Department along with the Jefferson County Solid Waste Program will be hosting a special collection event at Walmart in Jefferson (1520 S Main St) on Saturday, October 26 from 10-2 p.m. Jefferson County residents are encouraged to bring their unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medications for proper disposal! The Jefferson County Drug Free Coalition will also be on hand to provide resources!

What to Bring: Prescription (controlled and non-controlled) and over-the-counter medications, ointments, patches, non-aerosol sprays, inhalers, creams, vials and pet medications. Solid, non-liquid medication(s) should be combined into a sealable, plastic bag; they do not need to be in their original pill bottles. Blister packages are acceptable without the medications being removed. Liquids, creams and sprays must be in their original packaging. Liquids, creams and sprays without the original packaging will not be accepted.

Do Not Bring: Illegal drugs, needles/sharps, aerosol cans, bio-hazardous materials (anything containing a bodily fluid or blood), mercury thermometers, personal care products (shampoo, soaps, lotions, sunscreens, etc.), household hazardous waste (paint, pesticides, oil, gas).

The goal of the event is to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposal of unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medications, while also educating the public about the potential for abuse of these medications. Unused prescription medications in homes create a public health and safety concern because they can be accidentally ingested, stolen, misused, and abused.  

Unused or expired medicine should never be flushed or poured down the drain. Removing potentially dangerous pharmaceutical substances from our medicine cabinets helps to prevent them from going into our water supply.

All waste pharmaceuticals collected at this event must be generated by a household. If you have any questions regarding this event, please feel free to contact Kim at 920-674-7430 or kimb@jeffersoncountywi.gov

Editor’s notes:

• There is a medication disposal receptacle in the Fremont Street foyer of the Municipal Building. However, due to a relatively recent change the only medications that may be deposited there are pills. In order to dispose of other types of medication (inhalers, liquids, sprays, ointments or lotions) at the city, an appointment must be made with a property custodian by calling 262-473-0555 option 1 (Monday-Friday 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.).
• Although it is indicated that the October 26 event is for Jefferson County residents, that county routinely allows participation in its events for any resident of the City of Whitewater, regardless of their county of residence.
• Should a resident have any unexpired medications that are either in blister packs or manufacturer containers that are still sealed, these may be donated for distribution to clients of some of the free clinics. The Whitewater Banner will research this matter further and hopes to provide an update in the near future.

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The Wisconsin Policy Forum presented its 2024 Salute to Local Government Award Winners on October 9, stating, “The 32nd Annual Salute celebrates the benefits that public sector ingenuity and excellence bring to taxpayers and communities throughout Wisconsin. Award categories recognize local governments and school districts for innovative problem-solving, advancing racial equity, and public-private cooperation, as well as individuals in the public sector for excellence, leaders of the future, and lifetime achievement.”

Whitewater’s Community ESL Program was awarded the following recognition.

Editor’s note: This press release was submitted by Miguel Aranda.

Featuring the talented faculty member, Michael Hackett, the Michael Hackett Quintet is sure to deliver a dynamic and harmonious night.

The Music Mosaics concert series began in 2002 with disparate pieces pulled together to create something meaningful and beautiful. The faculty, community and alumni who generously donate their time and talents to support scholarships are an inspiration. The series benefits the Music Department’s Scholarship Fund, allowing the department to recognize students for their musical talents and academic excellence. Join us as they create a music mosaic for you with students’ success as the ultimate outcome. Admission is $10 for adults; $6 for those under age 18 or 65+.

Join us for an unforgettable evening with The Whitewater Brass Quintet as they bring to life timeless compositions crafted for the brass quintet. Featuring the exceptional talents of faculty members Matthew Onstad and Christopher Ramaekers on trumpet, Dafydd Bevil on horn, Carson King-Fournier on trombone, and Josh Biere on tuba, this concert promises a vibrant showcase of musical mastery. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the brilliance of our esteemed faculty musicians in an inspiring performance. Admission is $7 for adults; $4 for under age 18 or 65+.

Tickets are $7 for adults; $4 for under age 18 or 65+.

Prepare to be enthralled by the mesmerizing interplay of two pianos and the seamless harmony of one piano and four hands as they showcase decades of award-winning talent. Join us for an evening of pure artistry as Varshavski & Shapiro Piano Duo takes you on a musical adventure that will leave you in awe. Secure your seats now to witness the brilliance of these remarkable performers! Admission is $7 for adults, $4 for under age 18 or 65+.

Tickets for all events may be purchased here. There is a $2 per ticket surcharge at the door. All events take place in the Light Recital Hall in the Greenhill Center for the Arts, 950 W. Main Street. Parking for these events is available at no additional charge in Lots 1 & 2.