News

As part of National Rural Health Day, Fort HealthCare has announced we have earned a 2024 Performance Leadership Award for excellence in Outcomes. Compiled by The Chartis Center for Rural Health, the Performance Leadership Awards recognize top quartile performance (i.e., 75th percentile or above) among rural hospitals in Quality, Outcomes and/or Patient Perspective.

“We’re honored to receive this award for excellence in outcomes,” said Michael Anderson, MD, President & CEO of Fort HealthCare. “This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team in providing exceptional care and improving the health of our community. It’s rewarding to see our efforts make a real difference, and we’re proud to celebrate this achievement.”

The Performance Leadership Awards are based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX®, a comprehensive and objective framework for assessing how rural hospitals are performing. INDEX benchmarks are relied upon by rural hospitals, health systems with rural footprints, hospital associations, and state offices of rural health to measure performance across multiple areas impacting hospital operations and finance.

“The Performance Leadership Awards capture the commitment, diligence, and innovation with which America’s rural hospitals approach the delivery of care within their communities,” said Troy Brown, Network Consultant, The Chartis Center for Rural Health. “It’s a tremendous honor to be able to recognize the efforts of this year’s award winners and celebrate their achievement as part of National Rural Health Day.”

Editor’s note: The above press release was received from Fort HealthCare.

Four City of Whitewater Common Council seats are up for election on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. If necessary, a primary will be held on February 18 to narrow down each race to two candidates. The two-year term for council member begins on Tuesday, April 18, 2025. The Council regularly meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Members are expected to review the agenda packet prior to the meetings. They also serve on one or more committees, many of which meet on a monthly basis. The salary is $300 per month.

Here is the status of candidate filings, per deputy city clerk Tiffany Albright, as of December 27 at 4 p.m.:

Council member AD 1
Mike Smith, 327 E. Clay Street, #29, has taken out nomination papers.
J. Christopher Wilt, 334 Parkside Drive, has taken out nomination papers.
The incumbent, Patrick Singer, has filed a notice of noncandidacy.

Council member AD 3
Steven Sahyun, 250 N. Franklin Street, has submitted his nomination papers.
The incumbent, Brienne Brown, has filed a notice of noncandidacy.

Council member AD 5
The incumbent, Neil Hicks, 1254 Tower Hill Pass, has filed his nomination papers.

Council member at Large
Patrick Singer, 263 Amber Drive, has taken out nomination papers.
The incumbent, Lisa Dawsey Smith, has filed a notice of noncandidacy.

Information concerning aldermanic (council) district boundaries may be obtained from City Clerk Heather Boehm, 312 W. Whitewater St., 262-473-0102, hboehm@whitewater-wi.gov. There is also a map on the city website that shows the districts; however, it is a bit difficult to decipher. Choose “VotingWardsAldDist-Aldermanic Districts,” and the districts will be shown in the large numbers.

The first day to circulate nomination papers was December 1, 2024, and the deadline for filing nomination papers and required documents is 5:00 p.m., on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, in the office of the city clerk. Candidates for an at-large seat must collect a minimum of 50 signatures on nomination papers; a candidate wishing to represent a district must obtain a minimum of 20 signatures.

Photo on homepage and text by Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

The City of Whitewater – Department of Public Works will collect Christmas trees on Tuesday, January 7, and Tuesday, January 14, 2025. Please place your tree on the terrace by 6:00 a.m. on these dates. Residents who wish to have a tree picked up after the above scheduled dates must call the Department of Public Works at 473-0560 before 12:00 noon on Monday, the day before Tuesday’s collection.

Trees that have been flocked or contain wire will not be collected by the city. Please place these trees, on your terrace, for collection by John’s Disposal on the second Thursday of the month, your bulk pick up day.

For additional questions or concerns contact the Department of Public Works at (262) 473-0560. For other requests visit https://www.whitewater-wi.gov/RequestTracker.aspx.

It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society. The Whitewater Historical Society wishes everyone a Happy New Year via this early 20th century post card. This card is similar in style to the Christmas one we featured last week, so it was probably produced during the 1910s. We will see you in 2025 with more from the image collections of the Whitewater Historical Society.

(Whitewater Historical Society, holiday post card collection)

Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26 to January 1 each year.

[From Wikipedia) American Maulana Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966 during the aftermath of the Watts riots^[2] as a specifically African-American holiday.^[3][4] Karenga said his goal was to “give blacks an alternative to the existing holiday of Christmas and give blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and their history, rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society.”^[5] For Karenga, a major figure in the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s, the creation of such holidays also underscored the essential premise that “you must have a cultural revolution before the violent revolution. The cultural revolution gives identity, purpose, and direction.”^[6]

According to Karenga, the name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning “first fruits”.^[7] First fruits festivals exist in Southern Africa, celebrated in December/January with the southern solstice, and Karenga was partly inspired by an account he read of the Zulu festival Umkhosi Wokweshwama.^[8] It was decided to spell the holiday’s name with an additional “a” so that it would have a symbolic seven letters.^[9]

During the early years of Kwanzaa, Karenga said it was meant to be an alternative to Christmas. He believed Jesus was psychotic and Christianity was a “White” religion that Black people should shun.^[10] As Kwanzaa gained mainstream adherents, Karenga altered his position so practicing Christians would not be alienated, stating in the 1997 book Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture that “Kwanzaa was not created to give people an alternative to their own religion or religious holiday.”^[11] Many African Americans who celebrate Kwanzaa do so in addition to observing Christmas.^[12]

After its initial creation in California, Kwanzaa spread outside the United States.^[13]

Kwanzaa celebrates what its founder called the seven principles of Kwanzaa, or Nguzo Saba (originally Nguzu Saba – the seven principles of African Heritage). They were developed in 1965, a year before Kwanzaa itself. These seven principles comprise Kawaida, a Swahili word meaning “common.”

Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the principles, as follows:^[14]

1. Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
2. Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define and name ourselves, as well as to create and speak for ourselves.
3. Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems and to solve them together.
4. Ujamaa (Cooperative economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
5. Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
6. Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
7. Imani (Faith): To believe with all our hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

Joy to the world! Wishing you a peaceful and pleasant day. Thanks for reading the Banner.

Editor’s note: The Banner appreciates having permission to use the above image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.

Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is a Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BCE.

Hanukkah begins this year on December 25. It is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. The festival is observed by lighting the candles of a candelabrum with nine branches, commonly called a menorah or hanukkiah. One branch is typically placed above or below the others and its candle is used to light the other eight candles. This unique candle is called the shamash (Hebrew: שַׁמָּשׁ‎, “attendant”). Each night, one additional candle is lit by the shamash until all eight candles are lit together on the final night of the festival. Other Hanukkah festivities include singing Hanukkah songs, playing the game of dreidel and eating oil-based foods, such as latkes and sufganiyot, and dairy foods. Since the 1970s, the worldwide Chabad Hasidic movement has initiated public menorah lightings in open public places in many countries.

Although a relatively minor holiday in strictly religious terms, Hanukkah has attained major cultural significance in North America and elsewhere, especially among secular Jews, due to its occurring around the same time as Christmas during the holiday season.

How to wish happy Hanukkah? The traditional greeting for observing Hanukkah is “Hanukkah sameach!” which means “Happy Hanukkah!” or “Chag urim sameach” which means “Happy Festival of Lights”.

Source: Wikipedia

The following students were named to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Dean’s List for the 2024 fall semester.

Editor’s note: A number of these students are probably not long-term Whitewater residents; UW-W simply compiles a list of students who identify this as their place of residence.

Whitewater, WI (53190): Michelle Abarca

Whitewater, WI (53190): John Adkins

Whitewater, WI (53190): Emma Allamian

Whitewater, WI (53190): Mariana Aranda

Whitewater, WI (53190): Lilith Ashmore

Whitewater, WI (53190): Grace Baker

Whitewater, WI (53190): Emma Bergeson

Whitewater, WI (53190): Jace Bezzo

Whitewater, WI (53190): Michaela Boose

Whitewater, WI (53190): Canyon Caputo

Whitewater, WI (53190): Kacie Carollo

Whitewater, WI (53190): Madeline Church

Whitewater, WI (53190): Joseph Ciesla

Whitewater, WI (53190): Bellemy Clark

Whitewater, WI (53190): Anders Clarksen

Whitewater, WI (53190): Adam Coleman

Whitewater, WI (53190): Christopher Cortes

Whitewater, WI (53190): Sebastian Cuellar Meza

Whitewater, WI (53190): Makenna D’Amico

Whitewater, WI (53190): Matt DeMichiel

Whitewater, WI (53190): Cypress Dempsey

Whitewater, WI (53190): Alejandra Diaz-Gallegos

Whitewater, WI (53190): Charlie Eckert

Whitewater, WI (53190): Holland Engele

Whitewater, WI (53190): Katy Farrey

Whitewater, WI (53190): Logan Faust

Whitewater, WI (53190): Adrianna Fico

Whitewater, WI (53190): Jaciel Flores

Whitewater, WI (53190): Reagan Godek

Whitewater, WI (53190): Elizabeth Gomez

Whitewater, WI (53190): Cooper Gosse

Whitewater, WI (53190): Kenzie Grabher

Whitewater, WI (53190): Jenna Greenheck

Whitewater, WI (53190): Joneek Griggs

Whitewater, WI (53190): Brock Grosinske

Whitewater, WI (53190): Blake Haggerty

Whitewater, WI (53190): Abi Hartwig

Whitewater, WI (53190): Gabby Hayes

Whitewater, WI (53190): Stephanie Hensel

Whitewater, WI (53190): Armando Hernandez

Whitewater, WI (53190): Madelyn Hillesheim

Whitewater, WI (53190): Jake Hintz

Whitewater, WI (53190): Morgan Hoffman

Whitewater, WI (53190): Bianca Housworth

Whitewater, WI (53190): Cameron Huntley

Whitewater, WI (53190): Sandra Javier Lopez

Whitewater, WI (53190): Ryan Jordan

Whitewater, WI (53190): Cj Keating

Whitewater, WI (53190): Cali Kopecky

Whitewater, WI (53190): Tristan Kreger-Simek

Whitewater, WI (53190): Andrea Kuhl

Whitewater, WI (53190): Michael Lange

Whitewater, WI (53190): Caden Leutner

Whitewater, WI (53190): Payton Lowe

Whitewater, WI (53190): Seth Lozano

Whitewater, WI (53190): Megan Manthey

Whitewater, WI (53190): Thomas McCulloch

Whitewater, WI (53190): Jacqueline Mehn

Whitewater, WI (53190): Samantha Meister

Whitewater, WI (53190): Jordan Miller

Whitewater, WI (53190): Morgan Miller

Whitewater, WI (53190): Youssef Mohamed

Whitewater, WI (53190): Anecia Moss

Whitewater, WI (53190): Aiden Murray

Whitewater, WI (53190): Ben Nelson

Whitewater, WI (53190): Lexi Nelson

Whitewater, WI (53190): Michaela Nitka

Whitewater, WI (53190): Brianna Ophime

Whitewater, WI (53190): Yasmin Palomec-Garcia

Whitewater, WI (53190): Johan Perez

Whitewater, WI (53190): Jenna Pergande

Whitewater, WI (53190): Charlotte Pham

Whitewater, WI (53190): Alex Phelan

Whitewater, WI (53190): Dane Pinzino

Whitewater, WI (53190): Jasmine Powell

Whitewater, WI (53190): Mel Prince

Whitewater, WI (53190): Gabrielle Quintero

Whitewater, WI (53190): Isabelle Quintero

Whitewater, WI (53190): Zoheb Rakhangi

Whitewater, WI (53190): Sawyer Reid

Whitewater, WI (53190): Yovanni Rojas-Reyes

Whitewater, WI (53190): Evelyn Rozenkvit

Whitewater, WI (53190): Cody Rupke

Whitewater, WI (53190): Connor Sharlow

Whitewater, WI (53190): Ross Skeen

Whitewater, WI (53190): Andrew Swartz

Whitewater, WI (53190): C.J. Tomomitsu

Whitewater, WI (53190): Dejaney Valles

Whitewater, WI (53190): Kaitlyn Van Wyhe

Whitewater, WI (53190): Jackson Veeder

Whitewater, WI (53190): Tania Verduzco

Whitewater, WI (53190): Emma Wade

Whitewater, WI (53190): Molly Wade

Whitewater, WI (53190): Ryan Westerman

Whitewater, WI (53190): Hayleigh Williams

Whitewater, WI (53190): Wenshou Wu

Whitewater, WI (53190): Hailey Zaal

Whitewater, WI (53190): Cameron ZehrGrimm

These students have demonstrated their academic abilities by receiving a grade point average of 3.4 or above in a single semester.

“Making the Dean’s List is a tremendous honor. It is a recognition of our students’ hard work and commitment to success,” said John Chenoweth, who serves as UW-Whitewater’s provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “We are proud of our students and hope to see their names on the list again. Congratulations to all who were recognized!”

The Registrar’s Office reports 3,775 students were selected for the Dean’s List for the fall semester. More than 11,700 students are currently enrolled at the university’s Whitewater and Rock County campuses.

The Chili Cook-Off and Outdoor Movie Night at Cravath Lakefront Park provided attendees with an evening of culinary competition and festive entertainment in a wintry setting. Despite temperatures around 20°F, the Friday evening event was well-attended.

photos courtesy of Whitewater Parks and Recreation

For $5, attendees received a disposable bowl or, for $10, a reusable mug, granting them access to taste-test nine diverse chilis, each offering a unique blend of flavors and ingredients. Milk was provided for free by a generous donation from Katzman Family Farm.  Judges conducted blind tastings to determine first—and second-place winners, while attendees voted for the People’s Choice award. An additional prize was awarded for the best-decorated table, with the winners listed below.

Chili Cook-Off Winners:

• 1st Place: Pepper Pops – Mom’s Hot Dish by the Buckingham family
• 2nd Place: The Chili Beaners – Spicy Chorizo Chili by the Ayon family
• People’s Choice: Cheer for the Deer Chili by the Aquatic Center Coffee Lovers
• Best Decorated: White Hot Chicken Chili by Sam and Madison Schulz, featuring a Winter Wonderland-themed table

Moviegoers had the opportunity to enjoy a holiday classic in a cool (literally) new venue. Whitewater Parks and Recreation displayed a new blow-up screen for the debut of what we hope will be the first of many movie nights in the park.

 

Photos courtesy of Tom Ganser

Downtown Whitewater thanks the entire Whitewater Parks and Recreation team for bringing another fun holiday event to the downtown area during this Christmas season. The festive lights and displays of Christmas at Cravath at Cravath Lakefront Park will continue to be on view nightly from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM through January 6, 2025. Community members and visitors are encouraged to experience the holiday magic throughout the season and stay tuned for volunteer and sponsorship opportunities for next year’s installation!

Article Submitted by Downtown Whitewater, Inc
Photos courtesy of Whitewater Parks and Recreation Department and Tom Ganser