News

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

Per Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, Willie Hearn III, age 68, of 370 N. Tratt St., #124, was charged on May 22 in Walworth County with a Class C Felony, Armed Robbery with Threat of Force, in connection with a robbery that occurred on May 19 at the BP/Raceway Food Mart at 1138 W. Main Street. Hearn was additionally charged with five misdemeanors: two counts of Resisting or Obstructing an Officer and one count each of Disorderly Conduct, Possession of Cocaine/Coca and Possess Drug Paraphernalia. He is being held on a $25,000 cash bond and will have an initial appearance on May 24. Upon conviction, a Class C felony is punishable by up to 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $100,000.00, or both (Wis. Stat. sec. 939.50(3)(c)). Unless a judgment of conviction is entered, the defendant is presumed innocent of all charges.

The Whitewater Police Department press release concerning the incident may be viewed on the Banner here.

In recognition of Memorial Day and to honor our deceased veterans’ sacrifices to keep America free, the Whitewater American Legion Post 173, with assistance from community members, will be decorating veterans’ graves at Hillside Cemetery, 400 S. Wisconsin St., on Thursday, May 25 at 5:30 p.m. Participants will gather on the hill inside the second gate. All are welcome to participate in the event.

By Al Stanek

The baskets of colorful flowers hanging from light poles in downtown Whitewater along with the colorful huge coffin-like sidewalk planters gracing city parks are apparently a thing of the past. A shortage of available workers and potential budget savings appear to be the cause.

A small group of residents is trying to stimulate a grassroots approach to not letting these, often taken for granted, urban amenities disappear.

The group, led by long-time Whitewater residents Rick and Jeanine Fassl, with the blessing of Public Works Director Brad Marquardt and Streets Superintendent Brian Neumeister has planted a half dozen flats of annual flowering plants and buckets full of perennial bulbs in large street planters at Cravath Lakefront Park. Along with the help of City Urban Forestry Commission Chair Sherry Stanek the group is now working on finding residents and businesses willing to periodically water and weed planters downtown and at nearby community buildings.

Living Word Fellowship has agreed to sponsor two large flower boxes in front of their Main Street building. The downtown SweetSpot Cafe has committed to maintaining another two large flower planters across from their building on Whitewater Street.

Whitewater Common Council member David Stone has volunteered to maintain four large planters at the entrance to Cravath Lakefront Park and the city’s Walmart made a generous donation of gift cards used to purchase the initial flats of flowers.

Recently the “pop-up volunteer garden club” cleaned up the area around the Birge Fountain on the Whitewater Cultural Arts Center grounds along with filling fountain area planters with colorful annuals to enhance the area’s soon to be popping rose bushes.                                                         

City summer-help crews used to plant and water downtown hanging baskets along with planting and maintaining landscaping at all city buildings and public parks. Without more volunteers and/or financial contributions Whitewater is likely to be less attractive for residents and visitors this summer.

Mother’s Day in Trippe and Cravath Lakes area

Early May Birds in Whitewater

Our thanks to Steve Watson for sharing more of his beautiful bird photos.

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Mina Truesdale from Whitewater, majoring in BS in Chemistry, was named to the spring 2023 Dean’s Honor List at Cedarville University. This recognition requires the student to obtain a 3.75 GPA or higher for the semester and carry a minimum of 12 credit hours.

Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 5,082 undergraduate, graduate, and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and high student engagement ranking. For more information about Cedarville University, visit www.cedarville.edu.

These photos of the UW-Whitewater Morning Commencement Ceremony on May 13, 2023 are courtesy of Tom Ganser. The ceremony recognized 613 undergraduate and 136 graduate students from the College of Arts and Communication, the College of Business and Economics and the School of Graduate Studies.

The commencement speaker for both ceremonies on the Whitewater campus was Mike Domitrz. Domitrz, who earned a BBA in business in 1993, is a world-renowned speaker and the founder of Center for Respect, an organization with a mission to prevent sexual assaults and encourage safe dating.

The student speaker for the morning ceremony was Hollyn Peterson. Peterson, who earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a painting emphasis, is a three-time cancer survivor who has overcome life-threatening obstacles in her formative years and is now flourishing as a young adult with big dreams.

The City of Whitewater’s Community Development Authority (CDA) provides grants and loans to qualifying businesses to help them grow.

As the economic development organization for the City of Whitewater, the Community Development Authority (CDA) exists to encourage and assist development in the city that creates jobs, increases the tax base, and improves quality of life in the community. The CDA works to recruit and retain businesses by using a variety of strategies, incentives, and assistance.

The CDA offers three loan programs to help business grow:
 The Action Fund Loan program provides financing to businesses for land acquisition, site preparation and
construction, installation of fixed equipment, and working capital.
 The Capital Catalyst program incentivizes capital formation and investment in startups and emerging growth
companies. This program focuses on business development, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
 The Façade Improvement Program helps businesses primarily located in the central business district with external
building improvements.

John Weidl, Whitewater city manager, stated, “The Community Development Authority (CDA) exists to promote development programs and empower its residents to the benefit of the entire city. The CDA has financing available right now to assist with working capital, facade improvements and incentivizing business development and entrepreneurship. These funds add up to well over a million dollars and are specifically available to encourage community building and economic development from the ground up.”

Blue Line Battery, Inc. (Blue Line) is a success story made possible with assistance from the CDA grant and loan programs. As a US based manufacturer headquartered in Wisconsin, Blue Line specializes in the engineering and manufacturing of advanced industrial Lithium-ion battery systems for the material handling industry.

Blue Line produces advanced Lithium-ion power systems that are a more energy efficient, environmentally friendly, and safer alternative to lead acid batteries. Blue Line has been a tenant at the Whitewater University Innovation Center since November 2016. Over the years, several University of Wisconsin – Whitewater students have worked for Blue Line. Blue Line first received a Capital Catalyst Grant in March 2017. As their business developed, the CDA provided a series of loans to Blue Line which provided capital to grow their business. Those loans have now been repaid in full, allowing the CDA to reinvest those funds in other new or existing businesses here in Whitewater.

“On behalf of Blue Line, thank you to the CDA and the Whitewater community for all of your support,” said Nick Rinaldi, Blue Line Battery, “We as a company continue to hold the CDA and the Whitewater community in high regard for helping Blue Line grow to this point.”

Editor’s note: The above press release was provided by the City of Whitewater. Anyone interested in further information about CDA programs is encouraged to contact John Weidl, jweidl@whitewater-wi.gov or 262-473-0104.

Editor’s note: The following press release was found in franchising.com.

Toppers Pizza is excited to announce a strategic transition in its leadership team as founder Scott Gittrich passes the CEO reins to longtime Toppers team member, Adam Oldenburg [WHS ’03].

After leading the popular pizza delivery franchise for over 30 years, Gittrich will be assuming a new role as Chairman of the Board, proudly supporting the brand from a different perspective. As the visionary behind Toppers Pizza’s success, Gittrich remains dedicated to maintaining the unique culture that defines the brand and is excited to witness the continued growth and momentum under the new CEO’s leadership.

“After several years of record performance, this leadership transition marks an exciting new chapter for Toppers,” said Gittrich. “Along with guiding the brand for over three decades, I have also had the privilege of preparing Adam to succeed me as CEO. With several years of record performance and an exceptional leadership team in place, the future of Toppers Pizza is incredibly promising.”

A rabid pizza fanatic and a seasoned business leader, Oldenburg has been an integral part of the brand for over 17 years, starting as a delivery driver and moving on to roles in management, Corporate Operations Director and most recently as Vice President of Operations. He is also part of an ownership group that owns five Toppers locations and was recently awarded Franchisee of the Year. With his extensive experience and deep understanding of Toppers, he is primed to lead the company into a new era of growth and development.

“I am honored to step into the role of CEO at Toppers Pizza,” said Oldenburg. “As a pizza guy at heart, I am fully committed to preserving the culture that makes our brand special. With Scott’s unwavering support, we’re excited to keep up the momentum for Toppers and drive new heights of success and achievement.”