News

Primary Election on Tues. 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. – School Board & Supreme Court (Updated)

The spring primary election will be held on Tuesday, February 21 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The City of Whitewater has only one polling place for this election, the Downtown Armory, 146 W. North Street. The ballot for city residents may be viewed here. Wards 1-10 are in Walworth County; Wards 11-13 are in Jefferson County. However, aside from formatting, the ballots are identical.

State Supreme Court – Vote for One
Candidates in Ballot Order
– Janet C. Protasiewicz
– Daniel Kelly
– Everett D. Mitchell
– Jennifer R. Dorow

Updated: A nonpartisan voters guide to the Supreme Court race may be viewed here. Una guia no partidista a la elección de la Corte Suprema se puede ver aquí.

Whitewater Unified School District School Board Member – Vote for up to three; the six candidates with the highest votes will advance to the general election on April 4, with three candidates being elected.

Candidates in Ballot Order

  • Christy Linse
  • Joseph A. Kromholz
  • Michael Bergman
  • John D. Truesdale
  • Daniel Dern
  • Chuck Mills
  • Nathan Vander Pas (Editor’s note: Vander Pas withdrew from active candidacy)
  • Stephanie Hicks
  • Will Dammeir
  • Brian Schanen
  • Thayer A. Coburn
  • Lisa Huempfner

All eleven active candidates responded to a Banner questionnaire. Their responses may be viewed here.

The League of Women Voters – Whitewater Area held a school board forum on January 28. Ten of the eleven candidates participated in this two hour event. The video may be viewed here.

Specific types of photo identification are required in order to vote. This website shows the acceptable forms of ID.

Citizens may register to vote at the polls. Proof of residence is required. This website shows the acceptable forms. A qualified elector is any U.S. citizen who:

  • will be 18 years of age or older on Election Day.
  • has resided in the ward or municipality where they wish to vote for at least 28 consecutive days before the election.  


Presidents’ Day Monday – No Mail

Presidents’ Day is a federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February; Presidents’ Day 2023 will occur on Monday, February 20. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, the holiday became popularly known as Presidents’ Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other figures, Presidents’ Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents, past and present. (From history.com)

The Community Space Follows Whitewater School District Weather Closings

According to Kay Robers, manager of The Community Space, their policy is to follow any weather closings that are called by the Whitewater Unified School District.

For any readers who may not be familiar with The Community Space, it is located at 834 E. Milwaukee Street in Whitewater. It’s open to all, without any restrictions, who may be looking for food, clothing, furniture, housewares, etc. There is no cost, as everything they have has been donated. Their hours are Tuesday 8:30-11 a.m., Wednesday 3:30-7 p.m. and Saturday 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m. To drop off donations, please come during the open hours, drive around the back, and ring the bell.

Buehler and Porras Advance to State Wrestling

The Whitewater Wrestling Team traveled to Evansville on Saturday, February 18, to participate in the Sectional Wrestling tournament with the top three advancing to the individual state tournament. This is a competitive day with lots of emotions for students, coaches, and families. Whitewater competed hard in every match, and when the dust settled we will have two competing on Thursday at the Kohl Center.

Aaron Porras
Lauren Buehler

Lauren Buehler became Whitewater’s first qualifier in the new format by securing two pins on her way to the championship. She started the day with a very fast pin and in the finals was down 4-5 going into the 3rd period, went up 10-5, and then was able to secure the pin. The excitement on her face was priceless.

Post-Sectional Pizza

Aaron Porras started out the day with a convincing 15-point victory and then followed that up with a very tough win against a strong young man from Belleville. This brought him into the championship. This was an outstanding match but unfortunately ended up in a scramble and got put to his back in a tied match. He then had to hold onto his second-place finish and did so defeating a young man who had defeated him at the Mid-States tournament. 

Just missing out on a trip to state was Connor Friend who placed fourth, losing his 3rd place match 6-5.

Great job Lauren and Aaron!

Article and Photos Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org

ADRC Offering Welcome to Medicare Workshops

The Walworth County Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) will offer Welcome to Medicare workshops on Thursday, February 23, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. This popular educational session will provide information about Medicare for individuals turning 65 years of age, those over 65 and planning to retire, or individuals with disabilities that have received Social Security Disability benefits for 24 months or have End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease).

“It is vitally important that individuals eligible to receive Medicare are aware of the different parts of Medicare, including Part A and Part B, as well as the prescription drug coverage,” says Elder Benefit Specialist Julie Juranek. “Being knowledgeable about premiums and penalties for not having creditable prescription drug coverage will help people make sound choices when exploring
available plans.”

The Welcome to Medicare workshops will be held at the Walworth County Health and Human Services building, 1910 County Road NN, Elkhorn. RSVPs are highly recommended by calling (262) 741-3366.

For residents who cannot attend in February, Welcome to Medicare workshops will also be held on April 20, June 8, and August 17. More information can be found at www.co.walworth.wi.us/883/Medicare.

WUSD Bandorama Photo Gallery

Photos from February 11 WUSD “Bandorama” in WHS gym courtesy of Tom Ganser.

5th Grade
6th Grade
WHS Jazz Band
8th Grade
WMS Jazz
Combined WHS
8th Grade
8th Grade & WHS Bands
Combined 5th to 12th Grades

Whitewater Girl Scout Cookie Sale Begins 3/4

Whitewater Girl Scout Troop 7639

Girl Scout Cookie Season is about to begin! Whitewater Girl Scout Troop 7639 will be selling cookies from Saturday, March 4th through Sunday, April 9th.

Cookies are $5/box and all proceeds stay in our local, Madison area council. Our troop is using proceeds to go on our first camping trip, to fund two local service projects, as well as many other fun and educational outings throughout the year.

We have many cookie booths planned this year including:
3/4 Whitewater Walmart 10am-6pm
3/5 Whitewater Walmart 10am-6pm
3/10 Whitewater Walmart 4pm-7pm
3/11 Whitewater Walmart 10pm-6pm
3/12 Whitewater Walmart 10pm-6pm
3/13 Fort Festival 4pm-7pm
3/17 Whitewater Walmart 4pm-7pm
3/18 Whitewater Walmart 12pm-4pm
3/19 Fort Festival 2:30pm-6:30pm
3/21 Fort Festival 4pm-7pm
3/24 Whitewater Walmart 2pm-6pm
3/25 Fort Festival 2:30pm-6:30pm

For a complete list and updated booth info, please follow us on Facebook: Troop 7639 – Whitewater Girl Scouts

New this year is the “Raspberry Rally,” a sister cookie of the best selling Thin Mint. A crisp raspberry cookie coated in chocolate and only available online with direct ship. To place an online direct ship order benefitting our troop please click here:
https://app.abcsmartcookies.com/#/shopify-landing-troop/c169e54b-7f96-ed11-994a-000d3a8a55b5
(link will be live 3/4)

For those who wish to donate cookies to our Cookie Share Program, this year we are having each Girl Scout pick her own recipient. In the past 4 years we have been able to bring hundreds of boxes of Girl Scout cookies to local food pantries, first responders, teachers, and active duty military. We look forward to seeing who each of our Girl Scouts chooses to bless this year.

For more information, or to be connected with a Girl Scout for local delivery, please email Troop Co-leader Sarah Hoots hootyhoots@yahoo.com

Arts Alliance Hosting a Social Night at The Vinery Stained Glass Studio – Open to Everyone of All Ages

Barn square fused glass example

In collaboration with the Whitewater Arts Alliance (WAA), the Vinery Stained Glass Studio will be hosting a social night at their building—218 Elkhorn Road, Whitewater, WI 53190–on Thursday, February 23 from 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. This is a $40 class on fused glass with the theme of barn squares. All materials are provided onsite. This is a precursor course to bring awareness to the WAA’s Public Art Project. Members of the alliance can get a 10% discount, they need only give their name to the Vinery to obtain it. The class is open to everyone of all ages. Additionally, this is a new collaboration that should appear bi-monthly.

No sign up required; show up at the Vinery the day of!

To learn more about the class, visit either the WAA’s page, https://www.whitewaterarts.org/vinery-glass-waa-night, or the Vinery’s Facebook page, https://facebook.com/events/s/fused-glass-barn-quilt/2205916136261185/.

Drug Drop Box is Available 24/7 at the Municipal Building

Do you have unused medication at home that you’re ready to dispose of? It’s never a good idea to flush medication because it can cause water quality issues that impact public health. But ignoring them can be just as dangerous if the medications fall into the wrong hands.

The safest alternative is using the drug disposal drop box located in the Fremont Street vestibule of the Whitewater Municipal Building at 312 W. Whitewater St. We ensure that the medication is collected and disposed of safely in an environmentally sound way.

We accept prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, liquids, patches, inhalers, sprays, nebulizer solution, vitamins, and pet medications. Items that are not accepted include sharps, oxygen tanks, nebulizers, batteries, radioactive cancer medications, IV bags, and mercury thermometers.

Editor’s note: The exterior door to the vestibule is only unlocked during business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. If you wish to deposit drugs at other hours, go to the Whitewater Street vestibule and push the button on the intercom to reach the Dispatch personnel, who will grant you access to the other vestibule.