News

In a Facebook post on October 3, The Black Sheep announced that it is suspending dinner service for an indefinite amount of time. The Banner reached out to the restaurant to inquire about additional details. We have not received a response.

The Facebook post is reproduced below.  

Hey everyone,

We regret to inform you that we will be suspending dinner service for an indefinite amount of time.

We will still be offering private and group dinners by booking, however we will no longer be open for reservation or walk in service.

We would like to thank every one of our guests for being such great patrons and we hope to be back at some point in the future.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to email us at blacksheep@eatatblacksheep.com or send us a message here on Facebook.

Thank you for your time. Have a blessed holiday season.

Much love.

Dear Whitewater Banner,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the letter published on Oct. 13, 2022 regarding the Whitewater Unified School District’s upcoming referendum.

The district’s administrative team has put together an extensive referendum FAQ sheet at https://www.wwusd.org/page/referendum that addresses many topics, including Mr. Kinson’s assertions. Anybody who is interested in learning the whole story should check it out. Beyond that, I will decline to respond to Mr. Kinson’s misguided, inflammatory letter.

The Whitewater community has a long history of working together for strong schools. Twenty-five years of successful referendums is the most visible example, but it happens every day, in innumerable other ways. The WUSD would not be where it is today without the hundreds of parents, teachers, administrators and community members who put children first every day.

Instead of wasting time casting blame, the WUSD is relentlessly addressing the challenges of our changing world. We are grateful for the Whitewater community’s past support as we pursue that mission, and we know your continued support is critical to ensure a bright future for our schools and our community.

Thank you.

Thayer Coburn, President

School Board of the Whitewater Unified School District

Editor’s note:  The Banner’s policy is not to publish letters to the editor. We deemed it appropriate to publish the following submission expressing an individual’s views due to the fact that we previously posted an organization’s advocacy for the Whitewater Unified School District referendum.  The Banner will provide the opportunity to the District Superintendent and/or School Board President to submit a response to this statement. Otherwise the Banner will not be publishing anything further, prior to the election, regarding the school referendum except for the material that the district previously distributed.

By Henri Kinson

The Whitewater School District last lost a referendum 25 years ago.  The never-ending stream since has, unfortunately, generated an arrogant and daft board.

Start with the Covid shutdown.  When discussing options, the district took a survey in which 75% of parents wanted some sort of in-person instruction.  Showing less concern for its kids than any school in the area, Whitewater shut down anyway.  Didn’t the board know that kids might leave and take their state money with them?  Of course, but why should they care when they know that taxpayers will bail them out?  Whitewater lost 200 kids and $10m in the process (and it now needs the referendum to make up for it). 

What about academics?  Everyone knew after the initial shutdown that kids weren’t learning anything.  Since all the other districts were staying open, didn’t the board know that poor achievement would lead to fewer parents with an interest in academics moving to or staying in Whitewater?  Yes, but why should they care when they know taxpayers will bail them out with a referendum?  Whitewater’s test scores tanked, with its ACT scores falling to the bottom third in the state and the district now losing $2m every year to kids transferring out.

OK, but that’s only two (admittedly huge) knuckleheaded decisions, right?  Hardly.  Last year, the board got $3m in Covid money from the feds to spend pretty much however it liked.  So it upgraded its football fields for $2m and put $1m away for pensions.  Didn’t they know that it would be asking for money this year for stuff that really mattered?  Of course, but why should they care when they know that taxpayers will bail them out with a referendum?

It’s not just dumb decisions that the never-ending money encourages, but arrogance as well.  You needn’t look any farther than the referendum material itself to see what I’m talking about.  Did the district ever mention the money it lost from the shutdown in the referendum materials it sent you?  Why should it?  Did it mention its plummeting test scores, or highest in the area spending and state aid it loses as a result?  Ha!  Did it mention why it paid $2m for a football field before it addressed the more important things in the referendum?  Please.  Has it ever suggested it was a mistake to callously dismiss three quarters of the parents and kids it’s supposedly here to serve by shutting its doors in their face?  Never.

When Whitewater last lost a referendum, I remember hearing that people look for a reason to vote no.  You certainly have several, from the parents, kids, and revenue it drove away, to the record spending and lost state aid, to the fields and pension goodies.  The biggest, however, is the contempt the district shows towards us because we pass every referendum they send to us no matter how irresponsibly it acts.  We must stop subsidizing such negligence, or we will continue to get it.  Please vote no.