News

By Al Stanek
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

The Whitewater Common Council amended an existing City Ordinance and created a new one that will allow alcohol to be consumed in public places including Cravath Lakefront Park but on a limited basis. Currently alcohol is not allowed in public parks without a permit. Starin Park has been, till now, the single exception to the prohibition of individual public alcohol consumption. The exclusive ability to sell and consume beer in a restricted area during the Fourth of July annual celebration has also been allowed.

The Common Council action comes in response to a request to allow individuals to purchase alcohol from vendors at the Tuesday night City Market and carry it over to the lawn of the new Cravath Lakefront Park Amphitheater for this summer’s “Concerts in the Park.” The City Market is held on Tuesday afternoons in the area of the historic Whitewater Train Depot across from City Hall. This summer the concerts are being scheduled afterward on Tuesday evenings, rather than the previous Thursdays, in Cravath Lakefront Park, which is across a small portion of Fremont Street from the Depot.

A newly created ordinance also allows the City Manager or a designee to “…authorize the sales, service, possession and consumption of alcohol on any street, sidewalk or public grounds in the City of Whitewater for a temporary period of time.”

In other action the Common Council approved the sale for $251,000 of a small city-owned parcel across the street from the new eastside Kwik Trip being constructed in the area known as “the roundabout.” The Elkhorn Road property that includes the Kwik Trip site had been designated as the site of a grocery store until the financial reaction to the 2007-2008 Great Recession. An unnamed retail establishment is reportedly planned for the triangular shaped parcel across from the Kwik Trip.

The Council also heard from City Attorney Wallace McDonell that Allef Partners, LLC, the owners of the Whitewater Walmart, are contesting its property assessment, currently set at $5,657,300. They claim that the assessed value should be $4,500,000. McDonell will attempt to reach a settlement with the owners, but was authorized by the Council to hire outside legal counsel if needed. If ultimately a settlement is not agreed upon the matter would be litigated in Walworth County Circuit Court.

It is the second time in as many years that the Walmart assessment has been contested. On July 15, 2019 Walmart sued the City of Whitewater, alleging that its property had been inappropriately assessed for 2019 at $5,970,000. Walmart claimed that the assessed value should have been $4,500,000. If it had been granted that reduction, Walmart would have been entitled to a refund of approximately $30,884, of which $9,830 would have been the city’s share after charging back the school district, the county, and the technical college for their share. The city’s legal counsel engaged in negotiations with Walmart’s counsel in an effort to reach a settlement that would avoid the substantial appraisal and legal fees that would be required for a trial. At the Common Council meeting on January 21, 2020 attorney McDonell recommended that the city settle for an assessed value of $5,657,300, which had been accepted by Walmart. This reduction in assessment would result in a refund of $6,576, with the city’s portion being $2,093. The Council voted unanimously to accept this settlement.

Owners of property where so-called “big-box” stores are located have in recent years argued that they should be assessed based on the value of a vacant store as opposed to a fully occupied facility. The WI League of Municipalities, of which the city is a member, has campaigned against the efforts of property owners using this strategy known as the “Dark Store Theory” to take municipalities to court over contested assessments. The ‘Municipal Law Newsletter’ reports that the Village of Plover won a WI Court of Appeals case last year involving the “Dark Store Theory” and the ‘Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’ reported in 2019 that a similar case in West Bend was dropped just before trial. It is not clear if the Whitewater case is based on the “Dark Store Theory.”

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W6915 Bluff Rd, Whitewater
Friday 6/18/21 from 9 a.m. -4 p.m. and Saturday 6/19/21 from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Something for everyone.  Hunting, tools, household items, furniture, Christmas decorations, antiques, many vintage toys.  No early sales.

N7008 Oakwood Road (Near Whitewater Lake)
This Friday and Saturday 8 to 4 (June 18 and 19) 
Hunting and fishing gear, power and hand tools, garden tools, kitchen, toys and games, lots of miscellaneous items.

Advance notice for next week:
Rummage Sale
Friday 6/25/21  9am – 6pm
Saturday 6/26/21  8am -11am

12240 E. Bradley Road
Whitewater, Wi 53190
Look for the signs!

Adult Clothing, Children’s clothing (girls: newborn-size 16, boys: 6 month-24 month, size 7/8- 16) Most children’s clothing is $1.00!  Household items, kitchen, decorations and bedding, garden and woodworking tools and much more.

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

Fort Atkinson resident Elizabeth Durkee, 36, was charged in Jefferson County Circuit Court on June 15 with first-degree intentional homicide; strangulation and suffocation; arson of a building without the owner’s consent, and mutilating a corpse.

Crews were called to a house fire at 415 Foster Street in Fort on Friday, June 11 at 10:44 a.m. A 72-year-old woman, yet unnamed, but described as the grandmother of Elizabeth Durkee, was found deceased in the home. Investigators allege that Durkee told them that her grandmother was in ill health and “did not want to live anymore and wanted to be with her late husband.” They further allege that Durkee indicated that on June 7 the victim talked to the defendant about the defendant helping the victim end her life, and Durkee put duct tape on her nose and mouth. The body was apparently left to decompose until June 11, when Durkee allegedly set fire to the house. She and her two-year-old daughter were seen leaving the home minutes before the fire was discovered.

According to the criminal complaint, if convicted, Durkee faces sentences including life in prison and fines up to $100,000. She is being held in the Jefferson County Jail with a $1 million cash bond. Her preliminary hearing was set for August 6.

A report from WKOW-27 may be found here.

Articles on fortatkinsononline.com are at this link and this link.

(Whitewater Public Library submission) Community members are invited to earn about LGBTQ terminology and discover new resources by tuning in to the Library’s YouTube channel for messages from the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center and the Family Equality Council on resources that can be accessed by Whitewater community members. The event will be available for all, with no registration required, on Thursday, June 17 at 3 p.m. via the YouTube channel, and will also be archived for later viewing on the channel.

(Whitewater Unites Lives submission) Liesl Schultz Hying is a WUL Hometown Hero for creating and nurturing the Lincoln School Growing and Learning Garden, giving more than 1,000 Lincoln Elementary students many positive memories of planting seeds, tending the garden, discovering insects and birds, and, most importantly, enjoying the harvest.

The nomination includes that the garden has been growing strong for the past seven years due to Ms. Liesl, and “Recess is a favorite time to nibble on chives or kale, play tic-tac-toe on the tree stump furniture and use the garden area to explore with friends. Ms. Liesl has also connected the garden to the Whitewater community by coordinating the Summer Garden Gatherings on Monday evenings. Families have the opportunity to build community around the garden and enjoy the harvest.”

What do Lincoln students say about Ms. Liesl?

● We love our garden and you are amazing to all of us!

● Thank you for teaching us about plants and letting us plant some and eat them, too!

● Thank you for letting us plant all the stuff.

● I still remember the name of the butterfly we caught. It was Emma.

● You inspired me to make my own garden. I’m growing carrots, tomatoes and flowers.

● I remember when we planted flowers for Mother’s Day.

● Thank you so, so much.

● My favorite time planting was when we made those tiny cups and put soil and seeds in them.

● Thank you for taking care of the garden.

● The garden shows the school the pretty place (that) it is.

● It is a good place to relax.

● I love the tall sunflowers.

● If it wasn’t for you we probably wouldn’t have a garden.

● Thank you for inspiring me to have a garden and eat more nutritional snacks.

● You inspired me to try new foods in the garden.

● You are a wonderful person.

WUL (Whitewater Unites Lives) is a locally-focused civil and human rights group that works to connect the people in our community and to create opportunities for all people to learn and support each other in our common humanity.   

Anyone who would like to nominate a local hero of any age should send their nomination, with a short description, to whitewaterunites@gmail.com 

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

Shari Meyer, Real Estate Administrative Coordinator at Kwik Trip’s headquarters in La Crosse, told the Banner that the first of the company’s Whitewater stores, to be located at the roundabout on Elkhorn Road, is scheduled to have its “soft opening” on December 9. Ribbon cutting/grand opening is planned for December 15. The second store, at Janesville Street and Highway 59, is expected to open in January, 2022. Meyer was unable to provide construction start dates, but expected it would be soon, since construction generally takes 3-6 months. Although there had been a local comment to the effect that Kwik Trip’s construction personnel are inhouse, Meyer indicated that general contractors are normally used, who in many cases have already had experience with their stores. She stated that the company is usually on target with their opening dates, except if there are extenuating circumstances such as raw material or labor shortages, which she acknowledged could be a factor this year.

Meyer described the planned models as “generation three stores,” which carry more take home food such as sandwiches and entrees than previous store models.

Gateway Technical College will hold a series of dynamic workshops, “Communicating Respectfully in a Diverse World,” providing attendees ways to have hard, meaningful and respectful dialogue about diversity, equity and inclusion.

• Ouch, that Stereotype Hurts – Attendees will learn how to build confidence and skills to speak up and interrupt disrespectful comments. This workshop will be offered on the following three dates: Wed., June 16, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Mon., July 12, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; or Fri., Aug. 3, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• A Holistic Approach to Managing Self in the Midst of Societal Uncertainties – Wed., June 30, 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. This program will offer ways to discover the impact of societal uncertainties caused by incidents of racial tension and unrest.
• Civil Dialogue: Facilitating Structured Conversations – Tues., July 27, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. This workshop will focus on how to handle structured conversations about sensitive topics through models and skill building. This model will prepare facilitators for holding meaningful conversations betwen those with opposing viewpoints.

All workshops are free, open to community members and will be held virtually via Zoom. To register, visit gtc.edu/diversity-workshops.

Source: Offices of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Community and Government Relations at Gateway Technical College.

The image on the homepage, “Diversity quilt” by OregonDOT is licensed under CC BY 2.0