News

(University of Wisconsin-Madison submission) On April 17, The Alpha Chapter of Wisconsin Phi Beta Kappa President Seth Pollak led the induction of 229 University of Wisconsin-Madison students into membership of Phi Beta Kappa, with past president Catherine Stafford.    Whitewater residents Nick Kuzoff, Noah Miller and Connor Steinke were inducted.

Pollak is a professor of psychology professor and Stafford an associate professor of Spanish at UW-Madison.   The induction ceremony took place remotely with over 400 participants including inductees, their families, and friends. These initiates embody not only academic excellence but demonstrate by completed coursework breadth of study in the liberal arts and sciences beyond minimal degree requirements. Approximately 5 percent of the Letters & Science senior class is inducted into the liberal arts and science scholar society.   The 2021 Phi Beta Kappa Excellence in Teaching Award was presented to Enrico Fermi distinguished Professor of Physics Sau Lan Wu, who was nominated by senior Yan Qian.   

Professor of Astronomy and Dean of the College of Letters & Science Eric M. Wilcots was inducted into membership in Phi Beta Kappa and gave keynote remarks. Undergraduate fellows and seniors Jinan Sous, Xiyu Yang, and Jessica Kuzniewski warmly welcomed new members.   Phi Beta Kappa is the nation’s oldest academic society honoring the liberal arts and sciences. Founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary, ΦΒΚ stands for freedom of inquiry and expression, disciplinary rigor, breadth of intellectual perspective, the cultivation of skills of deliberation and ethical reflection, the pursuit of wisdom, and the application of the fruits of scholarship and research in practical life.    Phi Beta Kappa has 290 chapters at leading colleges and universities in the United States. The Society sponsors activities to advance the humanities, social sciences, and the natural sciences in higher education and in society-at-large.   Recordings of the ceremony will be available on the Phi Beta Kappa site on May 1st, https://pbk.wisc.edu  

 

(Walworth County submission) Walworth County Public Works is seeking volunteers to help with the removal of invasive plant species at County parks.

On Friday, April 30 from 9 a.m. to noon, volunteers will assist the Lake Geneva Conservancy and Walworth County Public Works with the removal of buckthorn and other invasive species at White River County Park, 6503 Sheridan Springs Rd. in Lake Geneva.

Volunteers can also pitch in on May 8 at Natureland Park in Whitewater. Efforts will again focus on the removal of invasive plant species.

Those interested in volunteering should contact Walworth County Volunteer Services Coordinator Colleen Lesniak at (262) 741-4223, clesniak@co.walworth.wi.us.

For anyone interested in learning about groundwater-fed wetlands, the Kettle Moraine Land Trust (KMLT) is hosting a Seeps, Springs, and Fen Wetlands educational workshop on May 8 at Natureland Park. KMLT’s Greg Rajsky will describe various wetland types, explore wetland functions, and introduce attendees to some of the special species that inhabit the wetlands at Natureland Park. Contact rachel@kmlandtrust.org to register.

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

New Whitewater Common Council member Lisa Dawsey Smith was sworn in at the April 20 Whitewater Common Council meeting along with newly re-elected council members Carol McCormick and Brienne Diebolt Brown, as well as Greg Majkrzak, who was appointed to fill an unexpired term last year.

The Common Council also elected officers, appointed Council members and citizens to fill vacancies on various City Committees and Commissions and made plans to offer a “hybrid” option for public meeting participants as early as this June. City meetings have been held electronically since last March as part of COVID-19 pandemic protocols. The hybrid option would allow individuals, either committee members or observers, to chose between attendance in person or electronically.

Fourth District Council Member Lynn Binnie was unanimously re-elected as Council President. Council Member-At-Large Jim Allen was elected to serve as Common Council President in Binnie’s absence. New Neighborhood Services Director Chris Bennett and newly appointed Imbedded Police Crisis Intervention Officer Amanda Akridge were welcomed. Akridge, a social worker who previously worked as a Milwaukee Police Officer, will be working full-time to assist Whitewater Police under a program initiated and funded by Walworth County to measure the impact of having a more “human services” approach to policing.

In other business the Common Council took official action to close the last of its existing Tax Incremental Finance Districts (TIDs), authorized a consulting contract to manage an $859,366 grant that will partially fund construction of a new water tower, and laid out a schedule for potential formulation of new TIDs which will include an early May joint meeting of the Common Council, Community Development Authority and City Plan Commission.

TIDS are a commonly used economic development strategy that allows municipalities to fund infrastructure and other improvements with the property tax revenue generated by future development within their boundaries. The City of Whitewater has been prevented from creating new TIDs because of the existence of multiple TIDS created, but not closed, over a 20+ year period. The City plans an aggressive public outreach effort over the next several months to gain the understanding and support of citizens and other stakeholders as potential new TIDs are developed.

Mini-estate sale
341 Eden Court, Whitewater
Saturday, April 24 – Noon – 2 p.m.

Items include antique kitchen chairs, night stands, lamps, a double bed, an egg cup collection and other knick-knacks and collectibles. Six boxes of Blue Willow dishes. Glassware and antique china. Priced to sell.  

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2-Family Rummage Sale
640 and 653 Foxglove Lane, Whitewater
Thursday, Friday & Saturday April 22, 23, and 24
10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Tools and electrical, Hunting/fishing equipment and clothing. Furniture, lawn/garden, electrical. Packer memorabilia. 262-233-0248

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We do not post individual sales outside the school district, but FYI are including the following info on a community sale.

It is said “My trash is someone else’s treasure”. The public will have an opportunity to explore those treasures Friday April 23 and Saturday August 24 at a Rummage-a-Rama in the Village of Johnson Creek and surrounding countryside. Sales are scheduled from 8-3. Some sales will be held beginning Thursday and others continuing Sunday. Highlights include:

The Friends of the Johnson Creek Public Library will be joining the effort by hosting their used book sale at the Community Center, 417 Union Street on both August 23 and 24. The Friends mission is to support the local library by funding the summer reading program and purchasing items not covered by the municipal budget.

Sustain Jefferson’s annual sale, at 147 Pheasant Run, will include various household items in addition to organic seed potatoes, seedlings, and plants. Potato varieties this year are: Superior, Yukon Gold, Adirondack Blue, Peter Wilcox, Oneida Gold, and French Fingerling

The American Legion Post, 323 1^st Street, will be selling brats and burgers at their Legion Post beginning at 7:30 each day. They will also be opening their bar for patrons.

Crossroads Church’s sale at 111 South Street will have sales to support their church mission.

Area residents, hosting a sale, may register their sale with an email to caroljo@tds.net or leaving a message at 920-699-3682.

Individual sellers may require attendees to observe Covid 19 standards. Public restrooms will be available at Veteran’s Park, Bell Park, Centennial Park, and the Community Center.

A listing of sales, with addresses, will be posted on the Facebook Johnson Creek Community Page on April 20 or by requesting a list via email at caroljo@tds.net.

A New Banner Service – Garage Sale Ads

As a result of a reader’s comment that it’s hard to find garage sales in Whitewater now that we no longer have a weekly shopper, last year the Banner staff agreed to begin a “consolidated” garage sale posting that will be published each Thursday morning for the upcoming weekend’s sales. This announcement will only be for garage sales (a sale of miscellaneous household goods, often held in the garage or front yard of someone’s house) in the city and school district boundaries. We will not be accepting, for example, ads for cars or other items that are not part of a scheduled garage sale. There will be a limit of three times per year for a particular property. Although we may eventually make a small charge for this service, initially it will be complimentary.

Those wishing to place a notice must send the information to whitewaterbanner@gmail.com by Wednesday at 6 p.m. You may include a brief description of the items that are for sale, the hours and days of the sale, and of course your address.

(From Wikipedia) Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EARTHDAY.ORG (formerly Earth Day Network)^[1] including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries.^[2][1]

In 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, peace activist John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace, to first be observed on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. This day of nature’s equipoise was later sanctioned in a proclamation written by McConnell and signed by Secretary General U Thant at the United Nations. A month later a United States Senator (Banner note: from Wisconsin) Gaylord Nelson proposed the idea to hold a nationwide environmental teach-in on April 22, 1970. He hired a young activist, Denis Hayes, to be the National Coordinator. Nelson and Hayes renamed the event “Earth Day”. Denis and his staff grew the event beyond the original idea for a teach-in to include the entire United States. More than 20 million people poured out on the streets, and the first Earth Day remains the largest single day protest in human history. Key non-environmentally focused partners played major roles. Under the leadership of labor leader Walter Reuther, for example, the United Auto Workers was the most instrumental outside financial and operational supporter of the first Earth Day.^[3][4][5] According to Hayes, “Without the UAW, the first Earth Day would have likely flopped!”^[6] Nelson was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom award in recognition of his work.^[7]

The first Earth Day was focused on the United States. In 1990, Denis Hayes, the original national coordinator in 1970, took it international and organized events in 141 nations.^[8][9][10]

On Earth Day 2016, the landmark Paris Agreement was signed by the United States, China, and some 120 other countries. This signing satisfied a key requirement for the entry into force of the historic draft climate protection treaty adopted by consensus of the 195 nations present at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.

Numerous communities engaged in Earth Day Week actions, an entire week of activities focused on the environmental issues that the world faces.^[11]

On Earth Day 2020, over 100 million people around the world observed the 50th anniversary in what is being referred to as the largest online mass mobilization in history.^[2]

Greetings Great City of Whitewater!
Please help the National Honor Society raise money for local scholarships by dining at Culver’s in Whitewater between 5 – 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27!  A percentage of their proceeds will be donated to the National Honor Society for local scholarships that evening!  A great time will be had by all! 

Pamela Sonmor-Wintz, School Counselor, Whitewater High School Scholarship Coordinator,
National Honor Society Advisor

Note that this is for the Moderna vaccine, which is only approved to be administered to persons age 18+.

(Whitewater Water Utility press release) The City of Whitewater – Water Utility will begin its semi-annual water main and hydrant flushing program on Monday, April 26, through Friday, April 30, 2021. Flushing of water mains is necessary in order to continue to deliver clean, safe water to our citizens. If we have more repairs than expected throughout the week, we may have to continue flushing into the following week.

Flushing of water mains and hydrants can cause some discoloration of water. Caution should be exercised in washing of white clothing. Discoloration of water due to flushing WILL stain white clothing. We notify the public in all local media outlets; therefore, we cannot be responsible for stained clothing. If discoloration is detected, run the cold-water faucet until the discoloration clears. While we are still flushing in your area, the water may take a while to clear up. You may want to wait until we have left the area and the water settles down before running your water tap. If reduced pressure is experienced after flushing, you may have to clean the aerators on your house faucets.

Thank you for your patience and understanding during water main and hydrant flushing. Questions may be directed to the Water Utility at 473-0560.

Jim Bergner
Water Superintendent

The image on the home page, “Arbutus fire hydrant flush” by lawrence’s lenses is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

(Jefferson County press release) The Jefferson County Highway Department will be resurfacing CTH “N” from Walton Drive to STH “106.”  The work is scheduled to take place beginning the week of April 19, 2021.  The existing deteriorated asphalt pavement will be pulverized, graded and compacted prior to paving the roadway.

During construction the roadway will be closed to through traffic, but access will be maintained to local residences and businesses, as well as emergency vehicles.  A detour will be posted utilizing Business “”12” (Main Street), STH “59”, CTH “D” and STH “106”.  The road will remain closed until approximately the middle of July, depending on the weather.    

Please use caution within the construction areas and please keep children away from the operations.  If you should have any questions, please feel free to contact the Highway Department at (920) 674-7265.

The image on the home page, “Road Closed Sign” by theglobalpanorama is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.