The Whitewater Arts Alliance (WAA) announces that award-winning watercolor artist Ron Stocke’s workshop from September 23-25, 2022 at the Cravath Lakefront Center is, unfortunately, canceled. The registration ended on August 23 and not enough participants were signed up for the workshop to continue. There are currently conversations between the WAA manager and Ron Stocke to potentially have the workshop return in 2023 or 2024. If there is interest, the Whitewater Arts Alliance urges viewers to join our email club to obtain future updates. Our email club can be found on our website at https://www.whitewaterarts.org/email- club.
Those who were signed up for the workshop will be receiving their refunds soon. If there are questions, please reach out to the WAA manager, Ashe McDarison at wwartsalliance@gmail.com.
Editor’s note: The following press release was provided by the University of Wisconsin System. Information about the Wisconsin Tuition Promise at UW-Whitewater is also available at this website.
Program starting in fall 2023 will help underserved students obtain a degree tuition-free
University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman recently announced the creation of the Wisconsin Tuition Promise, a new initiative starting in fall 2023 to ensure underserved Wisconsin students can attend any UW System university without paying tuition or fees.
The goal of the program is to increase the number of state residents who graduate with a bachelor’s degree – especially first-generation students and those from low-to-moderate income families throughout Wisconsin – thereby improving individual lives and communities and helping meet the state’s workforce needs.
“The benefits of a college education are unassailable,” Rothman said. “A college degree needs to be within reach for every Wisconsin citizen as a path to a better life, and the Wisconsin Tuition Promise will provide these opportunities. It is also how we can close the skills gap that now limits Wisconsin’s potential to thrive in a global economy.”
Rothman said an estimated 8,000 students will be supported through the program once it is fully implemented over four years. Eligible students will be awarded an average of $4,500 over four years. The UW System intends to fund the first year of the program in academic year 2023-24 at $13.8 million and seek state investment for subsequent years.
“The Wisconsin Tuition Promise comes at a pivotal time for our students and families who are faced with increasingly challenging economic circumstances. At UW-Milwaukee, we have the highest numbers of Pell Grant recipients, military and veteran students, and students with unmet financial needs,” said UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone. “Our promise will enable access to the quality of life that so many in our population deserve.”
“We’re excited to be able to offer this opportunity to students in our region that aligns with our mission to provide equitable access to a college education,” said UW-Parkside Chancellor Debbie Ford. “The Wisconsin Tuition Promise will help remove a financial barrier that has kept many students, particularly historically underrepresented and underserved students, from attending UW-Parkside. UW-Parkside students display drive and determination when given the opportunity. There are thousands of ‘if not for Parkside’ success stories. For those stories to take shape, however, students need affordable access to the benefits of education.”
“At UW-Whitewater, the Wisconsin Tuition Promise builds upon our legacy as a university where students from all backgrounds can access a high-quality education at an affordable price,” said interim UW-Whitewater Chancellor John Chenoweth. “By guaranteeing that tuition and fees are covered for even more students, this program is a game changer. At the Whitewater and Rock County campuses, we are passionate about student success. From achievements in the classroom to the playing field, and through coveted internships and research opportunities, Warhawks are thriving — and the Wisconsin Tuition Promise will mean more students can experience a UW-Whitewater education.”
Modeled on Bucky’s Tuition Promise at UW-Madison, the Wisconsin Tuition Promise would provide up to four years of tuition and fee funding for students coming from families earning less than $62,000 annually and enrolling at any of the other 12 public universities within the UW System. The program would be structured to provide “last dollar” financial support after federal and state grant aid is accounted for; as a result, Tuition Promise awards will vary.
Eligible students will be Wisconsin residents, first-time enrollees or transfers, and attending full-time. They will need to make sufficient academic progress each year and attest that they were employed at some point during the previous year.
Rothman said the affordability review he sought shows a UW System education is the most affordable in the Midwest and is very affordable nationally compared to peers. However, fewer low-to-moderate-income and first-generation students are attending UW System universities, suggesting that despite a tuition freeze in place since 2013, a state college education is increasingly out of reach for some, he said.
“Education unlocks success in Wisconsin,” Rothman said. “By ensuring that every Wisconsin student is given the full opportunity to get a higher education, we will improve those lives directly while building the economic engine and community prosperity that benefit all Wisconsinites.”
Students will be automatically considered for the Wisconsin Tuition Promise when they apply for federal financial aid. A full publicity campaign led by the universities will begin later this fall. Current information can be found at: wisconsin.edu/tuition-promise/.
MULTI FAMILY GARAGE SALE- AUGUST 26 AND 27. 8 TO 4
801 E Clay St. EASTWARD Apt. C2, WHITEWATER
Schwinn Airdyne Stationary bike. Corner hutch. Bookcases. Blue Ox brake buddy towing system. Old records. Old comic books. Kids STEM educational toys. Kids craft items. Brand name clothes. Household items. Packer prints. Books. Much much more.
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, the Banner staff agreed to begin a “consolidated” garage sale posting that will be published by 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. There is no charge for these ads.
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.
We have another concert in the park coming up this week with a performance from the award winning cowboy yodelers KG and The Ranger! We hope to see you there, at Cravath Lakefront Park!
Editor’s note: The following information is from an article on wiacsports.com.
“University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the defending conference champion and winner of 13 of the last 16 titles, has been picked to capture the 2022 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) football championship, according to a preseason poll conducted by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
The Warhawks, ranked fourth nationally in NCAA Division III preseason polls conducted by D3football.com, Lindy’s Sports and College Football America, have won 38 conference titles.
UW-La Crosse is slotted for second in the WIAC predictions and enters the season ranked No. 10 by Lindy’s Sports, No. 12 by D3football.com and No. 14 by College Football America. The Eagles own 33 first-place conference trophies.
2022 Preseason Predictions–Voted on by WIAC Head Coaches and Sports Information Directors
2021 Record
1. UW-Whitewater
13-1 overall, 7-0 WIAC
2. UW-La Crosse
9-3, 6-1
3. UW-River Falls
9-2, 5-2
4. UW-Oshkosh
6-3, 4-3
5. UW-Platteville
4-6, 3-4
6. UW-Stout
5-5, 2-5
7. UW-Eau Claire
3-7, 1-6
8. UW-Stevens Point
2-8, 0-7
Head Coach: Kevin Bullis; 7th season at UWW; 69-10
Editor’s Note: The following was submitted by Whitewater Unites Lives.
The second annual Whitewater Pride Rally will be held Saturday, Oct. 1 at Cravath Lakefront Park. This free event, which will include music, entertainers, speakers and family-friendly activities, will take place from noon until 2 p.m. rain or shine.
The Cravath Lakefront Park provides space for additional activities and vendor booths. The organizing committee, composed of representatives from the community, Whitewater Unites Lives, UW-Whitewater’s PB Poorman Pride Center, and Whitewater High School’s Gay Straight Alliance, encourages those who wish to show their support of all members of our community and especially our LGBTQ+ neighbors, to participate. Organizations will be able to share information about their groups, and businesses, restaurants and others will have an opportunity to sell their products.
A vendor agreement (see below) is available to those who wish to support Pride in the Whitewater community. The submissions are due by Friday, Sept. 9.
Proceeds from the Pride Rally will be used to help keep this event free for all attendees. And 100 percent of additional profit will support LGBTQ+ youth in our community through the Whitewater High School Gay Straight Alliance and UW-Whitewater’s PB Poorman Pride Center. For more information, contact Megan Kaiser at kaiserme13@uww.edu
Whitewater Pride Rally 2022Vendor Participation Application
Pride Rally Details: Sat, Oct 1st 12 p.m. – 2 p.m. Cravath Lakefront Park
We invite you to participate in Whitewater’s 2nd Pride Rally organized by volunteer members of the community, Whitewater Unites Lives, UW-Whitewater’s PB Poorman Pride Center, and Whitewater High School’s Gay Straight Alliance!
Interested in sponsoring this event?
Any person or organization interested in sponsoring this event, please contact Megan Kaiser via email at KaiserME13@uww.edu. Proceeds will help keep this event free for all attendees. 100% of additional profit will support LGBTQ+ youth in our community through the Whitewater High School Gay Straight Alliance and UW-Whitewater’s PB Poorman Pride Center.
To participate as a vendor please submit the below application to Megan Kaiser at kaiserME13@uww.edu:
Application Information
Deadline: Applications are due by Friday, September 9th 2022
Confirmation of Entry: We hope to accommodate as many organizations who want to participate as vendors as possible. However, applications submitted do not necessarily guarantee entry. Event organizers will confirm your participation, at the latest, by Wednesday, September 14th.
Vendor/Informational Tabling Information: If you are a food or merchant vendor you must comply with the Whitewater city regulations. For more information, visit https://www.whitewater-wi.gov/1.
Suggested Donations In order to offer this event free of charge, we encourage vendor donations and sponsorships. Our priority is to showcase the LGBTQ+ affirming organizations our community has to offer. As such, no organization will be denied entry due to inability to pay. The suggested donation ranges are comparable to similar Pride events across the state.
□ Merchant or Food Sales Vendor (must comply with city regulations) $125 □ Business Vendor (information only, no sales) $100 □ Non-Profit or Student Organization $25-50
Community Expectations for Whitewater’s 2nd Annual Pride Rally
1) This is a family-friendly celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride. All signs, banners and materials must be created with that in mind. Any materials not suited for an inclusive, family-friendly audience may be removed by event planners.
2) All state and local ordinances will be enforced.
3) Safety is everyone’s first priority. We, of course, ask that vendors make every effort to ensure the safety of themselves, other vendors, and/or event attendees.
4) It is the sole responsibility of the vendor for set-up, take down, and cleaning of their entry throughout the event. The event will start promptly at 12 p.m. Vendors will set-up between 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Typical vendor tables are 6ft long x 2ft wide.
□ By checking this box, I (we) certify that I (we) have read the community expectations for Whitewater’s 2nd Annual Pride Rally and will comply with each statement.
Recently another new dementia drug has been found ineffective in clinical trials and some researchers are arguing for focusing on known risk factors now rather than waiting for that miracle drug. Emphasizing lifestyle risks such as high blood pressure, hearing loss and smoking represents a radical change says Dr. Julio Rojas, a neurologist at UC-San Francisco. “We are changing how we understand the way dementia develops.”
How does vision and hearing loss contribute to dementia? Dr. Rojas explains “a neural system maintains its function through stimulation from sensory organs.” Without that stimulation, neurons die and brain function is diminished. Hearing and vision loss affect cognition by limiting older adults’ participation in physical and social activity. When you quit reading, going to movies, taking walks, doing crossword puzzles or meeting friends for cards because you can’t see or hear well, you are losing hours of that necessary brain stimulation.
The link between dementia and hearing loss is well established and the first line of defense is getting the correct type of hearing aid, a fairly expensive item, and not covered by Medicare. As for vision issues, Medicare will pay for diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma or age-related macular degeneration, but will not pay for eye exams and glasses. These are examples of policy changes that are needed for this new approach to preventing dementia by addressing modifiable lifestyle risks.
Admittedly, changing any given risk factor is going to affect a small percentage of people. Researchers estimate that 1.8%, about 100,000 cases, could have been prevented through healthy vision, not a lot compared to the 6.5 million cases in the U.S. right now. But small percentages add up to real reductions in the cost of health care. More importantly, each case is a tragedy for an individual and changes the life of the caregiver, usually an unpaid family member, forever.
Look for future articles in the “Preventing Dementia” series to learn about risk factors such depression, physical inactivity, lack of education, obesity, diabetes, poor diet and low levels of social contact.
Editor’s note: The following announcement was provided by the city of Whitewater Public Works Department.
Chip sealing will be taking place on Caine Street, Clark Street and Gault Street Thursday, August 25. If the weather does not allow for the work to be completed on Thursday, it will be completed on Friday, August 26. No parking will be posted on these streets in order for the work to be completed. There will be minimal inconvenience of a few minutes to the traveling public from the time the oil is sprayed on the street to the time the chipped stones are placed. The project will be completed in one day. Sweeping of the loose stones will occur within a few days of completion.
By Al Stanek Whitewater Banner volunteer staff whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
A state agency report indicates that, if trends continue, a significant increase in the cost of improved Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in the city of Whitewater will not result in a sharing of the increased costs by the state on behalf of UW-Whitewater.
A recent ‘Banner’ article highlighted the fact that the increased costs for needed improvements in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) would likely only be absorbed by local taxpayers.
A WI Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) “Information Paper” reveals that the amount of state dollars appropriated for a state program intended to compensate cities for lost property tax revenue due to state buildings not being taxable has remained unchanged for the last decade or more while municipalities’ costs have gone up significantly.
The appropriation for the WI Municipal Services Payments (MSP) program has not changed since 2011 according to a LFB 2021 report. The LFB, which defines itself as a nonpartisan agency says “The intent of the program is to aid in the reduction of local property taxes by making an equitable contribution toward the cost of certain municipally provided services.”
A recent state report on the Municipal Services Payments (MSP) program stipulates that the city of Whitewater will receive only 38.48% of what the program estimates is a fair estimate of the total loss of tax revenue by the city because of state buildings being exempt from municipal property tax.
Whitewater is in the top 10 of Wisconsin communities regarding the annual amount of what the MSP “… calls entitlements, or the. amount of reimbursement earned by each municipality,” according to another nonpartisan group’s recent report. The WI Policy Forum, which traces its roots to what was called the WI Taxpayers Alliance, concluded that “Our analysis found municipalities’ entitlements, for which fire and police are by far the largest components, rose by more than 74% in the last decade.”
The Whitewater Common Council recently committed to having enough paid-on-premises EMS staff to have two ambulances available 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Relying primarily on paid-on-call EMS staff in the past often took five minutes or more before an ambulance left the fire station according to a city news release. Often calls were ultimately referred to other agencies which created longer delays.
The city of Whitewater’s projected cost share of incorporating enhanced EMS services as a city department is estimated at $1,100,000 annually. The owner of a $200,000 home in Whitewater will need to pay an additional $105 to $134 each year in added property tax depending on their county of residence.
WFD, Inc., the previous service provider, currently contracts with area towns and those taxpayers are expected to be asked to pay higher taxes to pay for the enhanced level of EMS services. A city of Whitewater news release lists the towns of Whitewater, Cold Spring, Johnstown, Koshkonong, Lima Center and Richmond as currently under contract for fire and EMS services. Town boards in those communities will be asked to collectively increase their contribution for Fire/EMS by an estimated $370,000 per year.
The current proposal for sharing of the additional costs uses a combination of assessed property value for each unit of government and the average number of EMS calls originating from each governmental unit over a five-year time period. There appears to be no way to apply that formula for the 400-acre UW-Whitewater campus and its roughly 11,500 students.
Walworth County Judicial Center (Source: www.co.walworth.wi.us)
By Lynn Binnie Whitewater Banner volunteer staff whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
Per Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, Anthony P. Hansen, 34, of 137 N. Cherry Street was charged in Walworth County Circuit Court on August 15 with five counts of sex assault of student by school staff, a class H felony, and two counts of child enticement – sexual contact, a class D felony.
As was reported in a previous Banner article, Hansen was arrested on July 22 by the Whitewater Police Department. His employment in the instructional technology department of the Whitewater Unified School District was terminated immediately by action of the school board on August 8.
Hansen was released on bond with conditions that include no contact with an alleged victim. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 19, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. The police department indicates that it does not release its reports until after the preliminary hearing.
As is noted on Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, “This case has not been concluded. Unless a judgment of conviction is entered, the defendant is presumed innocent of all charges.”
