News

Whitewater School Board – Monday @ 6:00 p.m. (Closed Session); 7:00 p.m. (Open Session)
Whitewater High School Library
534 South Elizabeth Street
Agenda for closed session: to discuss the exit surveys of past employees.
6:00 Closed Session Zoom Online URL
Passcode: 698777
Dial in: 1-312-626-6799
Webinar ID: 842 9967 3203
Passcode: 698777

7:00 Open Session Agenda (Click on “view the agenda”) includes employment of new Lincoln Elementary principal and Achievement Gap Reduction (AGR) Report –
via Zoom Online (link updated at 6:54 p.m.)
Passcode: 033301
Dial-in: 1-312-626-6799
Webinar ID: 889 9242 7108
Passcode: 033301

City of Whitewater Finance Committee – Tuesday @ 4:30 P.M.
Agenda
City of Whitewater Municipal Building
City Manager’s Conference Room – 2nd Floor
312 W. Whitewater St.
This will be a blended meeting. Please join in person at above address or from your
computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://meet.goto.com/372768261
You can also dial in using your phone.
1 (571) 317-3122
Access Code: 372-768-261

Police and Fire Commission Special Session – Thursday @ 2:00 p.m.
Agenda includes Discussion Concerning, And Possible Appointment Of, New Police Chief. The
Appointment Will Be Contingent On An Action By The City Council Establishing The
Chief Of Police Salary.
City of Whitewater Municipal Building
Community Room- First Floor
312 W. Whitewater St.
This will be an IN PERSON MEETING as well as a VIRTUAL MEETING
Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone
https://app.gotomeeting.com/?meetingId=354832581

You can also dial in using your phone.
United States: +1 (224) 501-3412
Access Code: 354-832-581

Whitewater Unified School District School Board Special Meeting – Thursday @ 6:00 p.m.
Whitewater Unified School District Central Office
William D. Kyle Board Room
419 South Elizabeth Street
Please note there will be no Zoom broadcast as the meeting will end when Closed Session ends. 
ADJOURN INTO CLOSED SESSION
A. Adjourn into closed session, pursuant to §19.85(1)(f), Wis. Stats., considering financial, medical, social or personal
histories or disciplinary data of specific persons, preliminary consideration of specific personnel problems or the
investigation of charges against specific persons except where par. (b) applies which, if discussed in public, would be
likely to have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of any person referred to in such histories or data, or
involved in such problems or investigations, specifically, to consider the findings and conclusions of a personnel
investigation concerning a specific District employee; when closed session ends, the meeting will end. (Action Item)

Editor’s note: The following was submitted by St. John’s Masonic Lodge.

St. John’s Masonic Lodge, Whitewater/Palmyra recently donated a state of the art GreenPort Portable Fire Suppression Tool to the Eagle Police department.  These small devices fit in the trunk of squad cars or other first responder vehicles and can dramatically reduce fire and water damage in enclosures like houses, garages, stores, or sheds.  They are lightweight and easy to deploy:  just “pull the pin and throw it in” and within 35 seconds, the fire is suppressed and the temperature inside the enclosure drops over 1000 degrees, making it a safer environment to extract trapped firefighters or citizens.

These devices will save lives and the Masonic Lodge is proud to donate this to help make our community a safer place.

Here is a picture from the presentation of the Fire suppression tool to Eagle Police department.  Pictured are from left to right, Greg Scheff (Village of Eagle trustee), John Dade (past master St. Johns Lodge #57), Ron Bethia (interim police chief of Eagle PD), Jason Welch (Worshipful Master St. Johns Lodge #57) and Peter Lenz (Senior Warden St. Johns Lodge #57).

Per Lake Geneva Regional News, the following criminal complaints were filed in Walworth County Circuit Court between June 15-20. To follow the cases, go to wcca.wicourts.gov.

Edgard Adaly Lopez Fajardo, 21, 206 S Second St., Whitewater, has been charged with identity theft-avoidance. An officer from the Whitewater Police Department responded to a home relating to a family incident on Feb. 6. Upon arrival, the made contact with a man who had a warrant out for his arrest. However, the officer determined it was not possible for him to have a warrant as he came from Nicaragua in December 2021. The booking photo shown to the man turned out to be Fajardo.

Reginald R. Kelly, 24, 370 N Tratt St., Whitewater, has been charged with uttering a forgery and two counts of obstructing an officer. A bartender from Pumpers and Mitchell’s Bar in Whitewater told the officer that a man paid with two fake $100 bills on October 21, 2020. A detective watched video showing the defendant shuffling money in his hand and passing it to the bartender. Later on in November, the detective saw the subject at a Walgreens. The defendant denied being at the bar on October 31. The defendant denied having identification on him and gave a fake name. After being placed in handcuffs and under arrest, his ID showed proved he was Kelly.

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. (June 27, 2022) – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville announces its Dean’s List, honoring those full-time students who earned high honors in the spring 2022 semester. College of Business, Industry, Life Science and Agriculture and the College of Liberal Arts and Education require grade-point averages of 3.75 and above for Dean’s List honors, while the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science requires students to reach at least a 3.50.  Founded in 1866, UW-Platteville is located in Southwest Wisconsin and has branch campuses in Richland Center and Baraboo. UW-Platteville is ranked the best public institution in Wisconsin for value by Payscale. For more information on the university, visit www.uwplatt.edu. Students from this area on the Dean’s List include:  

Whitewater, WI

David Cushman, Undecided LAE, University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Allison Heckert, Health and Human Performance, University of Wisconsin-Platteville

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. (June 27, 2022) – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville announced its Chancellor’s List, honoring those with perfect 4.0 grade-point averages for the spring 2022 semester.   Students from this area who earned the 4.0 grade-point average include: 

Whitewater, WI

 Allison Heckert, Health and Human Performance, University of Wisconsin-Platteville

Update 6/28 @ 10:30 a.m.: A press release from the district indicates that Gefvert will assume responsibilities on July 1, 2022, and that “Lincoln families will be able to meet Mr. Gefvert on Wednesday, August 17 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Lincoln Elementary, during WUSD Registration Day.” The release also included the following letter from Gefvert.

Dear Lincoln Elementary Families, 

It is with great excitement and pride that I am joining the Lincoln family.  In my brief time getting to know Lincoln culture, I have found that there is an overwhelming love amongst our students, families and staff for the positive and supportive culture of the building and the family atmosphere.  As a team, we will make every effort to meet the needs of each and every student through academic, social and emotional development.  

I have spent a majority of my life in and around the Whitewater community.  I grew up in Delavan and have been an associate principal at Fort Atkinson High School for the past eight years.  Prior to Fort Atkinson, I was an agricultural science teacher, FFA advisor and coach in Portage.  I am a proud husband and father to five amazing children.  As a family we love to be active in the outdoors, participate in athletics and enjoy working on our hobby farm.  

My education includes a bachelor’s degree from UW- Platteville in Agricultural Education. After several years teaching I completed a Masters in Science from UW- River Falls and then obtained my Educational Leadership Certificate through Viterbo University.  

I look forward to meeting the Lincoln students, families and staff and building relationships throughout the next school year. Together we will continue to build upon the already strong, positive culture and academic successes that Lincoln brings to our students each and every day!  

Sincerely, 

Brad Gefvert

************************************************************************************

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

It wasn’t planned that way, but the Whitewater Unified School District and School District of Fort Atkinson are trading personnel for the principal of Lincoln Elementary School.

At its June 27 meeting the Whitewater Unified School Board confirmed the hiring of Bradley Gefvert as principal of Lincoln. Gefvert has been the Associate Principal at Fort Atkinson High School for the past eight years. According to fortschools.org, prior to that appointment he taught Agricultural Science, was an FFA advisor, and coached football and softball at Portage High School for 12 years. He graduated from UW-Platteville in 2002, where he received his Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education.  Gefvert received his Masters of Science in Agricultural Education from UW-River Falls and also completed the Educational Leadership Program from Viterbo University, where he received his Administrative License.

There were 23 applicants for the position, and Gefvert was chosen from a field of eight persons who were interviewed.

Gefvert succeeds Mary Kilar, who resigned to take the position of principal of Purdy Elementary School in Fort Atkinson.

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

Revision 6/28/22: The last phrase of the second paragraph was revised to make clearer that the P&FC is required to consider all options.

The agenda for a special Police & Fire Commission (P&FC) meeting on Thursday includes a closed session “to consider appointment of a new police chief,” followed by an open session for “discussion concerning, and possible appointment of, new police chief, contingent on an action by the City Council establishing the chief of police salary.”

Since a vacancy effective June 30 in the police chief position was only announced by the Common Council approval of a resignation/retirement agreement between the city and Aaron Raap on June 21, the rationale for the closed session is “….considering employment, promotion…or performance data of any public employee over which governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility,” and the P&FC has not previously discussed appointment of a successor, it seems evident that the commission will be considering the possibility of making an internal appointment versus beginning a search process to include external candidates.

Deputy Chief Dan Meyer has served as acting police chief since Aaron Raap was placed on paid administrative leave on or about December 3, 2021.  

In a video report broadcast on Spectrum News on June 22, a brief overview was provided of the city’s efforts to restore Trippe and Cravath lakes. The report includes an interview with a project ecologist with Field and Stream Restoration, as well as one with Eric Boettcher, city parks and recreation director.

Spectrum News1 is a news channel provided to its cable subscribers on Channel 1. It’s indicated that Spectrum provides access to up to five videos to nonsubscribers, although the script of the video is also provided at the link.

Our thanks to Mark Dorn for providing the video link.

City of Whitewater Economic Development Staff Update

Whitewater, Wis. June 8– The city of Whitewater welcomes our new interim Economic Development Director, Nathan Thiel, who will be taking over the Economic Development Department following the departure of Cathy Anderson. He will be working in the Municipal Building on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Nathan is originally from Appleton, Wisconsin and received his Master of Public Administration degree from Syracuse University in 2007. He will be assisting with economic development work until a permanent replacement is found.

Steve Watson writes, “My morning meandering by Trippe and Cravath, I came upon a Killdeer family. Mom, Dad and two precocious chicks.”

Our thanks to Steve Watson for another beautiful contribution to the Banner.

[From The Cornell Lab]
A shorebird you can see without going to the beach, Killdeer are graceful plovers common to lawns, golf courses, athletic fields, and parking lots. These tawny birds run across the ground in spurts, stopping with a jolt every so often to check their progress, or to see if they’ve startled up any insect prey. Their voice, a far-carrying, excited kill-deer, is a common sound even after dark, often given in flight as the bird circles overhead on slender wings.

• Killdeer get their name from the shrill, wailing kill-deer call they give so often. Eighteenth-century naturalists also noticed how noisy Killdeer are, giving them names such as the Chattering Plover and the Noisy Plover.
• Gravel rooftops attract Killdeer for nesting, but can be dangerous places to raise a brood. Chicks may be unable to leave a roof because of high parapets and screened drain openings. Adults eventually lure chicks off the roof, which can be dangerous – although one set of chicks survived a leap from a seven-story building.
• Killdeer are surprisingly unobtrusive even on green lawns, despite their warm tawny coloration. Look carefully over lawns, short-mown fields, and even parking lots, and listen for the far-carrying kill-deer. (When you hear this call, the bird may be in flight. Look for it circling you, flying stiffly on long, pointed wings. It may resemble an American Kestrel, at least until it lands on the ground and begins walking.) Though they’re often found on dry land, you should also look for them on the edges of freshwater ponds and muddy lagoons.

Editor’s note: The following announcement was submitted by Steven Smith. Attention Whitewater area military veterans! Now hear this! Post 173 Whitewater American Legion and VFW Post 5470 are sponsoring a float, (actually a boat generously provided by J&T Marina) for any military veteran to ride on during the annual 4th of July parade. This is a wonderful opportunity for military veterans to be recognized by the community for their military service. Veterans interested in participating in the parade by riding on the float, maybe tossing candy to the kids and acknowledging the gratitude of the community for their service to the Nation should gather at the parade start point near the intersection of Highland and Prince Streets before the parade begins at 10:00. That is all. The image on the homepage, Image by mohamed Hassan, is from Pixabay