Editor’s note: The following notice was provided by the City of Whitewater Public Works Department.
News
WHS Awarded $2500 Grant from Haas Foundation
Whitewater High School’s FIRST Robotics Team #6574 Ferradermis recently wrote a grant through the Gene Haas Foundation on behalf of the team and the Technology and Engineering Department at Whitewater High School to improve the CNC machining capabilities in the school shop.
Improved CNC capabilities will help the team manufacture more of their robot components in-house, and it will also allow students in metals classes to get more hands-on experience.
Pictured is team Tri-Captain Senior Elijah Grall presenting the check to Technology and Engineering Teachers Mr. Mason Pautsch and Mr. Tim O’Toole.
Article and Photo Submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor and Banner Volunteer
lmasbruch@wwusd.org
FCCU Hosts First of Four 2022 Community Shred Events
Editor’s note: The following information was provided by Fort Community Credit Union.
Fort Community Credit Union (FCCU) has partnered with Shred-It to host a series of free shred events in Fort Atkinson, Jefferson, Whitewater, and Watertown. Community members are encouraged to bring their confidential documents to be safely destroyed onsite at one of the four events offered in 2022.
“Fraudsters can do a surprising amount of harm to a person’s financial wellbeing with the smallest amount of information,” said Sue Johnson, President and CEO of FCCU. “Protecting our members and community members’ information remains our top priority. Hosting our shred event is a great way for us to encourage everyone to take preventative action to minimize the risk of identity theft.”
The Fort Atkinson Shred Event will take place at the FCCU Main Branch at 800 Madison Ave in Fort Atkinson on Saturday. April 9 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. FCCU representatives will be onsite to direct car traffic and assist with the transfer of documents to the shred truck.
FCCU will host three additional 2022 shred events in the surrounding communities:
• Jefferson, WI – Saturday, July 16 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at the FCCU Jefferson Branch located at
100 N Main St in Jefferson
• Watertown, WI – Saturday, August 13 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at the FCCU Watertown Branch
located at 633 S Church St in Watertown
• Whitewater WI – Saturday, October 8 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at the FCCU Whitewater Branch located at 203 E. Milwaukee Street in Whitewater
Ferradermis Earns Spot as Alliance Captain at Wisconsin Regional
Forty-two high school FIRST Robotics teams from Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota descended on UW-Milwaukee’s Panther Arena from March 23 – 26 for the FIRST Wisconsin Regional. Whitewater High School’s Team #6574 Ferradermis played well throughout the event!
Ferradermis played 12 qualification matches with a final record of 7-4-1, earning an average of 2.25 ranking points per match, and a final ranking of 12th out of the 42 teams. Up to four ranking points can be earned per match. Two are awarded to the winning alliance in each match, and in the case of a tie, each alliance is awarded one ranking point. During this year’s game, an alliance can earn an additional ranking point in a match for successfully scoring a certain amount of cargo in the hub and another for scoring a certain number of points by climbing in the hangar during the end game. Ferradermis earned at least one of those additional ranking points in 10 of their 12 qualification matches. They also played two “unicorn matches” which is the nickname given to a match where an alliance earns all 4 ranking points.
The drive team in Milwaukee was led by senior driver Elijah Grall, freshman operator Andrew O’Toole, junior human player Jazmin Cederberg, and freshman technician Hugo Portales.
During the alliance selection process, because some of the higher ranked teams selected each other as alliance partners, Ferradermis moved up into the #8 alliance captain position. Competition Logistics Captain senior Shane Kinson then took the field to invite Team #1259 Paradigm Shift from Pewaukee and Team #930 from Mukwonago to join our alliance. The alliance played two hard-fought quarterfinal matches before being eliminated by the #1 seeded alliance.
The Chairman’s Team of freshmen Andrew Zimmermann and Maddi LaHaie and sophomore Cosette Wildermuth-Breitzman was able to visit with judges and do their presentation in person rather than virtually as they had for the previous competition in Duluth. Also, while in Milwaukee, the two Dean’s List semi-finalists for Ferradermis, juniors Jazmin Cederberg and Daniel Portwine, had a chance to interview with a pair of judges.
The next stop for the team will be the Seven Rivers Regional in La Crosse from March 30 through April 2. This event will host 47 teams from Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota, many of whom are already well known to each other from the competitions in Duluth and Milwaukee. It should be a great event! The event can be livestreamed at https://www.twitch.tv/firstinspires5 on Friday and Saturday. Go, Ferradermis!
Article and Photos Submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor
lmasbruch@wwusd.org
Studio 84 Fundraiser Needs Bakers and Cookie Eaters!
Editor’s Note: The following information is provided by Studio 84.
Studio 84 is inviting the community to join in their annual fundraiser of sweet treats. They need a dozen bakers and 60 cookie eaters! Check out the details here:
Bakers: https://forms.gle/E4V2heERHgoZPoqz6
Deadline for commitment: April 15, 2022
Dates: Delivery of your goodies: May 27, 2022
Time: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.- 7 p.m.
Location: 121 W. Center St. Whitewater
Ticket holders will pick up their orders on Saturday, May 28, 2022 12-2 p.m.
Bake 60 cookies (5 dozen) any type, flavor, fancy or plain, decorated or not (no nuts or nut products please).
To keep a variety please check this link (www.studio84inc.org/sweetfundraiser) to see who is making what. Cookie choice is first come first served basis upon sending in your entry form. We don’t want repeats and have our ticket holders end up with the same Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie for all their cookies! After all as they say, “variety is the spice of life, right?”
Ticket holders will receive a dozen cookies and we will have 60 tickets available for only $15 (that’s $1.25 a cookie). You can help us spread the word of your involvement so tickets get sold!
All bakers will be put into a drawing to win a prize. All ticket holders will be put into a drawing for a chance to win one of several gifts. So lots of winning will be available. But the biggest win will be the sweet things our artists will make happen because our programing has been supported.
Cookie Eaters: https://www.studio84inc.org/events/making-sweet-things-happen
Studio 84 is a non profit art studio, gallery and store. They specialize in the creative and vocational development of people with disabilities including those with Autism, Down Syndrome, physical disabilities, cognition delays and mental illness. They believe in creating an environment of inclusion and are open to all ages and all abilities The studio is located in Whitewater, Wisconsin. For more information, check out: info@studio84inc.org or call 262-473-984.
Studio 84 is a 501c3 non profit and all donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.
Wisconsin Help for Homeowners can help with overdue bills like mortgage payments, property taxes, and utilities
Editor’s Note: The following was provided by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue via the City of Whitewater.
Wisconsin Help for Homeowners (WHH) is a new statewide program that can help with overdue bills like mortgage payments, property taxes, and utilities. The program is available to Wisconsin homeowners with overdue housing-related bills, both with and without a mortgage, who meet income and other eligibility requirements, and have experienced a qualified economic hardship since January 21, 2020.
This $92 million federally funded program provides a maximum of $40,000 in assistance for eligible households.
· To apply, visit HomeownerHelp.WI.Gov
· Contact the WHH call center at 1-855-2-HOME-WI for additional information about how to apply. Note: Applications can’t be submitted by phone.
· Questions? Review WHH Frequently Asked Questions
Jersey Mike’s Donating 100% of Sales on Wed. to Special Olympics
Editor’s Note: The following information was provided by the Special Olympics of Wisconsin.
On Wednesday, March 30, “Day of Giving,” 100 percent of your purchase at any Jersey Mike’s in the state will support the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games and help 65 Team Wisconsin athletes attend the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games, June 5-12, in Orlando, Fla. At the USA Games, athletes compete in 19 sports including athletics, swimming, softball, bocce, bowling, flag football and many more.
That’s right – on March 30, the passionate teams at 24 Jersey Mike’s Wisconsin locations will give every single dollar in sales, not just the profit, to the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games and the state Programs attending the USA Games. It’s all part of Jersey Mike’s nationwide 12th Annual Day of Giving. For the first time ever, the company is donating all proceeds to a single cause on that day when Jersey Mike’s restaurants from every state will support athletes from Special Olympics throughout the country.
All month, generous customers have been making donations at more than 2,000 Jersey Mike’s locations throughout the nation during the 12th Annual “Month of Giving” fundraising campaign for the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games. On March 30, Day of Giving, it’s our turn to give and we’re giving it all away! Local delegates will be on-site at 3 locations in Wisconsin.
· Athlete Meet & Greet: Come meet local athletes and hear their stories
o Meet Unified Flag Football delegate, Alison Mushett of Madison
o Meet athlete as coach, Travis Stuckart of Manitowoc
o Meet Youth Leadership Experience representatives, Jenni Oeftger, Anabelle Hodges and Alicia Langlois of Neenah High School
o Meet Bowling delegate, Gabe Wells of West Allis
o Meet Unified Bowling Pair and brothers, PJ Lynch and Andrew Lynch of Milwaukee
For a list of participating restaurants in your area, please visit the location listing.
· Athlete Meet & Greet
o Madison – West Towne, 434 Gammon Place
o Neenah – 1169 West Winneconne Avenue
o Waukesha – Sunset, 1190 W. Sunset Drive
WHEN:
Wednesday, March 30, 2022– All day!
· Athlete Meet & Greet
o Madison West Towne – 11AM-1PM
o Neenah – 11AM-1PM
o Waukesha Sunset – 11AM-1PM
WHY:
· Special Olympics USA Games and Jersey Mike’s believe the passion for being great has no boundaries.
· Nationwide Jersey Mike’s hopes to raise enough money to help every qualifying athlete across the country attend the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games.
FAST FACTS
· Every four years, more than 5,500 athletes and coaches from all 50 states unite to compete in one of the most beloved and inspiring sporting events in the US – the Special Olympics USA Games.
· During this year’s Month of Giving in March, Jersey Mike’s hopes to surpass last year’s record-breaking $15 million fundraising total. Proceeds support the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games and help local athletes attend the USA Games.
· Since 2011, Jersey Mike’s Month of Giving has raised more than $47 million for local charities.
Jersey Mike’s is committed to “Giving…Make a Difference in Someone’s Life.” For more information, please visit www.jerseymikes.com or follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/jerseymikes), Instagram (instagram.com/jerseymikes), and Twitter (twitter.com/jerseymikes). Join in the conversation at #JerseyMikesGives.
For more information, please visit www.2022USAGames.org or follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/SpecialOlympicsUSAGames), Instagram (instagram.com/specialolympicsusagames), and Twitter (twitter.com/2022USAGames).
A New Banner Feature: The Chapter Story
The Chapter Story
By Sherrie Benes
I would like to introduce to you a new feature column that I will be writing for our Whitewater Banner. I am excited to start this column, so let me explain a little bit about it first!
It all started in our local Hillside Cemetery a few years ago…
While taking a walk through this cemetery one day and reading some of the headstones, I began to wonder who all these individuals were. What brought them to Whitewater? What did they do? Who were their families?
Luckily since I was in a cemetery, I had no one around to hear me asking aloud these questions while staring at a headstone that belonged to a person, I had no idea who they were! But they were someone, to somebody, at one time…
After that day, every morning I would say aloud “good morning” to all those who were laid to rest in that cemetery, as I drove past on my way to work. I thought someday it would be an interesting project to research all those resting there and to write their stories. Some had many chapters, some had few, but no matter how many chapters they had in that book, it was their story.
I knew that would be quite the undertaking, so I got to thinking that maybe the next best thing would be to get to know those in our community now, before their book closed. I’ve heard many phrases when people reminisce on their lives, but one thing remains the same, it belongs solely to us; we are the authors.
So, let’s get to know one another, whether it’s a toddler that I may interview, (which will be very interesting seeing that they are in the first chapters of their lives!), or if I am interviewing an individual who may say his story is a Gone with the Wind novel, because he’s on his 96 (years old) chapter!
No matter who the individual is, I look forward to hearing and writing about those who reside in and around our community!
I would like to say “it takes many authors and many pages to create these volumes within our community.”
Welcome to the Chapter Story ‘library’….
If you know of anyone that would like to share their story, you can contact me at:
WhitewaterBanner@gmail.com
Subject line: Chapter Story
I look forward to this fun, unconventional “book club!”
Sherrie
The image on the homepage, “books” by peter.clark is marked with CC BY-NC 2.0.