News

On Saturday, January 8, members of the Whitewater High School FIRST Robotics Team Ferradermis gathered in the library at WHS for the worldwide reveal of the new game for the 2022 Season, Rapid React. The scoring opportunities in this year’s game are modeled after an airport, as the game is sponsored by Boeing, and revolves around a theme of transporting cargo. Robots must shoot oversized tennis balls (cargo) into the “hub” during both the autonomous portion of the game and during the driver-operated portion of the game. Robots may retrieve additional cargo from the “terminal,” and during the end-game, climb across a series of rungs in the “hangar.”

The team will now have approximately six more weeks to finish planning, designing, building, wiring, coding, and testing their robot before leaving for their first regional competition. To make this happen, they will meet at WHS four nights each week and all day on Saturday. The team currently has 28 members, over half of them new to robotics, and is led by a trio of seniors, each with four years of experience on the team, Elijah Grall, Shane Kinson, and Andrew Rollette.

For the first time this season, Ferradermis will be participating in three regional events, instead of their typical two. This will give our seniors a chance to experience more events since so many were cancelled in their sophomore and junior years due to the pandemic. After a practice event at Sussex Hamilton High School on February 20, the team will compete in Duluth, Minnesota, at the Lake Superior Regional from March 2 – 5. Then, over Spring Break, they will compete at the Wisconsin Regional in Milwaukee, defending their 2018 and 2019 titles. (The Wisconsin Regional was not held in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID.) Finally, the team will compete at the Seven Rivers Regional in La Crosse from March 30 – April 2. A win at any of these events as an alliance captain or an alliance’s first pick during selections will secure an invitation to the World Championships which will be held in Houston this year in late April. This is a tighter set of qualification requirements than a typical year in order to reduce the number of teams at the championship event.

The team is supported by a large group of adult mentors including professional engineers, professional programmers, metal workers, teachers, entrepreneurs, school staff members, and college students who participated in FIRST Robotics as high school students. Among the current full-time mentors for the team are Ferradermis alumni Zach Brantmeier and Sam Meyer. The students of Ferradermis are forever grateful to the Whitewater community for their support of their endeavor.

The team will hold its annual open house on Saturday, February 12, from 9 am until noon. Community members, family members, and sponsors are welcome to come check out the workspace and learn more about the team and this year’s robot.  

You can follow the team on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ferradermis or learn more about the team that is open to all Whitewater High School students at www.ferradermis.org.

To learn about the rules of this year’s game, watch the Game Animation below:

Article and Photos Submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor and Banner Volunteer
lmasbruch@wwusd.org

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

Whitewater is searching for a solution to problems providing Emergency Medical Services (EMS) because of increasing service demands, higher costs and the decreasing number of available volunteers. It appears to share that problem with neighboring communities.

The City’s current arrangement with Whitewater Fire Department, Incorporated (WFD, Inc.) has been under review in closed door sessions for several months. The largely volunteer organization last year provided over 1600 calls for medical services averaging over four calls per day.

WFD Inc. voted earlier this month to issue a “Letter of Intent” indicating their interest in both Fire and EMS functions becoming city operations, citing the difficulty of recruiting part-time Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) along with a dwindling number of paid on-call volunteers. That change would likely increase costs considerably. WFD, Inc. is funded by a roughly $250,000 contribution from the City of Whitewater, contracts with surrounding communities and fundraising. Its annual operating budget has been roughly $1 million.

In Fort Atkinson the ‘Jefferson County Daily Union’ reports that the city will be scheduling a referendum in April to authorize hiring cross-trained EMTs/Firefighters along with additional police officers. They currently contract with a private EMS provider. Communities like Fort and Whitewater that take on expanded services without a positive vote on a referendum authorizing the additional costs face a likely financial penalty in the form of reduced state “shared revenue.”

In nearby Milton, ‘The Gazette’ reports that the Fire Department intends to formally pursue merging with the Edgerton Fire Protection District. They had been in talks with the City of Janesville. The proposed merger would include the Towns of Harmony, Johnstown and Lima. Both Johnstown and Lima currently have services agreements with Whitewater’s WFD, Inc.

Milton, like Fort Atkinson, is in the process of formalizing a contract with a communications firm to prepare the required referendum and provide advice on how successful referendums have been conducted.

WFD, Inc. today provides fire and EMS services to the Jefferson County Townships of Cold Spring and Koshkonong and the Walworth County Town of Richmond along with the two Rock County communities that are approaching Edgerton in partnership with Milton. They also maintain mutual aid agreements with other nearby communities.

“The ability of communities to provide an appropriate level of fire and emergency services is in jeopardy and may soon necessitate an emergency response…”, according to a recent report by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum (WPF). The report indicates that over 92% of Wisconsin’s fire departments are volunteer or “mostly volunteer.”

WFD, Inc. is currently advertising to fill several paid “on premise” part-time EMT positions whose wage rate will increase to $22 per hour from the previous $18 per hour rate. “We are in a very competitive field,” explained EMS Assistant Fire Chief Ashley Vickers.

The WI Policy Forum report references a state EMS Association analysis that “even with higher rates of pay staffing shortages are a problem at most departments.” Part-time positions generally do not provide the full array of benefits that highly trained EMTs often consider important in making employment decisions.

The report also points out that Wisconsin local governments’ reliance on “shared revenue” compounds the problem. “Shared revenue” is often the only source of supplemental funding for municipal services that are not tied to an existing state program. Fire and EMS services fall into that category. The “proportional share” of communities’ annual expenditures for Fire and EMS have been “lagging” according to the WPF report. The report states that “Fire/Ambulance spending is starting to trend down” as a percent of total community budgets as the costs of other services increase.

The WPF report points out that long-term solutions that could ultimately result in changes to service areas will require careful planning that “could take years to effectuate.” “In the shorter term,” the report concludes that “… greater financial assistance from the state or adjustments to financial constraints on local governments could be helpful.”

The City of Whitewater’s reaction to the WFD, Inc. proposal is likely to be a subject for the February 1 Common Council meeting..

City of Whitewater Equal Opportunities Commission – Monday @ 5:00 p.m.
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City of Whitewater Common Council – Tuesday
This meeting has been CANCELED. The next Common Council meeting is scheduled for February 1.

Whitewater School Board – Wisconsin State Education Convention – January 18-21, 2022  Whitewater School Board members and other Whitewater Unified School District officials will be attending the Wisconsin State Education Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, January 18-21, 2022. A quorum of the School Board may be present; however, the Board will not be conducting any business during the trip or at the convention.

Editor’s Note: The following information was provided by the Dwight Foster Public Library.

The Friends are once again hosting this popular program bringing travel experiences to the community. Area residents will share a variety of travel locations with our community. Due to the increase in Covid cases in Jefferson County, the first programs on January 27 will ONLY be available remotely. ALL of the travel presentations will be available that way; we may return to in-person as well. To join in on any of these travel programs from your home go to www.fortlibrary.org/friendstravel/ and click on the link to join at the time of the presentation.

The first destination will be on Thursday January 27 at 1 p.m AND 7 p.m. Jess Clayton will discuss “Traveling by Train in Europe … with Kids!”  Traveling by train is perhaps the most convenient, relaxing and enjoyable way to travel around Europe. This presentation will discuss the advantages of European travel by train, especially for people who are interested in traveling with children or with multiple generations. It will describe the logistics of European train travel, including how to book rail passes before leaving the US as well as how to take advantage of the flexibility offered by train travel. It will also provide examples from the presenter’s 2019 trip to Europe with her 9-year old twin boys.

This program is free and everyone in the community is welcome.  The program last between an hour and an hour and a half.  The next program will be with Pat and Ken Belt talking about Norway on February 10^th at 1 PM and 7 PM.

Editor’s note: The following information was provided by the City of Whitewater.

The dredging portion of the lakes project will begin on Monday, January 17. The City of Whitewater has contracted with Stout Construction (subcontractor for A1 Excavation) to perform the work.  Stout will have two teams (one for each lake) begin preparing next week with the hopes of starting to dredge material by the following week.  The project is scheduled to take place over the next 5-6 weeks weather permitting.  Construction work will be performed Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. -7 p.m. The project sites at Cravath Lakefront Park and Trippe Lake Park will require the parking lot areas to be closed during this time.  The dredged material will be stockpiled at our designated deposit sites.  The plan is to create a navigation channel through the lakes and dredge around the park waterfront areas. The city received its permit from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to remove up to 81,000 cubic yards of material from the lakes.  The lakes will remain drawn down through this process and are scheduled to be filled back starting June 10, 2022. 

Editor’s Note: This information was provided by Walworth County Health and Human Services.

Walworth County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is hosting a free flu vaccination clinic on Thursday, January 20 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Walworth County Room at DHHS, 1910 County Rd. NN., Elkhorn. No appointment is necessary. 

As influenza cases continue to increase statewide, an annual flu vaccine is the first and most important step in protecting against flu viruses. Everyone six months or older should receive an annual flu vaccine. Protect yourself. Protect your family.

The image on the homepage, “Flu shot” by National Institutes of Health (NIH) is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

Editor’s Note: This information was provided by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Continuing Education at Rock County.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Continuing Education at Rock County is providing the following two classes online for $75 for those interested in learning sign language:

Online Adult Sign Language:    This class is designed for adult learners 18 and older.     Beginners session Thursdays February 3 – March 10; 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.  Register Online: Click Here To Register! Registrations accepted online until noon 2/1/22. 

Online Teen and Tween Sign Language:  This event is available to registrants in grades 3-12 and graduated seniors/ incoming  freshmen. Tuesdays, February 1 – March 8; 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.   Limited to the first 12 registrants for each session. Click Here To Register! Registrations accepted online until Monday, January 31, 2022 at noon. 

Editor’s note: The following information was provided by the UW System on January 14.

The Special Regent Committee for the University of Wisconsin System Presidential Search has identified two finalists who have agreed to be interviewed for the position next week.

The finalists are:

• Jay O. Rothman, chairman and CEO of the law firm Foley & Lardner LLP in Milwaukee. He has served in that role since June 2011 and has been a member of the firm’s Management Committee since February 2002. He joined Foley in October 1986 and has been a partner since February 1994. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Marquette University and a law degree from Harvard Law School.
• James C. Schmidt, chancellor at UW-Eau Claire. He has served in that role since July 2013. Previously he was vice president for university advancement at Winona State University in Winona, Minn., and vice president for student affairs at Riverland Community College in Austin, Minn. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Winona State University, a master’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, and a doctorate in educational policy and administration from the University of Minnesota.

Regent President Edmund Manydeeds III, chair of the Special Regent Committee, said the two finalists offer a depth and breadth of experience, including in the academic, business, and civic arenas.

“We have identified two excellent candidates, each of whom would be an outstanding leader for our university system,” Manydeeds III said. “We believe their qualifications and experience provide the committee a great opportunity to pick a future leader for the UW System.”

The finalists will interview Tuesday with the Special Regent Committee and other groups, including shared governance representatives, chancellors, and UW System executive leaders. Manydeeds and Search and Screen Committee chair Karen Walsh, the Regent Vice President, announced that because of the extraordinary public input in the process so far, there will be no public session with the finalists.

“Our diverse 21-member Search and Screen Committee included representatives from all universities and all campus constituencies, which helped us identify a list of viable candidates to forward to the Special Regent Committee,” Walsh said. “We also held numerous valuable listening sessions at all of the universities and with all constituencies – often more than one. We look forward to the Special Regent Committee completing its work.”

After the interviews, the Special Regent Committee will forward a recommendation to the full Board of Regents, which will make the final decision on hiring a new UW System President. A decision is expected by the end of January.

Biographical information and photos for both candidates are available online: wisconsin.edu/presidential-search-2021/.

Tommy Thompson has been serving as president since July 1, 2020. He announced this month that he would step down effective March 18. Thompson replaced former president Ray Cross.

The next UW System President will be the System’s eighth since 1971 legislation unified two public university systems under a single Board of Regents. The system educates approximately 165,000 students at 13 universities across 26 campuses, serves more than 1 million Wisconsin residents through statewide outreach programs, and employs about 39,000 faculty and staff statewide. The total estimated annual economic impact of the UW System exceeds $24 billion.