News

Join the WUSD Robotics Booster Club on Saturday, May 18 at the first annual STEAM Faire at Whitewater High School from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm! The event is FREE and open to the public and is designed to say thank you to the community for the support it has already offered the robotics programs in the school district.

The event will feature over 30 exhibitors offering interactive activities exploring science, engineering, and the arts! Be sure to scroll through the slides to learn about the various exhibitors.

Lakeland Animal Shelter will be on site with furry friends, and donations are requested on their behalf. Their wish list is located at https://lakelandanimalshelter.org/donate/wish-list/. Concessions will be available for sale, and visitors will also have the opportunity to try for 50 different raffle baskets!

The Robotics Booster Club has recently formed to support WUSD robotics programs in grades 4-12. If you are interested in finding out more about this group, please contact Sue Wildermuth at wilderms@uww.edu.

Article submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor
lmasbruch@wwusd.org

Sealed bids for the Addition and Renovations at Irvin L. Young Memorial Library will be received by the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library at 431 W. Center Street, Whitewater, WI 53190 until 1:00 p.m. prevailing time on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. Lump Sum bid proposals will be received for this project at the scheduled time of receipt of bids and will be publicly opened and read aloud at the above stated time and place.

Each bid must be accompanied by a Bid Guarantee in the form of a Bid Bond, Certified Check or Bank Draft in an amount equal to and not less than ten percent (10%) of the bid and made payable to the City of Whitewater. No bid shall be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days after the bid opening date without the consent of the Owner. Checks or drafts of unsuccessful Bidders will be returned as soon as practical, after opening and checking the bids. Successful Bidder must provide a Performance Bond and a Labor and Material Payment Bond in the full amount of the Contract, acceptable to the Owner.

Bids shall be submitted in an opaque sealed envelope clearly marked as SEALED BID and addressed to:

Diane Jaroch
Library Director
Irvin L. Young Memorial Library
431 W. Center Street
Whitewater, WI 53190

The Board of Trustees reserves the right to reject any or all bids or parts thereof or waive any irregularities or informalities in bidding.

QUALIFICATION: Each Bidder must satisfactorily complete the qualification process described in Section 004395 -General Requirements of the Project Manual, by providing the required Qualification Documents. The required Qualification Documents must be delivered along with the Bidder’s sealed bid at the same place and time required for the bid. Contents of each Bidder’s Qualification Documents will be available for public review. The Qualification Documents will be reviewed by the Owner and Architect to determine the lowest responsible Bidder.

Bidding documents consist of drawings, project manuals, plus all addenda issued prior to bids; and may be obtained
electronically from QuestCDN. (https://www.questcdn.com/questcdn/) Bidders will need to create a free account to login and search for the project through the QuestCDN E-bid document: # 9122030. Bid documents will be available beginning on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

A pre-bid meeting walk-through for general contractors will be held at 1:00 p.m., prevailing time, on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library located at 431 W. Center Street, Whitewater, WI 53190. Interested subcontractors are asked to attend. After the pre-bid meeting, everyone shall be given an opportunity to view the area of work, gather additional information, and ask specific questions. All contractors intending to submit a bid are required to visit the site. Bidders not attending the pre-bid meeting are required to make a site visit on their own time during the library’s regular hours. Visitors are asked to sign in at the circulation desk. Documented proof of a site visit, at the time of the pre-bid meeting or on the bidders own time, is required as part of a successful bid submission. Not visiting the site will be grounds for rejection of bid.

Board of Trustees
Irvin L. Young Memorial Library
Walworth County, Wisconsin

The Irvin L. Young Memorial Library is hosting two artmaking classes for children during the month of May. Maker Club is for ages 5-12 and will be held on Thursday, May 16 at 3:30 p.m. This month, the project is painting wooden signs. A snack will be served.

For children ages 2-6, Little Makers will be held on Thursday, May 30 at 9:30 a.m. This month, the project will be decorating cardboard tubes and creating sculptures. The class allows children to explore and experiment with different art materials, tools, and techniques which helps develop their fine motor skills, critical thinking, social/emotional development, and more.

Both events will be held in the library’s Community Room and are free and open to the public. The Irvin L. Young Memorial Library is located at 431 W. Center Street in Whitewater. Contact Sarah French with questions at sfrench@whitewater-wi.gov or 262-458-2782. For a full listing of the library’s events, visit whitewaterlibrary.org.

A Proclamation on Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, 2024

    Every day, police officers pin on their shields and walk out the door, rushing into harm’s way to keep the rest of us safe. Being a police officer is more than what they do — it is who they are. On Peace Officers Memorial Day and during Police Week, we recognize the incredible courage of our Nation’s police officers and honor the fallen heroes, whose ultimate sacrifice we can never repay……

   This year, we also honor our Nation’s law enforcement families, who serve and sacrifice alongside their loved ones. Every day, they summon courage as their loved ones put on their badges and leave for work, praying for their safe return home. To those who have lost a loved one who served, I know that no memorial can fill the void left in your heart. But I hope you find solace in knowing that their memory lives on through you, the community they served, and all those that they inspired through their example. Our Nation will never forget their sacrifice. 

   Last year, I bestowed six law enforcement officers with the Medal of Valor for going to unimaginable lengths to protect their fellow citizens. They exemplified a selflessness of character and a bravery that inspires. On Peace Officers Memorial Day and during Police Week, let us show our gratitude for all the women and men of our Nation’s law enforcement community, who make extraordinary sacrifices every day. Let us honor the memory of those who have fallen in service to their fellow Americans. Let us recommit to supporting the people in uniform and their families, who ensure the safety of our communities all across the Nation.

   By a joint resolution approved October 1, 1962, as amended (76 Stat. 676), and by Public Law 103-322, as amended (36 U.S.C. 136-137), the President has been authorized and requested to designate May 15 of each year as “Peace Officers Memorial Day” and the week in which it falls as “Police Week.”

   NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 15, 2024, as Peace Officers Memorial Day and May 12 through May 18, 2024, as Police Week. I call upon all Americans to observe these events with appropriate ceremonies and activities and salute our Nation’s brave law enforcement officers and remember their peace officer brothers and sisters who have given their last full measure of devotion in the line of duty. I also call on the Governors of the United States and its Territories, and appropriate officials of all units of government, to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff on Peace Officers Memorial Day. I further encourage all Americans to display the flag at half-staff from their homes and businesses on that day.

    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this tenth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.

                            JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

Editor’s note: This will be Karen Tordera’s last concert as Choral Director at Whitewater High School. Tordera is retiring after 37 years of teaching, 29 years of which has been in the Whitewater Unified School District. She has taught at Lakeview, Lincoln, Washington, and the high school. 

The Whitewater High School Choirs and  A Cappella Ensembles will present their Spring Concert on Wednesday, May 15th at 7:00 pm.  Music awards will also be presented at this concert with a reception to follow.  This free event is open to the public and will be held in the James M. Stewart Auditorium, We hope you can join us for an evening of song and celebration! 

Over the past two weeks, WHS students in Dual Credit/PIE Biology 142 had the opportunity to conduct an observational field study of Red Wing Blackbird populations in the Whitewater area! Students traveled to the UW-Whitewater Nature Preserve with Mrs. Lindsey Taylor and Mr. Shane Cullian, and collected data on the behavioral ecology of Red Wing Blackbirds.

For those not familiar, those little guys can be pretty fierce when it comes to guarding their nests! Giving students the opportunity to collect geographical and behavioral data to determine their territories is an experience they won’t soon forget! 

Article and Photos Submitted by Shane Cullian
Whitewater High School Biology Teacher
scullian@wwusd.org

Editor’s Note:  The following interview was done by Dr. Lauren Smith on behalf of Whitewater Unites Lives.

A Whitewater resident for 29 years, Hassimi Traore was born in Burkina Faso in the town of Dedougou and graduated high school from Bobo Diolasso, a privilege reserved for only the top 5% of students from his home town. Because he was at the very top of his class, Hassimi was chosen to receive support offered by a generous Canadian family. When he graduated from high school, he received a government scholarship to attend Burkina Faso’s Math and Science Institute, where he earned a baccalaureate and then master’s degree in math and chemistry.

While earning his degrees, Hassimi also worked for the Peace Corps, where he made lasting friendships with African and American colleagues. These colleagues encouraged Hassimi to apply for graduate programs in the United States, and he was accepted to every program to which he applied. Because one African friend, a Peace Corps colleague, was attending graduate school in Iowa City, Iowa, Hassimi chose to attend the state university there. He used the money he’d earned working for the Peace Corps to buy his plane ticket. It was a long journey for a young man with limited resources. He arrived in New York City with only a couple of hundred dollars in his pocket. Part of that was spent on a gouging taxi cab ride, and most of the rest went to a bus ticket to Iowa City.

The challenges of life in Iowa City were multiple. It was cold, and his winter coat didn’t cover his forearms, so he cut off the tops of a pair of socks to keep his arms warm. His English was “really rough,” too, so he found two old televisions on the side of the road to help him learn. One had picture but no sound and the other had sound but no picture. He stacked the two televisions on top of each other. In Africa, he hadn’t experienced racism, either, and it was difficult for him when he realized that others couldn’t recognize his skills in math and science because of his race or when he was harassed by racists.

Mostly, he says, people in Iowa “were wonderful” to him, and despite challenges, Hassimi graduated with a Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1995. He got a job teaching Chemistry at UW-Whitewater after that, where he has been teaching for 29 years. During this time, he has helped many students who face their own challenges. He has helped African students who have had difficulty transitioning to Wisconsin as well as students who struggle with difficult academic subjects. He has also family back home who need help with tuition or medical care, and he frequently provides financial assistance to them.

He has raised the money to buy and send home four different ambulances with the help of many community members.  He said he felt “I am home” after all of the contributions from so many who care.

“People talk about ‘illegal’ or ‘legal’ immigrants but I don’t use those terms.  To blame everything on immigrants is not fair.  Immigrants contribute so much to the economy and culture in our cities, states and country,” said Hassimi.

Hassimi recently earned his Master’s Degree in Peace Building from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and his goal after retiring is to help nonprofits foster peace.  Even in retirement, he will continue to care for his homes, both in Whitewater and abroad.

The Whitewater Dementia Friendly Community Initiative would like to publicly thank Randy Cruse for his advocacy work in Washington (recently reported on whitewaterbanner.com) on behalf of persons with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers.  Thank you, Randy, for your efforts to improve health care, financial support and community understanding for persons with dementia. 

Persons with cognitive decline report being misunderstood by friends, family and providers because of myths and misconceptions about their disease.  Often patients themselves misunderstand, especially when the only advice they get from their doctors is to get their affairs in order and come back in six months for a checkup.

But there is good news: the health care community is getting educated.  There is even a trend to recruit patients to serve on boards and committees to help bring their perspective for proper treatment and planning.

Stigma is the use of negative labels to identify a person with a disability or illness. It prevents patients and caregivers from taking the positive steps that can be helpful. Like any disease, cognitive decline benefits from good habits of nutrition, sleep, exercise and health care.  Make sure hearing or vision loss is properly treated.  Seek out and share accurate information. Maintain relationships with friends and family.  Have fun with music, games and laughter.  Developing these good habits early on can slow and ease this progressive disease.

An individual living with this disease has the most powerful voice to help raise awareness, end stigma, and advocate for more  support and research. We can learn a lot from them.   For more ideas visit https://www.alz.org/help-support/i-have-alz/overcoming-stigma

This article submitted by Dementia Friendly Community Initiative, a program of Whitewater Seniors in the Park to help inform the community about dementia and to support patients and caregivers.  New members are always welcome!  Contact jjackson@whitewater-wi.gov or call Jennifer at 262 473 0535.  

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

Two Whitewater High School Choir students have won the prestigious Wisconsin School Music Association [WSMA] Exemplary Performance Recognition at two WSMA State Solo/Ensemble Festivals. Alex Clarksen earned the award for his Music Theater Solo event on April 27th at UW-Whitewater when he sang “She Cries” from Songs from the New World. A’lani Ross earned the award for her Alto Solo event on May 4th at Carroll University when she sang “Pastorale” by Georges Bizet.  Students performing at State Solo/Ensemble Festival can be nominated for this award by the adjudicators throughout the day. At the end of the day, the adjudicator can choose up to two events from each festival site to be awarded this honor. Seven other events from Whitewater High School were also nominated for this award. They are: Alex Clarksen-Tenor Solo, Charlotte Hajewski-Music Theater Solo, Brooke Mason -Alto Solo, Samuel Nickelsburg-Tenor Solo, Ava Van Daele-Alto Solo and Music Theater Solo, and Music Masters Ensemble-Mixed Vocal Jazz Ensemble.  Music Masters Ensemble members are Payton Bunger, Meridyth Cashion, Ayden Clark, Alex Clarksen, David Enns, Marina Linos, Brooke Mason, Samuel Nickelsburg, Lauren Rollette, A’lani Ross, and Alex Sullivan. 

Congratulations to A’lani and Alex and all students who were nominated to the WSMA Exemplary Performance Recognition!!