Editor’s note: The following information was provided by Walworth County.
Walworth County has again received a silver-level Wisconsin Healthy Communities Designation. The Healthy Communities program is intended to recognize and encourage achievements in health improvement in Wisconsin communities, and to promote cooperation across multiple sectors. Walworth County had previously received silver-level designation in 2018, and this renewal is recognition of local communities’ continued work and progress towards improving local health.
“Walworth County is proud to be among the 28 Wisconsin communities that received designations this year,” says Walworth County Public Health Officer Erica Bergstrom. “This designation shows that Walworth County has continued to prioritize multi-sector collaboration and sustainable solutions to improve health for all.”
The designation recognizes Walworth County’s community-health improvement efforts and partnerships. Initiatives highlighted for the designation include the Walworth County Breastfeeding Coalition, Walworth County Drug & Alcohol Coalition, Walworth County Community Alliance, Working for Whitewater’s Wellness (W3), and partnerships to improve ground water quality.
The Healthy Communities Designation program is designed to be accessible to communities of all shapes and sizes, both rural and urban. The definition of community is broad and can include counties, municipalities, neighborhoods and other self-defined, place-based communities in Wisconsin. The program uses a three-tiered approach – gold, silver and bronze – which are meant to provide a trajectory and serve as a guide for communities as they continue to strive toward better health.
The Wisconsin Healthy Communities Designation is an initiative offered by the Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health (MATCH) group of the UW Population Health Institute (UWPHI), in collaboration with diverse statewide groups. The Healthy Communities Designation program, funded by the Wisconsin Partnership Program of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, is designed to recognize and encourage achievements in health improvement in Wisconsin. To learn more about the program, visit the program website: www.wihealthycommunities.org.
Editor’s note: The following information was provided by Walworth County.
The Walworth County Board of Supervisors will conduct a Public Hearing on the 2021 Redistricting Plan for Walworth County on Tuesday, November 9th at 3:30 p.m. in the County Board Room of the Walworth County Government Center, 100 West Walworth Street, Elkhorn, Wisconsin.
An informational presentation and general discussion of the 2021 Redistricting Plan will occur at this meeting and public input will be accepted at this time.
The business meeting of the County Board of Supervisors will also be conducted and the Board will discuss and possibly act on the Plan.
Banner note: The agenda is available here. The county indicates that due to the continuing public health emergency “all individuals are strongly encouraged to watch the meeting streaming live.” Individuals wanting to provide a Public Comment can do so remotely by telephone, but must contact the County Administrator’s Office at 262-741-4357 on the day of the meeting and at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the meeting to obtain instructions.
Editor’s note: The following information has been provided by UW-W and the Whitewater Parks & Rec. Dept.
Reunite for UW-Whitewater’s 2021 Homecoming Parade at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 30 at 10 a.m. The parade will march from the corner of Main and Prince to the corner of Prairie and Starin. Don’t forget to stop by the Alumni Hospitality Tent! #UWWHOMECOMING.
Show your Warhawk Spirit and join us for the UWW Homecoming Parade. Saturday, Oct 30th. Bring your bike/stroller/wagon to the Decorating Station located in Lot 1 off of Main St & N Prince St. All decorating supplies will be provided. Decorating will take place starting at 9:00 a.m. and will conclude at the start of the Parade at 10 am. All participants will need to walk or ride bikes through the entire parade; a trailer will not be on location. The parade starts at 10 am and here is a link to our city website with a little more details for you https://www.whitewater-wi.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=325. You can also visit https://www.uww.edu/homecoming to learn more about the parade and other UWW homecoming events. Thank you!
Inviting children and families to come in your costumes and we will have a station to decorate your bike, tricycle, stroller, wagon, etc. to use to ride or walk in the parade. All children participating in the parade will receive a goodie bag. For more information and to sign-up, visit: https://whitewater.recdesk.com/Community/Program Registration Number: 2022. (Enter that number in the search box.)
Banner update: The city website had indicated that a trailer would be available for children to ride on; however, Parks/Rec. Director Eric Boettcher clarified to the Banner that there will NOT be a trailer this year.
Lucia Verduzco, 62, de Whitewater WI falleció en Miércoles, Octubre 27, 2021 rodeada de su amorosa familia en el Hospital Mercy en Janesville WI.
Lucia nació el 2 de Febrero de 1959 en La Plaza del Limón, México de sus padres Alfredo Cruz y Enriqueta Verduzco. Donde creció y conoció al amor de su vida, Jesus Verduzco desde muy temprana edad. Se casaron en 1978 y juntos tuvieron seis hijos. En 1998, Lucia y Jesus movieron a su familia a Whitewater, Wisconsin. Lucia comenzó a trabajar en Trostel LTD Industries, hasta su retiro en el año 2010.
A ella le gustaba cocinar, tejer, coser, trabajar en el Jardín y especialmente pasar el tiempo con sus nietos a quien ella adoraba. A Lucia le encantaba regresar a México a visitar a su familia y para recordarles a sus hijos “Nunca olvidar de donde vinieron.”
A ella le sobreviven su esposo, Jesus Verduzco; hijos, Jesus Verduzco, Laura (Alfredo) Olivares, Maria del Pilar (Jesus) Tizapa; sus nietos, Emiliano, Mariela, Sofia. Su hermano, Alfredo Cruz; y otros miembros familiares.
Ella es precedida en muerte de sus padres, Alfredo y Enriqueta Cruz, sus hijos, Ramon, Guadalupe y Alfredo; y su hermano, Jesus Cruz.
Una misa de cuerpo presente se celebrará a las 12PM el Sábado, Octubre 30, 2021 en la Iglesia Católica de St Patricio. Con visitaciones de 10AM hasta la hora de misa. Un Funeral se celebrará tiempo después en Mexico.
La Familia quiere agradecerle especialmente a Dr Wilson de Mercy Clinic en Whitewater, al personal de el hospital de Mercy en Janesville WI por el cuidado excepcional que le brindaron a Lucia.
Nitardy Funeral Home está asistiendo a la familia con los arreglos fúnebres. Mensajes de solidaridad se.
Editor’s note: The following information was provided by UW-Whitewater.
Pilar Melero, professor of Spanish at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, will receive the 2021 University Lifetime of Service Award from the State Council on Affirmative Action on Friday, Oct. 29, at the annual diversity awards program at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison. Recipients include state agencies, educators and other individuals whose efforts resulted in more inclusive workplaces, equity in healthcare, community-building and mentoring for young people.
According to an announcement from the state Department of Administration, Melero was chosen “for dedicating her more than 20-year career in education, educating and advocating for the LatinX, Chicano, Hispanic and LGBTQ+ communities as well as serving as a mentor, resource and ally to all students and staff around equity and gender issues.”
Melero, a UW-Whitewater alum from the Class of 1988, double-majored in Spanish and journalism, then embarked on a journalism career at newspapers in Waukesha, Milwaukee and El Paso, Texas. As a journalist, Melero wrote bilingual articles, wrote for an African American newspaper and covered women’s issues and Latino issues.
“It was a milestone the first time I got published in an English-language newspaper,” she said. “English is my second language. I used to cover school districts. I had to read a lot of documents. I did a lot of asking. I was prepared for the writing but not for the reporting itself.”
She became a writer and columnist for her hometown newspaper, the Waukesha Freeman and for the Milwaukee Journal. From covering smalltown school districts, she went on to write about issues as diverse as unequal access to housing and organic farming. In a reporting project on women in Waukesha, Melero interviewed the director of the local women’s center. The interview stuck with Melero.
“She told me her dream would be that every women’s center in the world would be closed because they were no longer necessary,” said Melero. “That was the most beautiful statement I had ever heard.”
In Texas, Melero was asked to teach a Spanish course, and noticed how much she loved working with the students. She attended the University of Texas-El Paso for her master’s degree and then UW-Madison for her Ph.D. before returning “home” in 2003 to teach at UW-Whitewater and to build upon the legacy of courses in diversity she had found there as an undergraduate.
Along with her teaching duties, Melero and her colleagues developed new programs in diversity studies, renovated others and created curriculum. Like the foundation of a building, this work is almost invisible, but everything rests upon it. She credits the teams of curriculum builders she worked with saying, “They did their own mentoring with me. They mentored me with collegiality and support.”
“The biggest milestone workwise is with my team in Race and Ethnic Studies,” said Melero. “We developed minors in Asian/Asian American Studies, African American Studies, Latinx/Latin American Studies and American Indian Studies.”
“We did it all as a team,” she added. “(A milestone was) coming back to my alma mater where I first got exposed to diversity courses and to be able to continue that evolution and the legacy of all of these people (faculty).”
As an undergraduate student at UW-Whitewater, Melero found a home. Her academic family included Carlos de Onis, a professor of Chicano Studies and Spanish; and Spanish instructors Aldo and Adriana Busot. Before that, she remembers Doug Evans, a teacher and advocate at Waukesha South High School. If not for Evans’ early mentoring and guidance, she likely would not have attended college at all.
Evans saw the young Melero’s academic ability when others didn’t, she said. Evans was so tall and lanky that he practically had to fold himself into his tiny office, especially on the day he and Melero’s parents crowded into that office to plan her college application process.
And as Melero walks to the podium of the State Assembly chamber in the Capitol to receive the award for a lifetime of achievement, she will retrace the steps of Roger Pulliam, a beloved mentor who was the first person to receive the award. Pulliam, in multiple roles through decades of service, infused first-generation college students with confidence, and especially those students from underrepresented communities. Pulliam was a mentor for Melero when she was an undergraduate studying Spanish and journalism. He was still there to encourage her to return as a faculty member.
“Whitewater is not a job,” said Melero. “Whitewater is my home.”
Carol Ulbert Schafer was born on July 8, 1934, and passed away peacefully on October 20, 2021, at Sylvan Crossings of Jefferson. Mom was born to James and Katherine Ulbert, Chicago Illinois and has one sister Patricia (Swede) Sweeney.
Mom married our Dad Theodore “Dan” Schafer on December 1, 1956, after Dad returned home from proudly serving his country. As a family we lived in Chicago until 1978 when we moved to Whitewater WI, where we had our cottage and spent time with our family and friends. Mom had 4 children, Steven (Cheryl) of Punta Gorda FL, Michael (Lisa) of Lago Vista TX, Geralyn (Ken) Dorn of Fort Atkinson, and Mary Catherine (Jim) Vohs of Whitewater.
Mom had 10 grandchildren, Ryan (Elise) Schafer, Sarah (Kent) Walker, Teddy (Jenny) Schafer, David (Holly) Schafer, Rachel (Ben) Smith, Renee (Corey) Viola, Justin (Stacy) Vohs, Axel (Courtney) Vohs, Damon Vohs, Stefanie (Ian Helfenstein) Schafer. 19 Great-grandchildren, Sienna, Genevieve, Brenson, and Emery Schafer, Carter, Nolan, Adelyn and Gracelyn Schafer, Abby and Michael Schafer, Eli Walker, Jayden and Hunter Smith, Alexis and Aliyah Viola, Pierce Vohs and Hayden Vohs, Averie and Alaric Helfenstein. 3 Nieces Kathleen Sweeney, Maureen Sweeney, Colleen (Tony) Bacino, one nephew John Sweeney and many great nieces and nephews.
Mom volunteered at St. Priscilla Church in Chicago, was a Girl Scout leader, volunteered for The La Lache League of Chicago and mom and dad were involved with The Beverley Dean foundation to raise money for St Jude’s Children’s Hospital. After we all graduated from high school Mom was elected Treasurer for the Town of Whitewater and served for over 20 years. Mom loved to travel, sail with our dad, but most of all she loved spending time with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and attending as many events and activities as she could.
Mom was preceded in death by her parents James and Katherine Ulbert, her in-laws Ted and Agnes Schafer, our Dad Ted “Dan” Schafer, her son Michael Schafer, her granddaughter Renee Dorn-Viola, her brother in-law Swede Sweeney and her dear friend and partner in crime, Diane Fejdasz.
Our family would like to thank the staff of Sylvan Crossing of Jefferson, they all went above and beyond caring for our Mom and also Rainbow Hospice for all they did and for all they continue to do.
Our Mom wanted us to celebrate her life by having a gathering of family and close friends. We will celebrate on November 7th from 11:00-3:00 at “The Bridge” 88 South Main St., Fort Atkinson, WI 53538, Time of remembrance will be at 11. For those of you who are unable to attend the Celebration, please remember our mom in your prayers.
Nitardy Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences can be made at www.nitardyfuneralhome.com
Editor’s note: The following was provided by Lori Heidenreichfor Delta Kappa Gamma – Whitewater Chapter.
The Delta Kappa Gamma-Whitewater Chapter had a presentation on Thursday, October 21, 2021 from the Ferradermis Robotic Team from Whitewater High School.
Editor’s note: The following information was provided by Dalee Water Conditioning.
Dalee Water Conditioning is proud to announce that it has recently acquired Markee Water Conditioning of Walworth County.
Markee Water owners Frank and Mary Gauger, along with their son Rob, have decided to retire from the water treatment business.
The acquisition reaffirms Dalee Water’s commitment to providing the best service to Walworth County and the surrounding area, where the company has been treating water since 1947.
“We’re looking forward to servicing Markee’s existing customer base in the same professional manner, and also to providing additional services such as rental water softeners, Iron Curtains, RO systems, and automatic salt delivery,” said Dave Kertscher, owner of Dalee Water Conditioning.
Established in Whitewater by the Dalee family in 1947, Dalee Water maintains the region’s most complete and experienced water treatment team, providing expert service and sales to residential and small commercial customers.
Dalee is proud to provide water treatment services with products that are made in the U.S.A., and they offer a variety of water softening and filtration solutions, as well as service and repair to any make or model.
Dalee serves the local communities of Whitewater, Elkhorn, Delavan, Lake Geneva, Fontana, Walworth, Burlington, Palmyra, Eagle, Fort Atkinson, Jefferson, Sullivan, and surrounding areas.
Editor’s note: The following information was provided by the Young Auditorium.
’Letters Home’ Offers A Powerful Portrait of the American Soldier Experience Young Auditorium – Tuesday, November 9th at 7:30 PM | Tickets $24.25 (12 & under $15.50)
A must see for veterans, military members and supporters, Letters Home is a moving theatrical production that brings to life actual letters written by soldiers serving in the Middle East. Young Auditorium presents this highly relevant performance on Tuesday, November 9th at 7:30 pm. Produced by Chicago’s Griffin Theatre Company, Letters Home puts the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq front and center, using actual communications from American soldiers as the source material for this eye-opening performance. Written under the most difficult of circumstances these letters evoke emotional responses regarding the disorientation of training, deployment day, separation from family and loved ones, as well as actual combat and occupation duties. Without politicizing, Letters Home gives audiences a powerful portrait of the true soldier experience. This production is inspired by the New York Times op-ed article, “The Things They Wrote,” and the subsequent HBO documentary, Last Letters Home.
“Extraordinary, Deeply Moving! The emotional impact of this 90-minute journey is profound.” —Chicago Sun Times
Tickets for this, and all 2021-2022 Young Auditorium season performances can be purchased online at http://www.youngauditorium.com, or by connecting with the UW-Whitewater Ticket Services department.
UW-Whitewater Ticket Services 950 West Main Street – Whitewater, WI 53190
located inside the Greenhill Center of the Arts – (262) 472-2222 | Monday – Friday 9:30am – 3pm
*This engagement is supported by the Arts Midwest GIG fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from Wisconsin Arts Board. Masks will be required for attendees of this performance. Please visit the Warhawks Are Back! website, which outlines operating practices for the UW-Whitewater campus. Modifications of these practices should be anticipated. UW-Whitewater will continue to use information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the State of Wisconsin, county health departments and the University of Wisconsin System to guide the decision-making processes across campuses.
