News

It’s time for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society!

Today’s flashback features one of Whitewater’s historic homes, the Partridge house. Located at 745 W. Center Street, it was built in about 1855 by John S. and Henrietta Partridge. John had migrated to the area in 1846 and opened up a general store downtown. From 1857 until the company’s dissolution in 1892, he was a partner in the Winchester & Partridge Manufacturing Company which produced the famous “Whitewater Wagon.” The home is pictured here in more recent times with the Jim and Claire Stewart family, who have lived in and taken care of this historic landmark for many years.

Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society!

(5145P, Whitewater Historical Society)

The Whitewater Historical Society collects, preserves, and interprets the history of Whitewater and the surrounding area. Be sure to join us next week for more from the Society’s collections. Please “like” us on Facebook, and check out our website at whitewaterhistoricalsociety.org!​ 

DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
125 PM CDT THU JUN 10 2021

...Severe Drought (D2) continues across southeastern Wisconsin...

.SYNOPSIS: The Severe Drought (D2) continues for Jefferson,
Waukesha, Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Walworth, and eastern Rock
Counties. The biggest change this week has been with Moderate
drought (D1) being expanded to cover much of the rest of southern
Wisconsin including most or all of Marquette, Green Lake, Fond du
Lac, Columbia and Dodge counties. Moderate drought (D1) conditions
continue across Sauk, Iowa, Dane, Green, northern Lafayette, western
Rock, Washington, Ozaukee, and Sheboygan Counties. Abnormally dry
(D0) conditions continue across far northern Fond du Lac and Green
Lake, and southern Lafayette Counties.

.Precipitation: Many locations in the D1 and D2 drought areas
continued to experience below normal precipitation over the past
week with rainfall generally ranging from 0.00" to 0.20" with most
of the region seeing under 0.05. 30-90 day precipitation is mostly
50% to 75% of normal across the drought areas, but slightly below
50% over far southeast WI. There are 2 to 8 inch 90 day
precipitation deficits across much of D1 and D2 drought areas with
the greatest deficits over far southeast WI.

Hydrologic Conditions: Some streamflows in the D2 area in far
southeastern Wisconsin are below the 25th percentile. Mostly near
normal streamflows exist across the D1 area. Meanwhile soil
conditions remain dry to very dry and well below normal, especially
across southeast Wisconsin.


.SUMMARY OF IMPACTS:

.Agricultural and Fire Hazards: None reported.


.DROUGHT MITIGATION ACTIONS: None reported.


.LOCAL DROUGHT OUTLOOK: The CPC outlook for the middle to latter
half of June calls for slightly higher probabilities of warmer
conditions and much higher probabilities for drier conditions. The 3
to 4 week outlook calls for higher probabilities for warmer
temperatures, while indicating higher probabilities for wetter
conditions. Overall, the evidence suggests the drought may persist
for the summer season.


Banner note:  The Weather Service uses the following five levels to categorize a drought.  We are currently in D2 (Severe Drought). 

Intensity and Impacts
 None
 D0 (Abnormally Dry)
 D1 (Moderate Drought)
 D2 (Severe Drought)
 D3 (Extreme Drought)
 D4 (Exceptional Drought)

The image on the homepage, “Drought” by Mundoo is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. It depicts a severe drought in Australia in 2006.

(Whitewater Public Library submission) Children and teens are invited to attend a free outdoor watercolor workshop sponsored by the Irvin L. Young Library and the Association of Wisconsin Artists – Bridging Generations. The event will take place outside on the library lawn on Saturday, June 19 at 1 p.m. Participants must register at whitewaterlibrary.org

Participants are invited to learn about the color wheel, the difference between warm and cool colors, and create a beautiful work of art to bring home. Participants will receive a frame for their artwork, and an AWA ribbon.

(Whitewater Public Library submission) The Power of Positive Parenting Virtual Seminar Series is hosted by the Irvin L. Young Library and will be presented by the Watertown Family Center and Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation virtually on June 15, 22 and 29 at 6 p.m. Parents/caregivers from any community may register for this Virtual Zoom program at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScq-yvALlV8y9JJ_fnp73H8lgHTJi9u_oaUysh9GMlXD3ffSw/viewform

These seminars will help parents get to know the core principles of positive parenting and will teach practical ways to deal with everyday challenges. Parents can register for one, two, or all three seminars and enjoy them from the comfort of their own home. Following their registration, people will receive information on how to access the virtual seminar(s) through Zoom:

Tuesday, June 15, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. – The Power of Positive Parenting: Parents will be introduced to the five key principles of positive parenting.

Tuesday, June 22, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. – Raising Confident, Competent Children: Parents will be introduced to six core building blocks for children to become confident and successful at school and beyond. This includes strategies for having a healthy self-esteem, being a good problem solver, and becoming independent.

Tuesday, June 29, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. – Raising Resilient Children: Parents will be introduced to six core building blocks for children to manage their feelings and become resilient in dealing with life stress. This includes expressing feelings appropriately, developing coping skills, and dealing with stressful life events.

(Whitewater Police Department press release) June 10, 2021 – On Friday, June 4, 2021, at 9:21 p.m., the City of Whitewater Police Department received a 9-1-1 call. Officers were dispatched to the apartments of 304 N. Tratt Street to the report of a subject who had “just shot himself.”

Upon arrival, officers located a 23-year-old male with a single gunshot wound. He was not breathing and did
not have a pulse. The male was identified as Zachary Wasendorf, of Whitewater. No others were injured during
this incident.

One firearm was recovered at the scene, which was legally owned and possessed. The WPD investigation
reveals the incident appears to be accidental and self-inflicted.

Local Emergency Medical Services, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Police Department and the
Walworth County Medical Examiner assisted in the incident. The investigation is still ongoing with the medical
examiner’s office.

(Roberta’s Art Gallery submission) Take a glimpse into the creative artwork from the City of Madison. Liubov Szwako, also known as “Triangulador,” will exhibit his artworks at Roberta’s Art Gallery through June 25, 2021 in his exhibit, “Liubov Szwako // Triangulador.” The artist utilizes spray acrylic enamel and oil paint to create intricate, abstract, and colorful paintings that often consist of many different textures and layers.

Szwako is of Russian heritage, was born and raised in Mexico City, and moved to Madison during his early 20s. He is a self-taught artist and he has been painting for nearly four years. Szwako likes to explore different mediums for his art, and will often use unique items as his canvas, like: sides of buildings, glass, old maps and even mattresses. In an effort to give back and beautify the city, he has done mural works, making him well known in the Madison community.

For more information on the artist and his artwork, visit: www.triangulador.com/theartist.

Roberta’s Art Gallery is located on the first floor of the James R. Connor University Center (UC) at UW-Whitewater. The gallery hosts multiple exhibits and workshops each semester by collaborating with the artists–both locally and regionally. Many of our events will be held virtually and/or in person this summer.

Roberta’s Art Gallery prides itself on all of their exhibits being free and open to the public. This means anyone: whether you’re a student, a Whitewater community member, or someone wanting to support the artist, stop on by! For questions or further information, contact Roberta’s Art Gallery at (262) 472-3193 or ucart@uww.edu or visit our website.

(Photo is taken directly from the artist’s website.)

252 S Ardmor Dr,  Whitewater
Friday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Oil Can Collection of Harley Davidson watches, kitchen bar stools, throw pillows, yarns, Christmas vintage glass bulbs, Christmas Collection of Barbie Ornaments, lights, roller blades, never worn ice skates, artist supplies, suitcases of all sizes, books, clothes and many other miscellaneous items.

12209 E. Bradley Rd, Whitewater
Saturday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Holiday items, electronics, kitchen items, candles, picture frames, educational toys, tools, 6 rolling dining room chairs, Lazy Boy rocker, Collectible beer signs and more.

As the Banner previously reported, on Friday, June 4 the Whitewater Fire Department was called to a single vehicle crash on Millis Road at approximately 9:10 p.m.

Per a statement from the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office, Sergio Alvarez, 35, of 10619 N County Line Rd #71 was arrested on several tentative charges including a fourth drunken driving offense, operating after revocation causing great bodily harm, and failure to install an ignition interlock device. Per the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access website,
the District Attorney’s office had apparently only filed a charge of failure to keep vehicle under control as of the time of Alvarez’s release on bond on Monday. It was indicated that Alvarez had failed to negotiate a curve, hitting a tree with his truck.

There were three passengers in the vehicle, Camillo Martinez Gonzalez, 40, Noe De Jesus Arias Polo, 27, and Adan Graciano Gonzalez, 33. After being treated for initial injuries at the scene, Alvarez and the three passengers were transported to area hospitals.