It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday on New Year’s Day from the Whitewater Historical Society.
The Whitewater Historical Society would like to extend “A hearty wish for the New Year” with this post card from 1908. It is from our collection of holiday post cards from the early 20th century.
Have a Happy New Year and join us for special celebrations in this 250th year of the Declaration of Independence.
Wishing you good health and happiness in the new year!
The Banner appreciates having permission to use the image on the homepage and above by Waseem Ahmad from Pixabay.
Mark Dorn writes “Some hearty souls!”
Thanks to Mark Dorn for sharing this chilly holiday photo.
— Our Readers Share: We hope that you might have something that you’d be willing to share. Anything that’s been created by someone else should, of course, be credited, and you should ask their permission if you’re able. We cannot post copyrighted material without permission. We can’t guarantee that we’ll have space for all submissions, and contributions will be subject to editorial board approval. The one definite exclusion is anything politically oriented. We will assume that you’re willing for us to include your name as the submitter unless you indicate that you prefer to remain anonymous. Send to whitewaterbanner@gmail.com. Thanks for thinking about this!
Stoughton – Gillian (Jill) K Watrous Reedy, born January 4, 1957, in Whitewater, WI and died December 22, 2025 in Madison, WI. She is preceded in death by her parents Paul and Ethel (DeYoung) Watrous. She is survived by her husband of 44 years, Michael A. Reedy and her brother John J. Watrous (Sue). Two nieces Sondra (Sonny) Sgagliardich of Providence, Rhode Island, and Taylor Lueras of Albuquerque, New Mexico; and four great nieces.
Jill graduated from UW Whitewater with a BA in music education and a plan to be a band teacher. Later she returned to UW Whitewater to work on a MA in music education to teach vocal music.
After settling in Stoughton, she was choir director at Covenant Lutheran and later at First Lutheran Church.
She is one of the founders and a regular director of Stoughton Festival Choir. Amongst her favorite pastimes she enjoyed playing French horn with the Stoughton City Band and ukulele with the Yahara Strummers.
Jill was a vocal music teacher at River Bluff and a general music teacher at Martin Luther Christian School. She may be best known as a private piano teacher for many years teaching from her little music studio in the back of their home.
Mike and Jill loved to travel with special destinations being Ireland, Scotland, Norway and Hawai’i.
Beading, knitting, crocheting and watching the birds were favorite pastimes. Mike and Jill filled their lives with many cats and dogs over the years, most recently the best border collie ever: Tamdhu and orange cat Nala. She especially loved watching and photographing the ducks, pelicans, egrets, geese, heron, osprey and eagles from her condo overlooking Paradise Pond.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, January 31, 2026, at FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH, 310 E. Washington St., Stoughton. There will not be a formal visitation but there will be a luncheon immediately following the service to which all are invited.
Cress Funeral & Cremation Service
206 W. Prospect, P.O. Box 231, Stoughton
(608) 873-9244
Please share your memories at www.cressfuneralservice.com
Updated 1/2/26 @ 9:30 p.m. with up-to-date information about Council candidates.
By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
Anyone wishing to run for city, state or federal office must complete the necessary steps by Tuesday, January 6 at 5 p.m. For Common Council, nomination papers with at least 25 signatures must be submitted for a district seat, or 50 signatures for an at-large position. The clerk’s office at the municipal building is closed on New Year’s Eve and Day. It will be open on January 2 and January 5 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on January 6 until 5:00 p.m.
Three City of Whitewater Common Council seats are up for election on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. If there are more than two candidates in any race there will be a primary on February 17, 2026. Per City Clerk Heather Boehm, the following is the status of the nomination filings, which are listed in alphabetical order.
District 2 (Currently represented by Orin Smith, who has filed a noncandidacy statement)
Gavin Kelleher, 451 Warhawk Drive – campaign registration is complete.
Sean Liebherr, 771 W. Lauderdale Drive, campaign registration is complete.
District 4 (Currently represented by Brian Schanen)
One other person has indicated an interest in running but has not yet completed any papers.
Brian Schanen, 441 S. Buckingham Blvd., campaign registration is complete.
At-large (Currently represented by Greg Majkrzak, who has filed a noncandidacy statement)
Teresa Golembiewski, 1180 Bloomingfield Drive, campaign registration is complete.
Orin Smith, 329 N. Tratt St., campaign registration is complete.
Aubrey Thompson has submitted her campaign registration forms but has not yet submitted her nomination signatures.
Information regarding the School Board election may be found here.
District 4 represents the western portion of the city; a map may be found here.
Incumbent Al Stanek has indicated that he is not running for re-election.
Tyler Schneider has announced that he is a candidate.
The Banner has not sought an update from the county, but understands that no one else had filed as of December 31.
Incumbent Brian Holt has not filed a noncandidacy statement.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The general election for this position is not until November 3. It is very likely that a primary will be held on August 11, as the following candidates have already been announced:
Bryan Steil (Incumbent) (Republican Party)
Miguel Aranda (Democratic Party)
Mitchell Berman (Democratic Party)
Randy Bryce (Democratic Party)
Enrique Casiano (Democratic Party)
Gage Stills (Democratic Party)
Connor Walleck (Republican Party)
Adam Follmer (Independent)
John’s Disposal will be closed on:
New Year’s Day – Thursday, January 1, 2026 – Collection will be delayed by one day.
Residents may contact John’s Disposal directly by calling (262) 473-4700 or by emailing
office@johnsdisposal.com. You may also view their website at https://www.johnsdisposal.com.
Brad Marquardt
Director of Public Works
262-473-0139
bmarquardt@whitewater-wi.gov
For other requests, visit https://www.whitewater-wi.gov/RequestTracker.aspx.
Penny Ardelt has been part of the First Citizens State Bank family for nearly 27 years and has had the opportunity to work with many community members through her roles in New Accounts/Relationship Banking and Business Development. Please join First Citizens State Bank in wishing Penny all the best as she begins her retirement journey! An open house will be held at the bank’s main office at 207 W. Main Street in Whitewater on Friday, January 2nd from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Stop in, have some cake, and share stories and well wishes for Penny’s next adventures.
Dawn Hunter writes, “Ice Discs or Ice Pancakes: This rarely seen formation was spotted on the spillway near the Trippe Lake Park just before Christmas. These discs need the right air and water temperatures, plus the right amount of swirling water motion to form. Mother Nature’s holiday gift to the viewer.”
Our thanks to Dawn Hunter for sharing her rarely seen experience through these photos.
— Our Readers Share: We hope that you might have something that you’d be willing to share. Anything that’s been created by someone else should, of course, be credited, and you should ask their permission if you’re able. We cannot post copyrighted material without permission. We can’t guarantee that we’ll have space for all submissions, and contributions will be subject to editorial board approval. The one definite exclusion is anything politically oriented. We will assume that you’re willing for us to include your name as the submitter unless you indicate that you prefer to remain anonymous. Send to whitewaterbanner@gmail.com. Thanks for thinking about this!
The annual Parade of Lights took place on a fairly chilly night on December 5. Photos are courtesy of Tom Ganser.
Plant Diagnostics: The Step-by-Step Approach to Identifying Plant Problems is an online course offered by the UW-Madison Extension Horticulture Program. The course, which runs Feb. 1-April 30, 2026, teaches basic troubleshooting skills for plant-related problems.
Learn the step-by-step process for identifying plant problems in your yard, garden, and even indoors. This course introduces the plant diagnostic process in an easy-to-understand way. Anyone who is interested in becoming a better gardener, regardless of skill level, is invited to register. This course is open to all Wisconsin gardeners of all skill levels, as well as commercial horticulture practitioners.
At the end of the course, participants will be able to:
● Explain the steps of the diagnostic process
● Identify appropriate resources to use for diagnostics
● Know how to access UW-Madison Extension diagnostic labs and services for additional support
Plant Diagnostics: The Step-by-Step Approach to Identifying Plant Problems is completely self- paced with 13 modules that contain videos, readings, and interactive activities. Participants are also invited to attend two live webinars, “Putting the Process into Practice: Real World Diagnostics”, led by UW-Madison Extension educators, and “Meet the Labs!”, with UW- Madison diagnostic lab directors.
Registration for the general public and commercial professionals is open until Jan. 29, 2026. An Early Bird registration discount is available now through Jan. 19 at a rate of $99. The regular registration rate ($119) is in place Jan. 22-29. Wisconsin Extension Master Gardeners are eligible for a special discounted rate of $49.
Find more information about this course and register at: go.wisc.edu/ExtDiagnosticsCourse
Questions? Contact the course moderator, Amy Freidig at
gardening.class@extension.wisc.edu.