It’s time again for another #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society! Today marks the 140th anniversary of the beginning of the 1881 snowstorm, which came in two waves between February 26 and March 4. A heavy rainstorm, followed closely by over four feet of snow, pounded the city that week. Record books in Madison indicate that approximately 114 inches of snow fell in total that winter.J.P. Whipple’s stereoscope image shows some children hanging out among the access tunnels carved into the snow mounds on the northwest side of Whitewater Street.
Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society collections!
(1570ST, 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!
Everett Long writes, “This unfortunate squirrel in our neighborhood arrives now and then to pick up seed from under the birdfeeder. I have no idea how the tail was lost. Perhaps the squirrel’s experience should remind us to: Always be mindful of ‘de-tails’.”
Our thanks to Everett Long for submitting this cute 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 or click on “submit a story” near the top right of our homepage. Thanks for thinking about this!
City of Whitewater Community Involvement & Cable TV Commission – Monday @ 4:00 p.m. Agenda Please join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/814168533 You can also dial in using your phone. United States: +1 (408) 650-3123 Access Code: 814-168-533 New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts: https://global.gotomeeting.com/install/814168533
City of Whitewater Common Council – Tuesday @ 6:30 p.m. Agenda includes extension of City Manager Declaration of Emergency and face coverings requirement to June 30, 2021; prohibition of smoking/vaping within 20 feet of playgrounds; amendment to City Manager Employment Contract. You are invited to a Zoom webinar. Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/92733417507?pwd=bU1teGIrbStDZ3hLVGNHTGFLeW85UT09 Passcode: 628082 Or Telephone: Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 301 715 8592 Webinar ID: 927 3341 7507 Passcode: 628082 International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/aeGYn6TwLb
City of Whitewater Landmarks Commission – Thursday @ 3:30 p.m. Agendaincludes Effigy Mounds Preserve – Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Commission Grant results and future plans for preserve Please join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/804418477 You can also dial in using your phone. United States: +1 (872) 240‐3212 Access Code: 804‐418‐477 New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts: https://global.gotomeeting.com/install/804418477
Whitewater Fire Department, Inc Business Meeting – Thursday @ 6:30 p.m. Agenda includes establishing EMS Staffing Committee; Hiring of AEMT’s; Pay structure for current WFD membership Please join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. meet.google.com/vqo-tsdh-xna You can also dial in using your phone. United States: +1 971-232-0004 Access Code: 935 601 576 New to Google Meets? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts: meet.google.com/vqo-tsdh-xna
(UW-Whitewater’s Warhawk Catholic submission) Warhawk Catholic, the campus ministry for Catholic students at the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, is pleased to announce the winners of its Award for Service, Mary Weinlein of Pewaukee, and its Distinguished Alumni Award, Monsignor James Bartylla of the Diocese of Madison. Both individuals are being recognized as part of an extended celebration of the 50th anniversary of Warhawk Catholic.
“We are thrilled to publicly recognize two influential Catholics who have played important roles in developing the faith of our campus and region,” said Brian Zanin, Warhawk Catholic campus minister.
Since 1916, Catholic students at UW-Whitewater have gathered as a community. These student organizations included the Catholic Girls’ Society, the Mercier Club and the Mercier-Newman Club. UW-Whitewater students now have a vibrant Catholic student organization, Warhawk Catholic, which was chartered in 1969 as the Catholic Student Coalition, that works with the campus ministry office of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. In addition to this arrangement, St. Patricks Parish of Whitewater has played a key role in the development of today’s student group.
Priests, professionals, and volunteers have played critical roles in shaping the organization and ministry over the years. One of these volunteers is Mary Weinlein, who is the 2021 recipient of the Warhawk Catholic Award for Service. In 1987 Weinlein was asked to be the faculty advisor for what was then the Catholic Student Coalition when she worked as a senior lecturer in the Department of Special Education at UW-Whitewater. She agreed, and, as the years went by it was clear that not only was Weinlein the advisor to the student organization, she was a part of it.
Mary and Conrad Weinlein
“It became, for me, a very important experience because I saw students taking care of each other and their beliefs,” she said. “The students were more than yearning for the life of Jesus. They were sharing it.”
She attended the students’ regular Wednesday night meetings, she’d host supper at her home for the students, and she’d help out at the students’ fundraising events. So close to her heart were the students that she invited all of them to her 1993 wedding, at St. Patrick’s in Whitewater, where she and her late husband, Conrad, received an acapella serenade from the students at their wedding reception.
“It was sweet,” Weinlein remembers. “I was just very touched by this wonderful group of young people.”
Many UW-Whitewater graduates are Catholic, one notable alum being Monsignor James Bartylla ‘83, the vicar general of the Diocese of Madison, who is the recipient of the 2021 Warhawk Catholic Distinguished Alumni Award.
Monsignor Bartylla graduated from UW-Whitewater with a bachelor’s in accounting, and then pursued a master’s in finance from UW-Milwaukee, followed by a law degree from UW-Madison. Shortly after graduating from UW-Whitewater he began a near-decade-long career in real estate development and valuation. He was quite successful, having work that took him all over the world.
Monsignor James Bartylla
Then one night, he says he was about age 30 or so, Monsignor Bartylla was on a plane between Singapore and Frankfurt, Germany. He had been sleeping, and when he woke up he found himself asking, “Where does this all go?” Sometime after, he made a confession at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, and then returned to Wisconsin where he discerned a path to the priesthood. Once he completed his law degree he entered Mundelein Seminary for the Diocese of Madison, also studied in Rome, Italy, and was ordained in May 2001.
He spent a few years working in various parishes – including Verona, Kieler, Bloomington, and Pine Bluff – and was concurrently working half-time in the Madison Chancery as the priest secretary to the bishop, who at that time was Bishop William Bullock. When Bishop Robert Morlino was assigned to Madison he asked Monsignor Bartylla to be the diocesan vocations director, and during his almost six years in that position (2004 to 2009), Monsignor Bartylla also visited the UW-Whitewater campus to speak at Warhawk Catholic to talk about his vocation to the priesthood.
Shortly thereafter, Bishop Morlino appointed Monsignor Bartylla to the position of vicar general for the Diocese of Madison, a position he held until November 2018, when Bishop Morlino died and the diocesan College of Consultors voted Monsignor Bartylla to be the diocesan administrator for the Diocese of Madison until a new bishop was installed. He held that role for seven months until current Madison Bishop Donald Hying named him vicar general, again.
Monsignor Bartylla says he’s learned a lot about managing a diocese in the time he’s been in the Madison Chancery. The position he holds is like that of a chief operating officer under a CEO. He has some powers of diocesan leadership, but cannot do everything a bishop can do. He says he is grateful for the grace of his call to the priesthood, and he’s grateful that he’s been able to apply his education and the work ethic he developed in the world prior to becoming a priest, for the Catholic Church.
“It was God’s work, not mine,” he said, recalling a party he attended in Manhattan after he made his confession at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Everyone was talking and someone at the party asked him, ‘Have you ever thought about the priesthood?’
“Instantly all the secular stuff was gone,” Monsignor Bartylla said. “Wow. Everything changed in like, 30 seconds. Now, only God can do that.”
As COVID-19 conditions allow, Warhawk Catholic will recognize Mary Weinlein and Monsignor Bartylla at an alumni dinner, tentatively planned for 2022.
“We thank both Mary and Monsignor Bartylla for their leadership as Catholics,” Zanin said. “It gives our students something to aspire to as they move into their professional adult lives.”
Carlo Nevicosi, Interim Director of Walworth County’s Health & Human Services Department, recently told the Banner, “In our 2021 budget, we added two clinical social workers with the purpose of ’embedding’ them in law enforcement agencies. We know that law enforcement is the first responder for lots of things that aren’t criminal. The goal with this pilot is to work alongside officers to manage behavioral health issues and to coordinate follow-up responses for calls they get that are not crime-related. For the pilot, we selected Delavan and Whitewater Police Departments. It’s been a great partnership setting this up with Chief Raap.”
In response to the Banner’s inquiry as to what prompted the department to propose this pilot, and to select Whitewater and Delavan, Nevicosi replied, “A lot of the conversation started around the fact that law enforcement tends to be the first responder for just about everything, mental health and substance abuse problems included. We have very strong relationships with our law enforcement agencies and starting thinking about how we could better support them AND get good outcomes for our community members in need. We have a 24/7 Crisis Intervention Program. They’re mobile, but housed in Elkhorn. We looked at some of our data regarding population and volume of crisis responses and we landed on Delavan and Whitewater. We’ve launched the program in Delavan and are recruiting for the Whitewater position. The scheduling is certainly a bit trickier. Delavan opted for a pretty standard first-shift workday. Whitewater sees more value in a second shift position. They will each get a full-time Crisis Specialist housed in their departments. During the remaining hours in the day, they’ll continue to use our team housed in Elkhorn. We’re calling this a pilot for now. We’ll be gathering data, but the overarching goal is to let the police do police stuff and we can help handle issues with social service needs. This pilot is not grant funded. With some data, I think we’ll be well-positioned to apply for grants.”
Mr. Nevicosi indicated that this article on Yahoo news is the kind of story that has inspired Walworth’s pilot.
Carol McCormick writes, “With the warmer weather, Trippe Lake has begun to partially thaw. What appears to be a couple of broken off chunks of snow are actually two swans dozing on the ice. Also spotted are migrating goldeneyes and mergansers! Spring is on the horizon!”
Our thanks to Carol McCormick for submitting this timely 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 or click on “submit a story” near the top right of our homepage. Thanks for thinking about this!
(UW-Whitewater submission) Since 1983, faculty experts from UW-Whitewater have been presenting free public lectures on topics from art and history to current events and influential people. Join us online this spring, as we travel, virtually, through space and time.
Traveling came to an abrupt halt in 2020, but virtual journeys through time and across the world can take place through the experiences of others. Join us as we visit Louis XIV’s France; travel with students and faculty to Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America; and examine the impact of (and by) those who immigrate to the U.S. Stay safe at home this spring, while exploring our world through the experiences of our fellow global citizens.
Monday, March 1 at 3:00 p.m.
A Heartland Visa to Revive and Internationalize the Midwest
Jonathan Burkham, associate professor, Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies
The following was shared by Valley of the Kings Sanctuary from Sharon, WI: On Monday, February 22 at approximately 1:15 p.m., the weight of the snow caused the entire roof to collapse on the pole barn. Three pot belly pigs, a blind horse and 3 goats were trapped inside; thankfully none were injured other than a few scrapes. The remainder of the barn residents, 3 llamas, 2 ponies, 5 cows, 2 emus, were outside.
The pigs and goats have been moved to enclosures inside the main barn. Our volunteer construction crew will be able to build emergency shelters for Canela, our blind horse, the cows and the llamas. The animals are doing well and enjoying the warmer temperatures. NO exotics were involved in the disaster.
The barn is not insured, due to age of the structure and because we are an exotic animal facility. We have set up several fundraisers to help raise the approximate $75,000 needed to replace the barn. Please look for our pages, Valley of the Kings Sanctuary & Retreat on Facebook, GoFundMe.com/f/votkbigcats, Associated Bank- VOTK Construction account and Paypal.me/VOTK. VOTK is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
A MAJOR Thank you to the Sharon & Darien Fire Departments for getting our animals safely out of the pole barn. Our vet has checked the animals and all are in good health, just some minor scrapes. The workers had just finished their chores in the barn. A blessing that no workers were inside. Thank you all for your prayers and support. www.VOTK.Org
From their website Valley of the Kings Sanctuary and Retreat provides a home for abused, abandoned, retired and injured large felids, exotics, and domestic non-human animals. We give the best available diet, housing, veterinary care and positive human interaction. Valley of the Kings educates the general public concerning the bond between human and non-human animals in the natural world. We teach that private or commercial ownership, hunting for profit or sport and the destruction of natural habitat will mean eventual extinction for these creatures. Lastly, we believe that when we remove animals from the wild, we take their freedom and wildness, the essence of their being.
Wisconsin’s Division of Energy Services oversees the Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program (WHEAP). This includes the federally-funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Public Benefits Energy Assistance Program. WHEAP provides financial assistance to help eligible households pay a portion of their heating and electric energy costs. Eligible households may receive a benefit payment once per heating season (October 1 through May 15), and crisis assistance funds and help for non-operating furnaces and heating systems may also be available. The amount of the benefit payment depends on household size, income level, and energy costs. WHEAP is administered locally through county social services offices, tribal governments, and private non-profit agencies in each county in Wisconsin.
Who is eligible for this program?
To be eligible for this benefit program, you must be a resident of Wisconsin and you must need financial assistance with home energy costs.
A person who participates or has family members who participate in certain other benefit programs, such as SNAP, SSI, TANF, automatically meets the eligibility requirement. In order to qualify, you must also have an annual household income (before taxes) that is below 60 percent of the State Median Income. This site will give you further information, including a calculator of the maximum qualifying income based on family size.
Click here to begin the application process. If you need help completing the online application, or need to apply in-person or by phone, Walworth County residents should call Energy Services, Inc. at (262) 427-8505, Rock County residents may contact Energy Services, Inc. at (608) 363-9200, Jefferson County Residents may contact Energy Services, Inc. at (920) 568-0604.
Wisconsin Emergency Rental Assistance Program: Please see the information shown below. More information, including answers to frequently asked questions, may be found here. Rock & Walworth County residents should be prescreened by filling out the form that is found on the Community Action, Inc. site. Jefferson County residents should contact Energy Services, Inc. at (833) 900-9372.
The following is a press release from Gov. Evers regarding this program. It has a link that provides the household income limits depending upon the household size. Gov. Evers Announces New Wisconsin Emergency Rental Assistance Program
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today announced more than $322 million in funding to help support Wisconsinites who have experienced income loss as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Wisconsin Emergency Rental Assistance Program, administered by the Department of Administration (DOA), provides direct financial assistance for rent, utility, home energy costs, and wraparound services for individuals who qualify.
“I’m proud of the efforts we’ve made through the Wisconsin Rental Assistance Program to get folks the help they need so they don’t have to worry about losing the roofs over their heads, and this program will build on that success,” said Gov. Evers. “While we continue working to get vaccines distributed and shots in arms as soon as we have supply, these funds will be critically important providing families the stability and support they need to get through this pandemic.
”Eligible applicants include Wisconsin residents who demonstrate a risk of experiencing housing instability, have seen their income reduced by the COVID-19 pandemic, and/or earn a household income at or below 80 percent of the county median income. Once approved, eligible individuals may receive up to 12 months of assistance. Rental and utility assistance payments are made directly to the landlord or utility provider on behalf of the tenant.
The DOA will partner with Wisconsin Community Action agencies and Energy Services, Inc. to accept applications and distribute rental and utility assistance. Residents of Brown, Dane, Milwaukee, and Waukesha Counties and the cities of Madison and Milwaukee can apply directly to their local government’s rental assistance provider.
“Many families face the possibility of losing the roof over their heads or having their utilities shut off because of the effects of the pandemic,” said DOA Secretary Joel Brennan. “Gov. Evers is committed to helping Wisconsin families stay in their homes and keep their heat and lights on. We are grateful to our local partners for working with DOA to distribute rental and energy assistance to Wisconsinites who need support as we put our state in the best possible position to bounce back in the coming months.”
The effort is funded by the Federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury. More details about the Wisconsin Emergency Rental Assistance Program are available here.
(WUSD press release, Feb. 25) – Lincoln Elementary principal Mary Kilar is among 16 statewide winners of the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation 2021 Principal Leadership Award. The Herb Kohl Principal Leadership program is established to recognize and support administrative leadership. The 16 Kohl Leadership Award winners are each recipients of a $6,000 grant from the Herb Kohl Education Foundation.
Mary Kilar commented that she is honored to be chosen for the award. “But also fully cognizant that I do not accept this award because of my work alone. Rather, this award represents the dedication the entire Lincoln School staff and community puts in daily,” said Kilar. “We are a school that believes in the potential of every student and when a community like this one comes together for students, great things happen! I am certainly blessed to be chosen, but even more blessed to be part of something as special as Lincoln School!”
Principal Leadership Award recipients are selected by a statewide committee which consist of civic leaders, and representatives of education-related associations and the program’s cosponsors: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Wisconsin Council of Religious and Independent Schools, Wisconsin Cooperative Educational Service Agencies, and Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation.
“Mrs. Mary Kilar has been an innovator for the Whitewater School District since 2014,” said Dr. Caroline Pate-Hefty, Whitewater Unified School District superintendent. “The outcomes of Mary’s work as an instructional leader, during a pandemic are perfectly balanced with assuring that the needs of ALL are met in her school community.”
Award recipients were notified of their awards on Wednesday.
“We are extremely proud of Mary’s accomplishments,” Pate-Hefty added.
