News

The public is invited to the Tuesday, March 5 meeting of the Walworth County Genealogical Society (WCGS) at 1:30 PM in the Community Room of the Matheson Memorial Library, 101 N. Wisconsin Street, Elkhorn, WI.

Guest speaker David Desimone from Black Point Estate and Gardens Speakers Bureau presents “The Great War: Anti-German Hysteria and Conflict on the Home Front.” Given Wisconsin’s large German-American population, anti-German hysteria had a significant impact on our State. In commemoration of the 100^th anniversary of the end of the war to end all wars,  this program will look at the national, regional, local and personal responses to the outbreak of war in 1914 and subsequent U.S. involvement in 1917.

Desimone is director of Black Point Estate, the Wisconsin Historical Society’s historic house museum in Lake Geneva. He is a year-round resident of Walworth County and is active in local history, the arts, and historic preservation groups

The afternoon begins with a brief business meeting at 1:30 PM followed by the program. WCGS meetings are free and open to the public. Guests are invited to join WCGS by paying annual dues: Individual $15, Family $18, Student $7.50.

The WCGS library is staffed every Tuesday by members of the genealogical society, and available at other times with permission of the Matheson staff. Hours are Tuesdays from 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM; extended hours to 7:00 PM on the third Tuesday; and third Saturday 10:00 – 2:00 PM.

Visit the WCGS website www.walworthcgs.com for more information.

Congregational UCC has teamed up with Lori Frison to provide an ongoing mindfulness meditation group for the community. The group started meeting Jan 29th on Tuesday afternoons from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm at the Congregational Church, 133 S. Franklin St., Whitewater. It will be held every Tuesday until June. This group is open to anyone who is interested in mindfulness meditation and all levels, from beginner to experienced, are welcome.

The sessions include a brief welcome and time for introductions followed by a guided meditation of about 40-45 minutes. There is time after the meditation for questions and/or discussion for learning or applying mindfulness to everyday life.

Lori Frison is a mental health therapist at Morning Star Psychotherapy Associates in Whitewater. She is a trained yoga teacher and has been teaching mindfulness meditation for approximately 5 years. She speaks professionally on the topic at events across South Central Wisconsin.

Here is a link for more information: https://www.meetup.com/Mindfulness-Meditation-Meetup2/

From Principal Tom Grosinke:

Washington would like to thank the Cinemas of Whitewater for hosting our trip to the movie theater on Thursday, February 28. K-5 students earned a school-wide field trip to the movies to celebrate their school spirit and great character. Students were able to view the movie How to Train Your Dragon: Hidden World while eating popcorn and enjoying time with their school family.

Our hosts took great care of us!!! A special thank you to the Washington PATT for providing substantial funding to make this trip possible!

NGPF, a non-profit on a mission to bring financial education to every high schooler in America, has named ​887 ​Gold Standard ​schools​, including Whitewater High School.

Gold Standard​ is the highest rank given to schools in NGPF’s ​Got Finance? School Search Tool​, which distills
data from over 11,000 course catalogues to rank high schools for their access to personal finance courses. “With some of life’s biggest financial decisions looming – first jobs and cars, college selection, financial aid applications – high school is when students need a comprehensive personal finance education,” says NGPF co-founder Tim Ranzetta. “Requiring at least a semester course is the only airtight way to guarantee access for all. We’re thrilled to recognize these 887 Gold Standard schools for doing just that.”

Including students in Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia, which have state graduation requirements for personal finance, just 1 in 6 U.S. students is required to take personal finance to graduate.

“While 1 in 6 is unacceptable,” Ranzetta says, “it doesn’t show you the thousands of teachers, parents, students, administrators, and school board members who have joined hands in these 887 schools.”

“The inspiring stories coming out of these trailblazing schools,” Ranzetta says, “are also why we’re hungry to announce NGPF’s bold new goal: by 2030, 100% of U.S. high schoolers will have guaranteed access to at least a semester of personal finance instruction before graduation. ‘I wish I could have taken personal finance in high school,’ a phrase we hear daily, will soon become a relic of the past.”

About: ​Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF), has become the “one-stop shop” for over 14,000 financial educators looking for high-quality, engaging curriculum to equip students with skills to thrive in their future. Fifty percent (50%) of U.S. high school students currently attend a school where a teacher is using NGPF curriculum. NGPF’s invests in teachers through their “50 in 50” campaign to bring a one day teacher FinCamp to every state during the 2018-19 school year. NGPF is recognized by Common Sense Education as a “Top Website for Teachers to Find Lesson Plans.”

Art by Janet Nelson will be exhibited at the Whitewater Arts Alliance’s Cultural Arts Center, 402 West Main Street, from Thursday, March 7 to Sunday, March 24, on Thursdays through Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.  There is a free reception, open to the public, on Sunday, March 10 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the CAC.  

Artist Janet Nelson said, “I love color.  I love how color looks next to another color.  Many of my paintings start out covering the canvas with brush strokes looking at what color complements each other.  Using a limited palette, I mix almost all my colors and seldom use paint straight from the tube.  That way, I create ‘my color’ and not a manufactured one that is mixed to the point of not being able to see the small intricacies of the individual pigments.  My style had evolved through observation and changes in my environment, but I have learned not to take myself too seriously as a result.  I paint what I feel as I know that each piece that is created ends up qualifying the one before, and becomes a recognizable style.”

“I have been honored to receive awards through Arts Unlimited as well as exhibited at the Neville Museum in Green Bay;  awards in acrylics as well as purchased awards from the Susan K.  Black Foundation in Dubois, WY; and the Pine Shores Art Association in New Jersey. Most recently, I received an Honorable Mention Award at the Mary Hoard Art Show in the Spring of 2018 at the Hoard Museum as well as the Inman Creativity Award at the state Wisconsin Regional Arts Program this summer,” said Nelson.

Janet’s  work is in the Jack Richeson, Jim Parkman and Raymond Kinstler collections.

The Cultural Arts Center is located on 402 West Main Street in the historic White building near the Birge Fountain. Parking is behind the building. An elevator is available for access from the parking lot entrance. 

March 18, 2019
(12:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.)
AND
March 19, 2019
(9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and 1:15 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.)

Cravath Lakefront Room
City of Whitewater Municipal Building
312 W. Whitewater St., Whitewater, WI 53190

Taxpayers can come informally during this time to examine the assessment roll and talk with the City’s Assessor, Accurate Appraisal, LLC, about their assessed valuations. Instructional material about the assessment and Board of Review procedures will be available at that time for information on how to file an objection and the Board of Review procedures under Wisconsin law. Appointments are not necessary, however appointments strongly recommended. Appointments can be made thru Accurate Appraisal, LLC. @ www.accurateassessor.com or by calling their office 800-770-3927.

Michele Smith, Clerk
msmith@whitewater-wi.gov
(262) 473-0102

UW-Whitewater Continuing Education pleased to offer free financial wellness seminars at its Rock County campus in Janesville. UW-Whitewater College of Business and Economics faculty will lead the three free seminars, which will take place on Wednesday evenings in March. Whether you are looking to make financial decisions now or in the future, join us for this opportunity to gather information and ask your questions. All seminars are FREE and open to the public. Registration is requested, but walk-ins will be welcome.

Dates, titles and descriptions seminars are as follows:

Your Credit Score: How to Build it, Protect it and Repair it

Wednesday, March 6 at 6 p.m.

Credit scores are essential to our lives. Whether you want to borrow money, rent an apartment or open a utility account, you need to show your ability to pay your bills on time. A poor credit score can increase your monthly payments, which can be a significant amount of money over the course of a 15- to 30-year mortgage or a 4- to 6-year auto loan. In this session, you will learn how to build, repair and protect what is probably the most important element of your financial life — your credit score.

Presented by Dr. Bakhtear Talukdar and Dr. Mohammad Jafarinejad, assistant professors, Department of Finance and Business Law, UW-Whitewater

Financial Guidance: Retirement Planning and Financial Advisers

Wednesday, March 13 at 6 p.m.

This presentation will provide participants with some knowledge on how to manage their retirement accounts, if they feel comfortable doing so themselves. If participants feel more comfortable using a financial adviser, this presentation will provide them with some advice on what to look for when selecting an adviser; what they can ask to ensure the adviser has their best interest in mind and is adding value for them; and what they can do to minimize their advising costs. In addition, we will provide some research-based evidence on how financial advisers perform.

Presented by Dr. Arjan Premti, assistant professor, Department of Finance and Business Law, UW-Whitewater

How Much Do You Know About Mortgage Refinance?

Wednesday, March 20 at 6 p.m.

Interest rates fluctuate over time. These fluctuations can provide an opportunity for homeowners to refinance their mortgage. And after a certain age, homeowners can reverse their mortgage and use it as a source of income. This presentation on mortgage refinance and reverse mortgages would be interesting to potential and current homeowners, and will provide you with a better understanding of effective interest rate, mortgage basics, refinancing and reverse mortgage. The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion of all seminar topics.

Presented by Dr. Mohammad Jafarinejad, Dr. Bakhtear Talukdar, and Dr. Arjan Premti, assistant professors, Department of Finance and Business Law

All seminars are free and open to the public and will be held in Andrews Hall, Room 11, at UW-Whitewater at Rock County. Registration is requested at http://www.uww.edu/ce/rock-county/rock-workshops/financial-wellness or by phone at 262-472-3165. Walk-ins are welcome. If you have a disability and desire accommodations, please advise us as early as possible. Requests are confidential. UW-Whitewater provides equal opportunities in employment and programming including Title IX and ADA requirements. Please contact Kari Borne at 262-472-1003 or bornek@uww.edu for further information.