News

(WHITEWATER – Whitewater Arts Alliance Press Release) – The third Savory Sounds concert for Thursday, Aug. 20 has been cancelled due to health and safety concerns for all.  To see previous summer concerts, go to the Whitewater Arts Alliance’s website, www.whitewaterarts.org.

Fort Atkinson, WI – August 14, 2020 – Tyranena Brewing Company will be hosting a “Brews & Bingo” fundraiser to benefit the United Way of Jefferson & North Walworth Counties.

The event will take place at Tyranena (1025 Owen Street, Lake Mills) from 6-8pm on Monday, August 24^th. There will be $10 bingo cards (with the chance to win many prizes) a 50/50 raffle, and Tyranena will also be generously donating $1 for every pint served during the event. All proceeds will support the 2020 United Way campaign.

“We’re really excited to be hosting our third year of bingo during this great fundraising event with Tyranena. We’ve had such successful bingo nights the past two years, so we’re really hoping for strong, continued support this year,” state Megan Hartwick, United Way executive director. “The Tyranena brewery is such a staple in the Lake Mills community, so we’re looking forward to hosting a great event in their beautiful space, all in support of our local nonprofit partners and community programs.”

There will be a number of great prizes available for bingo winners, including Weber grilling tools, Green Bay Packer apparel, a yeti can coozie, gift certificates and much more. There will also be a Fitbit Charge 3 given away to the winner of a final blackout round at the end of the night.

“Last year we introduced a blackout game to end the night in which the winner received great Brewer tickets,” Hartwick added. “Unfortunately that cannot be our prize again this year, but we received a great Fitbit donation and will use that for our final game. Should there be more than one winner, they will rock/paper/scissors until we have one winner. That was quite a fun way to end bingo last year, so we’re looking forward to it again for this year.”

Guests will also be expected to abide by all COVID-related guidelines in place at Tyranena, including limiting table seating to six people or less, not moving tables, using hand sanitizer when ordering outside, and wearing a mask when order and visiting the bingo table.

“Our fundraisers are very important to the overall success of our campaign, and this event has been an exciting kick-off fundraiser for the past two years,” Hartwick states. “But obviously the health and safety of our communities is top priority. After reviewing details with the Stacey Schraufnagel, Front Operations Manager at Tyranena, we felt very comfortable with the steps they had taken and feel confident we can still hold this event safely. We hope lots of folks will join us.”

More information can be found via the Facebook invite for “Brews & Bingo!” and anyone with any questions can contact Hartwick (920.563.8880) or Stacey Schraufnagel of Tyranena (920.648.8699) directly.

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The United Way of Jefferson & North Walworth Counties’ mission is to fight for the health, education and financial stability of every person in our communities. We do that by providing support to community programs, projects and local agencies that provide critical health and human services to those in need. This network of helping services can be described as a “safety net” for those in our midst in need. Whether it is transitional housing, literacy education, after-school programs and education, health and dental care, end of life care, mentoring programs, job training or disaster relief, the United Way identifies the greatest needs in our community and helps to fund agencies that can meet those needs.

For more information about our local United Way, you may visit the website at www.uwjnwc.com or “like” the Facebook page at “United Way of Jefferson & North Walworth Counties.” For details regarding the United Way’s online volunteer tool, please visit www.volunteermain.com.

(From a press release) Walworth County Historical Society (WCHS) is reaching out to the elementary school students and teachers of Walworth County who may not be able to visit the Webster House Museum or the Blooming Prairie One-Room School at the fairgrounds on their usual field trips this school year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The project consists of two elements.

WCHS has initiated a “newsletter” for kids called “The Legacy for Kids.” This newsletter will be published in four initial issues over the upcoming school year and cover much of the history of Walworth County in a style and format suitable for third and fourth grade students. Each issue will cover important eras in the history of the county. Issue Number One deals with early history, Native Americans, the geography of Walworth County and more. Issues two, three and four will deal with different eras of county history. Each newsletter will include important articles and photographs of the history of the county for a given era. All four issues will be available on the society’s website at www.walcohistory.org for all to view at any time as the school year goes on.

The second part of the outreach project involves membership in the newly created “WCHS History Club for Kids”. Kids are invited to join the club free of charge and will be sent a membership kit which includes a Brief HistoryHHHiH of Walworth County Booklet, a membership card and a membership certificate. Future history booklets will follow over the upcoming year. Students who sign up during this calendar year will become Charter Members of the Club. Membership is free and only requires that a student email the Walworth County Historical Society with his/her name and address at walcohistory@tds.net or send his/her name and address requesting membership to the Walworth County Historical Society, P.O. Box 273, Elkhorn, WI 53121.

MADISON, Wis., Aug. 6 —The University of Wisconsin System will employ a robust COVID-19 testing regimen during the fall 2020 semester, thanks to an allocation of approximately $32 million from the office of Gov. Tony Evers. The funding, originally delivered from the federal CARES Act, includes nearly $18 million for testing more than 350,000 students and $6 million for personal protective equipment associated with testing.

“Funding from the governor’s office and the federal government will help us provide the kind of testing we need at our universities when students return this fall,” said UW System President Tommy Thompson. “Students and families can be confident in this testing program.”

The testing program is another step being taken by the UW System to mitigate risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. The UW System Board of Regents has previously required that students, faculty, and staff will be required to wear facemasks in classrooms, residence halls, and other buildings.

The funding announced today enables the UW System to implement strong testing measures. 

Excluding UW-Madison, it will allow for:

• Testing of up to 34,000 students who show COVID-19 symptoms, similar to tests now being administered in medical and community settings. Approximately 28,000 tests will be distributed to universities and about 6,000 will be held in reserve by the UW System for future allocation.
• An additional 317,000 tests for students living in residence halls, given every two weeks with a rapid turnaround of results, and for close contacts of symptomatic students.
• Optional flu testing.
• Up to 52 staff located at the universities to assist with testing.

UW-Madison has already announced a testing plan, with $8 million allocated by the governor’s office. The plan announced today applies to the other 12 UW System universities.

Under the plan, testing would be conducted by university student health services offices and local health partners. Those local partners continue to be identified.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said this week that universities can welcome students back on campus so long as sufficient safety protocols and testing are in place.

“We have been following the guidance offered by my friend Dr. Fauci and other experts and believe we are on track for on-campus instruction,” Thompson said. “Our mask-wearing requirement will help prevent the spread of the virus while our testing program will help identify cases and help contain them.”

Thompson said universities are also working closely with their local public health departments to monitor trends in their communities and to discuss contact tracing. And he said the UW System continues to develop a case dashboard for public reporting of cases within the System.

submitted by Tom Ganser

Above are photos I took yesterday of Whitewater city workers on the project to apply hot asphalt to cracks in North Esterly Avenue.

Strikes me as a simple but nice example of a normal process in a very non-normal pandemic world.

Banner Staff would add that City of Whitewater Public Works crews have been sealing asphalt cracks in public lots and several streets recently as a part of the overall maintenance plan for city streets.

By Lisa Dawsey Smith
Whitewater Banner staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

During the week of August 17, the WI Department of Transportation contractors will be finishing up the improvements at Walworth Avenue and Highway 12. As a result, intermittently during the week, there will be lane closures for traffic on Walworth Ave. At times through traffic will be diverted into the left turn lanes. If you’re traveling that way, you will be able to follow your usual route; just proceed with caution.

In addition to the flashing yellow turn lights that were installed last year, there is now a solid yellow turn light in all four directions that seems to precede the green light for the oncoming traffic.

August 11, 2020

JANESVILLE, Wisconsin – The Badger Chordhawks Chorus announced today the sole recipient chosen for their $2,000 Vocal Scholarship.  Since 1955, the Badger Chordhawks Vocal Scholarship has helped countless area high school students make music a part of their college studies.  Recognizing notable academic achievement, a passion for music, and an intention to pursue this passion in college and beyond, past recipients of this award include a who’s who of musical professionals.

“Supporting our community, our young people – the future generation of music – it goes to the very core of who we are and what we do,” said Music Director Christopher A. Smith.  “As a professional musician and former recipient of the Vocal Scholarship myself, I can attest that it is rare but absolutely vital for local organizations to invest in that future generation of music.  I am very proud to be a Chordhawk!”

This year’s Badger Chordhawks Vocal Scholarship recipient is: Lauren Harkness.  Lauren started singing at a very early age and credits her grandmother, a “beautiful singer”, as one of her strongest musical influences.  Lauren has appeared in numerous local productions including, most recently, 42^nd Street with the School District of Janesville and 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee with Whitewater High School.  In 2019, she received an ‘Outstanding Lead Performance’ Jerry Award from the Overture Center and subsequently was chosen to advance to the National High School Musical Theater Awards – one of only two Wisconsin high school students to receive this honor.  A graduating senior at Whitewater High School, she will be attending UW Milwaukee this fall, majoring in Versatile Voice.

“Lauren Harkness is a talented, young musician whose ideals, accomplishments, and goals exemplify everything we look for in a Vocal Scholarship recipient,” said Chordhawks’ President George Kiskunas.  “It’s fitting that this year’s Vocal Scholarship should be presented in front of a sign that reads ‘Make Good Decisions!’ because in selecting Ms. Harkness as the recipient, I believe we did.”

Over the past 60 plus years, the Badger Chordhawks Chorus has awarded tens of thousands of dollars in Vocal Scholarships.  Funding for the Badger Chordhawks Vocal Scholarship program is raised through ticket sales from Christmas with the Chordhawks – the chorus’s annual holiday-themed concert – and through private donations.

ABOUT THE BADGER CHORDHAWKS CHORUS

The Badger Chordhawks Chorus is an all-male vocal ensemble out of Rock County, Wisconsin.  We produce two major shows every year and also sing in many more concerts and performances throughout the community at large.  Our repertoire is vast and diverse and includes everything from pop standards and African-American spirituals to Renaissance part songs and of course, classic barbershop.  Members are selected through audition and hail from across the state.

Throughout its history, hundreds of men have sung with The Badger Chordhawks Chorus.  Our former and current guest artists include notable musicians and musical acts.  For the past 60+ years, the Chorus has awarded annual scholarships to graduating high school students, pursuing an education in music.

All men who love to sing have a standing invitation to check out our rehearsals, where every night is guest night: Mondays, 7-9pm, currently held remotely via Zoom.  For more information, please visit our website at www.badgerchordhawks.com or find us on Facebook @BadgerChordhawks.