News

(WHITEWATER – Whitewater Arts Alliance Submission) The Whitewater Arts Alliance will be hosting the Wisconsin Regional Art Program (WRAP) exhibit that features the works of non-professional Wisconsin artists at Whitewater’s Cultural Arts Center, 402 West Main Street, from June 7 through June 27. Visitors will be asked to participate in health and safety measures in light of COVID-19, to include wearing a mask at all times (masks will be provided), entering via the elevator and exiting via the front door (unless they require the elevator), and keeping six feet apart.  There will be a ten-person maximum in the building at all times.

Artists from Wisconsin will be exhibiting art in a variety of media including 3 D and photography.  Artists and art-advocates alike are invited to view the exhibit free of charge.  The exhibit will run from 2 to 4 p.m. beginning June 7th and running through June 27 on the following days:   Fridays (for at risk individuals only – age 65 and over or with immunocompromised health conditions), and Saturdays and Sundays for all others.

A FREE reception to meet the artists will be Sunday, June 7 from 2 – 4 p.m. and will take place outside (the reception will be cancelled if it rains).  There will be no food.  Individuals who would like to attend should RSVP to this free reception only by e-mailing wwartsalliance@gmail.com or calling 262-374-2499.  A  maximum of 45 people will be able to attend in order to keep six feet apart. 

WRAP was established to encourage Wisconsin citizens with a serious interest in art – people who make art purely for the love of it, rather than for fame and fortune. The purpose of WRAP is to encourage nonprofessional artists to develop their abilities. The Wisconsin Regional Art Program consists of many artist workshop/exhibits that meet throughout the year statewide. Each one has a different artist demonstration or slide lecture and a different judge to lead the afternoon critique. Artists may enter as many Wisconsin Regional Art Workshops as they like. The program is run by the Association of Wisconsin Artists (AWA), formerly named WRAA.

Artists winning a State Exhibit Award are eligible to compete for monetary awards at the State Day in Madison.  In order to enter the State Exhibit you must be a member of the Wisconsin Regional Arts Program – you can join the organization at any time before the state exhibit by going to wraawrap.com and click on the tab to register.

The first Rural Art Exhibit was held at the Memorial Union during Farm and Home Week in 1940. Under the guidance of John Stuart Curry, the exhibit grew rapidly, expanding from 30 nonprofessional artists in 1940 to over 100 by 1947. The energy and enthusiasm of Curry’s successor, Aaron Bohrod, the WRAP directors, James Schwalbach and Ken Kuemmerlein, and the help of the AWA have continued to make the exhibition and workshops cornerstones of activity for nonprofessional artists throughout the state.

WRAP is developed and administered by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Liberal Studies and the Arts.  WRAP exhibits and workshops began in 1940 to encourage the creative growth of non-professional artists from rural areas. 

Big thanks to our sponsor!

The mission of the Whitewater Arts Alliance is to promote the visual and performing arts through an alliance of artists, individuals, educational resources, and organizations to promote creativity and diversity that will serve to educate and enrich the lives of the residents of the Whitewater community and surrounding areas.

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

While the total number of COVID-19 tests that were administered at UW-W this past week has not yet been announced, it would be expected to be well over a thousand. It had been announced that testing would continue until Saturday at 7 p.m., as long as there were sufficient supplies. Apparently there were, as it was observed that testing was still taking place shortly before 6 p.m on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Banner has heard from a number of individuals who were tested on the first day of testing, Wednesday, and already on Saturday received notification that their tests were negative. It had been indicated that, although those with positive results should be notified within 2-3 days, those with negative results might not hear for approximately a week.

The City of Whitewater on May 29 released its Reopening Local Government Plan, simultaneously announcing that the city will be entering Phase two of its three phase reopening plan on Monday, June 1. The plan will be updated regularly on the city website as new information is made available. “The plan outlines our operations moving forward,” said City Manager, Cameron Clapper. “However, because new information comes out regularly regarding COVID-19, we expect that the plan will be updated regularly.”

Some highlights include:
– Determining which facilities to open and when was entirely dependent on the ability to ensure physical distancing could be followed for employees and the public.
-Some employees will continue to work remotely, or alternate between remote work and working in the office in order to continue to provide for space between employees and for airflow in the building.
– The lobby and counter areas in the Municipal Building will be open for those wishing to pay a bill, submit/request a permit application, or register to vote. Staff will also be available to respond to emails and voicemails. Citizens needing to meet with a specific staff member are encouraged to communicate by phone or email if possible; if not, please make an appointment in advance for a virtual meeting.
– Many facilities remain closed in accordance with public health guidelines and the inability to provide for appropriate physical distancing if they were to open.
– Day camps will be opening in June, but only because those camps also serve as “daycare” for a number of the participants. Those camps are being spread over multiple locations to ensure that the children are spread out.
– The bathrooms in the parks will remain closed, but this may change soon given recent clarifications from the CDC on cleaning of public bathroom facilities.
– The Skate Park will reopen.
– Playgrounds are being opened with a warning about the City’s inability to regularly clean or disinfect the equipment. Signs encouraging handwashing will be posted.
– Meetings of the Common Council, boards and commissions will continue to be held virtually at least through the month of June.
– The Aquatic and Fitness Center is tentatively scheduled to reopen on July 6. Online fitness programs are available.

Kim Simes is this week’s WUL Hometown Hero.  She is the Director of Special Events for a nationwide organization, Family Equality.  Kim has received the award “For her Leadership in making a difference for LGBTQ and all families in the community, for her tireless efforts to help those in need, for her past volunteer work on the Whitewater Fire Department Rescue team, and for the caring and love she puts into all of her volunteer activities.” 

Just some of the accolades about Kim include, “Kim is one of the strongest leaders I know in the LGBT world and has helped so many youth and adults understand how important they are. I look at Kim as my mentor in life and often ask myself ‘what would Kim do?’ Kim goes out of her way to make sure everyone knows they deserve love and are comfortable with exactly who they are.  Not an easy thing in a small community, but you feel her love the moment you meet her. Kim deserves this award for a million reasons.”

Kim and her wife Robin live in Whitewater with their two daughters.  

Kim said, “We live in a community full of love and strength and grace. I am grateful every day for ‘our village.’ Thank you to Whitewater Unites Lives and everyone involved for ensuring that we take good care of each other!”

WUL (Whitewater Unites Lives) is a locally-focused civil and human rights group that works to connect the people in our community and to create opportunities for all people to learn and support each other in our common humanity.   

Anyone who would like to nominate a local hero of any age should send their nomination, with a short description, to whitewaterunites@gmail.com 

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Press Release) – Connor Dalzin, from Whitewater, is among 3,600 prospective candidates for degree attending University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee May commencement exercises rescheduled for Sunday, October 10, 2020 in Milwaukee. Connor Dalzin is graduating from the Peck School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

UWM is the second largest university in the State of Wisconsin, with approximately 24,000 associate, graduate and undergraduate students.

Stacey Lunsford, Director of the Irvin L. Young Library, provided the Banner with the following additional information related to the reopening of the library.

After the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library closed to the public on March 16^th, library staff began a series of online classes and training webinars.  Many library continuing education sources provided training in customer service and how to navigate a rapidly changing all-digital service environment as well as information on the virus and how long it lives on a paper-based collection of materials.

When Governor Evers loosened the restrictions on services to allow curbside pickup, we created a contactless plan to maintain the highest level of safety we could for both staff and patrons.  Materials are quarantined for 72 hours after they have been returned to the library.  Staff wear masks and gloves at all times while handling materials.  Surfaces are disinfected at the beginning of every shift.  Since we started providing curbside pickup, we have served 531 patrons as of May 22.

As we move into adding a few in-person services on June 1, this is what patrons can expect.  We will not be open to the public in the mornings.  This is so staff can check in items, re-shelve them, and pull items for the hold list, all of which require them to move around the building and makes it difficult to serve patrons and maintain physical distancing.  We will provide curbside pickup in the mornings. The library staff will be having a team meeting and training to prepare for providing additional in-person services so we will not be scheduling any curbside pickup on Friday morning, May 29.  This service will be moved to the north side of the building along Center Street.  Signs will be up to help people navigate the changes.

We will need to limit the number of people in the building at any one time.  We will have a staff member at the door in the lobby keeping track of how many people have come in and gone out.  Visitors will need to enter from the south side parking lot doors and exit through the north side Center Street doors to help maintain physical distancing.   The Friends of the Library Book Shop will not be open and we will not be accepting requests to reserve the Community Room.

We will offer curbside pickup in the afternoons and evenings on weekdays but patrons may also come in to pick up holds and browse the shelves for items for checkout.  We encourage people to use our online catalog at www.cafelibraries.org to place holds whenever possible to limit the time they are in the building.

People who need to use our computers may do so by appointment starting June 1.  We will have removed all seating except for one chair at a table and the tables will be moved much farther apart.  We have space for six people at a time to use a computer.  We will be scheduling one-hour appointments for computer use.  Each patron may have one appointment per day.  Computers, tables, and chairs will be wiped down after every use.

We will not be allowing people to remain in the library to study or read.  We know that many people enjoy reading the newspaper but the limitations on the number of people in the library at one time make this a non-essential service at this time.

One of the most difficult things about this situation is that many in our community are experiencing and will continue to experience economic hardship.  We want people to be able to use the library for whatever their needs may be.  To help people do this, the library board voted unanimously at their meeting on May 18 to eliminate overdue fines on all materials at our library.  Old overdue fines are being gradually purged from our system. 

Items that are not returned at all however or are damaged beyond usability will still be charged to the patron.

Additionally, this won’t apply to fines that were charged at another library.  For example, if a patron uses both the Whitewater library and the Fort library, overdue fines charged at Fort will remain on the account. 

The library open hours beginning June 1 will be Monday – Thursday 1:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Friday 1:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. and Saturday 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.  Updates about the library can be found on our Facebook page and on our website at www.whitewaterlibrary.org.

Per a report on WISN, 20 UW-W research rats found homes after they were involved in a behavioral science research project cut short by coronavirus. Most universities euthanize animals after experiments are completed.

Click here for the report from WISN.