News

Whitewater Resident Graduates from UW-Platteville

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. (July 9, 2020) – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville awarded diplomas to nearly 1,000 students from its three campuses for the spring and summer of 2020.

A total of 942 students from UW-Platteville, UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County and UW-Platteville Richland earned either their bachelor’s or associate degrees. Because of COVID-19, no ceremonies were held in May, but will be rescheduled at a later date.

UW-Platteville, founded in 1866, has been named the best public institution in Wisconsin for annual return on investment for the fifth consecutive year by Payscale and the best value in the state.

For more information on the university, located in Southwest Wisconsin, visit uwplatt.edu.

Students from this area who graduated, with their hometown, major(s), degree and campus, include:

HOMETOWN, STATE; NAME, DEGREE(S), CAMPUS

Whitewater, WI

 Emily Heckert, Bachelor of Science in Animal Science, UW-Platteville

Court of Appeals Grants New Trial for Alan M. Johnson in 2016 Whitewater Shooting Death of his Brother-in-law

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner staff
whitewaterbanner.com

Alan M. Johnson
Alan M. Johnson
Photo credit: Wisconsin Dept. of Corrections

The District 2 Court of Appeals on July 8 ordered a new trial for Alan M. Johnson, 35, who was convicted by a jury in November, 2017 of first-degree reckless homicide in the killing of his brother-in-law, Ken Myszkewicz, on October 25, 2016 in Myszkewicz’s home at 911 Peck Street. Johnson had entered the home by an unlocked door around midnight to search for child pornography on Myszkewicz’s computer. Years earlier he had made a police report with that allegation, but police indicated that the alleged evidence was not sufficiently current. After spending some two hours on the computer, Johnson was confronted by Myszkewicz, age 43. A struggle ensued, and ultimately the trespasser shot the homeowner five times.

Walworth County Judge Kristine Drettwan in January, 2018 sentenced Johnson to 25 years in prison and 10 years of extended supervision. Lawyers representing Johnson alleged in a May, 2019 filing that Drettwan erred in forcing him to testify and limiting his self-defense claim.

The Court of Appeals found that the circuit court erred in denying Johnson’s request to instruct the jury on “perfect self-defense” and in not offering the jury the option of second-degree reckless homicide. The appeals court also found that Drettwan should have allowed into evidence that child pornography was found on Myszkewicz’s computer, which if proven could have resulted in a prison sentence for Myszkewicz. It was the appelate court’s position that the jury should have been given the opportunity to decide whether “Johnson reasonably believed that K.M. was unlawfully interfering with his person, that he used such force as he reasonably believed he had exhausted every other reasonable means to escape from or to otherwise avoid death or great bodily harm at the hands of K.M.” The “unlawfully interfering” reference was to the possibility that Myszkewicz “wanted to prevent Johnson from reporting his ongoing criminal activity of possession of child pornography.”

Judge Paul Reilly wrote the decision, joined by judges Lisa Neubauer and Jeffrey Davis.

For an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel click here.

For the 28-page decision click here.

July 4th Fireworks Light Up the Whitewater Sky

Thanks to Tom Ganser for the following beautiful July 4th Fireworks photos:

Photo by Tom Ganser
Photo by Tom Ganser

Tom’s comment: “Just thinking … this was the only ‘official’ thing for 4th July.  No parade.  No stuff at Cravath Lakefront for 4 days.  No Miss Whitewater Pageant.  A 4th of July to (non) remember …”

Memory Café at Library Cancelled until Further Notice

(Memory Café Whitewater Public Library Press Release)

All Memory Cafés held at the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library, in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association, are cancelled until further notice.

Out of concern for the health and safety of all attendees, the Community Room will remain closed for the remainder of 2020.

Memory Cafés, designed as a free social event for individuals who are living with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), early-stage Alzheimer’s or other dementia, and their care partners, have been held on the second Monday of each month in the Library Community Room at 431 W. Center St. in Whitewater, at 10:30 am. As soon as it is prudent, they will be held again.

Library staff will inform the community as soon as they confirm when the Memory Cafés will resume.

For more information please call the library at 262-473-0530.

Elkhorn Common Council Reverses Itself, Allows Domestic Violence Shelter for New Beginnings APFV

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

In August, 2019 the City of Elkhorn Common Council denied, by a vote of 4-2, a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for New Beginnings APFV to convert a former Aurora Medical Center in downtown Elkhorn to offices for the organization and a small domestic violence shelter. There would be four small one or two-bedroom apartments for families in crisis. The Plan Commission had forwarded the application to the council without a recommendation for or against. Among the concerns that were expressed was insufficient parking, driveway length, and whether the proposal was appropriate for the zoning.

New Beginnings filed a lawsuit against the city, saying it had met the criteria and should receive a CUP. Circuit Court Judge Dan Johnson held a hearing on April 29 and ultimately ruled that the City Council did not provide a factual basis for the denial. The judge told the city to reconsider its decision based on the established record.

New Beginnings issued a press release on June 19 encouraging supporters of the proposal to contact the councilmembers. Suzi Schoenhoft, Current Executive Director and Heidi Lloyd, Previous Executive Director indicated that if the use was approved the building was going to be donated to New Beginnings. The release indicated that “Domestic violence is on the rise. In grant year 2019, New Beginnings APFV helped 922 clients affected by domestic abuse, compared to 664 in 2018.” (Federal grant years run Oct. 1 through Sept. 30) It was stated that more than 800 people had signed a petition in support of the proposal.

New Beginnings’ website states that of their clients “in 2018, 62 families needed to relocate due to domestic violence. They were not safe in their own homes. The closest shelter for victims of domestic violence currently is 30-50 miles away, and rarely has openings for out-of-county persons.” Serving Walworth and Jefferson Counties, New Beginnings has an office at 143 W. Main Street in Whitewater. The organization provides a 24-hour hotline at (262) 723-4653.

On June 29 the City Council held a special meeting at which the CUP was approved by a vote of 4-2.

Recognizing that there will likely be considerable renovation expense to turn part of a medical clinic into small apartments, the Banner reached out to Executive Director Suzi Schoenhoft for comment regarding the projected expenses and funding sources for such work. Ms. Schoenhoft referred the Banner to the organization’s attorney, who has not returned the call as of this writing.

United Way Provides $64,530 in COVID-19 Relief Fund Support; Beneficiaries Include School District & Bethel House

Fort Atkinson, WI – July 6, 2020 – The United Way of Jefferson & North Walworth Counties has issued their third and final round of COVID-19 relief support to five area school districts and two local nonprofit partner agencies.

“On June 30th, we issued our final round of COVID-19 relief checks totaling $33,000. With our checks issued on March 31st and May 15th, our United Way distributed a total of $64,530 in grant support to our local schools and two emergency financial assistance programs,” states Megan Hartwick, United Way executive director. “A full 100% of the donations received for this fund were directly allocated back in support of those organizations providing support to those in need in our communities. We originally set a goal to raise and allocate $40,000, so to reach just under $65,000 was something we were very proud of and very humbled by.”

The $64,530 in funds have been allocated to five school districts in United Way’s service area: School District of Fort Atkinson, School District of Jefferson, Whitewater Unified School District, Lake Mills Area School District and then Palmyra Eagle Area School District. Funds have also been distributed to the emergency financial assistance programs through Bethel House and St. Vincent de Paul of Fort Atkinson.

“We were very fortunate to have some monetary support for our initiative right away, which allowed us to distribute support shortly after we opened the fund. We knew it would be important to provide some immediate aid, but we also wanted to be in a position to provide additional assistance after any federal or state aid packages stopped,” Hartwick states. “It was inspiring that so many individuals, organizations and companies understood the impact of COVID-19 closures were going to have a more lasting impact than the first month or so, and we are honored that they trusted their dollars to United Way and allowed us to allocate their donations to help children and families in our communities.”

The school districts are able to utilize the funds in whatever capacity is needed in order to best serve their students during the remaining summer break and to assist with any and all changes they will need to make for the new school year in the fall. The emergency financial assistance funds will be available for individuals and families who are in immediate need of support to cover their living expenses.

“Our school districts have served as heroes to so many children and families in our communities. We know that will only continue as they work hard to further adapt and shift to determine how to best serve the kids in our communities in the fall,” Hartwick states. “Bethel House & St. Vincent de Paul of Fort Atkinson are two local organizations with huge hearts and the ability to directly impact so many through their emergency financial assistance programs. Both organizations have started to see an uptick in requests now that federal support programs have ended, and our relief dollars to them will allow for far greater support to those still facing financial hardship.”

Donations for the relief fund are no longer being accepted, but Hartwick wants community members to know that the relief and support from United Way is not ending..

“Technically our COVID-19 relief fund is closed,” Hartwick states. “But our United Way will continue to provide support to our communities as we always have, much of which will directly impact those who have been negatively affected by the pandemic. So although donations can no longer be made to that specific account, any donation to United Way, at any time of the year, provides a positive impact on supporting our mission to fight for the health, education and financial stability of every person in our communities.”

A total of 48 individuals, four organizations and seven companies contributed to the relief fund. Approximately 85% of those donors were brand new contributors to the local United Way.

“The support we received was overwhelming, and it was even more inspiring to see how many dollars came from those who’d never had a previous relationship with our organization,” Hartwick adds. “That showed us our communities were pleased with our quick action to start a fund and also confident in trusting us to be strong stewards of their contributions. We look forward to continuing to build those relationships and also reaching back out to all of our existing donors this fall to join our efforts during our 2020 United Way Campaign.”

Anyone who would like more information on United Way can visit the website at www.uwjnwc.com or contact United Way at 920.563.8880 or unitedway@idcnet.com.

New Book at Storywalk: “ColorFull”

We hope you have been enjoying the WARM Walk at First United Methodist Church and invite you to come by this week and read our newest story, ColorGull by Dorena Williamson. Williamson is described as “a bridge builder, speaker, and writer who loves sharing God’s grace in stories for children” and this book is a celebration of “the colors God gave us.” Ending with great discussion questions for children and/or adults about issues related to race; translations available in English and Spanish. Stop on by 145 S. Prairie St in Whitewater and check it out!

Have you used the Storywalk® the summer? If so, we would love to hear from you. Feel free to email Beth at christianed@fumcwhitewater.org and let us know your thoughts or feedback.

Another 4th of July Neighborhood Parade

Sarah Linn, Everleigh Goske, Adaline Goske, and Grace Goske sharing their patriotic costumes with their neighbors

Adaline Goske on her festively decorated bike. Photos courtesy of Steve Goske

The residents at Lakeside Acres condos, 701 E Clay Street, enjoyed a holiday parade on Saturday. Adaline and Everleigh Goske led it off with their patriotically decorated bikes while Sarah Linn and Grace Goske reprised their performance as the Lady Liberties.

Sarah Linn stated, “It was just such a fun time for everyone. Feels like we persevered despite Covid.  Many thanks to all the neighbors who enthusiastically cheered the parade on!”