News

You can help stop COVID-19 (Coronavirus) by knowing the signs and symptoms:

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath

Coronavirus (COVID-19): SSM Health is offering free virtual evaluations.  
We are currently experiencing a high volume of virtual visits at this time. Thank you for your patience. We’ve created a screening questionnaire based on CDC guidelines to help you determine the most appropriate level of care for you. Thank you for your patience as we are handling an extremely high volume of virtual evaluations at this time. START SCREENING NOW

In response to the increased spread of COVID-19 in the state, with currently 72 cases reported, Governor Evers ordered the closure of restaurants, bars, gyms, malls, theaters, and gatherings of more than 10 people effective Tues., 3/17 at 5 p.m. Restaurants may continue to provide food by take-out and delivery. Retail establishments “where large numbers of people are present but are generally not within arm’s length of one another for more than ten minutes” are exempt from the order. The order also applies to churches, raising the question as to whether Easter services may be held in person, as celebrated by most churches on April 12.

To view a copy of the Governor’s order click here.

The Banner wishes to support local restaurants during this extraordinarily difficult circumstance, and will be happy to post information about those establishments that will be providing take-out and/or delivery. It is hoped that some may even be willing to provide curbside pickup. You may also wish to consider purchasing gift cards for future use. Proprietors should send info to whitewaterbanner@gmail.com or use the “submit a story” button on the website masthead.

The Whitewater Arts Alliance’s Cultural Arts Center on 402 West Main St. in Whitewater will be closed through the end of April for the health and safety of all of our volunteers and visitors.  The Board of Directors will provide information about future shows as the information becomes available.  WAA President Megan Matthews said,  “We want to make sure that everyone stays safe and healthy. Please know that we will keep in touch about our future hours. Take care all.” 

The SweetSpot Cafe and Bakeshop are closed through April 6. Gift card sales will be available.

The UW-W/Community Optimist Club has cancelled the annual Easter Egg Hunt originally scheduled for April 4th.   The hunt will NOT be rescheduled this year.

Whitewater Historical Society’s “Whitewater Collects,” scheduled for 3/21, has been postponed, hopefully to be rescheduled in the fall.

UW-W has canceled all events beginning Sat., 3/14 through at least Friday, April 17 with limited exceptions from deans, vice chancellors, and the athletic director. The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) announced on 3/16 they’re cancelling their spring sports season. … In addition, the WIAC announced they are suspending any and all athletically-related activities, and all in-person athletic recruiting activities indefinitely.

The Young Auditorium has also canceled all events beginning Sat, 3/14 through at least Friday, April 17: The BFG (3/15), Drum TAO 2020 (3/18), Emi Sunshine (4/3), and Reduced Shakespeare Company – The Complete History of Comedy (4/17). “Online sales for An American in Paris will remain active, and we anticipate presenting that show, as scheduled, on May 3. Patrons who have purchased tickets for any of the cancelled shows will be offered a gift certificate that may be applied to An American in Paris or any show of their choice in the upcoming 2020-2021 season. A Young Auditorium staff member will personally reach out to patrons by phone to discuss options.”

Fairhaven indicates: “To prevent the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) within our community, Fairhaven has now gone to a no visitors status. We do this for the protection of those most vulnerable to the virus and appreciate the understanding of our residents, their families and our community.” (3/12/20)

Congregational Church UCC: Closed until April 6th. “The Congregational UCC is actively exploring how we can connect differently – online and beyond – to bring our community together in meaningful ways that foster hope and reassurance while our doors are closed until April 6th.”

First United Methodist Church: Our worship services for 3/15 are cancelled; however, you can still worship with us in this way:  At 10 a.m., Pastor Susan Bresser will be going live on Facebook. We’ll have music, scripture, prayers, and a message. Though it will be an abbreviated service, it will allow continuity for our Lenten journey.  You will be able to find an audio-recording of the worship service on the FUMC website after the service is over. University Free Lunch and WeCare have been suspended until classes resume at UW-W. The following programs have been canceled for the week of 3/15: Messy Church, Sunday School, Prime Time, Breakfast Club, Wednesday Morning Bible Study, Choir Rehearsal, Confirmation, Middle School Youth Group, Promise Point, Team Jesus Drumming.

First English Lutheran Church (Updated 3/17): “Out of concern for the most vulnerable among us during the coronavirus pandemic, we have cancelled worship services, meetings, and events through April 13.  Please take this time to pray, to read Scripture, and to connect with others, especially older people or those most isolated, with cards, phone calls, text messages, e-mails, and other media.  God is with us!  God is with you!

St. Patrick Catholic Church: Due to the suspension of classes at UW-W, there will be no more Mass at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday nights for the rest of the semester effective immediately. The rest of the weekend Mass schedule will remain the same. Religious Education classes and Youth Group are cancelled now through April 5th.

Ecumenical Lenten Lunches have been canceled.

Donkey Basketball scheduled by Whitewater FFA for Thursday, 3/19 is canceled.

League of Women Voters meeting scheduled for 3/19 is canceled.

UW-W Students: Warhawk Pantry will not be open during our normal hours next week but will be available by appointment now and during break, as we are aware that students may still be in need of the items offered at the pantry during this time. Please email foodpantry@uww.edu or call Fabiola Aranda at 262-472-1757 to make an appointment with us if you do need to use the pantry during that time.In the meantime, we will also be restocking the Little Free Pantry located in the vestibule on the loading dock side of Drumlin. That vestibule is open 24/7 and will continue to be available to you regardless of school closure. You can find canned food items, various hygiene products, and other snacks so please don’t hesitate to use that whenever you may need it.

VITA Clinic for tax filing assistance: Due to changes to the UW-Whitewater Spring Break and on-campus class schedules, the remaining VITA Clinic dates have been canceled. If taxpayers would like assistance filing an extension or have other questions, they can contact the VITA Site Coordinator at vita@uww.edu or 262-472-5449.

Whitewater Unified School District: All field trips and events involving non-Whitewater schools are cancelled starting Saturday, March 14.  Schools are closed beginning Mon., March 16. Classes are expected to resume on April 6.

Whitewater Aquatic & Fitness Center: Closed effective Mon., March 16 until further notice.

Whitewater Grocery Co. – March Idea Party scheduled for 3/19 is cancelled.

The Storm Spotter Training 2020, which was scheduled for Wednesday, April 1st at the UW-W Campus Engagement Center, has been cancelled per Whitewater Emergency Management.

Irvin L. Young Library: The library will be closed until further notice as of 8:30 p.m. on Mon., 3/16. All library programs have been canceled through April 17. The next Whitewater Library Memory Cafe, scheduled for 4/13, is cancelled. At this time, the May Cafe is still scheduled. We will determine if it will be cancelled based on CDC guidelines issued at that time.

Seniors in the Park: “With concern for the safety of our older adult population, the Seniors in the Park programs, classes, activities, trips and services at the Starin Park Community Building and offsite venues, are canceled for an indefinite period of time due to the coronavirus outbreak.  Updated information will be posted on the City Website, Facebook and Instagram sites, as well as, the Whitewater Banner. We will keep monitoring the situation and keep you informed of changes. Thanks for your patience and understanding.”

St. Johns Masonic Lodge: “In following orders from our Grand Master, we will suspend all lodge meetings and events until further notice due to the Coronavirus outbreak.”

Kiwanis: Whitewater Kiwanis Breakfast Club has cancelled its March 31st meeting.

The Irvin L. Young Library will be closing until further notice as of 8:30 p.m. on Monday, 3/16. If you have items on hold that are currently waiting for you, please pick them up if possible before that time. Due dates will be extended to 5/1. No fines will be charged during the time that the library is closed. Staff will continue to be in the building, Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., to answer questions by phone.

Here are some of the resources you’ll find at https://bridgeslibrarysystem.org/online-tools/

Flipster Magazines

Download magazines to your tablet, phone, or computer with Flipster. There are over 90 magazines to choose from.

Online Tools

The full list of free online tools available through our public libraries.

Gale Courses

Learning never ends with Gale Courses. Over 350 free, online classes are available in a variety of subjects, from computer basics to medical coding.

Wisconsin’s Digital Library

Can’t make it into the library? Wisconsin’s Digital Library (powered by Overdrive) is your connection to free library ebooks, e-audiobooks, and e-videos. The Libby app makes reading on-the-go even easier. Click and enjoy!

Whitewater High School’s FIRST Robotics Team Ferradermis traveled to Duluth from March 4-7 to compete in the Northern Lights Regional with and against 59 teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Sweden. Ferradermis ended the qualification matches with a 6-3 record and ranked 13th out of 59.

Upon arriving in Duluth, the team traveled to the University of Minnesota Duluth for a tour of two of their engineering labs. Dr. Craig Hill from the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department talked with the team about the robotic systems he is developing for harnessing marine energy. Two graduate students then talked the students through their projects in the Dementia and Elderly Care Robotics and Sensing Lab. We met Pepper the robot who is being programmed to interact with residents in nursing homes and to read sign language.

Some teams make it a practice to give out awards of their own in the form of plaques to recognize teams for outstanding qualities. While in Duluth, Ferradermis received the “Help to Educate” award from Robo Remedy, Team 7103 from Manitowoc.

The team competed hard throughout the weekend, making improvements to the Power Cell intake and shooter between each match, and getting to the point where they could shoot Power Cells in autonomous mode in the period before the drivers could touch the robot. They worked and worked to make their climber operational throughout the week as well, but came home with a goal of an operational climber before the Wisconsin Regional.

The Chairman’s Award presentation crew put on a magic show for the judges to share the magic of Ferradermis and everything they do that isn’t about building a robot.

The team had planned to use the Duluth competition as a launchpad to defend their back-to-back titles at the Wisconsin Regional in Milwaukee from March 18 – 21, but on March 13, FIRST officially suspended the 2020 season and cancelled the World Championships for 2020. Ferradermis was lucky to be able to compete in at least one event this year, as there are seven weeks of competitions (with Duluth being held in week 2), and any teams that did not have week 1 or week 2 events never got to put their robot to the test. Teams are now looking forward to several off-season events this summer in which they can use their 2020 robot.

MADISON, Wis. – In light of the ongoing developments related to the current COVID-19 situation and its impact on financial markets, the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) reminds Wisconsin investors to be wary of con artists seeking to capitalize on fear and uncertainty.

“We know con artists are opportunistic and use current events to cloak their schemes with an air of immediacy and legitimacy. Never make an investment decision without understanding exactly what you are investing in, who you are doing business with, where your money is going, how it will be used, and how you can get it back,” said DFI Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld. “Always ask if the salesperson and the security are registered with your state securities regulator.”

Blumenfeld also said investors should be on the lookout for scam artists trying to use the market downturn and the coronavirus to scare investors into so-called “safer” or “guaranteed” investments. “If you have concerns about your retirement accounts or investments, talk to your financial professional,” said Blumenfeld. “Avoid making decisions based on panic or fear.”

To help investors identify common telltale signs of possible investment fraud, DFI provided three questions to ask before making a new investment.

First, is the investment being offered with a guaranteed high return with little or no risk? All investments carry the risk that you may potentially lose some or even all of your money. Anyone who says their investment offer has no risk is lying. No one can guarantee an investment return.

Second, is there a sense of urgency or limited availability surrounding the investment? If the offer is legitimate, it will be there later. If someone offers you a “can’t miss” investment opportunity and puts you on the spot, don’t be afraid to walk away.

Third, is the person offering the investment, and the investment itself, properly licensed or registered? For the same reasons you wouldn’t go to an unlicensed doctor or dentist, you should avoid unregistered investment salespeople and their products.

“Make sure you have all the facts before you hand your money over to someone else to invest,” said Blumenfeld.

In addition, Blumenfeld also encourages investors to contact DFI with any questions about the investment professional they are working with or the product being offered at (608)-266-2139 and online via BrokerCheck at https://brokercheck.finra.org/.