Downtown Whitewater, Inc is now accepting applications for its board of directors election for 2018.

Applicants should have a passion for small town life shown through the support of local businesses and locally hosted events. Applicants should work or reside in the Whitewater Unified School District.

Applications will be accepted through February 15. Board elections will be held March 1 through March 15, 2017. Further inquiries regarding the election process should be directed to the contacts listed below. The link to the application can be found at CLICK HERE as well as additional information for current and future projects for the organization.

Lisa Dawsey Smith, Board President: “Downtown Whitewater, Inc. is a volunteer-driven 501(c)(3) non-profit organization spearheading community efforts to re-energize and enhance our historic downtown. We are community advocates and volunteers who share a passion for Whitewater. We bring people from all walks of life together to celebrate Whitewater’s history and traditions, to care for our downtown neighborhood, and to inspire confidence and investments that are flowing toward an economically vibrant, engaging and exciting place in the heart of Whitewater – a place we love, a place we’re proud to call home, and a place where future generations can grow and take pride in calling their own.”

The WHS Music Masters Ensemble performed on Sunday night at the Whitewater First United Methodist Church with the Carroll University Chamber Singers.

WHS Music Masters Ensemble

Carroll University Chamber Singers

Each choir performed separately and then combined to sing “Wade in the Water” under the direction of Carroll University’s Choral Director, Dr. Patrick Dill.

Thank you to the UMC for hosting the groups and the delicious dinner they provided.

CHRISTMAS TREE COLLECTION SCHEDULE

The City of Whitewater Department of Public Works will collect Christmas trees the week of January 15th. Please place your tree on the terrace by 7:00 a.m., Monday, January 15.

If you want your tree picked up before or after that week, you must call the Streets Department at 473-0560 before 5 a.m. on Tuesday that week to schedule a brush pick up.

Trees that have been flocked or contain wire will not be collected. Please place these trees for collection by John’s Disposal on the second Thursday of the month, your bulk pick up day.

The City’s Street Crew will deliver sand on Monday, January 15th, according to Street/Parks Superintendent, Charles Nass.

Residents who wish to receive a quantity of sand for placement on sidewalks during the winter months are asked to have sturdy containers at the curbside by 7:00 a.m. on that Monday. City officials stress that cardboard boxes are not considered sturdy containers.

If there is a snowstorm or some other unpredictable occurrence which prevents delivery on Monday, the sand will be delivered as soon as weather permits.

Congratulations to all WMS students that submitted work for this year’s Southern Lakes Anthology competition.

(Front L-R) Silas Baker, Cosette Wildermuth-Breitzman, Emma Weigel, Caleigh Yang, Sophie Walton, Anna Ejnik, Zuri Goldsmith
(Back L-R) Aldo Rodriguez, Blake Wegner, Andrew Rollette, Gio Anello, Reese Brantmeier, Audrey Mayer, Madison Strickler

The quality of Whitewater Middle School entries was outstanding again this year. The following 12 students have been designated as the middle school district winners: 6th graders – Cosette Wildermuth-Breitzman , Silas Baker 7th graders – Caleigh Yang, Emma Weigel 8th graders – Aldo Rodriguez, Andrew Rollette, Anna Ejnik, Blake Wegner, Gio Anello, Reese Brantmeier, Sophie Walton, Zuri Goldsmith.

Not chosen as winners but receiving an honorable mention due to the excellence of their entries were 8th graders, Audrey Mayer and Madison Strickler. These winning entries will now advance to the regional competition on January 23rd where they will compete against entries from approximately 35 different school districts. Best of luck to all at the next level.

Whitewater Middle and High School Students to Hear Presentation and Hold Discussions about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Principles of Nonviolence

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 15, 2018, students in the Whitewater High School and Whitewater Middle School will hear a presentation by Marc Perry, Director of Community Programs at Community Action, Inc. to inspire and challenge them about the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. After the presentation, the students will go back to their homerooms at their respective schools, and they will be divided into smaller groups to discuss Dr. King’s six principles of nonviolence, while addressing various scenarios. Whitewater Unified School District (WUSD) staff and volunteers from the community will help facilitate the groups.

Each January, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a federal holiday in the United States honoring King’s achievements. Marc Perry, of Community Action, Inc., will open the morning with a presentation about Dr. King and how his principles can and should be utilized to make a difference. More about Community Action, Inc. CLICK HERE

Marc Perry

Mark Elworthy, District Administrator of WUSD, said, “We are very excited to be working on a project with our community so that students can get a more in-depth view of the work of Dr. King and talk first-hand about his principles. We are thankful to all of the volunteers who are making this possible.”

SIX PRINCIPLES OF NONVIOLENCE
PRINCIPLE ONE: Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people. It is being emotionally mature and secure in one’s personhood to see another way.
PRINCIPLE TWO: Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding. The purpose of nonviolence is the creation of a diverse and strong community.
PRINCIPLE THREE: Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, not people. The nonviolent resister seeks to defeat evil, not people.
PRINCIPLE FOUR: Nonviolence holds that struggle can educate and transform. Nonviolence accepts struggle without physical retaliation.
PRINCIPLE FIVE: Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate. Nonviolence resists emotional violence as well as physical.
PRINCIPLE SIX: Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice. The nonviolent resister holds an overall belief that justice will eventually win because good is stronger than hatred.

Nearly 50 parents, university staff and students will be working with the WUSD staff to lead small group discussions around a variety of scenarios. Dr. Ozalle Toms and Dr. Lauren Smith, both from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, are helping to train the volunteers who will be leading the small groups.

Dr. Toms said, “As both a parent of a student in the district and an educator at the university, I am so pleased to help plan and facilitate this program. Not only will the students benefit, but all of the community members will have an opportunity to work with these terrific students.”

Dr. Smith concurs, “This community partnership with the school district is a meaningful way to celebrate the life of Dr. King. I am so thankful to the leadership at our school district for making this possible, and to all of the school staff who are helping to facilitate this program.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that,” said Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. These words exemplify the life and work of Dr. King, the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the civil rights movement to end racial segregation.

Mike Lovenberg, Principal at Whitewater High School, said, “The objectives for students are to learn and implement the principles of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and why they are necessary for creating peace, and to listen and problem-solve as a group by objectively exploring scenarios that address injustice.”

Tanya Wojciechowicz, Principal at Whitewater Middle School, said, “We hope that our students share this event and continue the dialogue at home with their families, as well as apply these principles within their daily lives – at school, home, and in the community.”

As Dr. King said, “The nonviolent approach does not immediately change the heart of the oppressor. It first does something to the hearts and souls of those committed to it. It gives them new self-respect; it calls up resources of strength and courage they did not know they had.”

December is a wonderfully busy month for many and no exception for the UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club. Dec. 1 had the Frosty Float in the Whitewater Chamber of Commerce Parade promoting their Breakfast with Santa the next morning.

Dec. 2 saw 760 happy folks join Santa for Breakfast for the 25th year! Held in the UW-W’s Esker Dining Hall for the 10th year, each child had the opportunity to sit with Santa, tell him what they would like for Christmas and receive a small gift bag from him and his elves. Each family could choose a printed photo or to download digital photos of their child/children with Santa.

Nearly 50 members of the UW-W/Community Optimist Club with help from the Student Optimists and WH.S. Octagon Club made the season bright for the 25TH Annual Breakfast with Santa!

The Mitten Tree Project, which has been conducted since 1991, was a huge success due to the generous community-wide donations of hats, scarves, mittens, gloves, socks and underwear to be distributed through the three Elementary Schools in the Whitewater Unified School District. With space given every year in their lobbies, they are grateful to Associated Bank, First Citizens State Bank, Fort Community Credit Union and Premier Bank for supporting the Mitten Tree project each year.

Kim Adams, Lanora Heim, Shirley Cutshall, Co- Presidents Dave Halbach and Janay Alston and Mary Geraghty with warmth collected for the elementary students in the Whitewater Unified School District.

On Wednesday December 13th, Mary Geraghty, WUSD Social Worker, Shirley Cutshall, Lincoln School Counselor and Lanora Heim, Director of Pupil Services for the School District, accepted the multitude of mittens, etc. on behalf of the WUSD from Club Co-Presidents Dave Halbach and Janay Alston and Past President Kim Adams. A special thank you to three local knitters: Dottie Koenitzer, who, for several years, has made and donated beautiful mittens, 80 pairs this year alone, Doreen Marquardt of the Needles ‘n Pins Yarn Shoppe who donated dozens of handmade mittens and an anonymous donor who read our story last year and because of her own personal experiences as a child donated 38 pairs of handmade items to help the area children. This year also included 600 items collected by the UW-W University Center Staff and students.

Members of the UWW/Community Optimist, WHS National Honor Society and WHS Octagon Club helping sort through toys for children served by the Whitewater Food Pantry.

A total of 308 children had a special toy or game under the Christmas tree, through the cooperation of the UW-W/Community Optimist Club and Whitewater Food Pantry for the past 34 years. They would again, like to thank the community of Whitewater for another successful Toys for Kids program. On Dec. 18th, help from the Optimists, Octagon Club and WHS National Honor Society members sorted and wrapped those gifts at the downtown City Armory. This project is only possible through the generous support of the following groups: First Congregational United Church of Christ, First English Lutheran Church, First United Methodist Church, St Patrick Catholic Church, the Whitewater Police Department, Provisur Technologies Inc., UW-W Student Optimist Club members, Whitewater High School Octagon Club, and Golden Key National Honor Society.

Lastly, the club, through its major fund raising projects: the annual Optimist Trivia Night, the 4th of July Festival Gyros Stand and the District Football CRAZER Raffle, was able to present a check for $1,000 to the WUSD Family Emergency Fund. That is a program completely funded by donations, using no tax money, to assist families in times of need within Whitewater Unified School District.

The UW-W/Community Optimist club is always looking for new members to help them realize their goal to be “Friend of Youth.” Interested persons can contact them through their blog at CLICK HERE

They invite you to join them in “making a difference in the life of a child.” They thank you and Happy New Year!