News & Events

Per Lee Hollingshead, the annual lot owners and directors meetings of the Cemetery Association of Whitewater will be held in the rec. room of Blackhawk Manor, 1155 Blackhawk Ln., Whitewater on Thursday, January 25, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.

The National Weather Service Milwaukee/Sullivan Weather Forecast Office has issued a Wind Chill Advisory that is in effect from 3 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Saturday morning. Wind chills in our area are anticipated to be as low as approximately -20 degrees F. There is the possibility of another wind chill advisory on Saturday night.

Applications to fill the Common Council vacancies for Member at Large/ Even Years and Aldermanic District 1 are now available. The term for an individual appointed to the District 1 seat would expire in April, 2025. For the at large position, the term would expire in April, 2024. [Presumably a person residing in District 1 could apply for both seats.] A map of the districts may be found here. District 1 is basically in the east/southeast part of the city; a call to the city clerk’s office can confirm a resident’s district.

Common Council meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Members are expected to review the agenda packet prior to the meeting. In addition, all members serve on one or more committees. The salary is $300 per month.

Applications can be physically picked up at the second floor of the Municipal Building, found at 312 W Whitewater Street. Or they can be found online at the City Website via the City Clerk’s Page or below:
For District 1:
https://www.whitewater-wi.gov/FormCenter/Clerks-Office-12/Application-for-Appointment-to-Common-Co-119
For At Large:
https://www.whitewater-wi.gov/FormCenter/Clerks-Office-12/Application-for-Appointment-to-Common-Co-120

The Application deadline is January 30th at 4:30 p.m. and interviews are to be conducted by the City Council on February 6th at its 6:30 p.m. meeting.

If you have any questions about the application please contact the City Clerk at 262-473-0102 or a
hboehm@whitewater-wi.org.

Editor’s note: The following press release was received from the City of Whitewater Public Works Department.

– Clearing Snow from Fire Hydrants can Save Lives…

A clearly visible, accessible fire hydrant could save your home – or even your life. If a fire hydrant is buried in
snow, firefighters can lose valuable time trying to locate it when they arrive at a fire. You can perform a
valuable public service and protect yourself, your family and your neighbors by taking on the responsibility of
shoveling out and clearing a fire hydrant near your home during and after a snowstorm. Here are a few
suggestions:

• Know the location of the nearest fire hydrants.
• Make sure they are shoveled after each snowfall.
• Clear the snow 3 feet around the hydrant so firefighters have enough room to use the hydrant.
  
  Taking the time to remove the snow from around a hydrant near you can save precious minutes in case of a
  fire. The City of Whitewater appreciates community members who take the time to shovel out hydrants.
  
  Brad Marquardt
  Director of Public Works
  (262) 473-0560
  bmarquardt@whitewater-wi.gov

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point honored more than 2,500 undergraduate students for attaining high grade point averages during the fall semester of the 2023-2024 academic year.

Full-time undergraduates who earned grade points of 3.90 to 4.0 (4.0 equals straight A) are given the highest honors designation.  High honor citations go to those with grade point averages from 3.75 to 3.89 and honor recognition is accorded to those with grade point averages from 3.50 to 3.74.

The student who received an honor:

Whitewater, WI

 Caroline Skindingsrude, Honors

Editor’s note: The following press release was received from Rainbow Community Care.

Rainbow Hospice Care Rebrands to Rainbow Community Care: Ushering in a New Era for Understanding Wellness as We Age

Rainbow Hospice Care, a trusted local provider of hospice care for over three decades, proudly announces it is rebranding to Rainbow Community Care. This transformation reflects its Board’s longstanding commitment to provide a broad spectrum of services that supports patients and families throughout the entire aging journey, not just at end-of-life, and, in the process, improves the overall health of the communities the organization serves in rural southern Wisconsin.

“It has been a tremendous honor to be viewed as the area’s cornerstone hospice provider for so many years,” said Karen Carrig, Rainbow Community Care CEO. “Our vision began in 1990 with a small, but dedicated group of volunteers who recognized that advances in medical technology and treatment had added years to average life expectancy but changed where and how most of us were dying. These courageous women saw patients and families struggling to manage this new reality and felt it was their duty to create an organization whose people would be at their side with compassion, commitment and comfort. We are very proud how our reputation has evolved from this humble beginning to one that has consistently grown and has provided exceptional end-of-life care.”

Carrig also emphasized that Rainbow has been dedicated to helping people live well prior to the onset of terminal illness for many years. “In 2003, for example, we added a new volunteer program that provides neighborly assistance to the elderly, disabled and seriously ill – folks who could benefit from receiving just a little extra non-medical help in order to remain living independently in their homes. A decade later, we added advance care planning and palliative care to our continuum of care followed more recently by community grief support services and parish nursing. What we discovered, however, is that a lot of people are not fully aware of this work.”

Thus, the decision to rebrand is very much a conscious effort by Rainbow to reframe how it is perceived. Carrig added, “Perhaps the best way to think of Rainbow Community Care is as an umbrella term that allows us to better convey the breadth of the services we currently offer to the community, including hospice care, supportive care management, advance care planning, grief support, friends in action, and community health ministry. And, moving forward, as we add new programs that better meet the evolving needs of the vulnerable people living among us, the Rainbow Community Care name will take on even greater meaning.”

Interesting Facts about Rainbow

• Rainbow is one of the state’s few remaining local, independent, and non-profit providers of hospice care. Nationally, nearly 75% of hospices are for-profit.
• Over time, Rainbow – in collaboration with its local care partners – has turned Jefferson County into a place where more people choose to receive hospice care at end-of-life than almost everywhere else in the United States. In 2019, for example, Hospice Analytics – an expert in all things related to hospice claims and data – shared that Jefferson County ranked 35^th out of 3,143 counties (Top 1.1%) nationally in terms of the percentage of Medicare beneficiaries (67.6%) choosing to receive hospice care in their final days, weeks or months.
• Stories about the extraordinary care our teams provide are regularly published in local papers including the Cambridge News, Daily Jefferson County Union, Lake Mills Leader, and Watertown Daily Times.
• Last summer, Rainbow was among four organizations in the country selected by the producers of Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid to be the focal point of an upcoming short-form documentary series titled Hospice & Palliative Care: Serving Families with Honor & Compassion. The public television segment featuring Mr. Quaid and Rainbow will be distributed to PBS stations throughout the United States in February of 2024.
• Rainbow recently opened an office in Beaver Dam to better serve northern Dodge and eastern Columbia counties.

The rebranding efforts of Rainbow Community Care encompass a refreshed visual identity, including a new logo, website and marketing materials. These changes reflect the organization’s high-touch approach to delivering comprehensive care, while honoring its enduring commitment to the community.

For more information about Rainbow Community Care and its services, please visit www.RainbowCommunityCare.org.

Rainbow Community Care is a local, independent and non-profit provider of services that support patients and families throughout the entire aging and serious illness journey. Highly regarded for excellence in hospice care, palliative care, advance care planning, grief support, parish nursing, and volunteer programs, Rainbow cares for people living at home, in assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, and at the Rainbow Hospice Care Inpatient Center in Johnson Creek. Regardless of age, race, gender, faith, ethnicity, insurance coverage or economic status, they treat all patients and their loved ones with the same respect, kindness and concern—focusing on enhancing quality of life, maintaining comfort and dignity, and providing expert support tailored to each individual’s unique needs and wishes. To learn more call (920) 674-6255 or visit www.rainbowcommunitycare.org.

Editor’s note: The following press release was received from the League of Women Voters – Whitewater Area.

January 18th Program on the Use of Electronic Poll Books in City of Whitewater 2024 Elections

Please join us in person on Thursday, January 18, 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., at the Irvin L Young
Memorial Library, 431 W Center St, Whitewater, for a public program on the use of
“Badger Books” in the City of Whitewater elections beginning this year. This is not a training for poll workers but a general information program for all City of Whitewater voters. Learn what will be new when you vote in April and meet our new city clerk Heather Boehm!

The City of Whitewater is transitioning from the use of paper poll books to electronic poll
books. In keeping with the League’s mission to inform voters of election changes, two
months ago we invited then Whitewater City Clerk Karri Anderberg to speak on the use
of “Badger Books,” which is the electronic poll system to be used in 2024 elections to
check in voters, print tally slips, enter registrations, and record absentee voters. After
Karri resigned in early December, Fort Atkinson City Clerk Michelle Ebbert, kindly
offered to fill in. We have since confirmed that our very newly hired Whitewater City
Clerk, Heather Boehm, will be in attendance at this program, available to address any
City of Whitewater specific election concerns. Refreshments will be served and there
will be ample time for Q&A.

Our main speaker, Michelle Ebbert, has served as the Clerk/Treasurer/Finance Director
for the City of Fort Atkinson since September 2014. She has several years experience
working with Badger Books in Fort elections and has been an advocate for municipal
support for the devices.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages
informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of
major public policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
Visit our website at https://my.lwv.org/wisconsin/whitewater-area and like us on
Facebook!