News & Events

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

It can be confusing! There are two outdoor markets that occur in Whitewater from May through October. They occur at essentially the same place, but on different days.

Whitewater City Market – Tuesdays, 4-7 p.m. – The market, built to celebrate local foods, products, and community, opens for its ninth season on May 7. It sets up around the Historic Train Depot, 301 W Whitewater Street, with a few of the vendors, including ready-to-eat foods, being located in the parking lot adjacent to the depot. The City Market is located at the Irvin L. Young Library on Saturdays from November through April. For further details please see this May 4 post.

Whitewater Farmers Market – Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. – This is a smaller, producer only market featuring produce, baked goods, and the like. It is located in the parking lot next to the Historic Train Depot, 301 W. Whitewater St. The market opened for the season on May 4. Though in its 33rd year, this market wasn’t always at this location. Sometimes a farmer will sell directly from the bed of their pickup truck.

Hey college students!

We know many of you are moving out soon, and before you put any of your furniture out to the curb or put any of your housewares/textile items in the garbage, consider donating them to Bethel House!

Our organization houses up to seven families at a time in our Transitional Housing Program, and we make every effort to fully furnish each home every time a new family moves in—from couches and beds to curtains and rugs to cookie sheets and silverware.

So rather than tossing your items (in good condition, of course!), let them find a new home and support a local family at the same time. Contact our Director of Case Management to coordinate donation details.

Whitewater Unified School District School Board representatives & Whitewater Education Assoc. – Monday @ 3:45 p.m.
Representatives of the School Board of the Whitewater Unified School District and the Whitewater Education Association will meet on May 6, at 3:45 p.m. in the Whitewater High School Library for an Employee Benefits Committee meeting. No action will be taken.

City of Whitewater Equal Opportunity Commission [EOC] – Monday @ 5:00 p.m.
Agenda includes Discussion and Possible action regarding the Welcome to Whitewater Graphic and Discussion of possible action of Combining Disability Rights Commission and EOC.
Citizens are welcome (and encouraged) to join our webinar via computer, smart phone, or telephone.
Citizen participation is welcome during topic discussion periods.
Please join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://meet.goto.com/972125269
You can also dial in using your phone.
United States: +1 (646) 749-3122
Access Code: 972-125-269
Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts:
https://meet.goto.com/install

Whitewater Unified School District School Board & Whitewater Education Assoc – Tuesday @ 3:45 p.m.
PUBLIC NOTICE: Pursuant to §111.70 and §19.82(1), Wis. Stats., you are hereby notified that representatives of the School Board of the Whitewater Unified School District and the Whitewater Education Association will meet on May 7, at 3:45 p.m. at the Central Office Board Room, 419 South Elizabeth Street, Whitewater, Wisconsin, to exchange 2024-25 proposals. The meeting will be open to the public. In addition, the parties may caucus individually in closed session. Subsequent negotiations will be conducted in closed session unless the parties agree to open sessions.

City of Whitewater Common Council Meeting – Tuesday @ 6:30 p.m.
Agenda includes Jessie Dugan from Bethel House is presenting a recap of their Emergency Assistance Program that will highlight the needs of the families they are serving-specifically as they relate to housing, income equality and the overall cost of living expenses, Update on library renovation, TDS update regarding completion date and when it will enable us to start broadcasting, Discussion and possible action regarding UWW MOU Polling Place on Campus, Discussion and Possible Action regarding Starin Road Safety, Discussion and Possible Action regarding Approval of Proposed Scope Work to be performed by SEWRPC for phase one of the Comprehensive Lake Management Plan for
Cravath and Trippe Lakes.
Whitewater Municipal Building Community Room,
312 West Whitewater St.
*In Person and Virtual
Citizens are welcome (and encouraged) to join our webinar via computer, smart phone, or telephone.
Citizen participation is welcome during topic discussion periods.
Please click the link below to join:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81914940238?pwd=tYI97riyLo4kl5RS_Fg1w21zex-Now.BINRMCzgtNj9T41o
Telephone: 1 (312) 626-6799
Webinar ID: 819 494 0238
Passcode: 525458

Whitewater Unified School District School Board – WUSD Unplugged Attendance – Wednesday @ 4:00 p.m.
Members of the Whitewater School Board will be attending the WUSD Unplugged session in the Whitewater High School Library on Wednesday, May 8, 2024 beginning at 4:00 pm. A quorum of the School Board may be present; however, the Board will not be conducting any business during the event.

Julie Hill, Horticulture Outreach Specialist at the UW Extension office, is giving a presentation at the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library about the variety of factors contributing to the declining health of trees in our landscape, in particular the oaks. In addition, spongy moths have become a well-known pest in the past couple years. Join us to learn about the stressors facing oak trees, how to promote healthy trees, and options for managing spongy moths in your yard. The presentation is in the library’s community room on Tuesday, May 7 at 5:30 p.m.

There is no cost or registration to attend. The library is located at 431 W. Center Street in Whitewater. Contact the library at 262-473-0530 with questions.

Editor’s note: The above press release was provided by the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library.

Correction: The headline has been corrected to indicate that the closure is between Prince St. and Elizabeth St., not Prairie and Elizabeth. The Banner regrets this error.

The Walworth Avenue Storm Sewer and Drainageway Project will begin on Monday, May 6, 2024. Walworth Avenue will be closed to thru traffic between Prince Street and Elizabeth Street. The project entails replacing storm sewer, curb and gutter, and street repairs. The completion date is tentatively scheduled for May 24, 2024. Questions may be directed to Brad Marquardt, Director of Public Works.

Brad Marquardt, Director of Public Works, (262) 473-2239, Bmarquardt@whitewater-wi.gov

Reminder: Fremont Road closures till approximately September 1:

Fremont Street from Starin Road to Lauderdale Drive is now closed to through traffic. The intersection of Starin Road and Fremont Street will remain open to traffic; however, the intersection of Lauderdale Drive and Fremont Street will be closed to traffic. Work in this portion of the project includes replacement of sanitary sewer mains and laterals, replacement of water mains and laterals, storm sewer improvements, replacement of sidewalk, curb and gutter, and new asphalt pavement. The project also includes work to abandon, in place, sanitary sewer and water mains that run under Treyton Field.

Phase II of the Fremont Reconstruction Project will begin later this summer. During work on Phase II, Fremont Street will be closed to thru traffic from Starin Road to Whitewater Creek. Work includes the pulverizing of existing asphalt, new asphalt pavement, and ditch work between Lauderdale Drive and Whitewater Creek. The intersections of Schwager Drive and Fremont Street and Burr Oak Drive and Fremont Street will also be closed to traffic during this phase. Additionally, there will be periodic closures of the Starin Road and Fremont intersection to facilitate curb and gutter replacement and repaving of the intersection.
Fremont Street from Starin Road to Whitewater Creek is tentatively scheduled to be open to traffic by September 1, 2024.

Editor’s Note: The following was provided by Whitewater Unites Lives.

The Whitewater community has the opportunity to help fill the shelves of local food pantries to serve those in need on Saturday, May 11. There are two ways to donate food and help our hungry neighbors.

– For more than 30 years, USPS has conducted an annual nationwide food drive on the second Saturday of May- the largest one-day food drive in the country.  In Whitewater, the food drive is supported by the Hunger Task Force to help the Whitewater Food Pantry. Residents will be receiving postcards and/or plastic bags in the mail as a reminder of the food drive. Just put your nonperishable contribution in or near your mailbox on Saturday, May 11, and your mail carrier will take the food to the Whitewater Food Pantry. Questions? Laurie Giorno, lead volunteer in Whitewater, can be reached at 262-903-9416. 

– The Community Space [TCS] in Whitewater has been in operation for just five years, but has already ramped up to give out more than 300,000 pounds of food a year through its collaboration with Feeding America and other organizations and its dozens of volunteers. Whitewater Unites Lives is hosting the food drive at the Community Space this year to help meet the increased demand TCS has experienced. To help, bring your nonperishable donations to TCS on 834 East Milwaukee St., drive around the back, and WUL volunteers will happily collect your donation from your car between 8:30 and 11:45 a.m. on Saturday, May 11. Questions? WUL co-founder Rosalinda Martinez can be reached at 920-222-0749 and co-founder Marjorie Stoneman can be reached at 414-861-4126.

Suggested donations to both pantries include peanut butter, jelly, individual packets of oatmeal, canned tuna, dried cereal, canned fruits and canned vegetables.   

Whitewater Unites Lives (WUL) 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.

For more information about the Community Space, visit their website at communityspacewhitewater.com/

For more information about Whitewater Community Food Pantry, visit facebook.com/WhitewaterFoodPantry/