News & Events

Daylight Savings Time ends this Sunday, November 5th at 2:00 a.m. In 2022 the U.S. Senate approved a bill known as the Sunshine Protection Act to make daylight saving time permanent nationwide. But the legislation stalled in the House. This year the Sunshine Protection Act was reintroduced, but so far it hasn’t even made as much progress as last year’s.

The Rock County Sheriff’s Office offers the following safety reminders to help you prepare for an emergency.

 Check household safety items
o Smoke detectors
o Carbon monoxide detectors
o Furnaces
o Wood burning stoves
o Fire extinguishers

Create or update emergency kits for home
and vehicle(s)
o Swap summer items for winter items
o Restock and check expiration dates
• Batteries
• Food
• First aid supplies

For more emergency preparedness tips, visit https://readywisconsin.wi.gov. You can also
follow Ready Wisconsin on Facebook and Twitter.

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

The summer of 2023 will be remembered as Whitewater’s Summer of Detours, as three of the primary routes in/out of the city were closed for significant periods of time. Sometime in the middle of the night on November 3, the detour signs for Highway 12 between Buckingham Road and County M (a primary route between Whitewater and Fort Atkinson) were finally taken down. All routes to Whitewater are now open! Actually the Highway 12 project was completed ahead of schedule, as originally it had been indicated that the road might be closed until nearly the end of the year.

Editor’s note: The following press release was received from The Whitewater Arts Alliance.

The Whitewater Arts Alliance invites everyone to attend its 2023 Members’ Show at the Cultural Arts Center in Whitewater. The show, which features 58 works of visual art in various media by 17 Whitewater Arts Alliance member-artists, opens Thursday,
November 2. A reception will be held Saturday, November 4 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. where light refreshments will be served.

Admission to the exhibit and its reception are free of charge, open to the public, and all are invited. The gallery is open Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 12 p.m. (Noon) to 4pm. The exhibit runs from Thursday, November 2 through Sunday, December17, except for Thanksgiving week. The Cultural Arts Center is located at 402 W. Main Street in Whitewater, on the triangle next to the Birge Fountain.

Jeff McDonald, Whitewater Arts Alliance board member and 2023 Members’ Show CoChair, said “this is a great opportunity to sample the wonderful artwork created by visual artists in our community. The Whitewater area is fortunate to have such an abundance of talent. This is an excellent show!”

The Whitewater Arts Alliance believes art plays a significant role in transforming the cultural fabric. It brings people together, fosters dialogue and reflection, and creates a sense of pride and ownership.

Big thanks to our sponsors!
Lynn & Cheryl Binnie
Carole Scharinger
Kristen Burton
Charles Taggart
Virginia Coburn
Barb & Chuck Taylor
Kay Drexler
Roni & Richard Telfer
H. Gaylon & Hannah Greenhill
Pamela Van Doren
Dawn & Lyle Hunter

And all donors/patrons who wish to remain anonymous!

The mission of the Whitewater Arts Alliance is to support, promote, and develop the
arts as an essential and integral part of our community.

Editor’s note: The following announcement was posted on October 26 by Chancellor Corey A. King.

• The State Building Commission has approved $3 million toward the proposed renovations of Winther Hall and Heide Hall. These funds are intended to complete a majority of the project’s design. This is a major victory, bringing us closer to our goal of authorization for construction in the 2025-2027 budget.
• Nearly $1.5 million has been approved to replace the Laurentide Hall roof.

Both UW-Whitewater and leadership at the Universities of Wisconsin were fully engaged with state legislators to advocate for these projects. I am proud of our team’s effort and can’t wait to see the building and design crews in action.

It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society. Although last week’s post was supposed to be the last in our series of historic houses in Whitewater, we can’t help but publish one more. This week’s image is the Bassett House, the home of the Whitewater Federation of Women’s Clubs. Built in 1857, the house was given to the Federation in 1927 by Florence Bassett, daughter of the first owner, Thomas Bassett. It is still being used by the Federation today.

This view is probably from around 1900 and may show Florence Bassett and her mother sitting on the porch. The house has been meticulously cared for by the Federation, making it one of the finest historic homes in the area.

Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society.

(2659P, Whitewater Historical Society)

Whitewater, WI –  WE DID IT!

The Irvin L. Young Library “Promoting Learning; Engaging the Community” Campaign
Leadership Committee is thrilled to announce that it met and exceeded its capital campaign
fundraising goal for a new library.

The Whitewater Common Council presented the library with a challenge in 2021 to raise half of the $6 million needed for a renovation and expansion of the library, with the Council borrowing the other half in January 2024 if the library completed the fundraising in time. The library raised more than $2,300,000 to be added to the library reserves of $840,000.

“We deeply appreciate the Whitewater community’s generosity to help us complete the campaign much sooner than expected; more than 260 people made gifts of all sizes.” said Jim Winship, Campaign Chair. He thanked the Campaign Leadership Committee – Doug Anderson, Brienne Brown, Kelly Davis, Richard Haney, Anne Hartwick, Jon Kachel, Ginger Katzman, Jennifer Motsko, and Gayle Stettler.

“The Whitewater community has come together in a tremendous way to make the new library, which is expected to open in 2025, a reality. The vision that was presented to me by the library board that hired me back in 2001 has finally come to pass.” said Stacey Lunsford, Library Director.

We are also pleased to announce that Fort Community Credit Union made an especially generous gift of $100,000 to help get the campaign ‘over the top.’ As with other businesses and individuals that made significant gifts, they will be prominently recognized in the new building.

There are still recognition opportunities available and gifts are still welcome until the end of the year. These include remembering or honoring someone through 100 Extraordinary Women TM or recognizing your family or business through a wall tile.

The renovated library will add even more value to the Whitewater community. It will offer more space and features where people can connect, read, learn, create and feel welcome. There will be 4,400 square feet of additional space and the current space will be re-designed to be more welcoming and accommodate new features.

For more information contact Stacey Lunsford, Library Director at 262 473-0530.

Editor’s note: The following announcement was received from the Walworth County Sheriff’s Department.

ACCREDITATION ASSESSMENT TEAM INVITES PUBLIC COMMENT

A team of assessors from the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group (WILEAG) will arrive on November 14, 2023, to examine all aspects of the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office policy and procedures, management, operation, and support service.

Verification by the team that our agency meets the WILEAG Board’s state of the art standards is part of a voluntary process to gain accreditation. Our agency was initially accredited in 2017, and this will be the second reaccreditation process. Reaccreditation occurs every three years.

As part of the on-site assessment, agency employees and members of the community are invited to offer comments by telephone. The public may call 262-741-4677 on Wednesday, November 15, 2023 between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Telephone comments are limited to ten minutes and must address the agency’s ability to comply with WILEAG’s standards. A copy of the standards is available upon request. Please contact Captain Josh Staggs at 262-741-4481 for further information.

Persons wishing to offer written comments about the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office’s ability to meet the standards for accreditation are requested to write to the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group, WILEAG at 7625 W. Greenfield Ave., West Allis, WI 53214.

Once the WILEAG Board’s assessors complete their review of our agency, they report back to the full WILEAG Board, which will then decide if our agency will be granted accreditation status.

Accreditation status is granted for three years, during which time the agency must submit annual reports attesting continued compliance with those standards under which it was initially accredited.

For more information regarding the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group, please write to WILEAG at 7525 W. Greenfield Ave., West Allis, WI 53214 or executive.director@wileag.info