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Editor’s Note: The following was provided the Roberta’s Art Gallery at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Experience works of art inspired by the unsung artists of the Harlem Renaissance with Jerry Jordan’s exhibit “Life in Light and Shadow” through February 16, with the reception on February 7. His artwork, which consists of oil on canvas, gives a different perspective of African Americans, outside of constant struggle and pain. Most of Jordan’s paintings are about freedom to be who you want to be, and they express how life is full of endless possibilities. Jordan is changing the representation of African Americans with his artwork in the realm of Contemporary Realism.
Jordan is an alumnus from UW-Whitewater with a bachelor’s degree in art and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in art education. While studying in college, Jordan noticed that African Americans were largely underrepresented in art, and after discovering the Harlem Renaissance, it gave Jordan the belief that he could be a successful artist. Jordan carries a sketchbook with him all the time. “I just never know when the inspiration will hit,” Jordan states, “A simple doodle could turn into an idea for a painting.”
Alongside his canvas paintings, Jordan is a muralist and children’s book illustrator. “Art is a part of who I am and it’s something that I always wanted to do all throughout my life,” Jordan states. “The paintings talk to me. I listen to them, and they tell me which way to go.” His murals are on display at the Madison College Goodman South Campus, at the American Family Insurance SPARK building, and at UW-Whitewater in the University Center. Jordan is currently working on illustrating three children’s books including, “Marching for the Vote: the Story of Ida B Wells and the Women’s March of 2013” by Dinah Johnson; “Unstoppable John,” a biography of Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis by Madison-based author Pat Zietlow Miller; and “Johnny Tunes and the Ganndy Dancers” by Pamela M. Tuck and Joel Tuck.
Join us for the exhibit reception on Tuesday, February 7 at 6 p.m. where we will have an artist meet-and-greet and an opportunity for audience questions. Light refreshments will be provided.
Roberta’s Art Gallery is located on the first floor of the James R. Connor University Center at UW-Whitewater. The gallery collaborates with campus departments, student organizations and community artists in coordinating and sponsoring exhibits. In semester, hours are Monday – Thursday 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and closed Saturday and Sunday.
Roberta’s Art Gallery prides itself in all exhibits being free and open to the public. Attending certain events can earn students class credit. To be featured in Roberta’s Art Gallery, contact us for a proposal request. Reach us at ucart@uww.edu or (262) 472-3193 or visit our website for any questions or inquiries.
The Whippets fell two points short against Fort Atkinson Thursday night, January 26.
Fort got a jump offensively early in the game up 11-2, but Danielle DePorter hit a 3 to kick start our offense. Calli Grosinske followed with 2 back to back 3’s to tie up the game at 11. From there it was a battle back and forth with the Whippets down at half 24-29.
In the second half, Fort maintained the lead until we got a spark from Calli Grosinske and Katie Gillette with back to back steals with fast break finishes. The rest of the half was a battle back and forth right up to the last seconds.
The Whippets fell just short, 51-53. We handled Fort’s press well and played aggressively on defense forcing turnovers and connecting on those possessions. A few shots didn’t land, but it was an amazing fight.
Calli Grosinske led the Whippets with 17 points, followed by Kindyl Kilar with 14, and Mayte Navejas with 12.
The Whippets take on Beloit Turner at home Friday night, January 27, which is also our annual Youth Night!
Article Submitted by Kristen Lippens
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach
klippens@wwusd.org
File Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
The Whippet Swimmers competed against Jefferson/Cambridge on Tuesday, January 24th. The boys finished off conference duals with a win!
Wins and best times on the night include:
In the 200 Freestyle:
- Tyler Arnett won the event with a time of 2:05.08
- David Enns dropped 20 seconds going a 2:51.46
In the 200 IM:
- Jack Hefty won the event going a best time of 2:27.27, which is a 3 second drop from his previous time.
In the 50 Freestyle
- Andrew O’Toole continues to drop more time going 28.10
In the 100 Fly:
- Cruz Aranda won the event with a time of 1:09.77
In the 100 Freestyle:
- Xaiver Zei drops over 13 seconds going a time of 1:08.86
- Onyx Thompson drops 2 seconds going a time of 1:15.96
- David Enns drops 3 seconds going a time of 1:17.08
In the 500 Freestyle:
- Tyler Arnett won the event going a time of 5:32.02
- Myles Morse drops 18 seconds going a time of 6:32.61
In the 100 Backstroke:
- Miles Nickelsburg won the event going a time of 1:16.56
- Onyx Thompson drops 3 seconds going a time of 1:29.34
In the 100 Breaststroke:
- Jack Hefty out touched his opponent to win the event by .39 seconds and went a best time of 1:15.53.
- Xavier Zei drops over 4 seconds going a time of 1:27.40
- Andrew O’Toole drops over 3 seconds going a time of 1:36.57
In the 400 Freestyle Relay:
- Myles Morse and Cruz Aranda both in the lead off position put up new best times in the 100 Freestyle with Cruz going a time of 58.55 and Myles going a time of 1:11.36
The Whippets are entering Championship season and will compete on Saturday, February 4th at 11 a.m. in Delavan-Darien for the Conference Meet. Come out and show your support!
Article Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Co-Head Boys’ Swim Coach
sreynolds@wwusd.org
Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
Another exciting game! The Whitewater Girls’ Basketball Team traveled to East Troy for a conference game Tuesday night, January 24. Both teams played tight defense and fought for points in the first half. We knew they were going to pack the lane, forcing us to shoot from outside. Early in the game we took good shots, but they just didn’t fall. Being aggressive and scrappy on defense and getting some put backs on offensive rebounds right before half kept us within 2, 17-19.
Early in the second half, the Trojans connected on a couple 3 pointers putting them up by 11. We fought back, started communicating better on defense, and hitting our outside shots to close the gap. The Trojans were up by 2 with around 4 minutes left in the game and began to stall. We added pressure and forced a turnover to give us possession and momentum. After a time out, Kindyl Kilar drove to score 2 and tie up the game with 1:25 left in the game, 43-43. Katie Gillette got fouled on an inside shot and hit two clutch free throws that put us up by two and won the game.
Calli Grosinske led the Whippets with 14 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds. Danielle DePorter followed with 10 points. Mayte Navejas added 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. Katie Gillette scored 7 and added 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
The Whippets play Fort Atkinson at home on Thursday, January 26.
Article Submitted by Kristen Lippens
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach
klippens@wwusd.org
Photo Courtesy of Peter and Bob Mischka
Congratulate the wrestlers on a hard-fought dual meet on Tuesday night, January 24, against Evansville. Both teams came in 7-0 in the conference, and it was a well wrestled dual. We were down 27-22 going into the last four weight classes, so it was right there for us. Things did not go our way, and we ended up dropping our first dual meet of the year 51-22. We had matches early on that could have gone our way that we let slip away. There is stuff to get cleaned up prior to the regional tournament.
Congratulations to Victor Hernandez, Nate Black, Aaron Porras, and Avi Kalra on their victories Tuesday night.
Full results: https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/seasons/LoadBalance.jsp?pageName=DualMatches.jsp&dualId=6879417132
Article Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org
File Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
The gymnastics team traveled to Southwestern High School for another Invite on Saturday, January 21. There were a lot of amazing gymnasts competing and some super fun routines to watch and cheer on. It was fun to see all the teams supporting and cheering for each other despite being from different schools. Our girls had a great day and posted some awesome scores!
Our strongest rotation was on the Vault where the girls crushed it. Not only did the varsity team have their highest team score of 31.075; 3 girls had lifetime best scores. Makayla Bazeley posted a 7.95, Nola Coburn posted an 8.0, and Mady Hefty posted an 8.275. These scores were all significantly higher than their previous Vault scores.
The girls took on the Beam, and despite a few falls amongst the team, we did have one gymnast have a no fall Beam routine – Brooke Bazeley. We also had some notable improvements in scores. Nola Coburn scored a season best with a 6.6, while Brenda Aguilar knocked her old score out of the way and scored a season best of 6.8. The varsity team had their highest score of the season with a 26.8. We love seeing these numbers climb!
On the Floor, we heard a lot of teams cheering for us which always gives us a boost. The girls are really pushing themselves and it shows. Brenda competed for the first time this season on Floor and slayed the day with a lifetime best of 7.2. Nola improved her season best with a 6.9, while Stephanie Walters improved her season best with a 6.3. Makayla Bazeley added a beautiful shushunova into her routine and earned herself a 7.85.
Last rotation was on Bars where the girls continued to shine. Stephanie fought for and earned a season best of 4.3. Mady upped her score from last week with another season best score of 5.95. Makayla decided at the last minute to add in a new move on Bars to spice it up and be adventurous – she likes to keep us guessing. She added a switch kip after her double cut catch to earn a 7.05. Love watching the girls attempt and succeed in new moves.
Mady competed in All-Around for the first time this season and earned 27.525. It’s such an awesome deal when the girls compete in all 4 rotations. Stephanie earned her highest All-Around score with 20.05. Both Nola and Makayla scored lifetime bests in All-Around as well with 26 & 30.1, respectively.
We have a little break from competition through finals week and then will be back to competing on January 31st against Badger.
Article and Photos Submitted by Shawnda Peters
Whitewater High School Head Gymnastics Coach
speters@wwusd.org
On Friday night, January 20, seven boys and five girls traveled to Wausau to take part in the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association Challenge Series Finals on Saturday.
The Challenge Series is a qualifying tournament where the top three boys from eight different regionals come together to compete. This shows some great competition for the Junior Varsity Level students across the state. Whitewater was fortunate to have seven boys qualify for this event. They included Curtis Rossmiller, Keenan Sheffield, Nate Black, Christian Minett, JJ Gonzalez, Richi Kalra and Jesus Barajas. Each of these individuals had some very competitive matches throughout the day.
Barajas was the top place winner, coming in 8th place. He started out the day with his best match of the season in a close 6-5 victory. He continued to wrestle well but came up short, just getting out of positions.
Curtis Rossmiller also had a very nice day going 2-2 with two pins and one close 8-7 loss. Curtis is a first-year wrestler and is progressing nicely.
Nate Black started his day with a pin and then wrestled extremely well before getting caught after being aggressive for a takedown. He learned that he has to have a short memory in tournaments like this as he struggled to get past the upsetting loss. Although he did not do as well as he hoped, he continued to show great improvement on the mat.
Sheffield, Minett, Gonzalez, and Kalra all also wrestled well showing nice things in each match but came up short. In personal reflection on the drive home as they slept I realized we had a lot of losses on the day that we were doing extremely well in. That is tough for students to understand. They often just look at the outcome and not the process along the way. Each of the boys did very well on Saturday.
Five girls from the wrestling team also competed at Wausau on Saturday in the Wisconsin High School Girls Challenge. All but one of these ladies are first time wrestlers so this may have been quite an experience as there were eight mats, people on all sides of the gym, and brackets of 24-32 competitors in each weight class.
The girls did well, and as was the case with the boys, I felt like I had the same reflection; they wrestled well but came up short. They all seemed to have a good attitude and will learn from this experience.
Khloe Meyer and Ashly Xochipa each lost their first match to the young lady who ended up taking runner-up in their weight classes.
Xochipa came back from her loss and wrestled very well. She ended up pinning her next two opponents and then winning the 3rd by a 2-point decision to come in as Consolation Champion.
Adalynn Frye wrestled for the first time ever in competition and did well. She came out and scored a takedown and almost had her second girl turned, but lack of experience put her out of position.
Athena Soto came out strong against her first opponent scoring three takedowns and wrestled well. Again, more mat time is needed to get the experience of position for her.
Finally, Odeling Gonzales started her day off with a girl who had lots of experience based on the techniques she was showing. In her second match Odeling was aggressive, getting a couple of takedowns but came up short.
Overall, I was happy with both the boys’ and girls’ team at this event. They should be proud of their accomplishment at this large event.
Article and Photo Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org
There was great energy from the very start of the girls’ basketball game against Big Foot on Thursday night, January 19. We were determined to control the tempo of the game and shoot with confidence, and we did just that. The best part was every player contributed to the win.
In the first half, we played tight defense forcing turnovers, took care of the ball, and rebounded well. We finished the first half up 27-10.
In the second half we kept our momentum up and went on an 11-0 scoring run, putting us up 41-10 with around 10 minutes left in the game. We got stuck at 49 points at the 5:00 mark as Big Foot got a spark on offense, scoring 10 to close the gap to 49-28 with 3 minutes left to play. We held them to 28 with a final score of 52-28 for the win.
Danielle DePorter led the Whippets with 14 points, followed by Calli Grosinske with 12 points and 6 steals. Cali Kopecky added 11 points, 4 assists, and 5 rebounds. Katie Gillette ripped down 6 rebounds and had 3 steals.
We travel to Fort Atkinson on Tuesday for a non-conference match up.
Article Submitted by Kristen Lippens
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach
klippens@wwusd.org
File Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
Obituaries
SHIRLEY A. KNUTESON, age 85, of Whitewater, died Thursday, June 27, 2024 at Glenwood at Mulberry Campus in Whitewater. She was born to Hugo and Helen (Wilson) Ferge of Elkhorn, WI. She attended school in Walworth High School, graduating in 1956. Shirley worked at Sterlingworth in Elkhorn and then Fairhaven Nursing Home prior to retirement. As a young woman, she loved roller skating, had a love for animals, especially her dogs and horses on the farm. She was a loyal Brewer and Packer fan. Her diverse family was her pride and joy. Shirley is survived by her six children Jerry … Read more
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A celebration of life for Dave Triebold will be held July 27 at Triebold Farms, with festivities beginning around 11:30 am. A rememberance service will take place at 12:30 pm. A pig roast will follow, and the pool will be open. The family encourages you to stay through the evening for a bonfire as well. Contact Kris (262)949-5474 or Kath (414)412-4385 with questions.
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James Paul Fisher, 86, known by friends as JP or Jay, passed away on Sunday, June 9, 2024, at UW Hospital, Madison, with his immediate family by his side. His body finally surrendered to a heart attack after battling heart and kidney ailments for many years. Born in Fond du lac, Wisconsin, on October 25, 1937, to Lorraine and James Fisher, JP was a resident of Elkhorn and then Whitewater, Wisconsin. At age 2 JP was diagnosed with polio. Through daily therapy administered by his mother and grandmother, he overcame this life threatening virus, and with a prognosis of limited … Read more
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Shirley M. Messier, 86, of Whitewater, Wisconsin, passed away on July 8, 2024. Shirley was born to Erwin and Leona Reese on May 20, 1938, in Farmington, Wisconsin. Shirley (“Shirttail”) attended the local country school, then set out on her own, taking a job doing factory work. On August 24, 1957, she married Blaine Messier in Jefferson, Wisconsin. They had three daughters, Michele (Shelly), Terry, and Karen. Shirley spent many years being a working wife and mother, finally retiring from Polymer Technologies / MacLean Fogg in Whitewater. Shirley loved country music and spent her retirement years going to George Jones … Read more
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Patricia Ann ParrBorn 7/20/42Departed to Heaven 5/10/23 About herself, Patricia often said “I love life, I love God, He always has taken care of me, and He always will”. Patricia died peacefully at Angels Grace Hospice in Oconomowoc, after a long and courageously fought season of declining health. Patricia was born in Beaver Dam, to a lovely family, which included her older brother Dennis and not too long after, her lifetime best friend and little sister Mary. They grew up on an idyllic “Gentlemen’s Farm” outside of Jefferson, with horses and many animals. Her parents, Floyd and Kathryn owned the … Read more
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Marjorie Alice “GG” Roloff, 89, passed away Tuesday, July 2, 2024, at Golden Years in Lake Geneva, WI. She was born July 31, 1934, to Fred and Martha (Arndt) Papcke, in Whitewater, WI, the fifth of eleven children. GG attended South Heart Prairie School, across the road from the family’s home farm. She is a Whitewater High School graduate. On April 19, 1953, she married her high school sweetheart, Eric. She worked a variety of jobs over the years. Her most memorable of those being the local canning factory and as a crossing guard. After retiring, she and Eric would … Read more
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Marilyn Mae Fuerstenberg, 81 of Whitewater, WI., passed away on June 27, 2024, at Agrace Hospice in Janesville, WI. Marilyn was born May 27, 1943, in Geneva Township, to Raymond and Doris Kilpin. Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents, her two younger brothers, Mike and Donny Kilpin. Marilyn married William (Bill) Fuerstenberg on September 21, 1963. Bill and Marilyn lived in Whitewater. Together they raised three children, taking the family on yearly vacations and camping trips throughout the years. Marilyn worked for Walworth County Health and Social Services as a Child Protection Social Worker. She dedicated 25 years … Read more
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Jerome Francis Burke, age 76, of Whitewater, WI, passed away unexpectedly following a brief illness on June 27, 2024. Jerry was born in Evanston, IL on May 13, 1948 to Stephen and Catherine Burke. He grew up in Glenview, IL, where he graduated from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Grade School and then Loyola Academy (Wilmette). Those early days spawned treasured, lifelong friendships. He went on to graduate from St. Joseph’s College (IN) with a BA in Economics, and it was there thathe met his beloved wife, Eileen. They married shortly after graduation and were blessed to share their lives … Read more
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Angelica E. Vicente Santa Cruz passed away Sunday, June 30th in home beside family and friends in Milford, Delaware from a long battle with cancer. Angelica E. Vicente Santa Cruz was born on February 24, 1965. She was the daughter of Doña Carmen Santa Cruz Valdez and Don Luis Vicente León, who allowed her to share a life of family union with her four brothers: Braulio, Carmen Rosa, Edgar and Juan. She was born in Lima-Peru and grew up in the Ventanilla district of the constitutional province of Callao of Peru. She completed her primary studies at the La Merced … Read more
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Lowell V. Youngs, 87, of Whitewater passed away on Monday, June 24, 2024 in Madison. Lowell was born on September 4, 1936 in Wyoming to Isaac and Violet (Doble) Youngs. He grew up in the very small town of Veteran, Wyoming, where he was one of nine students in his graduating class. After graduating, Lowell attended the University of Colorado, where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education in 1958. Lowell was drafted into the US Army in 1960 and selected to be in the Army Band, where he gladly carried a clarinet instead of a gun. He was … Read more
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