News & Events

St. John’s Lutheran Church of Whitewater will hold a special worship service at 6:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, Saturday, December 24.  Christmas Day worship is at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, December 25.  A special New Year’s Eve service is at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 31.  The congregation welcomes the community to attend.  St. John’s is located at 116 South Church Street in Whitewater.

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

According to an announcement at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, now that the campus visits by five chancellor candidates have been completed, next week the UW System President and the Special Regent Committee will receive a summary of the visit feedback. It is then anticipated that during the week of January 9 the president and committee will interview the candidates and identify a candidate to recommend to the full Board of Regents. A special meeting of the Board of Regents would then be called during the week of January 16 or 23 to consider approval of the recommendation, with an announcement to follow.

Further information about the search, including the names of the candidates, may be found here.

Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is a Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BCE.

Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. The festival is observed by lighting the candles of a candelabrum with nine branches, commonly called a menorah or hanukkiah. One branch is typically placed above or below the others and its candle is used to light the other eight candles. This unique candle is called the shamash (Hebrew: שַׁמָּשׁ‎, “attendant”). Each night, one additional candle is lit by the shamash until all eight candles are lit together on the final night of the festival. Other Hanukkah festivities include singing Hanukkah songs, playing the game of dreidel and eating oil-based foods, such as latkes and sufganiyot, and dairy foods. Since the 1970s, the worldwide Chabad Hasidic movement has initiated public menorah lightings in open public places in many countries.

Although a relatively minor holiday in strictly religious terms, Hanukkah has attained major cultural significance in North America and elsewhere, especially among secular Jews, due to its occurring around the same time as Christmas during the holiday season.

How to wish happy Hanukkah? The traditional greeting for observing Hanukkah is “Hanukkah sameach!” which means “Happy Hanukkah!” or “Chag urim sameach” which means “Happy Festival of Lights”.

Source: Wikipedia

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

Total enrollment at the two UW-Whitewater campuses, which has declined for the past three years, has fallen once again. The 10th day fall enrollment, the standard measure of enrollment, was 11,087, a decline of 373 students from last year. Total enrollment when UW-Rock County consolidated with UW-Whitewater in 2018 was 13,059. The all-time record enrollment of 12,628 at the Whitewater campus was in 2016-17, versus the current 10,494.

A bright spot is Graduate Studies enrollment on the Whitewater campus, with a record 1,712 students pursuing Master’s or Doctor’s degrees, compared with 1,683 last year. Nine years ago graduate students numbered only 1,163.

Declining high school graduation classes in the state and nationally, together with low unemployment and rising wages, are contributing to enrollment declines at most universities. Initial estimates for the entire UW System for the current school year indicated that there was a decline of approximately 1%. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center found that undergraduate enrollment at four-year public universities fell by 1.6%. Graduate enrollment dropped by 1%. UW-W’s total decline was approximately 3%.

In response to the Banner’s inquiry regarding enrollment, Interim Chancellor John Chenoweth provided the following statement:

“We are proud that students continue to choose the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater to further their education. Every day I’m inspired by the dedication of our faculty and staff and their commitment to student success at every level. Their passion draws students to our university, both at our Whitewater and Rock County campus, and enables students to feel supported every day.”

“We are seeing encouraging areas of enrollment. For example, we are enthusiastic about our trends in first-time full-time students, graduate students, and online students. Outside of UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee, we are number one in the system in total student aid provided, enrollment from non-resident students and underrepresented minority students, and distance education students. We are also number one in our percentage of graduating transfer students in six years or less. And the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater at Rock County is the third-largest branch campus in the state and we are planning to add new academic and student opportunities there.”

“Looking ahead, stabilizing our enrollment is among our top priorities. But it’s not just about enrolling students, it is about retaining them, graduating them, and then supporting their transition into the next chapter of their lives, whether it’s the start of a career or graduate school.”

A summary of the recent enrollment statistics is shown below. Longer term statistics may be found here.

	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Whitewater Campus Undergraduate	9657	9133	8782
Graduate	1567	1683	1712
Total Whitewater Campus	11224	10816	10494
Rock County Campus	771	644	593
Grand Total	11995	11460	11087

Irvin L. Young Memorial Library Board of Trustees – Monday @ 6:30 p.m.
Agenda includes Negotiation of sale of properties at 413 West Center Street, 414A/B Forest Avenue, 424 Forest
Avenue, Whitewater; Complete a 360 review of the changing needs of the library (print vs digital
expenditures, staffing, workflow) and update the library’s budget; Approval Of The Draft Revision Of The Collection Development Policy.
Community Room
431 W. Center Street
This will be an in-person/virtual hybrid meeting
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85040365333?pwd=Z1JieVMvN1lnUllYU2pIaGpDVnNCUT09
Meeting ID: 850 4036 5333
Passcode: fdh3VE6t
or dial 312 626 6799
Meeting ID: 850 4036 5333
Passcode: 76285245

Whitewater Unified School District School Board – Monday @ 6:00 p.m. (Closed session); 7:00 p.m. (Open session)
Whitewater High School Library
534 South Elizabeth Street, Whitewater, Wisconsin
6:00 p.m.
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6:00 p.m. via Zoom Online
– URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89106332735?pwd=YlJmZDYxQ0JyWlJpdVdvSE11Tlg4QT09
– Passcode: 177861
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– Dial-in: 1-312-626-6799
– Webinar ID: 891 0633 2735
– Passcode: 177861
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Closed Session
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Open Session
Agenda (click on “meetings” in upper right corner) includes 2023-24 High School Curriculum Changes/Course Proposals and Review of 2021-22 Financial Audit.
7:00 p.m. via Zoom Online
– URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82553957313?pwd=aHkrekg3a1NLaFprM0h0OGpFYkFOUT09
– Passcode: 827459
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– Dial-in: 1-312-626-6799
– Webinar ID: 825 5395 7313
– Passcode: 827459

City of Whitewater Common Council – Tuesday @ 6:30 p.m.
Agenda includes adoption of 2023 salary resolution, SEWRPC report on housing in Whitewater, discussion regarding honoring Martin Luther King day as a holiday for city employees, and update regarding CDA Director position.
City of Whitewater Municipal Building – Community Room
312 W. Whitewater St.
This will be an in person AND a virtual meeting.
Citizens are welcome (and encouraged) to join via computer, smart phone, or telephone.
Citizen participation is welcome during topic discussion periods.
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88045220373?pwd=MFhZSGFpTkJmV3pNRFZtcHRob09SUT0
9
Passcode: 096103
Or Telephone:
1 312 626 6799
Webinar ID: 880 4522 0373
Passcode: 096103

Editor’s note: The following was submitted by Pamela Sonmor-Wintz, WHS Counselor.

National Honor Society members at Whitewater High School purchased Holiday presents for ten WUSD children in need through the United Way Gift Giving Program in December!  Money spent was from funds raised through the Spring Silent Auction.  Thank you, Evelyn Troxel, Allison Alvarado & her sister Ava for purchasing the gifts, and to Evelyn, Allison & Caleigh Yang & Kayla Mikos for wrapping the gifts!  A great time was had by all!  Here is a photo story of pictures taken during this project!

A YouTube video depicting the project may be viewed here.

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

The First United Methodist Church choir, together with additional singers from other Whitewater Area Regional Ministry congregations and other community members, presented a Christmas cantata titled “Little Lion, Little Lamb” by Heather Sorenson on December 11 at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. A 22-piece orchestra accompanied the choir, as did James R. Athas on piano. Christine Hayes directed, while Pastor Dan Fahs narrated. Vocal soloists were Barb Athas, Benjamin Crone, Jen Crone, Charlie Fortney, Katie Fortney, Nathan Roley, and Barb Taylor. The concert was dedicated to the late Marge Triebold, who sang in the choir for over 65 years. All photos are courtesy of Tom Ganser.