News & Events

Fortunately, many of us in Whitewater still don’t personally know anyone who has passed away from COVID-19; in fact, we may not even know anyone who has had a confirmed case.

The New York Times indicates that “As the death toll from Covid-19 in the United States approaches 100,000, a number expected to be reached in the coming days, editors at The Times have been planning how to mark the grim milestone….Simone Landon, assistant editor of the Graphics desk, wanted to represent the number in a way that conveyed both the vastness and the variety of lives lost…The New York Times gathered names of the dead and memories of their lives from obituaries across the country.” Names and memories of hundreds of those people covered the entire front page of the newspaper on Sunday, May 24, and were continued inside the paper. Still, only about 1% of the victims were named. The online version, which may be viewed by clicking here, includes a figure to represent each of the persons who has lost their life. As a reader scolls through the list, on the right side of the page, dates of the deaths are shown, together with the mounting toll.

A copy of the front page itself, together with the story of how the remembrances were compiled, may be seen here.

The comments that have been made on the article certainly indicate that the gesture was much appreciated, especially by those who have lost loved ones. Here are a couple that The Times selected to especially feature.

Sherry Hornell, NY

“I literally stared for unknown minutes seeing the NY Times front page online, attempting to process what I was seeing. Trying to understand how I “fit” into this moment. Yet, for the first time since I lost my mom to the virus in March, I finally felt I wasn’t alone. How strange to find belonging in such a place. I quickly scanned the names to see if my mom might be there. I soon realized, I didn’t have the additional pages, and like some others, Covid was not noted in her obituary by the funeral director, in an attempt to mitigate any issues with a public pronouncement. (Arrangements across state lines was reminder enough.) So as of this moment I don’t know if my mom is listed here. Regardless, I am heartened by this remembrance. I read an on-line magazine piece regarding the struggle related to Covid grieving, so many layers to be grieved. That is me. No generations of family to share grief, or the memories and stories that initiate healing and immortalize my mom in a loving family circle. I feel the loneliness of three generations of only children. My mom probably is not listed here but for a brief moment I didn’t feel so alone. Even as I cried, not only in my own loss, but for these wonderful real people on this list and their families. It’s not quite what any of us would have anticipated in the death of a loved one. Thank you NY TIMES for trying to capture the indescribable. All the love. And a place to belong when few can understand your unique kind of grief.”

abigail49, Georgia

“Thank you, thank you for this memorial. We have heard and read the numbers. day in and day out and those of us who do not know a victim of the virus can slip into a very self-centered state of mind. In that state of mind, we can focus on our differences — political, cultural, racial, and class — and not our commonality and our interdependence. It is fitting that this memorial to the victims of a pandemic is presented on a weekend when we remember our fallen soldiers. Our military includes all Americans from every walk of life. Each of their lives is equally valuable. Each of their contributions to the defense of our nation is equally valuable. Each of them sacrificed much, even their lives, to serve us all. I hope that reading these names and learning a little about their lives will unite us as a country in common cause to defeat it and we will willingly sacrifice something in that cause.”

Eid Mubarak to the Banner’s readers of the Muslim faith.

Eid al-Fitr in 2020 is on Sunday, the 24th of May (24/5/2020).

Note that in the Muslim calendar, a holiday begins on the sunset of the previous day, so observing Muslims will celebrate Eid al-Fitr on the sunset of Saturday, the 23rd of May.

Visit https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/eid-al-fitr-2020-200518142558169.html for more information about Eid al-Fitr/

Battelle Critical Care Decontamination System Ready and Available for Use in Wisconsin

State’s Health Care Workers and First Responders Encouraged to Submit N95 Respirators For Decontamination and Reuse

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers announced Wisconsin’s new Battelle Memorial Institute Critical Care Decontamination System™ is now ready and available for use by the state’s health care workers and first responders to decontaminate their N95 respirators so they can be reused up to 20 times. The Battelle system decontaminates N95 respirators by killing viruses and bacteria using hydrogen peroxide gas, and will greatly extend the life of a vital piece of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).“The addition of our new Battelle decontamination system will greatly aid in our state’s fight against the COVID-19 outbreak,” Gov. Evers said. “Our front line workers are in need of these critical PPE supplies, and we are doing everything we can to supply them with the tools to effectively do their jobs while preventing further spread. I encourage all of our frontline workers to save their N95 respirators so they can be decontaminated using our new Battelle system. The Battelle system represents one of the many ways Wisconsin is working to have decontamination services readily available for health care workers and first responders.”The Battelle system will be able to decontaminate up to 80,000 N95 respirators on a daily basis. It can decontaminate respirators up to 20 times without degrading filtration performance. The usual decontamination turnaround time for users is a maximum of 72 hours, plus shipping time, as long as the site is not over its capacity for use. The Battelle system can only decontaminate respirators, and not other items of PPE. It is also not authorized for use with respirators containing cellulose-based materials.Battelle decontamination services, including shipping, will be provided to Wisconsin healthcare organizations and professionals free of charge. Eligible healthcare providers include, but are not limited to, hospitals, nursing homes, public health professionals, human and child protective services offices, emergency managers, first responders, coroners, medical examiners, law enforcement and correctional institutions, home health organizations, pharmacists, rural health services and dental offices. “Our Wisconsin site will be a state-wide operation, and we are hoping to get respirators from throughout the Badger state here for decontamination,” said Caitlyn Farragher, Battelle’s Wisconsin site lead. “We plan to run a 24-hour operation in order to ensure a timely turnaround time for all of our users.”The new Battelle system highlights decontamination efforts ongoing throughout Wisconsin to try to ensure that health care workers and first responders can be as safe as possible when performing their duties.With all of the decontamination efforts underway in Wisconsin, health care workers and first responders are being asked to save their used PPE supplies for decontamination. Throughout the past couple of weeks, outreach efforts were conducted to inform health care workers and first responders on how to sign up for the Battelle system decontamination service, and ensure their masks are safely returned to them. “It is our goal to get as many N95 respirators decontaminated as we possibly can,” said Jim Langdon, COVID-19 decontamination response lead at the State Emergency Operations Center. “We are also working to ensure that the process for submitting an item for decontamination is easy and timely for our state’s health care workers and first responders. ”Through a partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), the State of Wisconsin received the Battelle system this week. Battelle developed the system in 2015 to help decontaminate PPE to prevent further spread of Ebola. The Columbus, Ohio company is currently deploying the system to 60 different sites across the nation. Beyond the Battelle system, other decontamination efforts in Wisconsin include UV decontamination sites. These sites service N95 respirators as well as other types of PPE, such as face shields, gowns, and aprons. UV decontamination facilities are currently operating in much of Wisconsin, highlighted by sites in Brown, Dane, Kenosha, and Sawyer counties. In addition to statewide decontamination efforts, Wisconsin continues to work on building up its stockpile of PPE supplies. Last week Wisconsin received a delivery of 230,000 N95 respirators from FEMA. Gov. Evers continues to request more of these supplies to meet Wisconsin’s pressing need. For up-to-date information about Wisconsin’s COVID-19 response, visit the DHS COVID-19 webpage. We encourage you to follow @DHSWI on Facebook, Twitter, or dhs.wi on Instagram for more information on COVID-19. Banner note: Click here for an interesting article in Time on Battelle, a non-profit organization that manufactures this device. The organization is also responsible for much of the technology behind Xerox copy machines, product barcodes and compact disks.

Recently the City announced that there would be bulk trash pickup on every Thursday during the month of May. Unfortunately there was a misunderstanding between John’s Disposal and City staff. Per John’s, in prior years the extra bulk pickups have only been scheduled around the student housing near campus.

We are sorry for the inconvenience to those residents who put items out for the May 7 pickup that were not picked up. Obviously the terrace lawns would look nicer if it’s not too much trouble to take the items back until the citywide pickup on May 14. If, however, that is inconvenient, no fines will be issued for items that are left out until the 14th.

The bulk pickup on May 21 will again only be campus focused. May 28 will be an all city pickup.

Apologies for the confusion on this matter.

Brad Marquardt
Department of Public Works Director

Per an announcement in the May 6 newspaper, The (Janesville) Gazette will end its Saturday and Sunday print editions, trimming print publication to five days a week as economic pressures on the news industry continue to mount amid the COVID-19 crisis. The Gazette has delivered seven editions a week for 32 years. The change goes into effect June 1.

The decision comes as the paper faces a falloff in advertising and subscriber revenue that’s worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s a measure the newspaper’s ownership had been discussing “for some time,” said Mary Jo Villa, Gazette publisher and Adams Publishing Group regional president.

“I absolutely believe it is the appropriate and necessary step to ensure we remain viable and have the ability to publish quality local journalism for many years to come,” Villa said in a statement. “The COVID crisis further put into perspective how important it is that we size our organization in a manner that ensures we can continue to provide the quality of journalism our communities deserve.”

The Gazette will continue to deliver news and advertising on GazetteXtra.com, the paper’s website, seven days a week, Villa said.

The elimination of two print editions a week will result in a total of six employees being laid off—some in the newsroom and some in the circulation and distribution divisions. The layoffs are effective at the end of May.

As the newspaper industry grapples with changing realities in business, one common response is to decrease the frequency of print products or end publication on certain days of the week, Villa said.

In an interview, Villa said The Gazette’s weekend papers have tended to be the most costly to produce given typical staffing at the printing plant in Janesville, which Adams Publishing also owns and manages.

The decision ends a seven-day-a-week print schedule established in 1988 to capitalize on advertiser demand and growth in preprinted advertising inserts. During most of The Gazette’s 175 years of publication, the paper printed five days a week.

In the last few years, the demise of local advertisers, including Shopko, Sears, Boston Store, JCPenney, Pick ’n Save and Maurer’s Market, among others, has hurt Gazette revenue, Villa said.

The COVID-19 crisis brought on a worsening falloff in advertising revenue, in part because many businesses have temporarily shuttered during the pandemic. In response to losses in ad revenue and the fallout of the novel coronavirus crisis, Adams Publishing in late March instituted a reduction in employee work hours at The Gazette and its other publications.

Villa said the Friday paper will become a “weekend” edition.

“We are not eliminating any content,” Villa said. “Most of the Sunday content will be in Friday’s edition, which will become a weekend edition. I believe each edition Monday through Friday will be improved, particularly as we recover from the COVID crisis and things such as sports and community events return.”

The Gazette will continue to deliver around-the-clock coverage of breaking news and sports every day, including weekends, via GazetteXtra.com.

Villa said The Gazette plans to launch an emailed newsletter to deliver readers the latest news.

The same assortment of pre-printed retail shopping fliers typically inserted in Sunday’s paper will be distributed in the Wednesday and Friday print editions. Villa said the Friday edition will include a bonus volume of games and comics.

Under the shift, subscription prices for The Gazette won’t change because Saturday and Sunday content previously printed both online and in print will continue to be available to subscribers online.

The Friday weekend edition will be delivered the same as other weekday papers, and the newsstand price for the Friday edition will be $2.50. The Sunday paper, which will cease at the end of this month, now costs $4 at newsstands. Monday through Thursday editions will sell for $1.50, which is the current newsstand price for weekday editions.

Gazette circulation surveys show at least 70% of the paper’s readers receive The Gazette’s content through online and multimedia channels.

Villa said she expects some backlash from readers who prefer to read news in print or who can’t or won’t read the paper via an electronic device.

“There is a slice of our readership that don’t have computers, they don’t have tablets, they don’t have smartphones. And I anticipate those individuals will be very disappointed,” Villa said. “But to perpetuate delivery seven days (a week) for what’s probably 20% of our customer base at the peril of the other 75% to 80% isn’t a good business strategy in my opinion.”

The Gazette is among several area newspapers owned and operated by Adams Publishing Group, a family-owned company headquartered in Minnesota. Adams acquired The Gazette and the Janesville printing facility in June 2019 in a sale by the Bliss family, who had operated The Gazette since the 1880s.

Adams media holdings in southern and southcentral Wisconsin include the Beloit Daily News, the Daily Jefferson County Union in Fort Atkinson and the Watertown Daily Times.

After having asked for input as to how to best recognize the UW-W Class of 2020 without being able to hold the scheduled commencement on Saturday, May 16, Chancellor Dwight C. Watson announced on April 30 that the university has decided to hold a Virtual Celebration of Graduates on the same date at 1 pm. Dr. Watson emphasized that this celebration is not taking the place of a commencement ceremony, which is hoped to be held on a date yet to be announced.

Although the graduates are obviously disappointed not to be able to be recognized in person on the originally scheduled date, social media posts in reaction to the announcement appear to be overwhelmingly positive. Zody Levin posted this comment under the Chancellor’s announcement: “Thank you chancellor for offering both a virtual commencement and planning a later date. As a graduating senior myself, we do not care WHEN commencement is, but IF it happens. I will wait as long as necessary for a proper commencement ceremony.”

The Chancellor’s announcement is shown below:

Celebrating our 150th graduating class

Warhawks,

More than 1,600 of you are ready to graduate this May.

You are the 150th graduating class of this great university. You have achieved. You have overcome every challenge put in front of you. You are standing on the threshold, ready to fly. And I couldn’t be more proud of you.

Traditionally, we mark this milestone at commencement. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we all know the ceremonies at the Whitewater and Rock County campuses have been postponed. Those of you set to graduate will graduate regardless, so we want to celebrate your achievements. And so, I am proud to announce that UW-Whitewater will be hosting a Virtual Celebration of Graduates on Saturday, May 16, 2020, at 1 p.m.

At the event, which will occur via Facebook Live on UW-Whitewater’s Facebook page, Interim Provost Greg Cook and myself will share some words, as will our student speakers, Brian Martinez and Alex Ostermann. After we mark the conferring of degrees, we have a special musical surprise to share with you. And we will also share our Warhawks Rising social media campaign, where we will see photos of our newly minted graduates and read about the achievements they are most proud of. Graduating students from the Whitewater and Rock County campuses will be contacted via their university email for instructions on how to participate in Warhawks Rising.

This celebration is not meant to take the place of our traditional commencement ceremonies. We know that many of you and your friends and family members prefer to hold in-person ceremony at some later date, and that is what we hope to do. Because of the ongoing nature of the pandemic and the Safer-at-Home orders, however, we do not yet know when such a ceremony will be feasible. Simply put, we do not want to select a date at this point, only to have to postpone it again for reasons beyond our control. We are looking at potential dates, including Homecoming Week, and will be sure to let you know when we have a firm.

These unprecedented times have changed how we live our lives and forego the traditions we normally experience. Although we cannot be together physically at this time, we can still come together and celebrate the success and achievements of our graduating students. Please join us on Saturday, May 16 at 1 p.m. for this virtual celebration of our class of 2020.

Go Warhawks!

Dr. Dwight C. Watson
Chancellor