News & Events

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

At its August 10 meeting the WUSD School Board voted that at a special meeting on Monday, September 14, depending upon the status of COVID-19 in the area and the schools, they hoped to affirm that the schools would be returning to fulltime in-person instruction as of September 28. Consequently the agenda for Monday’s open meeting at 7:00 p.m. includes discussion of that matter.

On August 10 the board had adopted the school reopening guidance of Jefferson County Health Department that indicated that in-person instruction should not begin unless the COVID positivity rate in the area was under 8%. The district’s plan was to use a blended rate for Jefferson, Rock, and Walworth counties based on the percentage of students enrolled from each county. As of August 10, the blended rate was calculated as 8.2%. It appears that the blended rate would not have dropped below 8% at any time since then. However, on August 20 Jefferson County revised its guidance, and the board adopted that revision at its August 24 meeting. This guidance utilizes daily case incidence as defined below, with the risk levels also shown.

Daily Case Incidence: The daily case incidence number (per 100,000) will determine whether a jurisdiction is green, yellow, orange, or red COVID activity levels using the criteria described under the COVID-19 Risk Level definition below. This is calculated using a 7-day rolling average with a lag time of one day. This lag time may increase based on processing and reporting times for tests being conducted.

COVID-19 Risk Level Case Incidence
COVID Risk Level Case Incidence Red (Very High Risk ) >25 daily new cases per 100,000 people
Orange ( High Risk ) 10<25 daily new cases per 100,000 people
Yellow ( Medium Risk ) 1<10 daily new cases per 100,000 people
Green ( Low Risk ) <1 daily new case per 100,000 people

As of September 9, the weighted average stood at 16.48, placing the district in the orange (high risk) category. In that category, Jefferson County’s recommendations are as follows:

1st priority for re-opening: Grades pre K-5 and in-person special education services at grade levels preK-8 open if conditions for pandemic resilient teaching and learning spaces can be achieved at scale; districts, states, and federal government invest in healthy buildings and healthy classrooms; in the absence of conditions for pandemic resilient teaching and learning spaces, schools continue with remote learning. 2nd priority for re-opening: Grades 6-8 and in-person special education services at grade levels 9-12 open if conditions for pandemic resilient teaching and learning spaces can be achieved at scale; districts, states, and federal government invest in healthy buildings and healthy classrooms; in the absence of conditions for pandemic resilient teaching and learning spaces, schools continue with remote learning. Not a priority for re-opening: Grades 9-12 maintain remote learning for all learners; districts, states, and federal government invest in remote learning.

As readers are probably aware, there has been a significant spike in positive test results for UW-W students, most of which would likely not yet be reflected in the case incidence numbers that the state reported on September 9.

Here is the access information for Monday’s open session:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82311903275?pwd=dnBhMGdSKzRJU0NYNEswWk5ydDArZz09
– Passcode: 849620
– Dial-in: 1-312-626-6799 – Webinar ID: 823 1190 3275 – Passcode: 849620

(Whitewater Unites Lives submission) Brittany Redden is a WUL Hometown Hero, “For volunteering tirelessly for the Summer Lunch Fixings for Kids program for the past three summers; for being dedicated, organized and thorough in everything she does to benefit many children in the Whitewater area; and for effectively communicating and coordinating with so many families.”

The nomination includes:  “It is my sincere belief that she deserves to be a recipient of the Hometown Hero award. Whitewater is lucky to have her as a volunteer.“

WUL (Whitewater Unites Lives) 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.   

 Anyone who would like to nominate a local hero of any age should send their nomination, with a short description, to whitewaterunites@gmail.com 

The Common Council agenda for September 1 was amended on Monday afternoon to add “Discussion and possible direction regarding large gatherings of people on private property during City Declaration of Emergency.” City Manager Cameron Clapper indicated to the Banner that the item was added to the agenda in order to provide an opportunity for the council members to discuss concerns that have been raised about this matter, and to allow for public comment; however, if there is possible interest in taking action, this would not be considered until a future meeting.

Walworth County Public Health, Advocate Aurora Health, and Mercyhealth to Host Virtual COVID-19 Town Hall for Employers

The Walworth County Division of Public Health, in partnership with Aurora
Advocate Health and Mercyhealth, is hosting ‘Employer Best Practices During
COVID-19: Virtual Town Hall with Walworth County Public Health and
Healthcare’ on Monday, August 31 st at 9:00 a.m.
Employers play an important role in preventing COVID-19 and helping our
community stay safe and healthy. This event will provide perspectives from
Public Health and local healthcare partners, including an update on the status of
COVID-19 in Walworth County, information on current best practices for
businesses and employers, and an opportunity for questions.
Registration is required for this event. Please visit https://bit.ly/2Qk37DJ to learn
more and register.
For more information, please contact Walworth County Health and Human
Services Division of Public Health at (262) 741-3140, email
walcoph@co.walworth.wi.us, follow-us on Facebook, or visit us online at
co.walworth.wi.us.

Fort HealthCare Press Release – Fort HealthCare is challenging the greater Jefferson County area to “Rock the Walk,” and “Boost Your Immunity” while tracking your physical activity on a weekly basis in order to be more mindful about health and current level of physical activity, and for the chance at great prizes along the way. Rock the Walk 2020 kicks off on Tuesday, September 29^th and finishes on Tuesday, November 10th. Sign-up opens on Tuesday September 8th for all players. There is no cost to participate. Visit FortHealthCare.com/RockTheWalk for more details and instructions on how to begin.

Each year’s challenge focuses on a theme, and this year’s educational theme is “Boost Your Immunity.” With the current pandemic, and flu season approaching, it’s important for community members to be maintaining their health through various methods such as physical activity, eating a well-balanced diet and being conscientious of alcohol use, just to name a few. This educational information is presented weekly during the challenge through an online account which allows this challenge to be 100% digital and physically-distanced. This online “Wellness Portal” has many other tools for participants, that are free, such as food and meal plans, exercise trackers, various strength and cardio training examples, recipes, blogs and more that can be utilized at any time.

Upon sign-up, participants are asked to join one of the Rock the Walk teams organized by either their employer, or a local community coalition, to compete in the challenge and compare progress across teams. While the activity is organized by Fort HealthCare, other organizations are also participating. If not connected to an employer, players can assign themselves to one of the local Healthy Community Coalition teams. More about these Coalitions is available at FortHealthCare.com/Community-Coalitions.

Fort HealthCare shares a goal with area Healthy Community Coalitions to motivate all individuals to see how their health affects the overall population. Accomplishing long-term goals in improving the population’s health and wellness will help make Jefferson County the healthiest community in Wisconsin.

Experts recommend at least 150 minutes per week – that’s just over 20 minutes per day – of moderately intense physical activity. That’s the minimum amount of time that needs to be logged in the Rock the Walk online tool to stay in the challenge and compete for great prizes. The type of exercise does not matter, as long as it gets you moving and the heart pumping. No matter what one’s current fitness level is, anyone can participate doing something that is enjoyable to them – swimming, walking, paddling, biking, jogging, running, weight lifting, rowing, aerobics, gardening – the list goes on.

More information and instructions about how to participate in the challenge and how to sponsor as an organization can be found at www.FortHealthCare.com/RockTheWalk. If using social media to share progress and positivity, players are invited to use the hashtag #HealthiestHereWeCome in their posts and to tag @FortHealthCare, and/or their team coalition or organization.

“We’re still running! The Discover Whitewater Series (DWS): Half Marathon and 5K is still on for September 20, 2020. reserve your spot today at RunWhitewater.com/Register. Spots are limited each event has a 150-person cap and registration ends September 1st; don’t wait.”