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The Banner has been serving Whitewater, Wisconsin since August 1, 2006
Today is Monday, May 11, 2026
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COLLECTION SCHEDULE
The City will collect brush every Tuesday unless otherwise announced. Residents are asked to call the Department of Public Works at (262)473-0560 to make an appointment. Appointments must be made by 5 a.m. of the Tuesday collection so route scheduling can be completed.
COLLECTION FEES
Brush located at the curbside will be collected and chipped. The first 10 minutes of chipping will be free of charge if an appointment has been received by the DPW. Any chipping after the first ten minutes will be charged to the property owner at a rate of $30 per ten-minute increments.
ALL BRUSH PLACED AT THE CURB WILL BE COLLECTED ON THE DAY OF APPOINTMENT. NO EXCEPTIONS!
COLLECTION PROCEDURE
Brush must be brought to the curbside and placed with the cut ends facing the street. Brush cannot be brought to the curbside before 4 p.m. on the Sunday prior to the scheduled Tuesday for collection. Brush must be at the curb by 7 a.m. on Tuesday.
*In addition, the Compost Site is open for residents on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. and Wednesdays from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.
BRUSH TO BE ACCEPTED OR NOT ACCEPTED
Brush must be a minimum of 3/4″ and a maximum 6” in diameter. The brush must be a minimum of 3 feet in length.
Vines, rakings, roots, and root balls will not be accepted. Property owners can dispose of vines, rakings, roots, and root balls at the compost site. The City reserves the right to not collect brush for just cause.
MAJOR STORM DAMAGE BRUSH COLLECTION
Major storm damage brush collection will be done at no charge. The City will determine and announce emergency storm related brush collections.
Brad Marquardt
Director of Public Works
bmarquardt@whitewater-wi.gov
For other requests, visit https://www.whitewater-wi.gov/RequestTracker.aspx.
Editor’s Note: The following was provided by the City of Whitewater.
The City of Whitewater will be accepting bids for the following: 12,300 square feet of mechanical dredging of Cravath Lake and 4000 square feet of mechanical dredging of Trippe Lake. Bids will be accepted until July 26,2023 at 3:00 pm. At that time the bids received will be publicly opened and publicly recorded. Bid packets can be obtained from the City Clerk, located at the City Municipal building, 312 W. Whitewater Street, Whitewater, WI, between the hours of 8:00 am – 4:30 pm. For further information contact Eric Boettcher, Parks and Recreation Director at 262-473-0122. The City of Whitewater receives the right to reject any and all bids, waive any informalities in bidding, and to accept the bid deemed most advantageous to the City of Whitewater,
The City of Whitewater has a stockpile of dredged material from Cravath and Trippe Lake at the property located on the corner of Innovation Drive and Howard Road. The City wishes to have the dredged material removed by October 30, 2023. Anyone interested in the dredged material should call Parks and Recreation Director Eric Boettcher at 262-473-0122 by July 20,2023 to indicate their interest and obtain additional information.
Spiny soft shell (Apalone spinifera) turtle, shy, stealthy and antediluvian. [antediluvian = literally, “before the (Biblical) flood, or prehistoric”]
Cormorants have moved back in.
Duck family raft on the run.
Duck family waddle seeking sun.
Marsh wren, petite, flighty and a very loud voice.
Our thanks to Steve Watson for sharing more of his fascinating photos with us.
— Our Readers Share: We hope that you might have something that you’d be willing to share. Anything that’s been created by someone else should, of course, be credited, and you should ask their permission if you’re able. We cannot post copyrighted material without permission. We can’t guarantee that we’ll have space for all submissions, and contributions will be subject to editorial board approval. The one definite exclusion is anything politically oriented. We will assume that you’re willing for us to include your name as the submitter unless you indicate that you prefer to remain anonymous. Send to whitewaterbanner@gmail.com or click on “submit a story” near the top right of our homepage. Thanks for thinking about this!
Fireworks 4th of July Whitewater from 380-400 ft high Mini 2 Drone
Our thanks to Paul Jhona for sharing more of his great drone photos.
— Our Readers Share: We hope that you might have something that you’d be willing to share. Anything that’s been created by someone else should, of course, be credited, and you should ask their permission if you’re able. We cannot post copyrighted material without permission. We can’t guarantee that we’ll have space for all submissions, and contributions will be subject to editorial board approval. The one definite exclusion is anything politically oriented. We will assume that you’re willing for us to include your name as the submitter unless you indicate that you prefer to remain anonymous. Send to whitewaterbanner@gmail.com or click on “submit a story” near the top right of our homepage. Thanks for thinking about this!
It’s time once again for #flashbackfriday with the Whitewater Historical Society. For the next few weeks, we will be featuring some summer scenes of Whitewater streets. This week it is a rare photo postcard along Center Street showing the lovely elm trees that graced Whitewater before the 1960s. But even more interesting is if you enlarge the image, you will see a clothesline full of wash–must have been a Monday! Do you remember hanging wash on a line?
Join us next week for another great photo of a Whitewater street scene with the Whitewater Historical Society.
#2195PC Whitewater Historical Society
The academic honors Dean’s List for the Spring 2023 semester has been announced by Dr. Donna Hedgepath, Campbellsville University’s provost and vice president for academic affairs.
The following student has been named to Campbellsville University’s Dean’s List for Spring 2023:
Brianna A Staebler, from Whitewater, WI.
The academic honors list recognizes students who achieve a grade point average of 3.50 or above for the semester with a course load of at least 12 hours. The Spring 2023 academic honors list includes a total of 875 students, with 398 named to the President’s List for achieving a 4.0 grade point average and 477 named to the Dean’s List for achieving a 3.5 to 3.99 GPA.
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university that offers over 100 programs including doctoral, master, bachelor, associate and certificate programs. The website for complete information is www.campbellsville.edu.
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater head baseball coach John Vodenlich has been announced as a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2024. Vodenlich will be inducted in January of 2024 during a banquet at the 80th Annual ABCA Convention.
Coach Vodenlich has accumulated over 700 wins in 20 seasons at the helm of the UW-Whitewater baseball program. A 10-time Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, Vodenlich has led the Warhawks to 14 conference titles and 6 WIAC Tournament championships.
Since taking over the program in 2004, Vodenlich has taken UWW to the NCAA Division III Tournament 16 times advancing to the DIII World Series 6 times including national titles for the Warhawks in 2005 and 2015.
Vodenlich was named the Regional Coach of the Year six times, garnered ABCA National Coach of the Year honors in 2005 and 2014 and was named the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Man of the Year in 2005.
A two-time All-American and four-year standout for the Warhawks as an athlete, Vodenlich was inducted into the UW-Whitewater Hall of Fame in 2007 as a student-athlete. A native of Racine, Wisconsin, he was inducted into the Racine County Sports Hall of Fame in 2019. Following his collegiate career, he went on to play professionally in Europe, helping his team claim the Slovenian National Championship in 1994. Vodenlich was inducted into the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2015 becoming the youngest inductee into the association’s Hall of Fame.
Vodenlich has continues to help grow the sport across the globe conducting and participating in clinics in Germany, England, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary over the years.
The ABCA Hall of Fame Class of 2024 also includes Cal Bailey (West Virginia State), Danny Hall (Georgia Tech), Pat McQuaid (Nova High School, Fla.), Jim Morris (University of Miami), Brian O’Connor (University of Virginia), Tim Pettorini (The College of Wooster), Jim Wells (University of Alabama), Wayne Welton (Chelsea High School, Mich.) and Jeff Willis (Louisiana State University Eunice). The ten coaches will be inducted at the ABCA Convention on January 5, 2024 at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas.
First place winning photograph “After the Storm” by Michael Knapstein. Michael was unable to make it the reception. Photograph taken by Whitewater Arts Alliance/Ashley McDarison.
(left) Gerry Emmerich, Jr. congratulates (right) Howard Rothstein for second place award winning photograph “Cardinal on Snowy Spring Morning”. Rothstein also won honorable mention for his photograph “Bleeding Heart Studio Portrait”. Photograph taken by Whitewater Arts Alliance/Ashley McDarison.
Third place winning photograph “Botanical V” by Annette Knapstein. Annette was unable to make it to the reception. Photograph taken by Whitewater Arts Alliance/Ashley McDarison.
The Whitewater Arts Alliance (WAA) is pleased to announce the award winners for the 2023 14th Annual Fran Achen Juried Photography Exhibition. Judges Gerald Emmerich, Jr. and Steve Heraly selected first, second, and third place awards together with 11 honorable mention awards. The exhibition consists of 83 photographs representing the work of 35 photographers and is now on display at the Cultural Arts Center, 402 W. Main Street, Whitewater. All these pieces can be viewed in the gallery during its open hours Thursdays through Sundays, 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. through Sunday, July 30 or online at https://www.whitewaterarts.org/fran-achen-2023. Editor’s note: Photographers will likely be removing their entries on July 30, so it is best to go early if visiting on that date.
The awards were presented at the reception on Sunday, July 2 by chair Jeff McDonald and judge Gerald Emmerich, Jr. Over 50 attendees viewed the presentation and critique session of each awarded piece by Emmerich, Jr.
AWARDS
❖ First Place – Michael Knapstein (Middleton, WI) : “After the Storm”
❖ Second Place – Howard Rothstein (Whitewater, WI) : “Cardinal on Snowy Spring
Morning”
❖ Third Place – Annette Knapstein (Middleton, WI) : “Botanical V”
❖ Honorable Mention – Cindy Vondran (Janesville, WI) : “Butter Paddle”
❖ Honorable Mention – Doug Richter (Fort Atkinson, WI) : “Crown Shyness”
❖ Honorable Mention – Doug Richter (Fort Atkinson, WI) : “Shadow Sojourn”
❖ Honorable Mention – Fletcher Crone (Whitewater, WI) : “Pursuit”
❖ Honorable Mention – Howard Rothstein (Whitewater, WI) : “Bleeding Heart
Studio Portrait”
❖ Honorable Mention – Jim Hayes (Mukwonago, WI) : “Farm Truck”
❖ Honorable Mention – Jo Christofferson (Clinton, WI) : “Hummingbird Art”
❖ Honorable Mention – Jo Christofferson (Clinton, WI) : “Monterey Bay”
❖ Honorable Mention – Michael Havice (Whitefish Bay, WI) : “Denise Smith 7896”
❖ Honorable Mention – Michael Knapstein (Middleton, WI) : “Hay Bale”
❖ Honorable Mention – Polly Marzahl (Delavan, WI) : “Sighted”
The Viewer’s Choice award is still available for voting both in gallery and online. Gallery visitors may vote for up to three photographs per visit using slips provided by the WAA. The online virtual show also allows online voting for up to three photographs per visit. Repetitive votes cast in close succession that are obviously “spam” will not count. Viewer’s Choice will be announced Sunday, July 30.
Obituaries
Lois Cummings, 99, of Fond du Lac, WI (formerly of Janesville, WI, Fort Atkinson, WI, Fountain Hills, AZ, and Green Valley, AZ) passed away peacefully on May 5, 2026 at the Meadows Senior Residence in Fond du Lac surrounded by family. Lois was born on February 17, 1927 in Fort Atkinson to Edward and Clarice (Roseth) Stevens. The middle child of 9 children, she attended Fort Atkinson schools and graduated in 1944. On September 11, 1948 Lois married Grant Cummings at Saint Andrew Catholic Church in Delavan, WI. Together they had 3 children, Gary, Colleen (Tom) Sabel, and Patty (Paul) … Read more
Come celebrate William Kincaid’s Celebration of Life on Saturday, May 30th at 1 pm at Trippe Lake Park Pavillion in Whitewater. He truly enjoyed gatherings where his favorite foods and music could be enjoyed with some of his closest friends and family. We will honor him by carrying on one of his favorite traditions. Please bring your own beverages and chairs. There is limited seating. See you all there!
Gladys Jean (Riley) Hildebrandt, age 89, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, passed away peacefully on Friday, January 23, 2026. Gladys was born on December 26, 1936, in Whitewater, Wisconsin, to Theresa Egnoski Riley. She was married to Walter Sobolik Sr., and later married James A. Hildebrandt in 1976. Gladys was a hardworking woman who spent her life caring for others. She worked in school kitchens, restaurants, factories, and cleaning services. She concluded her working career as a full-time nanny. In that role, she lovingly cared for Andrew, Daniel, and Kaitlyn Drzewiecki, who became part of her chosen family. Gladys is survived by her sons, Wally … Read more
WHITEWATER – Nan Rowley died on April 15, 2026, at the age of 90. She was born on September 4, 1935, in a little house on the prairie in the Town of Johnstown, Wisconsin, the daughter of Wayne L. Wilbur and Florence (McQuillen) Wilbur. Nan attended primary schools in the towns of Johnstown and Richmond and in the City of Whitewater. Nan graduated with honors from Whitewater City High School. On June 19, 1954, Nancy and Ken Rowley were united in marriage in Whitewater and went to live on the Rowley family farm in Richmond. Over the years, Nan served … Read more
Marion H. Gorniak (nee Pfeiffer), 74, of Whitewater passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 11, 2026. She was born on October 24, 1951, to the late Harvey and Loraine (nee Drifke) Pfeiffer in Fort Atkinson, WI. On June 2, 1969, she was united in marriage to Alan Gorniak. She enjoyed gardening, flowers, and cooking, especially her rhubarb pies. She especially enjoyed spending time with family and friends and will be missed by all who knew her. Those Marion leaves behind to cherish her memory include her husband, Alan Gorniak; stepson, Alan Bauer; sister, Sue Ann Schultz, other relatives and friends. … Read more
Ruth Irene (Phelps) Justis, 88, of Appleton City, Missouri, passed away Friday morning, April 10, 2026, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Warrensburg, MO, with her family by her side. Ruth was born June 3, 1937 in Janesville, Wisconsin, to Charles and Ada Mae (Maly) Phelps. She joined the Marine Corps in 1956. During her time there, she met and married her husband, Forest Wayne “Wayne” Justis in 1957. They shared 62 years of marriage and to this union, 2 children, Charles and Dorene, were born. Ruth grew up in Whitewater, WI., the oldest of three children. Ruth graduated from … Read more
Dorothy C. Kau, age 101, of Eagle, Wisconsin passed away peacefully on Thursday, April 9, 2026 at Fort Memorial Hospital. Dorothy was born on March 18, 1925 in Eagle on the family farm, the daughter of John and Katherine (Faestel) VonRueden. Dorothy was a 1942 graduate of Palmyra High School. On May 21, 1949, Dorothy was united in marriage to Alvin E. Kau at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Eagle and the Lord blessed their union with 8 children. Alvin and Dorothy enjoyed 50 years of marriage together until Alvin’s death in the year 2000. Dorothy enjoyed being a farm … Read more
Dorothy E. McCracken, 95, passed away peacefully on August 30, 2025, in Sarasota, Florida. Born on April 14, 1930, in Whitewater, Wisconsin, to Carl and Joyce Meyer, Dorothy grew up in Whitewater and graduated from Whitewater High School. She then worked for a photographer and hand painted his first colored portraits, until she got married. She and her first husband, Bernard Wafle, owned and operated a 179-acre dairy farm in Helenville, Wisconsin, for 25 years before relocating to Ocala, Florida, in 1979. Dorothy later married Earl McCracken, in Ocala, Fl. She also shared a special companionship later in life with … Read more
Carol Ann Seebruch, 88 of Whitewater passed away peacefully in her sleep on Friday, April 3, 2026. Carol was born July 12, 1937 in Chicago IL to William and Ann Borovec. She married Marvin Seebruch on June 9, 1984. Carol and Marvin enjoyed traveling the United States making it to 48 of the 50 states. She also enjoyed her time with the Red Hat Ladies. She loved taking pictures of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Carol is survived by her three children; Bill Anderson of Fort Atkinson, WI, Terri Laban of Whitewater, WI, and Donna (Mike) Jones of Crivitz, WI. She … Read more
Entered God’s Kingdom on Friday, April 3, 2026, age 65. Donna is survived by her cousins, other family and friends. She is preceded in death by her parents James and Lois (Michels) Lyons. Donna was raised in the Church of Nazarene, with her father being the assistant pastor. Religion was very important to Donna. Donna enjoyed working with the students of the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, where she resided. Donna also loved to travel, visiting France, Italy, and all around the United States. She also loved to paint, cross-stitch, knit, and crochet. She also loved collecting recipes and trying … Read more
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