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The Whippets Boys’ Swim Team had a sensational day in the pool competing in the Southern Lakes Conference Championships on Saturday, February 4th. The Whippets finished 6th overall as a team, took home 4 medals, and posted 17 of 21 best times!
Placing in the Top 16 includes (Top 6 medal):
200 Medley Relay A (Tyler Arnett, Jack Hefty, Cruz Aranda, Andrew O’Toole) with a 9th place finish and a time of 2:01.44.
200 Medley Relay B (Onyx Thompson, Xavier Zei, Myles Morse, David Enns) with a 15th place finish and a time of 2:21.07. Dropped 7 seconds off seeded time.
Miles Nickelsburg had an 8th place finish in the 200 Freestyle going a best time of 2:18.69.
Tyler Arnett finished 3rd in the 200 Freestyle with a best time of 2:00.18. He moved up on the Whippet All Time Top 10 List to 7th overall.
Jack Hefty won his heat in the 200 IM with a best time of 2:23.35. His time was fast enough to beat two swimmers in the following heat to earn himself a 5th place finish.
Cruz Aranda won his heat in the 50 Freestyle with a new best time of 25.69. He placed 10th overall!
Cruz Aranda finished 10th in the 100 Butterfly with a time of 1:09.42.
Tyler Arnett finished 2nd in the 500 Freestyle with a best time of 5:29.50
Andrew O’Toole dropped 27 seconds in the 500 Freestyle going a time of 6:24.42. Placing 11th overall.
Myles Morse dropped over 6 seconds in the 500 Freestyle going a time of 6:25.19. Placing 12th overall.
Onyx Thompson placed 15th overall in the 100 Backstroke dropping over 3 seconds going a best time of 1:25.50
Miles Nickelsburg dropped over 3 seconds in the 100 Backstroke placing 10th overall going a 1:13.04
Jack Hefty swam a fun 100 Breaststroke race where he and an opponent from Jefferson/Cambridge touched at the same time. The two of them ended up tying for a 6th place finish. Jack went a new best time of 1:15.16.
400 Freestyle Relay A (Cruz Aranda, Andrew O’Toole, Jack Hefty, Tyler Arnett) placed 5th overall with a time of 3:54.63. They bested their seeded time by nearly 5 seconds. Jack Hefty posted an impressive 55.82 split and Andrew O’Toole also had an impressive split going a 1:01.68.
400 Freestyle Relay B (Myles Morse, Onyx Thompson, Xavier Zei, Miles Nickelsburg) placed 10th overall with a 4:41.92. They all swam well and beat their seeded time by 11 seconds.
With an impressive meet like this, we are excited to watch the Whippets compete in the WIAA Sectional next Saturday, February 11th at Sauk Prairie at 1 p.m. Go Dogs!
Article and Photos Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Co-Head Boys’ Swim Coach
sreynolds@wwusd.org
By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
Residents of Fairhaven Senior Services and appropriate family members were notified this past week that the organization is closing its second floor skilled nursing unit, and consequently will no longer hold a license as a skilled nursing facility, sometimes known as a nursing home. Paul Kuenning, President/CEO of Fairhaven, shared his letter with the Banner, indicating that the decision that was made by the board of directors was not made lightly. Input was received from market analysis and industry consultants. “Over the past year the Board has continually reviewed the ongoing challenges with workforce shortages, inadequate reimbursement, and higher costs of operations and compliance, and has concluded that Fairhaven can no longer sustain skilled nursing services. This decision, though hard, will help ensure Fairhaven’s long-term viability and its ability to continue its mission to provide for God’s older children,” Kuenning stated.
Fairhaven’s decision is part of an increasing trend in the nation and Wisconsin in particular. Beginning even prior to the pandemic, driven by reimbursement, regulatory and staffing challenges, together with changing consumer preferences, the census in skilled nursing facilities has been declining while assisted living capacity and residency has steadily increased. According to a 2017 article in the Wisconsin State Journal, the state had nearly 4,200 assisted living facilities with room for 59,000 residents, compared to about 400 nursing homes with roughly 33,000 beds. By contrast, according to the article, until 2008, beds in nursing homes outnumbered those in assisted living. COVID-19 exacerbated the challenges for senior residences in general, with a high number of virus-related resident deaths occurring in many facilities, and increasing difficulties with recruiting and retaining staff.
According to Kuenning’s letter, “Since 2016, over 50 nursing homes in Wisconsin have made the difficult decision to close due to the ongoing pressures of workforce shortages and government reimbursement. Furthermore, according to data from LeadingAge Wisconsin, since March of 2020, over 2,666 nursing home beds have been delicensed.”
Kuenning continued, “Under current regulations Fairhaven will continue to care for many of our current skilled nursing patients, under a stepped-up assisted living plan and licensure as a Community Based Residential Facility. In addition, our Director of Nursing has estimated that we will be able to provide 80-85% of the care which was provided in skilled nursing to Fairhaven residents on assisted living floors and in apartments. To better accommodate this change, we plan to renovate 3rd and 4th floors to assisted living apartments and transition the skilled nursing floor into additional assisted living apartments with options for higher care levels.” He told the Banner that physical, occupational, and speech therapy services will continue to be provided.
“Fairhaven is working closely with the State Relocation Team to ensure a careful transition of skilled nursing residents to appropriate settings. Assessments of our current skilled nursing residents will be done by our nursing staff and support agencies to determine each individual’s needs in order to assure proper placement for future care. Throughout this process we will assure that all care needs are met, residents’ rights are protected, and resident centered care is maintained,” Kuenning stated.
Kuenning concluded, “At Fairhaven we will continue our mission and serve our residents in the apartments, assisted living, Hearthstone Memory Care, and duplex homes at Prairie Village. Fairhaven has served our community for sixty years, and we look forward to continuing our mission to provide quality services and care for our residents and our community.”
Join Whitewater High School’s FIRST Robotics Competition Team Ferradermis and FIRST Lego League students and mentors representing the teams from Washington, Lincoln, Lakeview, and Whitewater Middle School on Saturday, February 11 for an Open House at Whitewater High School. Stop in anytime between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to visit with students and see this year’s projects and robots. Visitors should enter the school through Door #38 at the high school, which is between the back of the auditorium and the overhead auto shop doors. Parking is available in the lot next to the JV baseball field, but anyone with accessibility needs may drive right up to the door.
The Open House will take place during a regular Saturday workday for the high school team. Ferradermis members will take visitors on a guided tour of their workspace and the school shop, and visitors will have a chance to speak with representatives of the mechanical, electrical, programming, competition logistics, CAD, and administrative subteams as well as see the 2022 and currently under construction 2023 robot. Representatives of the FLL teams will be demonstrating their robots and sharing their innovation projects which relate to this year’s energy-themed game.
In addition, Ferradermis will have various themed gift baskets available for visitors to bid on as a fundraiser for the team. The team will also have Kwik Trip gift cards for sale as part of an ongoing fundraiser. Gift cards can be purchased at face value, and the team will be able to keep a portion of the money collected.
Article Submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor and Banner Volunteer
lmasbruch@wwusd.org
The Whippets fell 37-40 in a close game by a last second shot to the Jefferson Eagles in a girls’ basketball conference match up at home Thursday night, February 2.
Working a good inside out game offensively and communicating on defense were key going into this game. We got into foul trouble early in the first half, but we continued to play aggressively on defense, making adjustments to protect the hoop. We started to connect on our outside shots and hit key free throws to give us the edge going into the second half up 18-15.
To start the second half we struggled offensively, stuck at 18 as Jefferson went on an 8-point scoring run. Working our inside out game, hitting our free throws, and putting on our press helped us chip away and tie up the game 27-27 with 5 minutes left in the game. The rest of the game was back and forth right up to the end. Danielle DePorter fought for an offensive rebound, got fouled, and hit both free throws to tie it up 37-37 with seconds left in the game.
Jefferson’s Lenz connected on a last second shot scoring 3 of her 4 points to win the game.
Mayte Navejas led the Whippets with 12 points and 3 steals. Danielle DePorter followed with 7 points and 3 rebounds. Cali Kopecky added 5 points and 8 rebounds. Kindyl Kilar also scored 5 points.
Article Submitted by Kristen Lippens
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach
klippens@wwusd.org
Photo Courtesy of Peter and Bob Mischka
THE JEFFERSON COUNTY SNOWMOBILE TRAILS WILL CLOSE
@ 6:00am SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2023
DUE TO WEATHER CONDITIONS AND WILL REMAIN CLOSED UNTIL CONDITIONS ALLOW.
PLEASE DO NOT RIDE THE TRAILS UNTIL AN OFFICIAL TRAIL OPENING NOTICE IS POSTED.
RIDING CLOSED TRAILS IS TRESPASSING.
PLEASE RESPECT LANDOWNERS’ PROPERTY.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT THE
24 HOUR SNOWMOBILE HOTLINE AT: 920-699-7669
Congratulations to the Whippet Wrestling Team on closing out the regular season Wednesday night, February 1, with a very exciting win against Janesville Craig. It was very much a back and forth dual meet with it culminating with Avi Kalra clinching the team win with a big pin at 195 to lead the wrestlers to a 46-33 victory.
The win closes out the regular season for the Varsity Whippet Wrestlers with a dual meet record of 9-1 on the season.
For full results visit https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/seasons/LoadBalance.jsp?pageName=DualMatches.jsp&dualId=6734923132
The JV team travels to Badger for a dual, and the Varsity heads to the Rock Valley Conference Tournament at Clinton on Saturday.
Article Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org
File Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
Join the WHS Players for Agatha Christie’s, “A Murder is Announced,” February 23 – 25 at 7:00 p.m. or February 26 at 2:00 p.m. in the WHS Auditorium.
Tickets are $7 per student and $10 per adult. Reserve your general admission tickets by calling the box office at 262-472-8178.
Article Submitted by Jim McCulloch
WUSD Theater Director
jmcculloch@wwusd.org
Photos Courtesy of Tom Ganser
The UW-W Department of Music invites the community to join faculty members and guest artist Anna Hersey for an evening of Scandinavian music on Saturday, February 4 at 7:30 p.m. This program features repertoire for voice and piano by Scandinavian composers including Elfrida Andrée, Edvard Grieg, Agathe Backer Grøndahl, Ture Rangström, and Sigurd von Koch. Performers include Karen Boe, piano; guest artist Anna Hersey, soprano; Brian Leeper, baritone; and Rachel Wood, mezzo-soprano. All proceeds from this and other concerts in the Music Mosaics series go directly towards scholarships for Department of Music students.
The venue for this event is the Light Recital Hall in the Greenhill Center of the Arts, located at 950 West Main Street, Whitewater, WI 53190. Tickets are available in advance and can be purchased online at tickets.uww.edu or by calling (262) 472-2222. Admission is $14 for adults, $12 for those age 65+, and $8 for under age 18. There is a $2 surcharge if purchased at the door at the time of the event.
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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