News & Events

Editor’s note: The following press release was received from Habitat for Humanity in Walworth County.

Habitat Walworth has completed its fifteenth Walworth home, in Whitewater, – a three bedroom designed for a young family of five.

The dedication and house blessing is scheduled for Saturday, April 6, 2024 at 1 p.m.

Pastor Sean Walker, Chapel on the Hill, will be performing the ceremony as mom and dad (Che & Bo) welcome their two sons and daughter to their new home. The immediate family has put in more than five hundred hours of sweat equity since last fall in building the new home….framing, siding, painting, and whatever!

President Mark Gardner will be welcoming the hundred plus volunteers and supporters who have made the 1,200 SF home
possible. In addition, Mark says: “We thank the many volunteers and contractors who built this house. And we welcome Che & Bo to their new home, and look forward to identifying another Walworth family for our next build.”

Photos by Tom Ganser – Democracy in action, RAIN or shine

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

Turnout in the city was steady on Tuesday but not particularly strong, with 1562 people voting. Voters and election inspectors experienced the first use of the electronic Badger Books, and there were virtually no glitches. It sped up the check-in process using the digital poll books instead of the cumbersome paper books. Some other cities that have transitioned to the new technology reported concern from voters about the new system, but Whitewater poll workers reported virtually no negative comments and many positive ones.

The results shown below are unofficial until the election canvasses take place; however, most of the races were not close enough for a recount to be considered. Incumbents are designated by (I).

Whitewater Common Council: In the only competitive race in the city, former Council member Greg Majkrzak II beat Keith Staebler for an at-large seat by 786 to 532. Orin Smith won the District 2 seat unopposed with 63 votes, as did Brian Schanen with 359 votes.

Whitewater Unified School Board: The race for two seats on the Whitewater Unified School Board had three candidates on the ballot, but Larry Kachel had announced that he would be unable to serve if elected. The results were:
Jeff Tortomasi 1562
Larry Kachel (I) 919
Maryann Zimmerman (I) 1636

Walworth County Circuit Court Judge: Scholtz won the seat over Navis in the countywide vote, 14,213 to 6,283.

Walworth County Supervisor: Brian Holt (I) and Al Stanek (I) retained their seats without competition.

Town of Richmond Supervisor #3 – Alexander 301 to Wade (I) 220
Town of Richmond Supervisor #4 – Bergman 296 to Kraus (I) 231

Fort Atkinson School District Referendum passed by a squeaker, 2360 vs. 2280.

Palmyra Eagle School Board: There were three candidates for two seats.
Patrick 477
Moro 304
Williams (I) 372

Both Constitutional Amendments are projected to have passed on a statewide vote.

Children, Youth, and Family Director Position

First English Lutheran Church is hiring for a CYF Director position, working with children of all ages, planning and running events, and coordinating with schools and organizations to better serve the children and young families in our community and in our church.  The position is 15-20 hours per week and pays $20 per hour.  Find a link for applications about halfway down the home page, on the right at https://firstenglishlutheranchurch.360unite.com

Editor’s note: The following press release was received from Wisconsin Makers.

Iron pour at Wisconsin Makers April 6

Wisconsin Makers will host its seventh annual iron pour on Saturday, April 6.

The public is invited to this family-friendly event at the regional makerspace, located at 200 E. Clay St. in Whitewater.

Spectators are welcome to watch the “pour team” — Teresa “Tree” Lind, a former University of Wisconsin-Whitewater lecturer of art and design — and her student alumni melt cast iron in an outdoor furnace and then fill sand scratch molds with the liquid metal.

Those wishing to make their own casting may buy a scratch mold square to personalize with their design that day, starting at 9 a.m. Each scratch mold must be completed no later than 11:15 a.m.

By noon, the outdoor forge should have reached 2,700 degrees and be ready for the pour. Lind and her team will fill buckets with molten iron and pour it into the sand scratch molds. They will present the completed castings to participants by mid-afternoon.

The per-person cost is $25. Participation is on a first-come, first-served basis.

During the iron pour, grilled brats, chips, water and soda will be available for purchase.

Scratch mold workshop set

Persons wishing to get a head start on their squares may attend a scratch mold workshop at the makerspace Friday, April 5, from 5 to 9 p.m. Pizza will be available for $1 per slice.

In addition, those wishing to design a scratch mold ahead of time at home and then bring it to the iron pour may contact Ron Binning at Binning and Dickens Insurance, 319 W. Center St. in Whitewater. His phone number is (262) 473-3930.

“Your unique design will be preserved in cast iron for ages to come,” said Wisconsin Makers President Al Jewer, adding that past years’ iron pours each have drawn more than 100 people. “This is a wonderful opportunity to create a one-of-a-kind piece of art.”

To view a short YouTube video of the 2017 iron pour, please click this link: https://youtu.be/Q5HgV94OPe4.

Wisconsin Makers is a nonprofit regional makerspace (community workshop) offering an affordable, collaborative and educational environment that inspires people of all ages to become innovators by unlocking their skills through continual experimentation and training. Work areas/equipment include: 3-D printing, laser engraving, machining, welding/fabrication, electronics, blacksmithing, woodworking, ceramics/pottery, jewelry making, arts/crafts, and quilting. For more information on the iron pour or scratch mold workshop, or to learn about the makerspace or memberships, visit Wisconsin Makers’ Facebook page at @wisconsinmakers or call Jewer at (630) 430-9498.

The WHS Portfolio Committee is seeking community members to be a part of the listening audiences on Wednesday, May 22, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. We are hoping for at least 15 Whitewater Community members to participate. Community members willing to attend the presentations can email lmoll@wwusd.org  or call 262-472-8203 to sign up by Friday, May 3. 

Members of the Whitewater High School Class of 2024 are currently preparing for the annual Portfolio Event which will be held on Wednesday, May 22, 4:00-7:00 p.m. at the high school. 

This event for seniors allows them to showcase their academic achievements, celebrate their accomplishments, and share their postsecondary career and academic plans before graduation. To make the presentations more meaningful, students present to an audience of WHS staff members and members of the community along with family and friends who are invited to attend. 

Students present examples of their best work in core academic and elective areas, share 2 or more examples of their involvement in activities in and outside of school, or work experiences, and at least one service activity that had special significance. Students then describe their future career & educational plans and the pathway they have chosen to accomplish their career goals. Graduates end their presentation by summarizing the most important learning experiences they’ve had in high school and how they hope to use their knowledge and skills to become a productive and responsible member of society. 

We are looking forward to having our community support for this event.

Article Submitted by Kate McNulty
WHS Senior Class Advisor
kmcnulty@wwusd.org

Ferradermis spent part of their Spring Break in Chicago, enjoying some strong competition at the Midwest Regional, which featured 50 teams from 6 countries and 10 states. Teams traveled from Panama, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Canada, and Mexico, to join American teams from Hawaii, California, Florida, Arkansas, New York, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Minnesota at Credit Union 1 Arena on the campus of the University of Illinois Chicago from March 27 – 30. Among the participants were four FIRST Hall of Fame teams – Team 359 Hawaiian Kids, Team 111 Wildstang, Team 16 Bomb Squad, and Team 191 the X-Cats – as well as a member of last year’s world championship alliance, Team 4096 Ctrl-Z.

Ferradermis more than held its own in this elite field on day one of qualification matches, going 5-2 and ending the day ranked 11th. The team returned to action on Saturday morning for 3 additional qualification matches, going 1-2, with a final ranking of 18th out of 50 at the end of the morning. The robot’s performance has steadily improved at each of the team’s three regional events, scoring more and more points in each aspect of the game (autonomous, tele-op, and the endgame).

During the 15-second autonomous period at the beginning of each match, the robot runs pre-programmed code to pick up and shoot notes (orange foam rings) from various pre-determined positions on the field. The Ferradermis Programming Team, led by Ace Hudec, has been logging extra hours between and during competitions to improve the autonomous routines. The biggest challenge of autonomous is coordinating with your alliance partners to make sure your pre-programmed paths are complementary and will not interfere with each other. Bumping another robot during autonomous will force both robots off of their planned paths, and neither will be successful. Ferradermis has prepared a variety of different autonomous routines in order to coordinate with their other alliance robots.

The Ferradermis robot, Chief Lee the Tangerine, has become an expert at scoring notes in the amp (a shorter field element) during the tele-op period when the robot is controlled by Driver Andrew O’Toole and Operator Kay Mikos. When one note has been placed in the amp for each alliance, there is an opportunity for the human players for the two alliances to push a button and activate a “coopertition bonus” which lowers the threshold that both alliances need to meet to earn a ranking point for note scoring. During the Chicago event, only two teams – Ferradermis and Mukwonago – had a perfect 1.0 Coopertition score. This score is also used as a tie-breaker in the rankings if multiple teams have the same average number of rank points.

In addition to managing the coopertition bonus, Human Player Erison Dreksler also controls amplification. Notes scored in the larger field element (the speaker) count as 2 points each during tele-op, unless the speaker is amplified, and then they count as 5 points. The speaker can be amplified for 10 seconds at a time each time two new notes have been placed in the amp, and the human player has pressed the amplification button. Timing is everything in this operation, as you want all 3 alliance robots prepared to shoot notes into the speaker within that 10-second timeframe after the button is pushed, potentially also having other notes on the ground nearby to try and get off additional shots.

During the endgame (the final 20 seconds of a match), robots try and climb onto chains on the stage (a third field element). Chief Lee the Tangerine is an excellent climber, and can be counted on by its alliance partners to climb when needed as part of match strategy.

Only 24 teams make the playoffs (not necessarily the top 24 ranked teams), and by midday Saturday, the team anxiously awaited alliance selections. During alliance selections, the top 8 ranked teams get to choose their alliance partners for the playoffs. Decisions are based on scouting data gathered during the event as well as sometimes, prior relationships. Teams attempt to build well-rounded alliances with 3 robots that will complement each other in all aspects of the game on the field. Ferradermis Game Strategy Subteam Lead Emerson Dunham graciously accepted an invitation from Team #5847 Ironclad from Bradley, Illinois, who was ranked #5 in qualifications, and Team #930 from Mukwonago, who was ranked #30 in qualifications, to join the #4 seeded playoff alliance. Ferradermis then agreed to mount a shield onto Chief Lee for the playoffs that would help them play defense on behalf of their alliance, and this added an interesting twist to the remaining matches. The alliance was eliminated after only two playoff matches, when both Chief Lee and the Ironclad robot experienced mechanism failures.

Throughout the week, the team was supported by students serving in many additional roles including Technician Nina Heim, Safety Captain Elora Wildermuth-Breitzman, Head Scouts Andrew Zimmermann and Cyrus Hudec, Videographer Margaret Brown, Judging Spokespeople Maddison LaHaie and Cosette Wildermuth-Breitzman, Scouts Chacha Binagi, Zoe Olson, Toby Kapfer, and Belle Cohen, and Pit Crew Member Luc Pomazak.

Ferradermis had never participated in the Midwest Regional before, and it was a fantastic experience. The team spent time at the WNDR (wonder) Museum upon arrival in Chicago on day one, and enjoyed several meals together as well. The competition itself was a really great warm-up for what the team will see in Houston at the FIRST World Championships in two weeks, both in the high level of competition and in the global nature of the teams in attendance. For the 2023 Championships, Houston hosted around 50,000 people representing 974 student robotics teams from 59 countries across the FLL, FTC, and FRC levels. The FRC competition this year (the level in which Ferradermis competes) expects to host 600 teams from approximately 30 countries divided into 8 fields/divisions. Each division will crown a champion alliance, and then the division champions will play off against each other for the title of world champion.

Article and Photos Submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor
lmasbruch@wwusd.org

Editor’s note: The following press release was received from UW Madison Extension. There is a Zoom webinar on Wednesday, April 3, and an in-person presentation on Saturday, April 6 at the UW-W Community Engagement Center. In June, 2022 the City of Whitewater Common Council considered adoption of the No Mow May program. After considerable discussion the members voted 4-3 not to adopt the program. Among the concerns that were expressed were that long grass would not present a favorable impression of the city on visitors, and an understanding that most of the vegetation to which pollinators are attracted actually does not exceed the 7″ height that is allowed before grass must be mowed per the city ordinance. It was also suggested that residents could plant bushes that might be equally effective in providing for pollinators.

“No Mow May” has become a catchy phrase in Wisconsin, encouraging homeowners to allow their lawns to grow during May. But does this practice actually support pollinators? Join Julie Hill, Horticulture Educator for Walworth, Rock and Jefferson counties to learn about how an unmowed lawn impacts (or may impact) pollinators and how you can support pollinators all year long.

April 3, 12:00 p.m. *via Zoom Webinar

• Registration required: https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/free-online-programs/?utm_source=Flyer&utm_medium=Flyer&utm_campaign=Mini+Webinars

April 3, 3:00 p.m.
Jefferson Public Library
321 S. Main Street, Jefferson

April 6, 10:00 a.m.
UW-Whitewater Community Engagement Center
1260 West Main Street, Whitewater

April 6, 12:30 p.m.
Community Room, Dwight Foster Public Library
209 Merchants Avenue, Fort Atkinson

April 11, 12:30 p.m.
Matheson Memorial Library
101 N. Wisconsin Street, Elkhorn

April 16, 6:00 p.m.
Hedberg Public Library
316 South Main Street, Janesville

For more information or questions, please contact Julie Hill, Email: julie.hill@wisc.edu ,
Office: 262-741-4958 or Cell/Text: 262-374-4191. Events can also be found at UW-Madison Extension Event Calendar: extension.wisc.edu/events/