News & Events

The League of Women Voters-Whitewater Area invites the public to attend a virtual presentation, “Diversity Influences in the Women’s Suffrage Movement,” on Thursday, February 18, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. Join Dr. Dwight C. Watson, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Chancellor, as we explore women’s suffrage, with a focus on the experience of African American women. The struggle for the vote looks very different through the diversity lens. Dr. Watson will also address the suffragist movement in Wisconsin, and he looks forward to a lively Q&A session afterwards, in which he can also address the current state of affairs.

Due to COVID-19, this event will be virtual.
To attend live, please join the webinar by using the URL: http://bit.ly/lwv-ww_diversity. Passcode: 140443.
Or, join us by telephone: Dial (312) 626-6799, Webinar ID: 966 4800 4858, Passcode: 140443.
The event will also be livestreamed on the LWV-WW Facebook page (facebook.com/lwvwhitewater.org), as well as recorded and made available to the public afterwards.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy. Visit our website at lwvwhitewater.org and like us on Facebook!

Pictured here are two Whitewater Valentines of the past: Harlan P. and Ada M. (Daring) Goodman.
Harlan (1843-1937) and Ada (1858-1949) were married in July 1901 in Whitewater’s Methodist Church. Both had moved to the area with their families at a young age from New York State. They resided until their deaths just down the block from the church on Prairie Street. A Civil War veteran, Harlan was especially proud of having been present for Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address. Locally, Harlan owned a photography studio, operating out of both Whitewater and Palmyra for over 30 years. Many of the Society’s photographs from the early twentieth century feature his studio’s stamp.

Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society collections!

The Whitewater Historical Society collects, preserves, and interprets the history of Whitewater and the surrounding area. Be sure to join us next week for more from the Society’s collections. Please “like” us on Facebook, and check out our website at whitewaterhistoricalsociety.org!​

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

Multiple fire agencies responded at 3:09 a.m. on Thursday, February 11 to a fire at N833 Hwy 12 (between Cheesebrough Road and Star School Road). Per WKOW, no injuries were reported. Highway 12 was closed for both directions for an extended period of time, but had reopened by 9:00 a.m. Per the Jefferson County website, the property is owned by William and Stephanie Van Treeck.

(UW-W press release) Beginning in fall 2021, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will offer a major tailored to students who have their sights set on law school or careers in legal professions. The new legal studies major, housed in the Department of Political Science, includes coursework on constitutional law, gender and law, ethics, legal writing and research and a required legal internship. 

The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents approved the legal studies major on Friday, Feb. 5, at its regularly scheduled meeting.

The legal studies major will eventually replace a popular legal studies emphasis within the political science major, according to Jolly Emrey, associate professor of political science and chair of the Department of Political Science, which resides in the College of Letters and Sciences. Emrey was instrumental in developing the major and shepherding it through the application process.

“We know there’s a demand for a program that provides students with the transferable skills that will allow them to hit the ground running in any legal profession and give them a leg up when it comes to applying to and being successful in law school,” said Emrey.

Emrey credits Susan Johnson, associate professor of political science, Joan Cook, interim associate provost and director of academic assessment for UW-Whitewater, and Angela Harlan, professor of mathematics, as being critical members of the team that developed the curriculum and a proposed budget for the new program. 

The B.A./B.S. in Legal Studies will be a multi-disciplinary program that will allow students interested in careers in a legal field to take a full range of courses in public law, private law (business law), political institutions, public policy, and theory and ethics, and hone their skills in quantitative and information literacy through applied coursework.

“Courses within the major are housed in departments in three colleges across the UW-Whitewater campus,” said Emrey. “Linda Yu, professor of finance and business law in the College of Business and Economics, and Kathy Brady, professor of communication in the College of Arts and Communication, were very supportive during the proposal phase of the new program, and curriculum from both departments is featured in the legal studies major.”

Creating a new major allows for a curriculum more intensely focused on legal topics such as the history of American Indian law and policy, international law, gender and law, environmental law and policy, and journalism and the First Amendment.

“Assistant Professor of Political Science Monica Lineberger, who recently joined UW-Whitewater, brings an expertise in comparative legal systems and international law to our already strong foundation in American legal systems,” said Emrey. “Other critical points of strength in this major are UW-Whitewater’s focus on student success, our department’s track record with placing students in challenging and prestigious internships, and a number of great alumni who are happy to connect with and mentor current students.”

Recent graduate Brian Martinez, who earned a B.A. in political science with an emphasis in legal studies, was afforded a unique view of the legal system through an internship with an alumnus, Chief Judge Jason Rossell of the Kenosha County Circuit Court, who earned a B.A. in history with a minor in political science in 1999 at UW-Whitewater.

“I was able to be right on the front lines of the legal system — attending trials, arraignment hearings, seeing it all. I was given the opportunity to participate in a ride-along with Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department and was able to see the entire legal process: first the arraignment hearing and then the actual trial, all the way to sentencing,” Martinez said. “I got to experience family court, criminal court, juvenile court, and voir dire, which is jury selection.”

Martinez, who eventually plans to attend law school and possibly specialize in election law, now serves as a legislative aide for State Senator Robert Cowles, who represents Wisconsin’s 2nd District. He is already putting the skills he learned in the legal studies program to use on the job.

“Not only am I constantly reading and writing, which is a major part of legal studies, we often have constituent cases that go far beyond basic knowledge of past and current legislation, and you have to call the Wisconsin Legislative Council and ask for all the information they have on a particular issue,” he said. “I’ve been sent 6- to 7-page ‘brief statements.’ I have to read it, understand it and distill it down to something manageable — and to do so you have to understand the statues and terminology. Dr. Emrey really drilled learning your Blue Book inside and out, and I’ve learned to always have my Blue Book on hand, especially when creating citations for letters and emails.” 

Alumna Kayla White, who earned a B.A. in political science with an emphasis in legal studies in 2019, first met Emrey when she took her law and society course, POLI SCI 204. White’s experience exemplifies the opportunities the legal studies program provides.

“Jolly was integral to my falling in love with law. It’s the way she teaches it.” 

Emrey reached out to White about a prized internship opportunity with the American Civil Liberties Union in Milwaukee.

“I had no intention of interning at the ACLU,” said White. “But she said, ‘You’ve got to do this.’” 

Interning for an organization that’s nationally recognized opened up a world of opportunities for White.

“I prize my internship because it opened up my eyes to see that the law can be a helping profession,” said White. “And it led to the opportunity I had to observe the presidential elections in El Salvador, which in turn led to working on a case on El Salvador’s Supreme Court and running an immigration clinic in San Vicente. Now I’m working with a LGBTQ refugee shelter in Sonsonate. That is really the work of my heart, and I’m so thankful the ACLU internship opened that door for me to do such meaningful, life-changing work.” 

White, who talks about her experience with Professor Emrey and her internship with the ACLU in “Meant to Be a Warhawk” and elaborates on the opportunities in El Salvador that the internship opened up for her in “Driven to Opportunity,” will be attending law school in the fall of 2021. Her coursework at UW-Whitewater leaves her feeling confident she will be successful.

“The program sets people up for success with the writing course, and the constitutional law I studied is on par with what I can expect in law school. The program gets you a step ahead of where you need to be.”

Emrey added, “Brian and Kayla are two examples of qualified students who found our legal studies emphasis through their coursework in political science and put it to excellent use. By creating a legal studies major, we hope to signal to prospective students who are interested in going to law school that UW-Whitewater is an excellent place to do their undergraduate degree.” 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in legal occupational areas is expected to increase by 5 percent between 2019 and 2029, representing 67,000 new jobs.

For more information about the B.A./B.S. in Legal Studies at UW-Whitewater, contact Jolly Emrey, chair of the Department of Political Science, at emreyj@uww.edu or 262-472-1124.

(Our House Senior Living press release) Whitewater seniors at Our House Senior Living are excited for this upcoming Valentine’s Day. As they spread love throughout our home, we are looking for love around the community too! This year, we have a special mailbox for Valentine cards for our residents. Everyone is invited to send a Valentine to a resident(s) at 945 E. Chicago Street, Whitewater, so that we can spread the love. Every HEART sent is a HEART in our home that is touched and filled with love. Love can be spread in many ways. Another fun and exciting way that we can spread love to our residents is to adopt a grandparent. We have contacted our local florist, Floral Villa Flowers & Gifts here in Whitewater. To adopt a grandparent, it is a $10 donation, with the donation one of our special residents will then be “adopted,” as they will receive a carnation and a balloon for Valentine’s Day. Let’s spread the love throughout our Whitewater community.

(Family submission) Whitewater native, Tom Schmeling, 53, has been named president and CEO of Dalsin Industries located in Bloomington, MN.  Dalsin is celebrating 75 years in business and is a privately held OEM of high-end wood pellet grills sold under the Memphis Grill brand and is a precision metal contract manufacturer for many solar energy companies as well as customers in the recreational vehicle, bus and utility truck industries.  Tom has spent 30 years building a career in operations, sourcing and sales/marketing.  He has worked for companies like Newell-Rubbermaid, Mercury Marine (Brunswick), Polaris and Arctic Cat.  Tom and his wife, Jaimie, have spent their careers raising their family in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and Maple Grove, Minnesota, and now reside in North Hudson, WIsconsin. Tom enjoys the outdoors, golfing, playing tennis, time with his family including his children Nate, 26, Hannah, 20 and Leah 18 and their three goldendoodles.