News & Events

It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society.

This month we are featuring summertime images from the Scholl glass negative collection, taken between 1890 and 1910. We start with a summer view of a picnic, probably around 1900. Several views of this old farmstead are in the collection, and it appears to be abandoned and in a state of disrepair. Perhaps the people in the photo are the owners who no longer inhabit the farmstead. In any event, note the hats on all of the people except one. They are “boaters,” a type of hat very popular for summer in the early 1900s. Even the women are wearing versions of this popular style.

Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society.

(3753GP, Whitewater Historical Society)

For 30 years, Bethel House has provided support to Whitewater community members who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of losing their housing.

To help celebrate the organization’s milestone, SSM Health recently donated $1,000 in support of its mission.  The gift helped to jumpstart the organization’s celebratory campaign to raise at least $3,000 by seeking $30+ donations.

“Bethel House is 100% locally funded and receives no financial assistance from the state or federal government,” said SSM Health Community Health Director Megan Timm. “SSM Health is proud to help support the great work they are doing in Walworth and Jefferson counties.”

Bethel House provided over $6,000 in financial assistance to 17 families from January-March 2024. They were able to stop four evictions from taking place and kept nine kids in their homes and schools.

“Of these impacted families, 64% were single-parent households, and two-thirds of the families had at least one person working full-time in the household,” Timm said. “This really shows that we are currently in an environment where many families are struggling to make ends meet.”

Last year, Bethel House provided nearly $23,000 to assist 80 local families with emergency assistance. In addition, Bethel House has a transitional housing program for families who are trying to establish stable housing.

“We are so humbled by the generous investment SSM Health made towards our efforts to keep local children and families housed. Support from community partners who believe in our mission is critical to our ability to provide our crucial services to families who need us,” said Bethel House Executive Director Megan Hartwick. “We’re so thankful to the whole team at SSM Health for their understanding of the importance of supporting families with stable housing.” 

To learn more about Bethel House or to contribute to its 30-year celebration campaign, visit http://www.bethelhouseinc.org/.

Editor’s note: The above press release was provided by SSM Health.

Get ready to listen to the instrumental ensemble Bonzo Squad! Thursday night, August 1, they will be at the Cravath Lakefront park for Concerts in the Park starting at 7:00 pm. Admission is free and for all ages.

Update: Rain won’t keep this group away! We will still have the concert, but, it will be inside the Cravath Lakefront Community Building.

Listen to some of their work before tonight by heading to: https://bonzosquad.com/listen

Bonzo Squad

Bonzo Squad is an instrumental jazz ensemble based in Chicago IL, with a focus on  presenting fun, eclectic music with a high level of musicianship. The group consists of  Bonzo himself, born Corbin Andrick, who plays the flute and the saxophones.  Completing the line up are Andrew Lawrence on keyboards, Andrew Vogt on bass, and  Zack Marks on drumset. The band formed in 2014 through playing a weekly residency at  Lilly’s in Chicago. 

In 2017, they released their first, self-titled album, which received a coveted 4-star  review from Downbeat Magazine. The track “Lemons” was added to Spotify’s popular “The State of Jazz” playlist. In 2019, Bonzo Squad released their sophomore record, 
“There’s Always Tomorrow.” They also moved their residency from Lilly’s to the Arrogant Frog, and finally to aliveOne, where they are still performing live every Thursday night. 

Bonzo Squad kept active during the Covid-19 pandemic, producing a series of virtual  livestreams on Facebook and YouTube. They released the live album “Live At aliveOne” in 2020, and were nominated by the Chicago Reader as one of the best jazz bands in 
Chicago, in their 2020 best of poll. 

In addition to their weekly residency at aliveOne, Bonzo Squad has produced tribute  shows to Stevie Wonder and Vulfpeck through the Jazz Record Art Collective in  Chicago, IL. They have also presented numerous educational clinics at High Schools, 
both in person and virtually.

[From Bonzo’s website]

Editor’s note: The following press release was issued by the Rock County Sheriff’s Department on July 30, 2024. Previous Banner articles regarding this crash were published on April 14, April 17, and April 22.

Original Release
On 04/13/2024, at approximately 1204 hours, Rock County Deputies, Jefferson County Deputies, Whitewater Police Department, Wisconsin State Patrol along with several fire / EMS agencies responded to a three-vehicle crash at Highway 12 and East County Line Road in Lima Township, Rock County. An adult male and two adult females were declared deceased at the scene of the
crash. A third adult female passed away days later from injuries sustained from crash.

Updated Release
The Rock County Sheriff’s Office concluded its investigation and on 07/29/24, Lexus D. Boedecker, 24, Elkhorn, Wisconsin, was arrested on four counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle – controlled substance, one count of operating with a detectable amount of a controlled substance, two counts of injury by intoxicated use of a vehicle-controlled substance. Boedecker was taken into custody with the assistance of the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office. Boedecker was transported to the Rock County Jail and has a future court date of 08/26/24 at 1:00 P.M.

“Pursuant to the directive of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, as found in Supreme Court Rule 20:3.6, Trial Publicity, you are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.”

There is also a posting at the Archdiocese of Milwaukee website.

Editor’s note: The above announcement was provided by the St. Patrick Catholic Parish.

UW-La Crosse announces May 2024 graduates

The following area students completed degree requirements at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in May.  

UW-La Crosse, founded in 1909, is one of 13 four-year institutions that comprise the Universities of Wisconsin. UWL has more than 10,400 full and part-time students enrolled in 101 undergraduate, 28 graduate and two doctoral academic programs.

UW-La Crosse, a top-ranked national university, is the No. 1 public university in Wisconsin with fewer than 25,000 students. See more at www.uwlax.edu

Students earning degrees in May include:

HOMETOWN, STATE; NAME, DEGREE, MAJOR(S), HONORS (if listed)
Whitewater, WI

 Bryce Hibbs, Bachelor of Science, Communication Studies Major: Organizational and Professional Communication Emphasis, Honors
 Josie Hintz, Bachelor of Science, Finance Major; Business Analytics Major, Highest Honors

A trio of Whitewater High School students, Chacha Binagi, Erison Dreksler, and Rae Breisath spent the week from July 21-26 at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) for the MSOE Explore Summit for Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Students.

Each day, the students attended two class sessions on different areas of engineering that can be studied at MSOE, participating in lectures and projects. Areas covered included chemical/biomolecular engineering, biomedical engineering, computer science/software engineering, computer engineering, civil engineering, architectural engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering. During one of the workshops, students built their own miniature robots. 

In the evenings, students participated in fun activities including a comedy show and bingo. They also participated in a field trip to learn about cybersecurity. 

Each student received a $1000 scholarship from MSOE renewable for four years should they choose to attend that university. All three will be juniors at Whitewater High School this fall and are members of the Ferradermis FIRST Robotics Team. They qualified to attend the free summit as students enrolled in the PLTW Introduction to Engineering course at WHS last year.

Article Submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School PLTW Teacher and Robotics Advisor
lmasbruch@wwusd.org
Photo Courtesy of Tori Breisath