Good morning,
Whitewater’s forecast calls for a mostly sunny day with a high temperature of nineteen degrees.
Whitewater’s Common Council meets tonight at 6:30 p.m. The agenda is available online, and includes, among others, these items:
- Second reading of Natural Landscape Yard Ordinance (Park & Recreation Board Recommendation)
- Second reading of an amendment to Chapter 5 relating to Transient Merchant Licenses (Request for Extension of closing time for downtown transient merchant businesses from 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m.).
- Consideration of discussion and possible action regarding building permit fees
- Consideration of the adoption of a social media policy.
At Lakeview School, there will be a PTA meeting at 6 p.m. tonight. Lincoln School, home of the Leopards, has a book fair in the library today.
The Wisconsin Historical Society recalls that events of this day occurring in 1941 and 1943:
1941 – Wisconsin Man Survives Pearl Harbor Attack
On this date Russ Warriner, a 25-year-old first class seaman on the USS Arizona, miraculously survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The explosions ripped apart the Arizona and killed nearly all his mates. At the time of the attack, Warriner was on the sky control platform, where his job was to spot enemy ships and planes. The bomb that struck the Arizona sliced through the steel deck and exploded into a fuel tank. Fire flared for seven seconds before it ignited 1.7 million pounds of explosives held in the ship’s magazine. More than 1,000 sailors died instantly, including many on the lookout platform with Warriner. Warriner lost his balance and fell onto the platform. His hands swept through fiery magnesium remaining from incendiary bombs and were nearly burned off. He was knocked off the ship, pulled aboard a small motor boat, and eventually made his way to shore. Warriner was treated at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois, where plastic surgeons were able to repair his hands. Warriner settled in Wisconsin, married and raised two children. In the late 90s, Warriner was a retired piano tuner living in Beloit Township. [Source: Janesville Gazette]
1943 – USS-Wisconsin Christened
On this date the USS Wisconsin was christened by Wisconsin’s first lady Madge Goodland. The ship was re-christened by Mrs. Goodland in March, 1951 during the Korean War. The USS Wisconsin was inactive for many years but was recommissioned in 1989. [Source: First Ladies of Wisconsin, the Governor’s Wives by Nancy G. Williams, p.181]
