Good morning, Whitewater
The week ends quietly, without to my knowledge any municipal meetings.
Yet, so much more to consider.
Our local economy, our schools, the recession as excuse and opportunity, the municipal bureaucrats endless search for press lapdogs – all before Whitewater.
Good morning, Whitewater
In the City of Whitewater today, there are no municipal, public meetings scheduled.
In our schools, there will be an all-classes diversity presentation at Whitewater High School.
In Wisconsin history on this date, the Wisconsin Historical Society reports a first, from 1861:
On this date Dr. Erastus B. Wolcott, a Milwaukee surgeon, performed the first recorded removal of a diseased kidney. [Source: History Just Ahead: A guide to Wisconsin’s Historical Markers edited by Sarah Davis McBride, p. 22.]
| Almanac | ||
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, June 4, 2009 | Sunrise | Sunset |
| Official Time | 05:17 AM | 08:28 PM |
| Civil Twilight | 04:43 AM | 09:03 PM |
| Tomorrow | 05:17 AM | 08:29 PM |
| Tomorrow will be: | 1 minute longer | |
| Amount of sunlight: | 15h 11m | |
| Amount of daylight: | 16h 20m | |
| Moon phase: | Waxing Gibbous | |
Good morning, Whitewater
Some scheduling conflicts are odd, and almost inexplicable. In the City of Whitewater today, there are two municipal, public meetings scheduled — at the same time. At 5:00 p.m., both the Tree Commission and the Landmarks Commission meet, separately.
At the very same hour.
I have no idea how this could happen. It’s as though someone scheduled the Super Bowl at the same time as the Presidential Inauguration. Picture-in-picture, two televisions, whatever — it’s just not a good solution to a conflict like that.
There’s simply no way something like this should happen in a micropolitan dream town.
| Almanac | ||
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, June 3, 2009 | Sunrise | Sunset |
| Official Time | 05:18 AM | 08:28 PM |
| Civil Twilight | 04:43 AM | 09:02 PM |
| Tomorrow | 05:17 AM | 08:28 PM |
| Tomorrow will be: | 1 minute longer | |
| Amount of sunlight: | 15h 10m | |
| Amount of daylight: | 16h 19m | |
| Moon phase: | Waxing Gibbous | |
Good morning, Whitewater
There are two municipal, public meetings scheduled in Whitewater today. At 6:15 p.m., the Alcohol Licensing Committee will meet, and at 6:30 p.m. there will be a Common Council meeting. The agenda for the Common Council meeting is available online.
| Almanac | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, June 2, 2009 | Sunrise | Sunset |
| Official Time | 05:18 AM | 08:27 PM |
| Civil Twilight | 04:44 AM | 09:01 PM |
| Tomorrow | 05:18 AM | 08:28 PM |
| Tomorrow will be: | 1 minute longer | |
| Amount of sunlight: | 15h 9m | |
| Amount of daylight: | 16h 17m | |
| Moon phase: | Waxing Gibbous | |
Continuing for the next few weeks, it’s Prisoner Monday here at Free Whitewater. Why? Because a longtime reader previously suggested to me that being in Whitewater sometimes felt like living the plot of The Prisoner.
It’s a great British series, that tells the story of a secret agent who resigns from his agency, only to find himself in a mysterious place called The Village.
AMC has the full episodes of the original series online, and also offers one-minute summaries of those original episodes. I’ve previously posted the first thirteen videos.
Here’s the fourteenth, one-minute summary, of an episode entitled, “Living in Harmony.” (“No. 6 finds himself in a Western township — but can he be forced into carrying a gun and killing?”)
The full video is also available at AMC.
Enjoy.
Good morning, Whitewater
It’s a new month, ending one season literally and another figuratively. Thanks very much for making May a great month at the FREE WHITEWATER. Despite light posting in the last week of the month, May saw noticeable increases in new visitors, from the area and beyond. Welcome.
So what’s the City of Whitewater doing today? The CDA Board of Directors meets today at 4:30 p.m. at the Municipal Bulding, City Administration Building, City Hall, Whatever They’re Calling It Now. The agenda is available online, and two — count ’em two — Common Council members sit on the CDA, so you can guess that each meeting is especially productive. Hard to believe we’re not Manhattan by now.
| Almanac | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday, June 1, 2009 | Sunrise | Sunset |
| Official Time | 05:19 AM | 08:26 PM |
| Civil Twilight | 04:44 AM | 09:00 PM |
| Tomorrow | 05:18 AM | 08:27 PM |
| Tomorrow will be: | 2 minutes longer | |
| Amount of sunlight: | 15h 7m | |
| Amount of daylight: | 16h 16m | |
| Moon phase: | Waxing Gibbous | |
Good morning, Whitewater
There are no public meetings scheduled for the City of Whitewater. Still, something’s bound to happen somewhere.
In our school district, there’ll be a meeting today at 9 a.m. in both executive (closed) session and open to the public, as noted in the agenda:
Call to Order and Roll Call
Executive Session
Adjourn to Executive Session, pursuant to § 19.85(1)(e)(f), Wisconsin Statutes, to review the WEA and WESS Collective Bargaining Agreements and issues relating to possible layoffs; and§ 19.85(1)(c)(f), Wisconsin Statutes, to discuss circumstances surrounding possible student disciplinary measures.Reconvene in Open Session at approximately 9:15 a.m.
Discuss and Act on Possible Layoffs (Possible Action Item)
3. Adjourn
What we resolve often matters less than what we do afterward, and what we do afterward often requires action beyond what we initially resolved.
On May 26th, our public school district, in Whitewater, Wisconsin and nearby towns, passed a resolution against racism.
Here is the full text of their resolution:
Whitewater Unified School District Resolution Against Racism
Approved by School Board 5/26/09
WHEREAS, the Whitewater Unified School District strongly condemns racial discrimination;
WHEREAS, racism is a threat to child development because it violates a student’s basic right to security, education, and social development;
WHEREAS, the Whitewater Unified School District does not condone any type of racist threat or discrimination;
WHEREAS, the Whitewater Unified School District supports working with other governmental entities, including the City of Whitewater and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, to raise awareness of the need to address racism in our local community by creating an active dialog which we believe will make our community an even more welcoming place;
WHEREAS, the Whitewater Unified School District will continue to denounce racism in all forms and will continue to seek proactive steps to prevent racist behavior by providing training and education for staff, students, and the community;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the Whitewater Unified School District deeply regrets the recent incident at Whitewater High School and the sorrow and fear that this racist behavior has brought to the affected students and their families.
We are right, as a free and equal people, to denounce racism. The very foundation of this society, its Declaration of Independence, places this as canonical for America — the principles by which we are formed, and the reed by which we are therefore measured.
But it’s not merely bigotry that has brought this community low. It’s our ceaseless desire to pretend that our politicians are saints, our bureaucrats saviors, and our policies infallible.
Wrongs and wickedness will befall any community, and those responsible should be located, for the safety of others, and their own rehabilitation.
Every time officials in this community confront a problem with an initial period of silence and secrecy, until someone discovers the thruth of the matter, they exacerbate injury and adisgrace themselves.
Yet, for it all, they presist in this same path, again and again.
I have slight confidence these few will change easily; I am certain their way aggravates our situation.
Good morning, Whitewater
In our schools, there will be a band concert today at Washington School, at 2 p.m. and again at 7 p.m.
Some towns across America are so desperate to escape the effects of this deep recession that they are considering the dubious step of disincorporation.
That will not, and truly cannot, happen for Whitewater, Wisconsin. Yet, we might have relied so much less on state funding, and weaned ourselves from it in better times.
We have public meeting after public meeting in Whitewater, on all sorts of topics, some important, some not. Few involve topics required as a matter of federal constitutional law.
The decennial census is one of them, from Article I § 2 of the United States Constitution.
Meetings about the census should be among our most open and well-publicized.
Good morning, Whitewater
In Whitewater today, the Census Count Committee meets at 4 p.m. at the Municipal Building, and the Tree Commission meets at 5 p.m.
The census is only useful if it counts all residents, but then, all residents have to commit to counting all residents. Look back over the last few years of life in Whitewater, and one sees only that an accurate census of all residents will be particularly difficult. If achieved, as I hope that it will be, it will rob a dissipated faction of its conviction that the city belongs only to itself.
(As of this writing, the Census Count Committee posts no agenda on the City of Whitewater website — they should make their work open and transparent, reviewable and verifiable, not as a matter of law, but of good government beyond any provision of law. Very few activities should be more transparent than this one.)
| Almanac | ||
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, May 27, 2009 | Sunrise | Sunset |
| Official Time | 05:22 AM | 08:22 PM |
| Civil Twilight | 04:48 AM | 08:56 PM |
| Tomorrow | 05:21 AM | 08:23 PM |
| Tomorrow will be: | 2 minutes longer | |
| Amount of sunlight: | 15h 00m | |
| Amount of daylight: | 16h 8m | |
| Moon phase: | Waxing Crescent | |
I received the following press release, that I am happy to post –
The Walworth County Genealogical Society will meet on Tuesday, June 2, 2009, 7:00 PM, at the Community Centre, 826 E. Geneva Street, Delavan.
There will be a presentation of the pioneers buried in the Calvary Cemetery, Whitewater, WI. The deceased were from the Whitewater and LaGrange areas.
This cemetery has burials of the early residents and members of the Saint Patrick’s Church, Whitewater. The cemetery has the distinction of being one of the two cemeteries in the United States located within university campuses. Calvary Cemetery is located on the grounds of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
The monthly Society meetings are open to the public and the Society’s publications can be ordered at that time.
The newest book to be released is the Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Sugar Creek Township, Elkhorn, WI. Copies may be available at the meeting. Brochures are available with information about the society and a complete listing of the books.
For additional information, please call the Vice President at 275-2426.
Good morning, Whitewater
The are no public meetings scheduled from the City of Whitewater today.
There is, however, a scheduled Listening Session with Representative Tammy Baldwin, scheduled from 3-4 p.m. today, at the Irvin Young Memorial Library, on Center Street.
In Wisconsin history on this date, the Wisconsin Historical Society reports that on this date in 1997, “sixty festival attendees were arrested at the 8th annual Weedstock Festival, a pro-marijuana event in Ferryville. [Source: Timeline Wisconsin].” When they called it Weedstock…
In our schools today, there’s a plan that concerned parents and community members have proposed, following racist graffiti found at Whitewater High School. Here’s the undertaking, in the words of those who developed the proposal, from two messages that I have received, as sent to the press, and at least one blogger:
Greetings.
On Tuesday, May 26, various student organizations will be gathering with community members to make buttons proclaiming, “STOP THE HATE.” This effort is a response to the racist threat that occurred last week at Whitewater High School.
-A student reported the racist and threatening message on the stall door of a boys’ bathroom in the science wing of the high school on Thursday, May 14, around 2:30 p.m.
-Six African-American students were identified in the threat.
A few Whitewater professors and I met with the Administration at Whitewater High School and asked if we could do something proactive to help the student body feel “empowered” through this sad and scary time. We saw this incident as one that the community also needed to act on, not just the school. We found the administration to be very open, supportive, and concerned. They were willing to do all they could to facilitate our efforts.
The professors and I had the idea to make buttons with the students. The message was shared with the student organizations and they jumped on it. The kids are enthused and much more hopeful about letting the community know that there is a STOP THE HATE message coming from THEIR school and they are not a school that tolerates hate and racism.
Please come out to Whitewater High School on Tuesday…any time from 9-3 and see the students in action. The students need the positive publicity; they need to see that their voice of peace is more powerful than the racist/fearful ones….
You are aware that there is going to be a Stop the Hate button campaign at Whitewater High School. The parents who initiated the conversation about what should happen at the high school wanted to be clear that the students themselves are making and distributing the buttons. We also wanted to be clear that the feelings and safety of the threatened families and other African American families in Whitewater is the number one priority.
Thank you.
