FREE WHITEWATER

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Prisoner Monday

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Continuing for the next several 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 six videos.

Here’s the seventh, one-minute summary, of an episode entitled, “Many Happy Returns.” (“No. 6 escapes and succeeds in getting back to London. Yet there is still no freedom…”)

Be seeing you….

The full video is also available at AMC.

Enjoy.

more >>

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Daily Bread: April 6, 2009

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Good morning, Whitewater

The Park and Recreation Board meets tonight at 5:30 p.m. Otherwise, the City’s just just waiting until election day — what else could private citizens have to do? I’ll post on city races tomorrow morning, with thoughts on Kienbaum and Nosek race, in particular.

In Wisconsin history on this date, from 1831, the Sauk Indians Leave Illinois & Wisconsin:

On this date, in the spring of 1831, the Sauk Indians led by Chief Keokuk left their ancestral home near the mouth of the Rock River and moved across the Mississippi River to Iowa to fulfill the terms of a treaty signed in 1804. Many of the tribe, however, believed the treaty to be invalid and the following spring, when the U.S. government failed to provide them with promised supplies, this dissatisfied faction led by Black Hawk returned to their homeland on the Rock River, precipitating the Black Hawk War. [Source: History Just Ahead: A Guide to Wisconsin’s Historical Markers, edited by Sarah Davis McBride]

City

Contest Countdown: Nosek-Kienbaum Race

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Time remaining until the polls close in the Whitewater Common Council At-Large race between Dr. Roy Nosek and Marilyn Kienbaum —



(Only one man — really only one — could provide the proper perspective on an epic conflict between undesirable forces: Dr. Henry Kissinger. Kissinger offered a perspective on the Iran-Iraq war that might easily apply to our Common Council race, too —

When asked about the war between two, less than ideal nations, Kissinger remarked, that it was “a shame that both countries couldn’t lose” that war. True enough.)

I’ll keep this post at the top of the page, through Tuesday night.

Press, Register Watch™

Register Watch™ for the April 2nd Issue of the Paper

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Headline. The banner headline of the latest edition of the Register reassures residents that “City property values remaining constant, says City Manager.” Reassuring, indeed. Does anyone, though, think that the city has kept values here relatively stable? It’s a market, not a command economy…

One more quick point — there’s much complaining from those concerned about housing in Whitewater that housing prices are too high for single-family homeowners. Their solution is to regulate so strictly that, presumably, demand from students, etc., will be stifled, and with less demand, prices will either fall, or grow more slowly (relative to neighboring communities).

Pick one — do you want stable prices, or (relatively) falling prices? If you want lower home prices in some cases, and not others, then do you think that your commitment to regulatory enforcement will produce that result? Hasn’t yet. If, additionally, you want lower prices for new buyers, then be candid that this means, also, lower prices for existing sellers.

Inside. Inside, one finds a political ad for incumbent politician Marilyn Kienbaum.

One learns that she considers herself “the People’s Voice.” Which people, exactly? Perhaps those who will find comfort in the notion that Kienbaum’s a “Life long Whitewater area resident.” It’s likely to be effective — there are enough people who care about something like this to re-elect Kienbaum. Life long? What lessons of true value does Kienbaum offer this community for being a toddler, or schoolgirl, nearby? Someone who was here for twenty years’ time, or ten, is so much less knowledgeable as to be unsound?

One sees also, that she wants to treat “all residents with respect and dignity.” If by this she means students, then I wish her well. I wonder, though — Has everyone in town been treated with respect and dignity from Marilyn Kienbaum?

Much more might be said about all this – about Kienbaum, her candidacy, her political contributions (such as they are). I will say as much, in a separate post (one of a few election-related posts) on Monday.

MyWalworthCounty.com MyWalworthCounty.com — that’s it? When I first saw the website, I thought that I would let it settle for a month, to see what it might look like. It’s been over a month, and it hardly looks like anything at all. Admittedly, it’s not a multi-colored, garish mess, but it’s not much of a newspaper website, either.

If the website were meant to be an escape route for Southern Lakes from print publishing (and I don’t know), then that route’s likely too hard for them to travel. What they’ve launched is anemic, slight, and uninteresting.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread: April 3, 2009

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Good morning, Whitewater

Two happy, yet hard-won, events from our past, from the Wisconsin Historical Society, first took place on this day, in the ninteenth century —

1866 – African-Americans Vote in Wisconsin
On this date African-Americans voted for the first time in Wisconsin, after Ezekiel Gillespie successfully sued for the right to vote, an important point in the mid-19th century struggle of Milwaukee black citizens for suffrage. [Source: History of Wisconsin, Vol. II, pg. 571]

1887 – First African American Church Built in Wisconsin
On this date the St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church was dedicated in Milwaukee. [Source: History Just Ahead: Guide to Wisconsin’s Historical Markers, edited by Sarah Davis McBride]

Uncategorized

50 of 14296 is a Small, Small Fraction

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One reads that about 50 people attended each of the WUSD administrator forums. The population of our district is more than the number in the City of Whitewater (14,296). The fraction is even smaller, then, than the one my proportion suggests.

No sensible person could consider this a respectable community turnout, and less so when one reads that the paltry number includes those on the school board. How could they not be there?

Funnier still is the idea that if “20 more dropped by later in the evening,” that’s perhaps to anyone’s credit.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread: April 2, 2009

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Good morning, Whitewater

The Wisconsin Historical Society notes an anniversary of political progress, marking a date in 1963, in nearby Rock County — Rock County’s First Female Assembly Member

On this date Carolyn Blanchard of Edgerton won an election to fill the state Assembly seat left open by the death of her husband, David. In doing so, she became the first woman from Rock County to serve in the Wisconsin Assembly. Blanchard’s election increased the number of women serving in the Assembly to two. [Source: Janesville Gazette]

School District

On the School Administrator Candidates: Websites, &c.

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Here are a few additional links and comments on the search for a new WUSD Administrator. 

First, thanks very much to all those who’ve written, or spoken to me, about yesterday’s posts on the WUSD search, public forums, and candidate receptions.  I get a good bit of mail, but I cannot often tell beforehand which posts will spark correspondence.  The public forums yesterday and today, and particularly my remarks on the venue, led to lots of correspondence.  Thanks, Whitewater.  My pleasure, I’m quite sure.   

Some have asked, today, about the April 1st post on yesterday’s reception, not at FREE WHITEWATER, but another local website.  I’ll answer your general question about those photos — although I cannot be sure, I do not think either the photos or commentary at that other site are meant to be April 1st teasing.  I think they’re meant to be serious, actually.  The lack of any irony — that’s a place where irony dare not tread — is noticeable. 

It’s a perspective much in keeping with this town’s past, but — as you well know — often derided outside of a small circle.  

Some additional links, not found on the WUSD website — of the candidates’ current districts — 

The Round Lake School District, at which Dr. Dennis Pauli is employed, and the Isaac School District, at which Dr. Suzanne Zentner is employed.   

Then, an endorsement from the editorial board of the Daily Herald, of school board candidates, and mentioning the financial status, of the Round Lake School District, “Support incumbents in Round Lake Area District 116.” 

From that editorial, some remarks on the condition of Round Lake School District 116:

Round Lake Area Unit District 116 is on the comeback trail. Taken over by the state in 2002 after it almost collapsed under $14 million in short-term loans, District 116 could be the first such district ever to earn its way back to local control after the 2009-2010 school year.

School board incumbents have worked hard with schools CEO Ben Martindale to make that happen and have built their own skills through programs offered by the Illinois Association of School Boards.

They deserve to be re-elected to help District 116 face its next set of challenges….

I’ll leave it to others to consider what all this means; I offer no suggestion that any of the problems the Illinois district has faced are the responsibility of Dr. Pauli.  On the contrary, in fact, based on his current area of responsibility. 

I have a different point to make here — information on the status of the Round Lake School District 116 has not been widely reported locally.  Has its condition had an impact on teaching, curriculum, etc., and what lesson might we learn from this, in Whitewater? 

Neither of these candidates is chief administrator of his or her district — Dr. Suzanne Zentner serves as associate superintendent of teaching and learning for the Isaac School District, and Dr. Dennis Pauli is assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for Round Lake Area Schools District 116. 

What they’ve done recently will always matter more than a tie to Whitewater, or Wisconsin, generally.  That once, thirty-two years ago, one of the candidates ate a brat, or drew a lovely picture of a badger, is just too funny. 

Daily Bread

Daily Bread: April 1, 2009

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Good morning, Whitewater

It’s a busy day today in Whitewater, with a greater number of public meetings than yesterday. I’ll set out the schedule, as I’ve learned it. All meetings on the agenda, with one exception, take place at the Municipal Building, 312 W. Whitewater Street.

Beginning at 9 a.m., in the City Manager’s Conference Room, City Manager Kevin Brunner offers a sixty-minute seminar entitled, “It Takes a Vision: Running a City through Committees, Commissions, Task Forces, Ad Hoc Groups, Surveys, and Long-Range Studies.” Brunner will talk about solving problems challenges through words alone, with special emphasis on quotations in a weekly report, and use of PowerPoint presentations to convey a sense of achievement.

Later, at 10:30 a.m., with no particular stopping point, Council member Dr. Roy Nosek will speak to law-abiding, mature, serious, good people from across Whitewater on the topic, “Persuasion through Sensitivity.” Reportedly returned after an extended visit to an ashram in Oregon, Nosek will explain his new-found desire to speak softly, and pleasingly, to all people, as we’re all part of one circle of life. Particularly, Nosek will remark on his respect for the contemporary college experience, love of students, and need to just, well, reach out and show you care.

At noon, Council member and would-be town historian, Marilyn Kienbaum, will address residents of this unique community on the topic, “Remember when …. Reflections on the Whitewater origins of the Cotton Gin, Electric Lightbulb, and Horseless Carriage.” For those interested, Kienbaum will explain the origins of the term “Smart Growth,” one she personally coined, along with tips for how she drafted 17 Smart Growth plans, the Marshall plan, and Plan 9 from Outer Space, all on one side of a cocktail napkin.

At 2 p.m., Whitewater Police Chief Jim Coan will show slides, from his carrousel slide projector, of his recent (and self-funded) trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. Entitled, “My Highly Special Excellent Adventures in Policing,” Coan’s slides will provide never-before seen glimpses of Las Vegas. For a mere $5.00 per attendee, Coan will offer reproduced and autographed photographs of himself sitting in the audience of Siegfried & Roy’s ‘Masters of the Impossible‘ show, from the Bellagio.

Finally, at 3 p.m., from an undisclosed location, blogger John Adams, along with former Vice President Dick Cheney, will speak on the topic, “Damn-it, It’s Hard to be Misunderstood,” “Clarity in Writing: How We’ve Tried to Make Our Meaning Plain.” Both will recount their life-long struggles to write, and say, what they really mean, without ambiguity. Cheney and Adams will offer attendees a card with 10 easy-to-remember steps for feeling confident about expressing themselves.

Press, School District

On the School District Administrator Candidates: Press Coverage

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There have been a few newspaper stories about the two final candidates for our next school district administrator. At both the Janesville Gazette and the Daily Union, there were mid-March announcements of the two finalists. See, in the Janesville Gazette, “Whitewater superintendent finalists announced,” and from the Daily Union, “Whitewater picks two superintendent finalists.”

The Daily Union story never follows up on the odd description of the Whitewater Country Club venue for the forums as a ‘neutral’ location. Nor does the reporter explain a favorable remark from the WUSD Board President to the effect that ‘the board was very impressed by the number of applicants, adding that Dennis Richards, a Wisconsin Association of School Boards representative, said that is a very high number and it reflects well on the district.’

The unexplained background on the remark makes Richards seem unaffiliated with the selection, like some kind of observer. He’s not.

Who’s Dennis Richards? He’s from the consulting group the WUSD hired to conduct the candidate search. One might expect Richards to speak well of the district that hired his organization. I know who Richards is because the Janesville Gazette reported on the selection of his organization, the Madison-based Wisconsin Association of School Boards, in a December story. See, “Whitewater school district hires firm to find new superintendent.”

Yet more recently, the Gazette offered a detailed story, asking questions of the two finalists (Dr. Suzanne Zentner and Dr. Dennis Pauli), themselves. See, “Two remain in running for Whitewater superintendent.” Far as I can see, it’s the only local story that involves reporting of the candidates’ statements. One learns more there, at the Gazette, than from the WUSD website.

Our district might have posted more information on its website than it has, that others might have more background. A serious press will ask questions, but a tame press will avoid meaningful examination of public institutions and officials.

Uncategorized

On the School District Administrator Candidates: Location and Timing of a Public Forum  

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On the Timing and Location of the Reception and Public Forum.  It’s one each day, for two days, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., at the Whitewater Country Club, on March 31st and April 1st, for the administrator candidates. 

One could not offer better evidence of the failed culture of our community.   

(A matter-of-fact email sent days ago to the Board president, at the address listed at the WUSD website, asking about the timing of the public forums, went unanswered.) 

Who, possibly, thinks that 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. offers convenience to anyone except teachers, administrators, local politicians, city bureaucrats, and other local hangers-on? 

The group that might find this schedule difficult would be parents who who work inside the city privately, work or outside the city (and there are many residents like this).  If part of these events includes a public forum, which part of the public did district expect to attend easily?  

Listing all the places that the candidates will visit during the day is useless to those not teachers or administrators. A public forum, afterward, should have been more reasonably scheduled with the true public (not a smaller group of the same supposedly important people) able to attend conveniently. 

Who, possibly, thinks that the Whitewater Country Club is the right place for this public forum, or even a reception?  (I’m sure it’s a fine club, but that’s hardly the point.)  Other than the same group of people who talk to each other too often, how many others, just as much of the community, will drive out to a small, private club they’ve likely never before attended?  

We need no small, private place to host a reception for a public school district.  We need not pretend, falsely, how fancy we are. 

Cast those silly notions aside, and embrace a new and more open culture.  

We might have had a truly open reception, in any weather, right on the lawn of our high school.  Many events set up suitable reception tents, heated at any time, where food, conversation, and a public presentation can easily be held. 

Instead of a meeting at a private club — a genuinely welcoming forum and reception in the center of the city.  

In that place, there would be no need for important people, ‘dignitaries,’ etc.  Those elected to serve might serve others, offering simple food, from their own hands, at their own effort.  Members of the public would, in that better gathering, sit in the very front; those who held office, or had paid positions for the district or city, would sit in the very back, in seats farthest from notice or hearing.  Those who struggled with private employers, out of town work, daycare, and the many pressures of daily life, would be treated as honored guests, and in that way feel special.  Those who proudly claimed themselves public servants would truly be as much.    

This community, this state, this republic, will never be special, nor truly unique, because of the things that fancy people like.  America is special and unique for her liberties, the envy — even in these sad times — of all the world.  

An open meeting on asphalt, in the most undistinguished place, means more than the finest event at a private club, on the loveliest floor.    

I spoke to someone from the WUSD yesterday, who talked to me at length about all this: “This is the way it’s done here.” 

Yes, I know.   

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On the School District Administrator Candidates: District Information

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Over the next two days, two candidates, Dr. Suzanne Zentner of Arizona, and Dr. Dennis Pauli of Illinois, will visit our city as candidates for District Administrator of the Whitewater Unified School District.  I know as much, from announcements in newspapers, private websites, and our own district’s announcement. 

One can find that announcement through a link on the district’s main page.  Here’s the announcement, as a screen shot: 

 

Here’s the text of that announcement: 

Final Slate of District Administrator Candidates Announced Whitewater Unified School District School Board President Charles Nass announced today the two finalists for the position of district administrator of the Whitewater Unified School District. From a pool of 22, the School Board selected seven candidates. A team of school board members and administrators interviewed the candidates March 5 to March 12.

Final candidates are Dr. Suzanne Zentner, Associate Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, Isaac School District, Phoenix, Arizona; and Dr. Dennis Pauli, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Round Lake School District 116, Round Lake, Illinois.

The next step in the selection process will be to hold day-long interviews with the candidates. Each candidate will spend one day in the district touring the school buildings and meeting with the principals and others. The interview team will conduct a final interview with each candidate.

Staff, parents, and the community are invited to attend a public forum and reception at the Whitewater Country Club from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. on March 31 for Dr. Suzanne Zentner, and on April 1 for Dr. Dennis Pauli. The School Board plans to make its selection no later than April 2.

If you have questions, please contact Board President Charles Nass at 262-903-9511 or chucknass@wwusd.org.

A quick comment, regarding the District’s announcement — 

Additional WUSD Website Information.  There’s none, so far as a search of the WUSD site reveals.  No information on candidates’ backgrounds, by district, community demographics, summary of career accomplishments, etc. 

One hears so very much about parents, and non-parents, in the community being stakeholders, from the current District Administrator.  If that’s true, and if that means anything, then why not more detail on the website, well in advance so the community might have time to consider these candidates.  Not merely a reception and public forum held at the last hour, but more time for reflection?   

One may find this information, of course, but an open district — a truly open culture — would share these vital facts without hesitation.  Why so reluctant?  Those who will decide will still be able to do so, having had so much time as they like for lawful, closed-session deliberations. 

A candid district is a better, stronger district.  

Daily Bread

Daily Bread: March 31, 2009

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Good morning, Whitewater

There’s a reception tonight, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. for one of the two school district administrator finalists, Dr. Suzanne Zentner. The reception’s at the Whitewater Country Club, “located on Hwy 89 just South of the intersection of the Hwy 89 and Hwy 12 Bypass on the south edge of the City of Whitewater.”

From the Wisconsin State Journal, an unexpected find, on the origin of the word ‘bubbler’ –

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — One of Wisconsin’s most prominent regional terms – calling a drinking fountain a bubbler – probably comes from a 1910s corporate marketing campaign.

Usage of the term is concentrated in southeast Wisconsin, where the Kohler Co. marketed its early drinking fountains around 1917, said Joan Hall, editor of the Dictionary of American Regional English.

Those porcelain bowls contained “bubbling valves” that made the water bubble as it came through. Pretty soon, Hall said, the valves became known as “bubblers.” Then, people started calling the whole product by that name.

“And as they changed to look more like drinking fountains, the name stayed the same,” Hall said.