By JAMES\nKATES \/ The Capstone<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whitewater\u2019s\nretired streets and parks superintendent was honored Tuesday for another role\nthat added to the city\u2019s attractiveness \u2013 that of urban forester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chuck Nass,\nwho held the forestry position along with his streets and parks job, received\nthe Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Urban Forestry Council during\na meeting of the Whitewater Common Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cChuck was\ninstrumental in a number of projects,\u201d including saving trees from the emerald\nash borer and recruiting volunteers for beautification efforts, City Manager\nCameron Clapper told the council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff Roe,\nurban forestry team leader for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources,\nsaid Nass\u2019 work had helped draw attention to the often-overlooked role of trees\nin everyday settings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTrees are\neverywhere,\u201d Roe said. \u201cIf you look around your city, they make better places\nto live. They bring in oxygen, beauty, economic value, stormwater mitigation \u2013\nbut mostly we just like them. They help give us a sense of place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dwayne\nSperber, a member of the Urban Forestry Council, said Nass had helped expand\nthe definition of urban forestry by, for example, helping street crews use\ntrees to beautify routes that Whitewater citizens travel every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nass \u201chas\ndemonstrated true leadership,\u201d Sperber said. \u201cIt was a very easy nomination to\nmake. He\u2019s leaving quite a legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Library report<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In other\nbusiness Tuesday, the council heard the annual report from Irvin L. Young\nMemorial Library Director Stacey Lunsford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The city library\nhad more than 66,000 visitors last year, Lunsford told the council. It has\n3,771 registered resident users and 2,941 nonresident users. In 2019, it was a\nnet lender of interlibrary loan items, \u201cwhich speaks to the quality of our\ncollections,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lunsford\nsaid the library was expanding on its efforts to become a community gathering\nspace by hosting the City Market during winter months and by hiring a\nprogramming and makerspace librarian. That person will lead efforts in STEAM\n(Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) for the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lunsford\nsaid e-books and audio books continue to gain popularity, but she doesn\u2019t\nexpect print materials to disappear anytime soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are\nstill a lot of people who like print books, a lot of people who read magazines.\nWe are seeing a trend of people going more to digital, but they\u2019re using it in\naddition to print. They just like to have all those options.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also on\nTuesday:<\/p>\n\n\n\n By JAMES KATES \/ The Capstone Whitewater\u2019s retired streets and parks superintendent was honored Tuesday for another role that added to the city\u2019s attractiveness \u2013 that of urban forester. Chuck Nass, who held the forestry position along with his streets … Continue reading