County of Union

 

Union County Sheriff Joseph Cryan, Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi and Union County Surrogate James LaCorte congratulate the top winners of the 2016 “My County” poster contest sponsored by the Union County Constitutional Officers.

The top winners of the contest are (from 2^nd left): Reed Cabral (1st place) from St. Bartholomew Academy in Scotch Plains, Tatiana Fecowycz (2nd place) from Holy Trinity Interparochial School in Westfield, Julia Polo (3rd place) from St. John the Apostle Elementary School in Clark and Jonathan Moncayo (4th place) from the Ronald Reagan Academy #30 in Elizabeth.

More than 200 fourth grade students from schools throughout Union County entered the contest.

(Photos by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

Union County Freeholder Christopher Hudak presents resolutions to the Linden High School Boys Basketball Team congratulating them on their outstanding 2015-16 season. The Linden Tigers, under the guidance of Head Coach Phil Colicchio, won 24 games while losing 6 and captured their fourth straight New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association North Jersey, Section Two, Group Four Title.

Freeholder Hudak also presented Coach Colicchio a resolution congratulating him on achieving his 400th victory as a head varsity coach during the 2015-16 season at Linden High School.

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders announces that the next mobile paper-shredding program for personal, confidential documents will visit Plainfield on Arbor Day, Friday, April 29.

“Union County’s mobile document-shredding service helps residents fight identity theft by providing a convenient way to shred your confidential documents,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce Bergen. “It promotes our County recycling efforts and ties in with Union County’s other Green Initiatives.”

The April 29th shredding event will take place in Cedar Brook Park off Park Avenue in Plainfield. NEXCUT Shredding of Elizabeth will be shredding personal documents from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine. The event will end before 1 p.m. if the shredding truck reaches capacity.

All Union County residents are eligible to use the paper-shredding service. In an effort to accommodate everyone, there is a limit of four, 10-pound bags or boxes per person. This is a garbage-free event so please bring your documents in paper bags if at all possible. Plastic bags and boxes will be returned. Please remove plastic binders and paperclips. Paper that is wet/damp will not be accepted. Residents should continue to recycle non-confidential papers and magazines with their municipal recycling program.

Documents are put into 96-gallon containers provided by the shredding company. The items are then dumped onto a conveyor belt and shredded on site. Participants are welcome to view the shredding process via a closed-circuit television. The shredded documents are then recycled, shipped to paper mills and used as pulp. The next shredding event will take place Saturday, May 14^th at Alcatel-Lucent in New Providence.

The mobile shredding program is paid for through New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Recycling Enhancement Act Grant Funds. For more information about future events or directions please call the Recycling Hotline at 908-654-9889 or visit us online at www.ucnj.org/recycle .

Union County Freeholder Vice Chairman Sergio Granados and Freeholders Christopher Hudak, Vernell Wright and Angel G. Estrada joined Union County College President Dr. Margaret McMenamin, Union County College Board of Trustees Chair Victor Richel and Union County College Foundation Chair Jeffrey Katz in congratulating several of the students who received Freeholders Scholarships during the annual scholarship reception on the Union County College’s Cranford campus. Fifteen students received Freeholders Scholarships

(Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

Union County Freeholder Vice Chairman Sergio Granados joined Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage, Union County College President Margaret McMenamin and Victor Richel, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Union County College, in congratulating Obadiah Dryer, Claudio Argemi, David Guevara, Kun Yu Chou and Dexter Vally who recently graduated from the Metal Fabrication/CNC Machinist training program for high-tech jobs in advanced manufacturing during a ceremony in Elizabeth. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

 

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders will sponsor a Household Special Waste Collection event on Saturday, April 23, so Union County residents can get rid of outdated or unwanted household chemicals, mercury thermostats, propane tanks, and automobile tires in an environmentally safe manner. The household hazardous waste collection will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Union County Vocational-Technical Schools campus, 1776 Raritan Road in Scotch Plains, near the John H. Stamler Police Academy.

Residents of Union County are eligible to participate at no cost. Pre-registration is not required for this special Saturday collection.

“The special household waste recycling program for Union County residents is particularly important as we become more aware of the need for proper disposal of hazardous items that are found around the home,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen. “The result of our effort is safer homes and a cleaner environment for our families and our neighbors.”

All that residents need to do is drive to the site with their household special waste, propane tanks, automobile tires, and mercury thermostats. Workers at the site will unload the vehicles.

“Household special waste” includes oil-based paint and varnish, antifreeze, aerosol cans, pool chemicals, corrosives, pesticides, herbicides, solvents, thinners, fire extinguishers, motor oil and oil filters, gasoline, batteries, thermostats, fluorescent bulbs (unbroken), blood pressure devices, and mercury switches. Only materials in original or labeled containers will be accepted. No containers larger than five gallons will be accepted.

Latex (water-based) paint and empty cans will not be accepted. They should be disposed of in with the regular garbage. Leftover latex paint can be air-dried or, to hasten the drying process, kitty litter and/or newspaper can be added to hasten the drying.

“This is a great opportunity to recycle up to eight tires and dispose of old chemical containers that are cluttering up the basement or the garage, or taking up space under the kitchen sink,” said Freeholder Christopher Hudak, liaison to the Union County Solid Waste Advisory Council. “Our homes become safer once they are rid of hazardous and combustible waste.”

There is a limit of eight automobile tires (without rims) per household. This is a household recycling event. No businesses, please.

A complete list of the materials that will be accepted on April 23 is available at the Union County Bureau of Recycling and Planning web site: www.ucnj.org/recycle . The next scheduled household hazardous waste collection will be on June 11 at the Union County College campus in Cranford.

The household hazardous waste collection will be held rain or shine, for Union County residents only and not for businesses. Proof of Union County residency is required. For more information, please call the Recycling Hotline at 908-654-9889.

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders announces that the next mobile paper-shredding program for personal, confidential documents will visit Roselle on Earth Day, Friday, April 22.

“Union County’s mobile document-shredding service helps residents fight identity theft by providing a convenient way to shred your confidential documents,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce Bergen. “It promotes our County recycling efforts and ties in with Union County’s other Green Initiatives.”

The April 22nd shredding event will take place near the Ice Skating Rink in Warinanco Park, off Park Street and Thompson Avenue in Roselle. NEXCUT Shredding of Elizabeth will be shredding personal documents from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine. The event will end before 1 p.m. if the shredding truck reaches capacity.

All Union County residents are eligible to use the paper-shredding service. In an effort to accommodate everyone, there is a limit of four, 10-pound bags or boxes per person. This is a garbage-free event so please bring your documents in paper bags if at all possible. Plastic bags and boxes will be returned. Please remove plastic binders and paperclips. Paper that is wet/damp will not be accepted. Residents should continue to recycle non-confidential papers and magazines with their municipal recycling program.

Documents are put into 96-gallon containers provided by the shredding company. The items are then dumped onto a conveyor belt and shredded on site. Participants are welcome to view the shredding process via a closed-circuit television. The shredded documents are then recycled, shipped to paper mills and used as pulp. The next shredding event will take place Friday, April 29^th at Cedar Brook Park in Plainfield.

The mobile shredding program is paid for through New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Recycling Enhancement Act Grant Funds. For more information about future events or directions please call the Recycling Hotline at 908-654-9889 or visit us online at www.ucnj.org/recycle .

Union County Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen joined Acting Union County Prosecutor Grace Park and Janice C. Lilien, Executive Director of the YWCA of Union County, at the third annual Union County C.A.R.E.S. (Community, Action, Response, Education, Safety) Domestic Violence Symposium at Kean University in Union.

The symposium was co-sponsored by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, YWCA Union County, Kean University, the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the Elizabeth-based Family and Children’s Services, Iris House, and Trinitas Regional Medical Center.

For more information about YWCA domestic violence programs, visit http://www.ywcaunioncounty.org/.

 

(Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

Artist residents of Union County who are 60 years of age or older are invited to participate and exhibit an original work of art which has been completed within the last three years in the annual Union County Senior Citizens Art Exhibit. Entrants may be either amateur/non-professional or professional in status. Any person who meets at least two of the following criteria is considered professional: a) sold the type of art entered in the exhibition through commercial channels; b) exhibited in a professional gallery; c) held professional membership in a guild or association.

The annual Union County Senior Citizens Art Exhibit will be held in the Atrium of the Elizabethtown Gas Company, Liberty Hall Center, 1085 Morris Avenue, Union. The exhibit will run from May 31 to July 12, with an artists’ reception on Wednesday, June 8, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

“We have some amazing senior artists in Union County, and it’s always a pleasure to see their work,” said Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski, liaison to the Cultural and Heritage Programs Advisory Board.

The ten categories of eligible work are: oil; acrylic; watercolor (including gouache); pastel (including chalk, charcoal and oil pastel); drawing and prints (including drawings with pencil, pen, ink, graphite, and prints such as etching, engraving, lithograph, woodcut, monoprint, monotype, silkscreen, etc.); mixed media (combines two or more media, no one of which clearly predominates; including collage and assemblage); sculpture (three dimensional, carved, or constructed in any medium, abstract or figurative, painted or unpainted); craft (one-of-a-kind creations only, no kits or molds); digital/computer art (art generated or altered digitally using software); and photography. Please note: photos taken with a digital camera, digitally altered photos, and images made using a scanner must be entered in the Photography category.

Three professional artists will judge the entries. Awards will go to first, second, third place and honorable mention winners in each category. First Place winners in all categories go on to compete in September at the New Jersey State Senior Citizens Art Show which will take place at the Meadow Lakes retirement community (www.meadowlakesonline.org) in East Windsor.

Hanging artwork, crafts and photos may not exceed 36” nor be less than 10” in any dimension, including matte and frame. Sculpture or 3-D crafts may not exceed 20” in any dimension (measurements include any base for the sculpture). All work must be properly labeled and delivered “show-ready” with screw eyes and wiring ready for hanging. Where necessary, pictures must be protected with glass, Mylar, Plexiglas or other clear material. Plexiglas is strongly recommended on pieces exceeding 24 inches.

For a copy of the application, call Martha Sturm, Senior Arts Coordinator, at the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, 908-558-2550, or email culturalinfo@ucnj.org. Relay users dial 711. Mail completed applications to Senior Art Show, Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, 633 Pearl St., Elizabeth, NJ 07202; or fax to 908-558-2652 on or before Wednesday, May 18. Completed applications may also be scanned and emailed to msturm@ucnj.org.

Bridge deck project advances to new stage

New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials today announced a traffic shift on Route 22 westbound and a detour of Rosemont Avenue to establish a new stage in construction as the Route 22 westbound over Burke Parkway bridge replacement project advances in Union County.

Starting at 10 p.m. Friday, April 15 and continuing for several weeks, NJDOT’s contractor Power Concrete, Co. Inc., is scheduled to temporarily close travel lanes on Route 22 westbound for asphalt pavement, concrete curb, guiderail and fence work before and after the bridge. The overnight operations for this stage in construction will shift motorists onto the left-side of the bridge and detour traffic for the Rosemont Avenue exit from Route 22 westbound. The following detour will be in place:

Detour from Route 22 westbound to Rosemont Avenue

• Motorists attempting to take the Rosemont Avenue exit will be directed to continue on Route 22 and make a right onto Wewanna Avenue, and make the next right onto Lansdowne Avenue
• From Lansdowne Avenue, motorists will proceed back onto Rosemont Avenue

The $2 million bridge deck replacement project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2016. The project is being constructed in stages, which began with the new deck and parapets. Each stage is re-constructing approximately one third of the bridge deck at a time. The bridge deck replacement project includes milling and paving the bridge approaches, and reconstructing the guide rail, sidewalk, and curb. As the project progresses, NJDOT will provide information before any closures or detours are implemented.

NJDOT will be using Variable Message Signs to provide advance notification to motorists of traffic pattern changes associated with the work.

The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weather or other factors. Motorists are encouraged to check NJDOT’s traffic information website www.511nj.org for real-time travel information and for NJDOT news follow us on Twitter @NJDOT_info.