As some of you may know the Surrogate’s Office is responsible for assisting residents in the orderly process of estates after the death of a Union County Resident. As Surrogate of Union County, one of my obligations is to alert residents of potential problems with the processing of residents estates.
Recent events concerning Chase and Wells Fargo Banks compel me to warn residents that their loved ones may confront severe problems when they attempt to manage their deceased loved ones assets at the time of their death. Chase Bank has displayed in the recent past a refusal to follow New Jersey Law and instead follow their own bank instituted policy which adds expense and delay to the orderly processing of the decedents estates. Wells Fargo has acted in a similar manner on many occasions.
I am therefore advising Union County Residents that commencing or continuing a banker-customer relationship with Chase and Wells Fargo Banks may cause several unforeseen impediments with the timely processing of your estate after your death or the death of a loved one.
Please remember this alert when deciding to commence or continue a financial relationship with Chase Bank or Wells Fargo Bank.
Nominations are now being accepted for the 24th annual Women of Excellence awards program, sponsored by the Union County Commission on the Status of Women and the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
The Women of Excellence awards are a great opportunity for businesses and organizations in Union County to nominate and recognize the personal achievements of an employee or volunteer.
“For more than 20 years, the Women of Excellence Awards have celebrated and supported the difference that women make to strengthen our communities and impact the quality of life in Union County,” said Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh. “If there is an extraordinary woman in your life, whether professional or volunteer, I encourage you to submit her name for consideration.”
Women can be nominated for their contributions in the categories of Arts and Humanities, Business and Entrepreneurial, Community Service, Education, Government, Law, Law Enforcement, Medicine and Health Care, or Women’s Advocacy.
The Women of Excellence award is open to all women, 21 years or older, who live, work, or volunteer in Union County.
Awardees will be celebrated and will receive a certificate at the annual Women of Excellence gala awards dinner, to be held on March 18, 2016 at Galloping Hill Caterers in Union Township.
For more information about submitting a Women of Excellence nomination, or to download a nomination form, visit ucnj.org/women-of-excellence. Questions about the nomination process can be emailed johara1217@gmail.com.
All nominations should be mailed to Jane O’Hara at 708 Newark Avenue, Westfield, NJ 07090 and postmarked no later than December 1, 2015.
Education, outreach and enforcement to encourage safer walking, driving in city
The City of Elizabeth has been selected as one of six sites for the next round of a pedestrian safety education campaign aimed at promoting safe travel behavior through education and enforcement.
The selection of Elizabeth and other communities for the Street Smart NJ campaign was announced at the Nov. 9 meeting of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) Board of Trustees in Newark. The NJTPA coordinates the campaign, a collaborative effort between public, private and non-profit organizations that urges motorists and pedestrians to obey New Jersey’s pedestrian safety laws.
“Safety on our streets is a vital concern in Elizabeth because of the high number of pedestrian crashes,” said Union County Freeholder Angel Estrada, second vice-chairman of the NJTPA Board. “This campaign will raise awareness and encourage drivers and pedestrians alike to make smarter, safer decisions on the road.”
The six pilot areas – Elizabeth, Franklin Borough (Sussex County), Metuchen, Passaic, Red Bank and a joint campaign in Toms River and Lakewood – will undergo pedestrian safety evaluations prior to the campaign launches in March. Following the campaigns, which use advertising, grassroots public awareness efforts and targeted law enforcement, there will be a second evaluation to determine whether drivers, cyclists and pedestrians changed their behaviors.
“We are excited that the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority selected us to participate in this important effort,” said Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage. “The city is committed to keeping everyone who travels our streets safe, and this campaign will help us meet that goal.”
Street Smart NJ conducted first phase pilot programs in Newark, Hackettstown, Jersey City and Woodbridge in 2013. The program was also implemented in Long Beach Island during summer 2014. Motorists and pedestrians were urged to “check your vital signs” – speed limit and stop signs for drivers, and walk/don’t walk signals and crosswalks for pedestrians. Evaluations completed as part of those efforts show that the Street Smart NJ campaign improves pedestrian and motorist behaviors, reducing the risk of pedestrian crashes. The program is funded by the Federal Highway Administration.
Pedestrian safety continues to be an important issue in New Jersey. New Jersey is ranked 10th in the nation in per capita pedestrian fatalities. The state has been designated a “focus” state by the Federal Highway Administration for the high incidence of injury and fatal motor vehicle crashes involving pedestrians. From 2011-2014, 591 pedestrians were killed and more than 17,000 injured on New Jersey’s roadways, which translates to one death every 2.5 days and 11 injuries daily.
Sitting with her grandmother at the age of seven, a young Andrea Clinton wrote her first play.
“I was talking her ear off and she sat me down with a pencil and notebook and said, ‘Why don’t you put it in a story for me,’” Clinton recalls.
Since they had been reading plays together at the time, Clinton wrote her story in that format- one which would stick with her through her adult life, and ultimately lead to her passion for writing novels and screenplays.
At first glance, Clinton seems to be the antithesis of the typical theater person, she’s demure, quiet, and very reserved, but behind that exterior lies something bold, brave and colorful. It is the person that has been inspired by her Funkadelic uncle George Clinton, and the rest of the eclectic and creative Clinton/Giles family.
It is this person that is the mastermind behind Murphy’s Law: Group Therapy Gone Wild- a dark comedy that is set to premiere in Union County next week at the Union County Performing Arts Center’s Hamilton Stage.
In the play, Dr. Kapewski also known as Dr. Pew is an unconventional, quirky, hippie-psychotherapist that brings her patients, who would not normally be in each other’s company, together for “dramatic group therapy.” As the saying goes, anything that can go wrong will, as her patients get carried away in their own personalities, in a group therapy session gone wild.
In addition to her creative work, Clinton is the founder of People Helping People, Inc. a non-profit that seeks to help disenfranchised people become independent and self-sufficient by providing programs, services and counseling, and connecting people with resources.
Then there is People Helping People’s mental health initiative- a program that was ignited when, in addition to the growing number of reported suicides, one of Clinton’s loved ones took their own life and another died as an adverse affect of a suicide attempt some years earlier.
Coping with these tragedies and reminiscent of her own challenging bout with panic attacks over a decade prior, Clinton found commonality among diversity in her own group therapy sessions and her passion for advocating mental health awareness developed.
“In theatre, we playwrights and others ask ourselves, ‘Why this play? Why now?’ The issue of mental health around the nation today demands this play and calls for it and others that advocate the cause, now. This is why we seek producers and producing theatre’s—we hope they will join me in utilizing theatre to spread the word about the importance of a healthy mental health to the masses.”
She explains that battles with mental health come in all shapes and sizes.
“I knew that this play couldn’t just reveal how sharing your woe or being with others – that isn’t enough. This play had to ADVOCATE.”
So how do you seek advocacy through comedy? According to Clinton, people digest things better with a dose of laughter.
“We need to be sensitive about the platter on which we serve these issues or else it may be too dismal,” said Clinton. “Similar to what you see on TV, when a sitcom addresses an issue but there is still laughter involved, it lessens the blow of the reality.”
Murphy’s Law is set to run November 13th through the 15th at the Union County Performing Arts Center’s Hamilton Stage.
Tickets are priced at $15 general admission and $20 for a VIP ticket, which includes a cocktail hour reception & VIP seating. Group rates are also available for 10 or more tickets. To purchase, or for additional information, please contact UCPAC Box Office at 732-499-8226 or visit ucpac.org.
Murphy’s Law is being produced by People Helping People, Inc. and the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholder through the UCACT Program. UCACT grants funding to cover the hard costs associated with putting up at production at the Union County Performing Arts Center. Through creative partnership and a holistic approach, the program creates a successful business model for Community Theater, allowing them to provide quality performances while also thriving financially.
Clinton is currently working on an adaptation of her first novel, One Who Loves You More into a 2-act play and is working on another play titled A Family Affair. She has two completed 1-act plays, Tracy and Only the Strong Survive, which have been accepted to the DC Black Theatre Festival for 2016. She is an independent author and has published 4 books: One Who Loves You More, A Blessing and a Curse, Red Dollar and Love at First Plight. She has two more books going into publication in the near future titled Where Do We Go From Here and Pot Luck, a book of poetry, short stories and commentary. In 2016, she seeks to follow with Silent as a Lamb and Tracy, which are sequels to her first book One Who Loves You More.
Award-winning Documentary produced in Union County about Hillside case that generated international media firestorm in 1994
UNION COUNTY, NJ—A little more than 20 years ago, a Hillside gardener’s attempt to ward off rats from eating tomatoes in his backyard ended up with him facing possible jail time and a fine, generating a national and international media firestorm that continues to reverberate as legend throughout Union County.
So it comes as no surprise that one of Union County’s native sons, Andrew Ruotolo, whose late father Andrew K. Ruotolo Jr. served as the Union County Prosecutor from 1991-95 (and for whom the Prosecutor’s building is now named in his honor) has directed an 18-minute documentary, “The Ratslayer of Hillside NJ,” about the infamous case. Ruotolo’s mother, Mary, was also a Freeholder who served from 1998-2004.
The County of Union will co-sponsor the presentation of the film, its first screening in Union County, on Sunday, December 6th at 7 p.m. at the Hamilton Stage in Rahway at 360 Hamilton Street. There will also be a panel discussion with audience participation. Suggested admission is $5 at the door.
The film documents the case against the late Frank Balun, a Hillside resident and WWII Veteran, who was cited by Lee Bernstein of the Associated Humane Society for killing a rat in his backyard. Balun was charged with animal cruelty for “needlessly abusing a rodent,” and was ordered to appear in court, where he faced six months in jail and a $1,250 fine.
“When I came across an article on the case, in which my father was quoted, I was instantly captivated by the bizarre tale,” Ruotolo recounts. “The film captures the intersection of justice, animal rights, prosecution, media hyperbole and the downright ridiculous. I would like to thank the Freeholder Board for helping us to present this documentary to the public.”
“As someone who serves as a municipal prosecutor, I can tell you that we do often face challenging situations, but this was a truly unique instance that has become part of Union County lore,” said Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh. “Residents will enjoy the questions and issues that are raised in this strange but true Hillside story, and the humor with which it is presented.”
The Freeholder Board, through Chairman Jalloh’s 2015 initiative “UCACT,” has supported theatrical productions and events through the Union County Performing Arts Center and Hamilton Stage.
The documentary was directed and produced by a Union County cast that included Ruotolo (Director), Andrew Lessner and Michael Angelo Covino (Producers), and Sean Devaney and Zach Kuperstein (Directors of Photography). Ruotolo, Lessner and Devaney all attended elementary, middle and high school in Westfield together.
A panel of Union County luminaries, who are featured in the film, will participate in a brief panel discussion, including: Angelo Bonanno, a retired Health Administrator for several Union County towns, former Hillside Prosecutor Chris Howard (who currently works as an attorney in the Union County Counsel’s office and has a private office in Cranford), including his hometown of Hillside, and Frank Capece, a Cranford resident and attorney with Garrubbo and Capece in Union Township. Ruotolo will lead the brief discussion and audience participation is welcome.
After the story of Balun initially emerged in a Star Ledger account in 1994, newspapers from London to Australia picked it up as a media frenzy ensued with every major news network covering the spectacle. While Balun was heralded as a hero by the NJ Pest Control Association, receiving animal traps from supporters across the country, Bernstein endured the indignity of being lampooned on late-night shows, chastised on editorial pages, abandoned by animal-rights advocates and even targeted by protesters who dumped muskrat and chicken parts on his Union Beach lawn. At one point he found a rodent, nailed to a wooden cross, with a tomato in its mouth, on his property.
Combining present day interviews and archival news footage, The Rat Slayer of Hillside NJ tells the dramatic story of Balun and Bernstein and the case that pitted them against each other and would eventually come to define their personal legacies.
The documentary, which was released last year, has been shown at various film festivals, including the Brooklyn Film Festival and Lighthouse Film Festival in Long Beach Island, most recently winning the Documentary Short award at the St. Lawrence International Film Festival in Canada and Upstate New York.
Cast:
Angelo Bonanno – Former Health Administrator of Hillside Health Dept.
Frank Capece – Frank Balun’s defense attorney
Chris Howard – Former Hillside prosecutor
Roseann Trezza – Executive Director of Associated Humane Societies (Assistant Director at the time)
Linda Voltaggio and Vince Voltaggio (brother and sister – friends/neighbors of Frank Balun)
Rosalyn Bernstein-Charnes (Lee Bernstein’s ex-wife, current resident of Union, NJ)
Helping to celebrate the outstanding volunteer Rutgers Master Gardeners of Union County are (l-r) Program coordinator Madeline Flahive-Dinardo of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Extension Head Dr. Karen Ensle, Freeholders Angel G. Estrada and Bette Jane Kowalski, Master Gardeners Joanne Kreuger and T.J. Karns, winner of the Annual Wes Philo, Extension Associate Director Mary Jane Willis, Freeholder Vernel Wright, and Jim Nichnadowicz, 4-H Coordinator for the Extension.
Union County, NJ – The Rutgers Master Gardeners of Union County have been part of the Union County community for almost 30 years, and last month the outstanding members of this all volunteer program received some well-deserved recognition from their peers, and Joint Legislative Resolutions in their honor from the New Jersey Senate and Assembly.
“Every year our Master Gardener volunteers enrich the lives of hundreds of residents, and on behalf of the Board I would like to thank each of them for their dedication to improving the quality of life in our Union County community,” said Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski, who attended the group’s 27th annual Volunteer Recognition celebration in September.
The joint resolution was introduced by Assemblywoman Annette Quijano and supported by Senator Raymond Lesniak and Assemblyman Jamel Holley. It reads in part:
Throughout many seasons of change and countless hours of volunteer service, the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Union County have worked tirelessly and effectively in benefit of the community and are recognized and saluted for their exemplary dedication and motivation.
“For many years, the Master Gardeners have worked behind the scenes to improve our neighborhoods and help others,” said Assemblywoman Annette Quijano. “It’s a real pleasure to bring attention to their efforts.”
Anyone can join the Master Gardeners. The program is run by Rutgers University experts through the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Union County, supported in part by the Freeholder board. No previous experience in horticulture – or gardening — is needed. Each volunteer receives University-level training leading to certification as a Master Gardener. A nominal fee covers the cost of the training course.
The 2015 honorees included 11 Master Gardeners who reached or far surpassed the 500-hour service milestone, as well as 20 newly certified Master Gardeners, each of whom logged at least 60 hours of volunteer service after completing a training program.
The President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation also provided a total of 29 Master Gardeners with Bronze, Silver or Gold awards based on hours of service in 2014, ranging from 100 to more than 500 hours.
In addition, special awards went to seven Master Gardeners in celebration of 10 years of service, and one for 20 years of service.
Special recognition this year went to Joanne Krueger in honor of more than 10,000 hours of service. Among her numerous volunteer projects, Ms. Krueger is committee chair for two of the programs’s major initiatives: care of the elaborate Demonstration Gardens, and organization of the annual Spring Garden Fair and Plant Sale, which draws more than 1,000 people each year to raise funds for Master Gardeners community projects.
Another special recognition went to T.J. Karns, who received the annual Wesley Philo award representing the highest honor for a Master Gardener. In addition to many other activities, Ms. Karns chairs the Grants and Publicity Committee and has been instrumental in raising thousands of dollars in grants for special projects, including a new kitchen for preparing produce for donation.
“This year’s recognition ceremony really underscores the important role that the Master Gardeners play in Union County, and I encourage every County resident with a yen for gardening – and for giving back to the community — to come and join,” said Kowalski.
The Demonstration Garden is the platform for many ongoing Master Gardeners community projects, including the Sharing Garden, which has donated more than 25,000 pounds of fresh produce to local food pantries since 2002, and the Cutting Garden, which has donated 42,289 flowers and greens to local cancer treatment centers and hospitals.
The source of the Master Gardeners’ community mission is the Rutgers Cooperative Extension, part of the national Extension program established more than 100 years ago by Congress under the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Extension program aims to connect the general public with up-to-date, science based information on nutrition and community health.
The Master Gardeners program receives the bulk of its funding from the Freeholder Board in the form of land for the Demonstration Garden, located on the grounds of a former County tree and shrub nursery in the Watchung Reservation in Mountainside, and administrative support and office space in the Colleen Fraser County Services Building in Westfield.
The County’s Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation Trust Fund also contributes substantially to the program. One recent example is a grant of more than $240,000 for a new greenhouse at the Demonstration Garden that will help expand the Master Gardeners’ community service mission.
To join or to get more information about the Master Gardeners, Master Tree Stewards, 4-H and other Rutgers Extension programs in Union County visit ucnj.org/rce.
2015 Master Gardeners of Union County Recognition Ceremony
State Legislature Joint Resolution Recipients and Newly Certified Master Gardeners:
Billie Baron
Mary Blacklock
Diane Borman
Margaret Chowdhury
Joan Dickason
Eulalia Kuga
Richard Lear
Dennis Lenahan
Art Mathews
Deborah Meslar
Adrienne Miller-Kubicz
Thomas Mulligan
Nancy Pietrulewicz
Anne Rigassio
Carol Skrocki
Robin Sternal
Nina Sylvester
Mary Anna Tramontana
Uschi Ueltzhoeffer
Dennis Valiga
Class of 2005 (10 years and still active):
Julia Allen
Vanessa Casserly
Stacey Draper
Eileen Fay
Sandra Schroeder
Susan Thomson
Carol Walczuk
Class of 1995 (20 years and still active):
James Keane
Lifetime Hours of Service Honorees:
500
William Hopkins
Kenneth Ilgavizis
Tertia Moore
David Regal
Dean Talcott
1000
Dolores Batz-Culp
2000
Bridget Mracek
2500
Norma Cohen
TJ Karns
James Keane
10,000
Joanne Krueger
The Wesley Philo Award for Volunteer Excellence:
T.J. Karns
President’s Volunteer Service Awards for hours donated in 2014:
Union County, NJ – Whether it’s train, bus, car, bicycle, feet, or any other means, the ability to go places is a key issue for everyone in Union County. You can help plan the direction of transportation in Union County by coming to an open house hosted by the Union County Transportation Master Plan, on Monday November 9, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the Cranford Community Center, 220 Walnut Avenue in Cranford.
Visitors can drop in any time, stay as long as they want, and talk to experts from the Master Plan team one-on-one. The team will provide brief presentations at 4:30 and 6:00.
A Spanish translator will also be there during the entire open house.
This is your chance to share your vision about mobility and sustainability issues that affect how people and goods move in, through and around the Union County community.
Work on the new plan is being conducted by the Union County Bureau of Transportation Planning, Division of Strategic Planning & Intergovernmental Relations in the Department of Economic Development. Completion is expected by June 2016.
The Union County Transportation Master Plan is funded by the New Jersey Transportation Planning Authority and Union County.
The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders invites residents to participate in the nation-wide American Medicine Chest Challenge on November 14, 2015.
For safe prescription disposal, Union County residents can take the five-step American Medicine Chest Challenge:
Take inventory of your prescription and over-the-counter medicine.
Secure your medicine chest.
Dispose of your unused, unwanted, and expired medicine in your home or at an American Medicine Chest Challenge Disposal site.
Take your medicine(s) exactly as prescribed.
Talk to your children about the dangers of prescription drug abuse.
“To help combat the growing drug abuse threat to our nation’s children and families, Union County is proud to support and host this important initiative,” said Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh. “I encourage residents to bring their unused, unwanted, and expired medicine to any of eight year-round collection sites in Union County.”
24/7 access is available to medicine drop boxes located at the Union County Division of Police at the Froehlich Building at 300 North Ave. East in Westfield, and at seven police stations in Union County including Clark, Elizabeth, Rahway, Roselle Park, Springfield, Summit and Westfield. Medicine drop boxes have been installed at these locations as part of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs’ Project Medicine Drop program.
The most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows prescription medicines to be the most abused drugs by Americans, other than marijuana and found that 70% of people who abuse prescription pain relievers say they got them from friends or relatives. A recent study on drug use by of teens by the Partnership for a Drug Free America (PDFA) found that one in 9 children are abusing prescription pain relievers to get high.
“This Challenge will raise awareness about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs and reduce the availability of potent drugs that lead kids down a path to addiction,” explained American Medicine Chest Challenge Chief Executive Officer Angelo M. Valente.
“With the American Medicine Chest Challenge we are calling on residents to see their medicine cabinets through new eyes — as an access point for potential misuse and abuse of over-the-counter and prescription medicine by young people,” explained Valente.
The American Medicine Chest Challenge has gained the national support of PhRMA, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), and Covanta.
Photo: The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is proud to bring an abridged one-hour sensory-friendly performance of American Repertory Ballet’s Nutcracker to the stage at the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway on Sunday, November 22 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets and info at ucpac.org or call the Box Office at 732-499-8226. PHOTO CREDIT – Richard Termine
The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is proud to bring a sensory-friendly performance of American Repertory Ballet’s Nutcracker to the stage at the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway on Sunday, November 22 at 2:00 p.m.
Available now, all tickets are $8 per person and can be purchased through the Union County Performing Arts Center at ucpac.org or by calling the Box Office at 732-499-8226.
“The sensory-friendly performance series is designed to offer a relaxed and safe theatre environment for children and adults with sensory sensitivities, developmental and learning disabilities,” said Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh. “The Freeholder Board is proud to help make this holiday classic accessible to families with children and adults of all abilities and needs.”
This abridged, one-hour Sensory Friendly performance of American Repertory Ballet’s (ARB) Nutcracker is adapted especially for children and adults with special needs.
ARB’s Nutcracker, a holiday tradition for New Jersey families since 1964, tells the story of a young girl named Clara and how her mysterious gift of a nutcracker doll brings about enchanted dreams and fantastical scenes. The dancers bring to life the production’s original party scene, choreographed by company founder Audrée Estey, before entering a snow forest and Land of Sweets, featuring choreography by Douglas Martin. Spectacular sets by Carl Sprague, including a spectacular growing Christmas tree, and costumes by Gina Ricca create the atmosphere of dreamlike magic.
Whether it’s your first time, an annual tradition, or an once-in-a-lifetime experience, ARB’s Nutcracker is a perfect holiday treat for your entire family to be transported and inspired.
For each of the performances in the Sensory Friendly Theatre series the theatre environment at the Union County PAC will be adjusted to provide a sensory-friendly, comfortable and judgment-free space that is welcoming for all families. Autism Friendly Spaces implements the supportive atmosphere at each of the Sensory-friendly performances. For more information on what to expect at a Sensory Friendly Theatre performance visit ucpac.org.
Save the dates – mark your calendar for upcoming Sensory-Friendly Theatre series performances sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders: Sundays – January 10, 2016, March 20, 2016, May 1, 2016 and July 31, 2016.
Union County’s Sensory Friendly Theatre series is made possible, in part, by funding from the NJ Department of Community Affairs through a Recreational Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities Grant.
For more information or to purchase tickets call the Union County Performing Arts Center, 732-499-8226 or visit ucpac.org. The UCPAC Box Office, located at 1601 Irving Street, Rahway, NJ, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 AM until 5:00 PM and is also open late on Thursdays until 8:00 PM.
For information on additional Union County recreational programs for people with disabilities age five and up, call the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation at 908-527-4806 or visit ucnj.org.
