Author: Web Site Administrator

During the week of April 25h, PSE&G crews will work at the following locations for the construction of the Bergen-Linden Corridor (BLC) electric transmission reliability project, www.pseg.com/blc:

• conduit installation on Kapkowski Road from North Ave. to Jersey Gardens Boulevard
• conduit installation on Veterans Memorial Drive from Jersey Gardens Boulevard to Trumbull Street
• When the conduit is complete to Trumbull Street, the crew will move to Jersey Gardens Boulevard at the intersection of Kapkowski Road and proceed on Jersey Gardens Boulevard towards Veterans Memorial Drive.
• manhole installation on Trumbull Street at Veterans Memorial Drive
• sewer lining on the remainder of Second Street with short runs at various intersections. Elizabeth extra-duty traffic control officers will progress with the crew and ensure the safety of the general travelling public.

You can visit www.pseg.com/blc and a City of Elizabeth specific link is listed under the heading “What’s Happening in Your Town.”

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Department of Parks and Recreation invite families with children of all ages and adults alike to climb aboard a variety of public safety vehicles at this year’s “Touch A Truck” event on Sunday afternoon, May 1.  The event will run from 12:00 P.M. until 5:00 P.M., rain or shine in the Lower Loop Parking Lot of the Watchung Reservation. There will also be a quiet hour, from 11:00 A.M. until 12:00 P.M. where children sensitive to noise will be able to enjoy the vehicles on display.

“Once again we are happy to host Touch A Truck at the Loop in Watchung Reservation to give youngsters an opportunity to not only see these magnificent machines, but to actually climb abroad and experience the excitement of being behind the wheel,” said Union County Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen.

Among the vehicles on display at this year’s event will be the Union County Police Department’s SWAT vehicle, nicknamed “The Bear.” The department will also have a patrol SUV on site.

Hazmat will offer its big rig, and the Union County Department of Public Works will return with its mammoth white milling machine which is used to strip the top off of roads to prepare them for paving. The companion vehicle, the paver, will also be there, along with a bucket truck used for high tree trimming.

Attendees can also see multiple trucks with snow plows, payloaders, backhoe, and hook/flatbed tow. And of course, fire truck department equipment from the Mountainside Fire Department is also planned for display.

Admission to the Touch A Truck event is $4 per person, with children 6 years old and under admitted free.

The Loop Area is located just off Tracy Drive in Mountainside, in between Glenside Avenue and Summit Road. It features a very popular playground area for the kids, and the concession stand will be open. Visitors may also visit the Watchung Stable and the Deserted Village of Feltville/Glenside Park. Also, Lake Surprise is just a short walk where residents can see the new damn.

For more information on Touch A Truck, or any event in the Union County Parks System, please visit our website at ucnj.org/parks.

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders proudly congratulates the students of Union County Vocational-Technical Schools’ (UCVTS) robotics team Parallel Universe/FRC Team 1257 as they advance to the World Championship competition in St. Louis next week.

Competing against sixty of the top teams in the Mid-Atlantic Region, last weekend the UCVTS team won the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Mid-Atlantic Robotics District Championship held at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The win came alongside UCVTS alliance partners, Team 225 from York, PA, and Team 341 from Ambler, PA.

“FIRST robotics develops not only technical skills but also critical-thinking, leadership and communication skills,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen. “These students are our future innovators, engineers, scientists and researchers, and the Freeholder Board congratulates them on their remarkable accomplishment.”

Through the FIRST program, the UCVTS robotics team students work together throughout the school year to build a robot, forge sponsor relationships, host STEM community outreach programs, and compete in district, regional, and international competitions.

This exhilarating robotics program combines the excitement of spectator sports with the rigor of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. FIRST has a unique culture because although it embraces the spirit of competition, it also heavily emphasizes the values of respect, empathy, and cooperation. It is meant to inspire students around the world to become leaders in science and technology, as well as business and design.

“Thanks to support from our school, community, and sponsors, we are proud to be representing our school district and Union County next week in St. Louis,” said Peter Capodice, UCVTS Superintendent of Schools.

The FIRST World Championship will place in St. Louis, Missouri, from April 27 to April 30 with 600 teams from 32 different countries across the globe gathering together in the Edward Jones Dome to compete at the Championship Event. This is UCVTS Parallel Universe/FRC Team 1257’s first time attending the FRC Championship in over 10 years.

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders sponsors students from Union County high schools to participate in the first annual Drama Festival next week in Rahway.

High school students from Rahway High School, Union County Academy for the Performing Arts, and Abraham Clark High School, as well as students from Montclair and Bound Brook, are registered to participate in the day-long Drama Festival.  Produced by American Theater Group, a nonprofit professional theatre company, the event is scheduled to be held at UCPAC’s Hamilton Stage in Rahway on Thursday, April 28.

“The new Drama Festival will provide a unique opportunity for students to develop their craft, learn from trained theatre professionals and educators, and perform on a professional stage,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen. “The entire experience is a great opportunity to enhance student learning and creative thinking, explore imagination, and promote teamwork and collaboration.”

Each school participating in the Drama Festival will have the opportunity to present a scene from a play or musical to a panel of working members of the Broadway theatre industry who will offer in-depth critiques of the student presentations.

Students will also have an opportunity to participate in a workshop with Tony-Award winning actress Michele Pawk and preeminent Broadway Fight Choreographer Rick Sordelet.

In addition, after the day’s events, students will attend a performance of ATG’s production of Crossing Swords.  This world premiere musical is about a group of high school students who attempt to put on a play, and end up seeing life imitate art as passions ignite and jealousies fly.  The day’s events culminate with a post-performance Q&A with the cast and creative team of Crossing Swords, including writer and composer Joe Slabe.

American Theater Group (ATG) is one of New Jersey’s newest nonprofit professional theatre companies.  Founded by New Jersey natives Jim Vagias, Joe Mancuso and Rick Sordelet, and under the Board leadership of Tony-Award winning actress Michele Pawk, ATG’s mission is to produce works by American Playwrights, with an emphasis on the development of new works and undeservedly neglected classics, and to nurture the audiences and artists of tomorrow by strong arts-in-education programming.  Now in its fourth season, ATG produces in the new state-of-the-art facility, Hamilton Stage, an intimate 199 seat theater that is operated by the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway.

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)

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.

COUNTY OF UNION ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH HOME FOR GOOD DOG RESCUE

County to co-sponsor public events in Summit and Cranford promoting dog adoptions and family fun with Berkeley Heights-based non-profit

UNION COUNTY— The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders announced it will co-sponsor events this year supporting Home for Good Dog Rescue, a Berkeley Heights-based non-profit organization which works to save dogs from high-kill shelters, and place them in loving homes.

“We are pleased to announce this partnership to support Home for Good Dog Rescue in their mission to provide happy, healthy pets with a permanent home,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen, who is also a dog owner. “These are dogs who through no fault of their own, wound up facing euthanization, and deserve a second chance at life.”

As part of his Freeholder initiatives for 2016, Chairman Bergen announced the County would partner with an organization that would run a dog event. Bergen also announced efforts to create a regional animal shelter that would provide municipalities with a consistent level of animal control while promoting humane treatment.

The sponsorship of Home for Good Dog Rescue will involve providing equipment and materials, and manpower for an upcoming event at Nomahegan Park on April 30^th in Cranford—the 5K Run and 5K Doggy Dash, and for their signature event, their sixth annual Bark-A-Que and Dog Adoption event coming up on September 10th at the Village Green in Summit.

“We are so thrilled to partner with the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, especially for our upcoming 5K Run and Doggy Dash later this month,” Shari Gold, Home for Good Dog Rescue’s Manager of Development, said. “Last year’s event at Nomahegan Park was great, and we know that with the county’s support, this year will be even better!”

Various studies have shown pets (particularly dogs) to be psychologically, emotionally and physically beneficial. Pet ownership can provide a sense of purpose and fulfillment and lessen feelings of loneliness and isolation in all age groups. 

Also, animal advocates note that shelter adoptions are also another way to combat the burgeoning puppy mill business–“factory style” breeding facilities that put profit above the welfare of dogs. Animals from puppy mills are housed in poor conditions with improper medical care, and are often very sick and behaviorally troubled as a result. Earlier this year, the County of Union passed a resolution supporting NJ State Senator Raymond Lesniak’s bill that would ban or curtail the operation of puppy mills in New Jersey.

Home for Good Dog Rescue is a 100% foster-based, non-profit 501(c) (3) dog rescue established in 2010 in Summit, New Jersey with offices in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey.

The Second Annual 5K Run and Doggy Dash event coming up on April 30^th from 8 a.m.-11 a.m. at Nomahegan Park in Cranford. The event is on a USATF Certified course.  There will also be a 1 Mile Dog Walk for non-runners.  You can register online at: Register.Compuscore.com/HomeforGood5K.

The event will be held from 8A.M-11A.M. rain or shine. There will be t-shirts, refreshments and prizes awarded to the top 5K runners and the top 5K runner/canine teams.  For more information about Home for Good Dog Rescue, please go to: http://homeforgooddogs.org/

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)