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Union County Freeholders Linda Carter and Bette Jane Kowalski joined Union County College President Dr. Margaret M. McMenamin in welcoming the Linden High School Madrigals to the presentation of “Music in the Life of Langston Hughes” at Union County College in Cranford.

Sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs in the Department of Parks and Recreation, the performance celebrated the birth of James Mercer Langston Hughes on Feb. 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. Host Terrance McKnight presented a live adaptation of his radio documentary, “I, Too, Sing America: Music in the Life of Langston Hughes,” which was produced for WQXR, New York Public Radio.

Langston Hughes (1902-1967) was a poet, novelist, playwright and social activist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form known as jazz poetry. Hughes loved music. He wrote songs, opera librettos and gospel plays, and traveled with his record collection. A longtime resident of Harlem in New York City, Langston Hughes also lived in Westfield, New Jersey in the early 1930’s.

The Linden High School Madrigals performed during event.

(Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

Jobs in warehousing industry, Veterans given preference

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to announce that major warehouse and calling center companies in Union County are holding information sessions for 100 full time and part time job openings for packers, truck loaders and customer service call representatives.

The information sessions will be held at the Union County Workforce Innovation Business Center, at The Mills at Jersey Gardens, 651 Kapkowski Road in Elizabeth on February 9 and 10, at 10:00 and 2:00 p.m. Attendance at one of the sessions is mandatory for job seekers to be eligible to apply for a position. Veterans will be given hiring preference.

“The Workforce Innovation Center continues to be an economic engine for Union County, helping to match high quality local employers with qualified job seekers,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen. “If you are an employer, I encourage you to get in touch with us, and let our experienced staff help you find the right people for the right jobs.”

The Workforce Innovation Business Center was established by the Freeholder Board with Union County College through a $2.4 million investment in 2014, leveraging the employment services and education experience of both partners.

“The Center has outperformed our expectations, as we created more than a thousand job opportunities in little over a year for Union County residents,” said Freeholder Vice Chairman Sergio Granados, who is in his third year as the Freeholder liaison to the Union County Workforce Advisory Board. “As Liaison, I have asked the Workforce Development Board as a goal to prioritize the creation of more public-private partnerships to exceed the number of opportunities created last year.”

Granados also requested the Center prioritize the hiring of Veterans in support of Chairman Bergen’s 2016 “UC HERO” initiative, which encourages local employers to offer hiring preferences to military veterans. 

Previous Workforce Innovation Center hiring rounds have matched Union County job seekers with top employers including Whole Foods, Doctor Martens and AirServ, among others.

For more details about the new round of hiring and other information about the WIB center visit online at ucnj.org, call 908-355-4473 or email Isaias Rivera, isaias.rivera@ucc.edu.

Union County Freeholder Vice Chairman Sergio Granados (far r.) watched the installation of a web camera at the peregrine falcon nest site atop the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth this morning. The same falcon pair – one of only nesting 26 couples in New Jersey — has been raising chicks at the Courthouse since 2006, making their home in a round doghouse that provides stability in the windy environment. The in-nest “pinhole” camera will be online at the County website, ucnj.org, once the final adjustments are completed. An audio feed and a controllable outer camera will also be installed this summer, enabling bird fans and researchers to follow the action in and around the nest.  (Photos by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

On Dec. 2, 2015, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced that federal disaster loans are again available as a result of Hurricane Sandy.  These low-interest loans are available to small businesses, most private nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters located in New Jersey, regardless if they applied during the initial Hurricane Sandy disaster declaration or not.  To date, SBA has approved 131 loans totaling $5,099,500.

“We are seeing an increase in the number of applications, which tells us there are still  businesses and residents that have Hurricane Sandy related needs and who could use our disaster loan program,” said SBA’s Region II Regional Administrator Kellie LeDet.

LeDet, who oversees SBA’s programs and services for New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, added “The reopening of the SBA disaster declaration for Sandy provides a great opportunity for victims of Superstorm Sandy to get much needed funding at a low interest rate.”

According to LeDet, SBA’s customer service representatives are at Disaster Loan Outreach Centers to provide one-on-one assistance and answer questions. There is no cost to apply and no appointment is necessary. The Union County Center is open until further notice, with location and hours of operation below:

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to present an exhibit of photographs by Michael Endy in the gallery space at the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, located in the historic St. John’s Parsonage at 633 Pearl Street in Elizabeth. A selection of his work entitled “Lost Highway, a photographic hymn to New Jersey” is on display at the Pearl Street Gallery through March 25. The public is invited to enjoy the exhibit during regular gallery hours, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.

“Michael Endy is a talented, experienced photographer and a devoted supporter of local arts,” said Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski, liaison to the Union County Cultural and Heritage Advisory Board. “It’s a great pleasure to display his fine work.”

Mr. Endy began his artistic training as a child at Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute in Utica, New York. He continued his studies in photography and graphic design at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, receiving his BFA, cum laude, in 1988. Working in New York design agencies for over 20 years, Michael held the title of Creative Director at both Interbrand and Ogilvy CommonHealth before launching his own design consultancy in 2010. He has won more than 30 international design awards and is published in many graphic design books.

Michael and his family live in Westfield, NJ, where he is highly involved in the local art scene as President of the Westfield Art Association. He also is on the exhibition committee of the New Jersey Photography Forum, the publicity committee of the Contemporary Art Group, and a member of the Jersey Art Registry and Pro Arts Jersey City. As a fine art photographer, Michael exhibits extensively. Recent international exhibits include MoNA, the Museum of New Art, in Detroit; Arterie Fine Arts in Chicago; and the Center for Contemporary Art in Bedminster, NJ. Recent national exhibits include Photography Now, at the University Place Gallery in Cambridge, MA; the National Juried Photography Exhibit at Gallery 14 in Hopewell, NJ; and the RAW NJ exhibit at the Noyes Museum in Hammonton, NJ.

His self-published book, “Lost Highway, a photographic hymn to New Jersey,” has been selected for inclusion in Photobook 2015, and will soon be exhibited at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA. Visit his website www.michaelendyphotography.com.

Union County artists (whose works can be hung on a wall) interested in exhibiting in the gallery space are welcome to apply. For more information about the Pearl Street Gallery or other programs, please contact the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, 633 Pearl Street, Elizabeth NJ 07202. Free on-site parking is available. Telephone 908-558-2550. NJ Relay users can dial 711. Send E-mail to: culturalinfo@ucnj.org.

The Union County Freeholder Board today announced the Division of Social Services would be opening their offices in Elizabeth and Plainfield this Saturday from 9 a.m.-noon in an effort to assist residents wishing to enroll in ObamaCare before the deadline on Sunday, January 31^st.

The office addresses are: in Elizabeth at 342 Westminster Avenue; in Plainfield at 200 W. Second Street.

“Thanks in large part to the Affordable Care Act, more than 90 percent of Americans now have healthcare insurance,” said Freeholder Vice Chairman Sergio Granados. “Anyone who needs health insurance should make every attempt to enroll, and we are happy to offer this important assistance to our residents. One of the main reasons why we are providing this free service is also to avoid the penalties that residents could face by not being registered for health insurance.”

ObamaCare’s individual mandate requires that most Americans obtain and maintain health insurance, or an exemption, each month or pay a tax penalty. For more information on this penalty, please go to http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-individual-mandate/

The opening of both County offices on Saturday is strictly and solely to assist anyone who may be eligible for health coverage with meeting the requirements of the Affordable Care Act’s deadline which is this Sunday. The offices will not be accepting applications for any of their other services.

Anyone interested in applying for health insurance, should feel free to come to either of the offices at the specified time and bring the following documents: Photo ID for anyone above the age of 18, income verification, proof of address, proof of citizenship or legal residency.

More than 18 million Americans have enrolled in Obamacare since 2010. For more information on Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act, please go to: http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-open-enrollment/

Due to access and staffing issues in the wake of Saturday’s snow storm, the Union County Deer Management Program scheduled for Monday, January 25 is postponed to Wednesday, January 27.

Learn more about this program at www.ucnj.org/deer

The Union County Baseball Association will honor local student athletes for their achievements in 2015 and induct five new members into the Union County Baseball Hall of Fame during award ceremonies on Sunday afternoon, February 21, in Clark.

The 80^th annual Hot Stove League Baseball Dinner on Feb. 21^st begins at 1:00 p.m. at the Gran Centurions banquet hall, 440 Madison Hill Road, Clark NJ 07066. The dinner is sponsored by the Union County Baseball Association, in cooperation with the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation.

Among the honorees at this year’s “Hot Stove” event will be student athletes from local high schools, including: P.J. Walker and Jahad Thomas, graduates of Elizabeth High School who are now teammates at Temple University; Jackie Lima, a graduate of Linden High School who led the Ramapo College Roadrunners to their first NJAC Tournament Championship; Kathleen Walsh, another Linden graduate, who was named to the All Union County First Team and now plays for Walsh University in Ohio; Gianna Randazza, a junior at Arthur L. Johnson Regional High School in Clark, who was named Union County Player of the Year with the Crusaders; and Zack Lipshitz, named Union County Hitter of the Year with the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Raiders, who now plays for Drew University.

During the afternoon awards ceremonies, the UCBA will induct five new members into the Union County Baseball Hall of Fame: Joe Alvarez of Elizabeth, Ray Crepeau of Linden, Wally “Sam” Engelhardt of Elizabeth, Bruce Henderson of Rahway, and Damien Kane of Roselle.

Sparky Lyle, the 1977 Cy Young Award winner and a two-time World Series champion relief pitcher for the New York Yankees, will be the special guest speaker. The celebrated southpaw will always be remembered for his clutch pitching for the Yankees and his book about those days in pinstripes, “The Bronx Zoo.” Sparky Lyle also was the original manager par excellence of the Somerset Patriots during the ballclub’s first 15 years in Bridgewater (1998-2012).

Tickets for the dinner are $50 each. Proceeds will help fund the Union County Summer Youth Baseball League for youngsters 8 to 15 years, and the Fall Wood Bat League for teens.

Since 1937, the Hot Stove League Dinner has been the primary fund-raising effort for the Union County Baseball Association’s summer and fall programs. Over the years, the awards dinner has honored many local and national baseball luminaries – including Phil Rizzuto of Hillside, Don Newcombe of Elizabeth, Joe Collins of Union, Jeff Torborg of Mountainside, Willie Wilson of Summit, and Elliott Maddox of Union.

Tickets for the 80th Annual Union County Baseball Association Hot Stove League Dinner on Feb. 21st are available from the UCBA by visiting www.UCBA-NJ.org or by mailing a check to the Union County Baseball Association, PO Box 176, Fanwood NJ 07023. For more information, please call Jim Iozzi at 908-917-2523.