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Union County Freeholder Chairman Sergio Granados and Freeholder Angle G. Estrada present a resolution to Officer Leonardo Nunes of the Elizabeth Police Department honoring him for his heroic efforts to rescue and save the life of a young child after she had fallen into a swimming pool.

On August 26th, Officer Nunes arrived at a home where a 1-year old baby girl had fallen into a swimming pool. She had been underwater for about a minute before Officer Nunes rescued her and revived her using CPR. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Union County Improvement Authority joined with Federal, State and local officials, including Governor Phil Murphy in officially dedicating the former Park Madison government complex as the Assemblyman Gerald B. Green Plaza in honor of the late Plainfield resident.

Green served 27 years as one of Union County’s most popular and enduring elected officials in the State Assembly for the 22nd district. He championed the creation of the complex in 2004, which includes County social services, State job training services and private businesses, serving as an anchor for revitalization in Plainfield’s Downtown. Green’s widow, Wanda, and brother Sheldon spoke at the ceremony, which was emceed by Green’s legislative running mate, State Senator Nicholas P. Scutari (D-22), and included tributes from Freeholder Chairman Sergio Granados, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp, Assemblywoman Linda Carter, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin.

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders invites residents to participate in the Fall Fishing Derby for People with Special Needs on Saturday, September 22^nd, at Echo Lake Park in Mountainside. This event is free of charge and runs from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

“This is a wonderful way to celebrate the last days of warmer weather in our parks,” said Freeholder Chairman Sergio Granados. “We invite residents young and old to come and enjoy the outdoors at this fun event.”

The Newark Bait and Fly Casting Club are co-sponsoring the fishing derby and will be providing a hot dog lunch as well as organizing contests. Prizes will be awarded to participants.

The fishing derby is open to all ages. Chairs and fishing poles will be provided but participants are welcome to bring their own. The rain date for this event is Sunday, September 23^rd from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p/m/

Pre-registration is required for this free event. To register or to learn about other events planned by the Office for People with Special Needs, visit www.ucnj.org/opsn-reg or call 908-527-4781.

The Office for People with Special needs partners with community centers, schools, colleges, YMCAs, businesses, support organizations and volunteer groups to present recreation programs at county facilities as well as locations in various municipalities. Programs are for ages five through adult.

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders invites residents and visitors to the 2018 Union County World War I Film Festival at the Linden Public Library from September 7 to November 2. Admission is free of charge.

“Remembering our past is the best way to ensure that we make progress in the future,” said Freeholder Chairman Sergio Granados. “Many motion pictures have been produced about what was, until then, the bloodiest conflict in human history. The World War I Film Festival provides an excellent educational opportunity for residents and visitors to be reminded of the historical facts and see them through different perspectives.”

The Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs has partnered with the Linden Library to present nine films, with WWI as a central theme, as seen from the French, British, American and German sides of the conflict. Each movie will be shown free of charge on Friday afternoons starting at 1:00 at the Linden Public Library in the Columbia Bank Room.

The film festival is part of the “WWI Centennial Events” series, running since April 2017 through the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs. The series commemorates the Centennial of the United States’ entry into World War I through lectures, presentations and events.

November 11 marks the centennial of the armistice signed that ended what came to be known as The Great War.

The World War I Film Festival is funded in part by a grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of Cultural Affairs in the Department of State.

The screening schedule is as follows:

• September 7  The African Queen  (1951; 105 mins)
• September 14  Oh What a Lovely War   (1969; 144 mins)
• September 21 All Quiet on the Western Front (1930; 136 mins)
• September 28 In Love and War  (1996; 113 mins)
• October 5  Joyeux Noel  (2005; 116 mins)
• October 12  Gallipoli  (1981; 110 mins)
• October 19   Sergeant York  (1941; 134 mins)
• October 26   War Horse (2011; 146 mins)
• November 2   Wings  (1927; 144 mins)                                              

For more information on this and other programs from the Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs visit www.ucnj.org/cultural or call 908-558-2550

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders will present a free workshop, “Harness the Power of Google” on Thursday, September 20^th from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Liberty Hall Wagon Shed Building, located at 1003 Morris Avenue in Union Township.

“Non-profit organizations have a constant need for free resources that help them expand their reach,” said Freeholder Chairman Sergio Granados. “The ‘Harness the Power of Google’ Workshop will introduce local cultural organizations to the current free Google tools available to them as well as equip them with the blueprint for leveraging these tools to increase their visibility and reach within our communities.”

The workshop is designed for arts, cultural and history organizations. Participants are invited to learn specific ways to use Google’s latest free tools to boost traffic to their organization’s website, increase audience engagement, and post events to increase their audience. Attendees will also learn about strategies to attract and manage online reviews, hear about voice search — a rapidly expanding portion of search queries, and more. Time permitting, the session may cover rudimentary basics of Google Ad Grants.

“This session will provide a terrific opportunity for non-profits to learn about current tools and techniques for promoting their cultural programs at no cost,” said Freeholder Bruce H. Bergen, liaison to the Union County Cultural and Heritage Programs Advisory Board.

Bruce Mishkin, the President of Adventix, will present the workshop. He brings fifteen years of experience in developing Google AdWords advertising campaigns for local and national businesses to his work at Adventix, a marketing and advertising agency specializing in helping arts organizations achieve success in the digital landscape. He is also an expert on local search engine optimization.

The workshop is funded in part by a grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. It is presented through the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, in the Department of Parks and Recreation.

The workshop is free but pre-registration is required by September 19^th. 

To register, contact the Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs by email at culturalinfo@ucnj.org or call 908-558-2550 (NJ Relay users dial 711). The Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs is located at 633 Pearl Street in Elizabeth. For more information on all programs and activities, visit online at ucnj.org/parks-recreation/cultural-heritage-affairs.

The Archery Range will be closed on Sunday, September 9^, 2018 from 9:00am – 2:00pm

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Department of Parks and Recreation invites everyone to come out to the Trailside Nature & Science Center in Mountainside on Sunday, September 30 for Rockin the Reservation. Formerly known as Harvest Festival, this is a day of live music and hands on family friendly activities.

“Rockin the Reservation will provide families the opportunity to explore the Watchung Reservation while enjoying the music and many activities planned for the day,” said Freeholder Chairman Sergio Granados.

Rockin the Reservation will run from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. with live country music featuring Big Hix, an exciting and fun country music tribute band, performing non-stop, high energy country hits. Also performing will be October Rose, a country duo from the New York/New Jersey area who bring passion, drive and determination to their music.

Along with music, the day will include plenty of other activities that residents have come to love at the Harvest Festival, including art demonstrations, interactive art and music, a petting zoo, pony rides, scarecrow building, a pumpkin patch, multi-cultural dancing, music demonstrations, food trucks, instruments and sensory trail tours.

Admission to Rockin the Reservation is $5, with children ages 7 and under admitted free of charge. There will be a fee charged for some activities.

Trailside Nature & Science Center is located at 452 New Providence Road in Mountainside. For more information, call (908) 789-3670 or visit www.ucnj.org/fall.