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Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen (tan shirt) and Freeholder Vice Chairman Sergio Granados (blue shirt) mark the opening of the newly renovated tennis courts at Warinanco Park in Roselle.  New laser graded clay surfaces were installed, as well as new nets, court lines, lighting and a sprinkler system. The tennis courts are open, seven days a week from 7 a.m.-9 p.m. through permit by calling the Union County Parks Reservation Desk at 908-527-4900 during normal work hours, Monday to Friday.

On Monday August 1, Union County Police Officer Steven Neuman conducted a motor vehicle stop for a passenger seatbelt violation. The stop resulted in the arrest of the driver on weapon and drug charges.

After conducting the stop, Officer Neuman detected the odor of marijuana from the vehicle, and observed bullets and empty plastic baggies in the door pocket. He then recovered a black revolver from the center console along with several plastic baggies containing suspected marijuana. Officer Neuman arrested the driver, Daniel Arbelaez-Duque, age 23, of Elizabeth. Arbelaez-Duque was charged with one count of possession of a handgun and one count of possession of marijuana under 50 grams. Bail was set at $50,000 and he is currently in the County Jail pending an August 12 court date. The handgun will be analyzed by the Union County Police Forensic Firearms Identification Unit.

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is proud to bring the final two free performances of the Shakespeare in the Park tour of Twelfth Night to Rahway River Park this Friday, August 7 at 7 p.m., and Oak Ridge Park in Clark on Monday, August 8 at 7 p.m. Admission is free to each of the performances.

Pack a picnic and bring a blanket or lawn chairs and head out to enjoy Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s Next Stage Ensemble’s abridged 75-minute performance of this time-honored story of mistaken identities, bewildering desires, practical jokes, and bawdy merriment – all in the name of love.  

“This summer’s tour of Twelfth Night in our parks provides an opportunity for residents of all ages to experience the most remarkable storyteller the world has ever known,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen.

Set in the land of Illyria, Twelfth Night is one of William Shakespeare’s most riotous comedies. Disguises, mistaken identities, and the chaos of love take center stage as Viola washes ashore after her ship wrecks off the coast and, disguising herself as a boy for safety, is immediately embroiled in the clever and romantic schemes of the Duke and Olivia. At the same time, Olivia’s servants convince one of their own—Malvolio—that Olivia is in love with him. Viola’s twin brother, Sebastian, adds to the mix and confusion until a happy ending for most is attained.

For more information or for a complete listing of summer events visit ucnj.org/summer.

Union County Freeholder Vice Chairman Sergio Granados, Freeholders Linda Carter, Bette Jane Kowalski and Angel Estrada joined Sheriff Joseph Cryan in congratulating the graduates of the 2016 Union County Sheriff’s Youth Police Academy during a ceremony at the Rahway High School Performing Arts Center. More than 90 middle and high school students from throughout Union County participated in this year’s program.

Recruits in the youth academy received hands-on experience in a wide variety of emergency services and law enforcement functions and training.  In addition, the youths had the opportunity to learn respect for law enforcement through positive interaction during their time in the program.

During the two-week program, the teens engaged in a physical training regime twice a day while attending lectures on subjects such as crime scene investigations, K-9 and motor vehicle stops.

Through classes trips and visits by guest speakers, the recruits met with representatives from the Elizabeth Police Department, the Union County Police Department, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, Union County Corrections, the Union County SWAT Team, the New Jersey State Police, NJ department of Corrections, Elizabeth EMS, the Kenilworth Police Department, the Hillside Police Department, the Roselle Police Department and the Cranford Police Department.

Award-winning documentary presented as part of Freeholder Board’s UCHERO initiative assisting Veterans

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders will co-sponsor a special screening of “Thank You for Your Service,” an award-winning documentary that explores the nation’s superficial understanding of war trauma, including PTSD, and the flawed policies surrounding it. The movie will be shown on Wednesday, September 7th beginning 6:30 p.m. at the Hamilton Stage Theatre, 360 Hamilton Street, in Rahway.

“This documentary succeeds in calling attention to the mental health issues that many of today’s Veterans face upon returning from war, as well as calling for a new approach to these problems,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce Bergen. “It’s a film all Americans should see to gain an understanding of what our Veterans are going through, and to begin a dialogue on what we can do to help.”

The film is being presented as part of Chairman Bergen’s UC HERO initiative for 2016, which assists Veterans. For more information, please go to: https://ucnj.org/uc-hero/

Following the screening, there will be a panel discussion involving the film’s Director Tom Donahue, and members of the film production company which he co-founded, CreativeChaosVMG, participants from Veterans groups, County Government, and other soon-to-be announced agencies. Admission is free, however, those wishing to, may make a suggested donation of $3. The theatre is located at 360 Hamilton Street in Rahway.

“Less than 1 percent of the population serves in the military now, and that is part of the reason why the public is so largely unaware of the issues they are facing,” said Donahue, who hopes the film creates enough awareness to spark the creation of a Behavioral Health Corps as a Division of the Department of Defense.

 In fact, Donohue has created a website dedicated to the creation of the agency (and about “Thank You For Your Service) and hopes everyone who sees the movie will visit www.bhcnow.com to get involved. (Trailer: https://vimeo.com/156195376 )

“I believe very strongly in the power of documentary filmmaking to affect change,” Donahue said in a recent interview.

The issues that many of today’s Veterans face, including PTSD and suicide, are personal ones for Donahue, whose father and many relatives were Army Veterans. Also, one of Donahue’s closest friends committed suicide when he was 21-years-old.

The film opens with a quote from an op-ed by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times in 2012 entitled A Veteran’s Death, a Nation’s Shame: “For every soldier killed on the battlefield this year, about 25 Veterans are dying by their own hands.”

“Thank You for Your Service” interweaves the stories of four Iraq War Veterans with interviews of top military and civilian leaders, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Admiral Mike Mullen, Generals David Petraeus and Loree Sutton, Nicholas Kristof, Dexter Filkins, Senator Patty Murray, Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson.

The film examines why the military was not better prepared for the impact of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq on U.S. service members, the lessons forgotten from past wars and the need for wide-scale reform to prevent the loss of a generation of brave men and women.

The movie has been called “gripping, wrenching, and persuasive” by the Village Voice and “a film every American should see” by the Star Ledger. The Military Times said it is “generating Oscar buzz.”

The documentary is currently being shown at film festivals around the country, and is scheduled for theatrical release in early October. It won “Best Documentary at the GI Film Festival in DC, and the “Impact Award” at the Illuminate Festival.

Donahue has produced and edited numerous features and documentaries that, combined, have won over twenty­ five awards at such prestigious festivals as Sundance, Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, SxSW, Venice, San Sebastian and TriBeCa. Donahue also directed the Emmy-nominated Casting By documentary (2013, HBO), which featured interviews with Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Al Pacino and others.

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders announces that the next mobile paper-shredding programs for personal, confidential documents will visit Union on Saturday, August 13.

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

The August 13^th shredding event will take place on the Kean University campus, 1000 Morris Avenue in the Township of Union, in the parking lot on the corner of Morris Ave. and Green Lane, across from the Union Train Station. 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 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