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Orchestra will kick off Union County’s Summer Arts Festival Series with program featuring movie selections, as well as works from Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Beethoven and Rossini

MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ—The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders are pleased to announce the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra will kick off the 56th annual Summer Arts Festival Concert Series at Echo Lake Park in Mountainside on Friday June 24th at 7:30 p.m.

The Orchestra will perform musical selections from :Ghostbusters,” “Star Wars,” “The Godfather: Part III,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Moulin Rouge,”  and “Batman” as well as pieces from Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Beethoven, and Rossini.

The show is free, and visitors are urged to pack a picnic basket, bring lawn chairs or blankets. Refreshments and snacks will also be available from vendors. As with all festival concerts throughout the Summer, attendees can also participate in Union County Get Fit Yoga program beginning at 6:30 p.m. Bring a mat or beach towel and participate in the healthy activities for the entire family. In the event of rain, the concert (only) will be held on the same date and time at the Wilkins Theatre at Kean University in Union.

“The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra is one of the state’s cultural treasures and we are excited to feature them as our opening act for our Summer Arts Festival,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen. “We encourage our residents to enjoy the music under the stars, and a memorable night of classical entertainment.”

Named “a vital, artistically significant musical organization” by The Wall Street Journal, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) embodies that vitality through its statewide presence and critically acclaimed performances, education partnerships and unparalleled access to music and the Orchestra’s superb musicians.

The NJSO presents classical, pops and family programs, as well as outdoor summer concerts and special events throughout the state. For more information about the NJSO, please go to http://www.njsymphony.org/

The other free concerts in the Union County Summer Arts Festival series are scheduled for Wednesday nights throughout July in Echo Lake and then in August at Oak Ridge Park in Clark:

Echo Lake Park, Mountainside

• June 24th New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
• July 6th Tusk – Tribute to Fleetwood Mac
• July 13th American Rapture
• July 20th Ed Palermo’s British Invasion/Beach Boys Tribute
• July 27th Pat Dinizio of The Smithereens – Confessions of a Rock Star

Oak Ridge Park, Clark

• August 3rd Black Dog – Tribute to Led Zeppelin
• August 10th Dead On Live – Grateful Dead Tribute Band
• August 17th Hey Bulldog – Music of The Beatles
• August 24th N.Y. State of Mind – Billy Joel Tribute

Union County Freeholders Vernell Wright, Bette Jane Kowalski and Alexander Mirabella congratulate Jason Cruz of the Cranford Fire Department on graduating from the Union County Fire Training Academy as part of the Fall 2015 Class and earning the Battalion Chief Ken Nocera Memorial Award for Outstanding Excellence in Firefighter 1 and the Ben Laganga Leadership Award during a graduation ceremony at Union County College in Cranford. They are joined by Cranford Fire Chief Daniel Czeh. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

Union County Freeholders Vernell Wright, Bette Jane Kowalski and Alexander Mirabella congratulate Cassandra Kinney of the Mountainside Fire Department on graduating from the Union County Fire Training Academy as part of the Fall 2015 Class and earning the Chief Anthony Schepis Award for Excellence in Firefighter 1 during a graduation ceremony at Union County College in Cranford. They are joined by Mountainside Fire Deputy Chief Andrew Meeks. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

Partnership with UCEDC Broadens Access to Working Capital for Women Entrepreneurs

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is proud to announce a partnership with UCEDC, a nonprofit economic development corporation, to offer women business owners in Union County access to zero-percent working capital financing.

The unprecedented interest elimination on loans up to $25,000 is made possible by grants from Investors Bank and the Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program, powered by Bank of America.

“We know that women-owned businesses contribute substantially to the County’s economy and have the potential to do even more,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen. “With UCEDC’s help, we’ve launched this program to give hard-working women entrepreneurs the boost they need to get their businesses to the next level.”

The loan program, offered exclusively to women-owned businesses in Union County, offers up to $25,000 at zero-percent interest for five years with no collateral requirements.  Eligible borrowers will have been in business for at least three years, be profitable in their latest tax return, and have a personal credit score of at least 680.

“Working capital is the lifeblood of small businesses and unfortunately, women-owned businesses often come up short,” said Freeholder Vice Chairman Sergio Granados. “With the elimination of all interest payments on this loan, we’re hoping that more women entrepreneurs will now have the cash they need to grow their business.”

Women borrowers who may not qualify for the zero-percent loan program have an attractive alternative, also made possible by the Freeholders and UCEDC.  Women-owned businesses are eligible for a two-percentage point discount on their interest rate for loans up to $50,000.  This program is available to start-up and established businesses.

“No matter what stage your business is in, even it’s still just an idea that you’re considering, we encourage you to contact UCEDC for more information about the unique financing options we’ve established to support small business growth,” said Chairman Bergen.

To learn more about UCEDC’s loan programs for small businesses, visit the website at www.ucedc.com or call 908-527-1166.

Union County Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen and Freeholders Bette Jane Kowalski and Vernell Wright joined Jewish Family Service of Central New Jersey Executive Director Tom Beck, Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) Project Manager Elie Bodner and RSVP Project Coordinator Nathalie Garcia in congratulating Joseph Yorey of Cranford during the Union County RSVP Volunteer recognition luncheon at Kean University in Union. Yorey was honored for volunteering the most time, 200 hours, the past year during. More than one hundred senior citizens were recognized for their service during the event.

Freeholder Vernell Wright, a cancer survivor, delivered this inspired speech in her hometown of Union Township to participants in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life fundraiser.

Letter sent to Mayors of all 21 towns to apply for 15-passenger vehicle to provide senior transportation

UNION COUNTY—-The Union County Freeholder Board today announced that letters have been sent out to all 21 Mayors of Union County inviting them to apply for a 15-seat passenger van provided by the County as part of Chairman Bruce H. Bergen’s “Seniors in Motion” initiative for 2016.

The initiative, which was last implemented in 2001, will provide municipalities that request it, with a passenger van (purchased by the County) for senior transport in the Fall. 

“Seniors are a growing segment of the Union County population and we remain committed to providing services to assist them,” said Freeholder Chairman Bergen. “They are an asset to our community as a whole and continue to shape our County in a positive way.”

Participating municipalities will keep the vehicle for its lifetime, and will be responsible for the provision of insurance, vehicle maintenance and provision of qualified drivers who hold a Commercial Drivers’ License (CDL). Some municipalities that participated in the 2001 initiative, had maintained their aging vehicles, and contacted the County about renewing the initiative this year.

Bergen declared 2016 as “the year of the Senior,” announcing the “Seniors in Motion” program and “Senior Focus” initiative, dedicated to improving and enhancing senior centers throughout the County.

Additionally, Union County’s existing Paratransit system will continue to provide rides, at minimal cost, for transportation to medical treatments and other related activities. The Paratransit fleet can accommodate those in wheelchairs and walkers and makes regularly scheduled trips to the Lyons VA Medical Center and the East Orange VA Medical Center.

Mayors wishing to participate in the “Seniors in Motion” initiative, should send a letter of interest by July 18th to:

For any questions, please contact the Office of the Director, Department of Human Services, at (908) 527-4808.

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders announces that the next mobile paper-shredding program for personal, confidential documents will visit Scotch Plains on Sunday, June 26.

“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 June 26th shredding event will take place at the Union County Vo-Tech Schools campus in Scotch Plains, 1776 Raritan Road in Scotch Plains. 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 on Thursday, July 21, at Rahway River Park in Rahway.

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 .