Author: Web Site Administrator

(From left) Union County Freeholder Chairman Linda Carter and Freeholders Bette Jane Kowalski and Vernell Wright joined Union County College (UCC) student athletes Shandy Fitts and Giavanni Shim, both of Roselle, Donna Herran of the UCC Board of Governors, former professional basketball player Carol Blazejowski and UCC President Margaret McMenamin at the college’s 1st Annual Outstanding Women Leaders Celebration at the UCC Cranford Campus.

The event marked the 40th anniversary of Title IX, a portion of the Education Amendments of 1972, which states “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

Carol “Blaze” Blazejowski, an alumna of Cranford High School and Montclair State University, served as captain of the U.S. Women’s Olympic basketball team and was later inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame. She is also the former president and general manager of Women’s National Basketball Association’s New York Liberty.

(Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

Union County Freeholders Bette Jane Kowalski (L) and Bruce Bergen present a resolution to Miriam Gershwin of Springfield congratulating her on being named the 2012 Woman of the Year by the Springfield Chapter of Hadassah during a meeting at the Springfield Public Library devoted to Holocaust Remembrance. Miriam is a Holocaust survivor. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

Union County Freeholder Vice Chairman Christopher Hudak (R) and Freeholder Alexander Mirabella (L) speak with (from 2nd L) Suellen Erwin, president of Infusion Funding, Anthony Silva, Vice President, Business Lending of Investors Bank and Ellen McHenry, Senior Director of Financing with the UCEDC, at the Union County Means Business (UCMB) breakfast networking session titled “Business Development Opportunities,” at Snuffy’s Pantagis Renaissance in Scotch Plains.

UCMB is an initiative of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders in partnership with leading members of the business, non-profit, academic and government sectors.

Now in its second year, UCMB has grown to include a number of new programs including a full-day “Union County Women Mean Business” event scheduled for Wednesday, June 19 at the new Clubhouse in Union County’s Galloping Hill golf course in Kenilworth.

For more information visit www.ucnj.org/ucmeansbusiness.

(Photo by Jim Lowney, County of Union)

Union County, NJ – The Union County Department of Human Services will send trained personnel out to public libraries in different parts of the County starting on May 9, to help senior citizens apply for local, state and federal assistance programs. The program is free and available to all Union County senior citizens.

Persons with disabilities who are under age 60 may also qualify for some forms of assistance, and are welcome to attend.

“This outreach program is designed to help ensure that every Union County senior citizen obtains the assistance for which they are eligible,” said Freeholder Chairman Linda Carter. “If are not sure if you qualify, or if you have tried to work through the process before and found the paperwork too daunting, I urge you to come to one of the events and let our trained staff give you a hand.”

At each event, outreach staff from the Union County Division on Aging and Disability Resource Connection will help seniors apply for home energy and medication assistance through the LIFE LINE, HEAP, and PAAD programs.

The events include screening for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) eligibility. Information on other resources, including the Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP), will also be available.

The dates and locations are:

• Thursday, May 9, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Summit Public Library, 75 Maple Avenue.
• Tuesday, June 11, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Westfield Public Library.
• Thursday, June 13, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Linden Public Library, 31 East Henry Street.
• Thursday, June 20, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Mountainside Public Library, at Constitution Plaza.

The Union County Division on Aging and Disability Resource Connection was formed in response to a 2012 state initiative. The goal is to bring seniors and persons with disabilities together with resources that can help them continue living in their homes and communities.

It builds on longstanding programs of Union County’s formerly titled Division on Aging, which has roots in the 1965 Older Americans Act.

The Division on Aging and Disability Resource Connection provides care management services for Medicaid Waiver Programs and other popular programs that help to promote wellness, independence, dignity and choice for seniors and their families.  These include respite care, nutrition programs including Meals on Wheels, the Farmers Market food voucher program, and nutrition education.

For more information about assistance and resources through the Union County Division on Aging and Disability Resource Connection, call toll-free 888-280-8226, or visit Union County online at ucnj.org.

##

Please join the County of Union online at www.ucnj.org, on Facebook at www.ucnj.org/facebook, and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/countyofunionnj.

UNION, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders will recognize local artists and present awards at a reception on Wednesday, May 8, at the 12th Annual Exhibit and Contest for County of Union Employees and Their Families. The free reception and awards ceremony will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Elizabethtown Gas Company, located in the Liberty Hall Center, 1085 Morris Avenue in Union.

“This show offers a chance for our Union County employees and family members to shine,” said Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski, liaison to the Union County Cultural and Heritage Programs Advisory Board. “The artwork that they do in their spare time is outstanding, and we are proud to display it in the beautiful atrium space of the Liberty Hall Center. We are grateful to Elizabethtown Gas for hosting the program, and to the National Arts Program Foundation for funding the prize awards.”

Presented in partnership with the National Arts Program®, the exhibit will be open weekdays from May 8 to May 28, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“The Freeholders share the goal of the National Arts Program Foundation to reach as many people as possible of all ages, offering them a chance to show their creations,” said Freeholder Chairman Linda Carter. “We invite you to view this exhibit of exceptional artwork at the Liberty Hall Center during the month of May.”

The art exhibit will be judged by three prominent artists and arts administrators: Rachael Faillace, Frank Falotico and Barbara Wallace.

Rachael Faillace is executive director of Rahway Arts District, Inc. She is also an artist and independent curator. Rachael has curated more than 25 exhibitions to date and coordinated more than 50 shows as a gallery administrator. As an artist, she has exhibited at numerous notable galleries and universities in the tri-state area, most recently in The Garden Statement Project at Kean University in Union. She has a Master of Fine Art degree from Mason Gross School of the Arts, New Brunswick, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Rhode Island School of Design.

Frank Falotico is the Director of the duCret School of Art in Plainfield. Mr. Falotico has a B.A. in Fine Art from Monmouth College, is a graduate of the duCret School of Art and studied at the Art Students League in New York. He has exhibited his paintings in numerous shows in New Jersey and New York including the Swain Galleries in Plainfield, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, Rutgers University, and the Salmagundi Club in New York City.

Barbara Wallace began her artistic training at the Art Students League of New York. She received her BFA in Painting from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and her MFA in Sculpture from the University of Pennsylvania. Wallace is an Adjunct Professor at Kean University and Passaic County Community College. She has been honored to be a participant in the 2013 Emerge 11 at the Aljira Gallery in Newark. Her upcoming exhibitions will be at the Arsenal Gallery in Manhattan; the Pearl Street Gallery in the Union County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs, Elizabeth; and the Bloomfield College Gallery.

The National Arts Program® is in its 31st year and runs 91 annual programs reaching 450 cities in 42 states. The program was conceived by Leonard E.B. Andrews (1925 – 2009), an art collector, publisher, business executive and journalist “for the encouragement and development of artistic expression.” The goal of the National Arts Program® is to provide an uninhibited opportunity for people to present their talent, at whatever level, in a free, public exhibition. The National Arts Program® is sponsored by The National Arts Program Foundation of Malvern, Pennsylvania. To learn more about the program, visit www.thenationalartsprogram.org.

Additional support for this event is provided by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information, contact the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, 633 Pearl Street, Elizabeth NJ 07202. Telephone (908) 558-2550 or e-mail: culturalinfo@ucnj.org. NJ relay users dial 711.

– end –

(From left) Union County Freeholder Bruce Bergan, Community Access Unlimited Executive Director Sidney Blanchard, Freeholders Alexander Mirabella, Mohamed Jalloh and Bette Jane Kowalski joined Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi in congratulating Reverend Dr. Larry Dixon, senior pastor at the Mount Teman AME Church in Elizabeth, on receiving the Citizen of the Year Award at the CAU’s 29th Annual Awards Night Celebration in Mountainside. Community Access Unlimited is a multi-faceted, human services agency that provides support services for at–risk youth and people with disabilities. For more information about CAU please visit www.caunj.org.  (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

Union County Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski (2nd R) welcomed Linden Council members Michele Yamakaitis (5th R) and Robert Sadowski (4th R) and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts from Linden during a tour of Union County Police headquarters in Westfield as part of City of Linden’s 69th Annual Scouts in Government Day. They were joined by Union County Public Safety Director Andrew Moran (3rd R). (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

Union County Freeholder Bruce Bergen (2nd R) met (from left) Teacher Chana Finver, students Andrew Fuda, Mike Reyes and Basharie Coleman and Paraprofessional Thomas McClay from the Lamberts Mill Academy in Westfield as the students learned how to properly plant and care for trees at the Williams Nursery in Westfield. The seminar for area students is operated by the Union County Shade Tree Commission annually in celebration of Arbor Day. The County of Union provides free trees to schools that have applied for them. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

ELIZABETH, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to present an exhibit of photographs by Richard Lear of Plainfield in the gallery space at the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, located at 633 Pearl Street in Elizabeth. A selection of his work entitled “Just Flowers” is on display at the Pearl Street Gallery until June 13. Gallery hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.

“We are pleased to have Mr. Lear’s beautiful photos on display,” said Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski, liaison to the Union County Cultural and Heritage Programs Advisory Board. “The exhibit demonstrates his mastery of close-up floral photography.”

Richard Lear’s interest in all things creative has led him on a varied career path. After earning a BFA in vocal performance from the University of Arkansas, he was an actor in musical theater and plays in New York and was a finalist twice in Metropolitan Opera auditions. But he was forced to vacate his apartment after the World Trade Center disaster in 2001 and that made him realize that life was too precious to waste even one minute.

Mr. Lear moved to New Jersey and got his SCUBA certification. Turning his passion for diving into an annual trip to destinations all over the globe has allowed him to pursue his interest in photography and brought him back to acting. When Verizon FIOS saw his photographic work they hired him for a commercial and print ad incorporating many of his flower images.

Richard Lear’s recent solo exhibits include: (2013) “Just Flowers,” River Vale Country Club, River Vale, NJ; “The Flowers of Peony’s Envy,” Peony’s Envy, Bernardsville; and (2012) “Objects of Desire/Flowers of the World,” Drake House Museum, Plainfield. To see his images, visit www.richardlearphotography.com.

“Growing up in the Ozark National Forest made me aware of the beauty that surrounds us all on a daily basis,” Lear said.  “I’ve found beauty as well as abstraction from New Jersey to Fiji. The flower is one of nature’s most perfect and unique gifts and it makes the ideal subject.”

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

– END –

Union County Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski (C) joined Kean University students Kahul Patel and Sandra Quintero in the cleanup of Elizabeth River Parkway in Union during on Earth Day. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)