MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders invites everyone to attend the 34th Annual Harvest Festival on Sunday, September 27 at Trailside Nature and Science Center in Mountainside from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., rain or shine.
Harvest Festival is a celebration of Early American life featuring music, children’s crafts, games, demonstrations and displays, a petting zoo and much more. The always popular Scarecrow Building will again take place.
“This event gives those in attendance an opportunity to see early American culture and history come to life while walking through the festival grounds in the picturesque Watchung Reservation,” said Union County Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh. “Visitors of all ages will enjoy this fascinating, fun-filled event.”
Admission to the Harvest Festival is $4 per person, with children ages 7 and younger admitted free of charge. There may be a fee charged for some of the activities.
For more information on Trailside Nature and Science Center please visit www.ucnj.org/trailside.
(From left) Union County Freeholders Sergio Granados, Vernell Wright and Alexander Mirabella thanked State Senator Raymond Lesniak (2nd right) for delivering the keynote speech at the Union County POW/MIA Remembrance Day ceremony outside the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth. The annual event is sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders to honor and remember prisoners of war and those missing in action (POW/MIA). National POW/MIA Recognition Day is observed each year on the third Friday of September. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
Union County Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh joined Plainfield Mayor Adrian O. Mapp and Plainfield Council President Bridget B. Rivers in reviewing the ‘Art Outside the Box’ artist submissions that will be featured on traffic control boxes at three Plainfield intersections.
In the coming days, we will open up online voting for you to pick your top three favorites. Learn more about the Chairman’s Initiative at https://ucnj.org/artoutsidethebox/. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders invites residents to participate in free child safety seat inspection opportunities during National Child Passenger Safety Week (September 13-19).
The proper use of child safety seats is one of the simplest and most effective methods available for protecting the lives of young children in the event of a motor vehicle accident.
On Saturday, September 19, as part of “National Seat Check Saturday,” trained technicians from Union County’s Child Safety Seat Inspection Program will conduct child seat inspections at the Babies ‘R’ Us on Rt. 22 in Union from 12:00 noon until 3:00 p.m. This special event is also sponsored in part by AAA Northeast – NJ Division.
Also, Union County’s popular Child Safety Seat Inspection Program is open every Wednesday and Thursday from 7:30 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. and is located at the Garwood Rescue Squad at 401 2nd Avenue in Garwood.
“If you have a baby or small child in your care, please come and take advantage of this free program, and make sure your safety seat is properly adjusted,” said Union County Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh. “Our experts can help you get familiar with a new seat, and they can help you spot any problems with an older seat.”
New Jersey’s new child safety seat regulations took effect on September 1. The new State law requires parents to adhere to American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations for child passenger safety.
Under the new child passenger safety law:
Children under age 2 and weighting less than 30 pounds must be secured in a rear-facing child safety seat that is equipped with five-point harness.
Children between ages 2-4 and weighing up to 40 pounds must be secured in a child safety seat equipped with a five-point harness, either rear-facing (up to the height and weight limits of the seat) or forward –facing.
Children between ages 4-8 and less than 57 inches tall (4’9”) must be secured in a forward-facing seat equipped with a five-point harness (up to the height and weight limits of the seat) or in a booster seat.
Children ages 8 and older must use the vehicle seat belt. The safest place for children under 13 is the back seat.
Union County first launched the Child Safety Seat Inspection Program in 1999, in response to surveys showing that the overwhelming majority of child safety seats are improperly installed, even though most users are confident that they know the correct procedure.
Since 1999, approximately 50,000 Union County residents and visitors have used the Seat Inspection Program. It is staffed by personnel from the County’s Department of Public Safety, who are certified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and by the organization SafeKids. The program is credited with saving at least one life, when a toddler survived a 2008 vehicle rollover shortly after the seat was properly adjusted by County personnel.
The child seat inspection program is provided as a public service by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, Union County Police Department, New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, AAA Northeast – NJ Division, and the Garwood First Aid Squad.
For more information about Union County’s Child Safety Seat Inspection Program visit ucnj.org or call 908-789-6830.
Union County Freeholder Alexander Mirabella and Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi joined Scotch Plains Deputy Mayor Colleen Gialanella at the 7th Back To School Community Fair at St. John’s Baptist Church in Scotch Plains. The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders donated pens, pencils and backpacks for the event. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
Union County Freeholder Sergio Granados joined Union County College President Margaret M. McMenamin and students at the opening of the college’s Hispanic Heritage Month and Hispanic Serving Institution Week Celebration at the Union County College Cranford campus. Freeholder Granados was the keynote speaker. Following a procession of the flags of Hispanic counties, the event featured dance and musical performances celebrating Hispanic culture. Plena dance lessons were offered after the ceremony. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders announces that its next mobile paper-shredding program for personal documents will be available on Saturday, September 26, at the Westfield Memorial Pool.
“Union County’s mobile document-shredding service helps residents fight identity theft and eliminate clutter in their homes,” said Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh. “It is a cost-effective way to assist our recycling efforts and it ties in with Union County’s other Go Green Initiatives.”
The Sept. 26th shredding event will take place at the Westfield Memorial Pool, located at 713 Cumberland Street in Westfield. NEXCUT Shredding of Elizabeth will be shredding documents at the site from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine. The shredding 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. Documents should not be bound. 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 Saturday, Oct. 3, at Oak Ridge Park in Clark.
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 Union County Recycling Hotline at 908-654-9889 or visit us online at www.ucnj.org/recycle.
Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh and Freeholder Sergio Granados joined Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage and Elizabeth Council President Patricia Perkins-Auguste in reviewing the ‘Art Outside the Box’ artist submissions that will be featured on traffic control boxes at three Elizabeth intersections. In the coming days, we will open up online voting for you to pick your top three favorites. Learn more about the Chairman’s Initiative at https://ucnj.org/artoutsidethebox/.
Union County, NJ – Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi has introduced new voter-friendly ballots for Vote-by-Mail, machine and sample ballots starting in the 2015 General Election. The newly redesigned ballots provide voters with more clarity and ease while selecting candidates for whom they wish to vote.
The new Vote-by-Mail ballot, for example, will closely resemble both the sample ballot mailed to every voter and the official machine ballot used in voting machines. One major change is that the Vote-by-Mail ballot will be printed in the same horizontal or “landscape” orientation as the sample and official ballots. Previously, the Vote-by-Mail ballot was printed in a vertical orientation.
“I began the process of redesigning the Vote-by-Mail ballot approximately eight months ago to ensure conformity amongst all the election ballots, including the sample ballot and the official machine ballot,” said Rajoppi.
Voters will also notice that the ballots enable them to easily distinguish between the sections for general election candidates and school board candidates. A new blue heading has been added for the School Board Election, providing a clear contrast with the red heading used for the General Election.
Typical example of the new Vote-by-Mail ballot in English.
“The new ballot is designed so voters can easily see that they have more votes to cast, after they finish voting in the General Election,” said Rajoppi. “As a former school board member, I know how important it is to encourage voter participation in School Board Elections. The new design will help ensure that every voter can quickly understand that there are two separate elections in which to vote.”
Voters will also notice that the new Vote-by-Mail ballot includes an instruction section in larger typeface than the previous version.
“The vote-by-mail process is relatively simple but the instructions need to be followed carefully,” said Rajoppi. “The larger font will help ensure that persons with visual impairments fill out the ballot correctly and make their vote count.”
Typical example of the new Vote-by-Mail ballot in Spanish.
To see a sample of the new Vote-by-Mail ballot, visit the County Clerk online at ucnj.org/county-clerk. For voters wishing to vote by mail, the last day to apply by mail for a Vote-by-Mail ballot is Tuesday, October 27, 2015. A voter may also request a Vote-by-Mail ballot in person at the Union County Clerk’s Office until Monday, November 2, 2015 at 3:00pm. The County Clerk’s Office in Elizabeth will have a special Saturday opening on October 31, 2015 from 9:00am to 1:00pm. The Westfield Office is open Saturdays from 9:00am to 1:00pm.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2015 and polls are open from 6:00am to 8:00pm for voters wishing to vote on the machines.
Voters are also reminded to download the free Union County Votes app for mobile phones and tablets. Launched by the County Clerk last year, the app provides important information such as polling place locations, alerts and election night results.
More details about Union County Votes, including download instructions, are available at ucnj.org/county-clerk. For additional information or questions call the Office of the County Clerk, 908-527-4787.
