Author: Web Site Administrator

UNION COUNTY, NJ (March 18, 2015) – Healthcare Quality Strategies, Inc. (HQSI), a member of the Quality Insights Quality Innovation Network, is partnering with the Plainfield Senior Center as well as the Plainfield Public Library to provide free diabetes education as part of the Everyone with Diabetes Counts (EDC) program. The EDC program is a national initiative of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The program offers free workshops that are open to people with diabetes, their family members and caregivers.

The free workshops follow the Diabetes Self-Management Program created by the Stanford School of Medicine. Workshops help individuals learn how to manage their own health and are designed to help participants take control of their diabetes and change their life. Participants will learn about diabetes and its risks, the role of diet and exercise, how to deal with pain and fatigue, managing medications, the importance of doctor exams, maintaining willpower and much more.

The first set of the free six-week workshop series will be offered at the Plainfield Senior Center on 400 East Front Street in Plainfield, NJ, each Wednesday from April 1, 2015 to May 6, 2015.

The time is 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and the exact dates are: 4/1/15, 4/8/15, 4/15/15, 4/22/15, 4/29/15, and 5/6/15. *SENIORS ONLY* can receive more information or register by calling Colin Baptiste at (908) 753-3506.

The second set of the free six-week workshop series will be offered at the Plainfield Public Library on 800 Park Avenue in Plainfield, NJ, each Friday from April 10, 2015 to May 15, 2015.

The scheduled time is 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and the exact dates are: 4/10/15, 4/17/15, 4/24/15, 5/1/15, 5/8/15, and 5/15/15. For more information or to register for these workshops, contact Karen Hale, M.Ed., Outreach Coordinator, at (732) 238-5570 ext: 2032 or khale@hqsi.org.

Come out and visit the Teen Arts Festival on Thursday and Friday at Union County College’s Cranford campus from 9:30am to 2:00pm.  Featuring visual and performing art from students from around Union County. Sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Union County Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh, Vice Chairman Bruce Bergen, Freeholders Bette Jane Kowalski, Christopher Hudak, Alexander Mirabella, Linda Carter, Angel G. Estrada, Sergio Granados and Vernell Wright and Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi march in the 19th Annual Union County St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Morris Avenue in Union.  (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to announce an early spring guided nature hike, for adults 18 and older, at Trailside Nature and Science Center in Mountainside on Saturday, March 28 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.

This program offers an opportunity to walk deeper into the reservation and experience the beauty of the woods.   A Trailside naturalist will lead a guided hike along one of the bucolic trails in the Watchung Reservation.   Participants will learn to identify some of the trees, observe signs of animal activity and learn the ways in which plants and animals adapt to the season.  Please dress appropriately for the weather.  The fee is $10 for Union County residents and $12 for out of county residents. Pre-registration is recommended. 

“This is a unique opportunity to experience nature on an interpretive hike with a professional naturalist.   It’s a great way to spend the morning before you start your Saturday activities, says Freeholder Chairman, Mohamed S. Jalloh.

Trailside Nature and Science Center is located at 452 New Providence Road in Mountainside and is a service of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders. For more information about this workshop or other activities at Trailside, please call 908-789-3670 or visit us on our website at www.ucnj.org/trailside.

Union County, NJ – Got cabin fever? Join Union County Parks, Friends of Lenape Park and birder Frank Budney tonight, March 16, for a Woodcock Watch at Lenape Park, from 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.

Woodcocks or timberdoodles are short, stocky shorebirds in the sandpiper family with long bills. They spend most of their time in shrubby forests.

The male woodcock, famous for its beautiful mating flight and courtship behavior, is often considered a harbinger of spring.

For this informal presentation, there will be a brief introduction and then participants will head to the nearby field to listen for woodcocks and observe the male’s flight.

The program starts promptly at 6:45 p.m. Dress warm and bring a flashlight.

To register, email bkelly@ucnj.org. The Woodcock Watch is free and open to adults and children ages 10 years and up with adult.

Participants will meet at the old Trap & Skeet field house, accessed via the main park entrance off Kenilworth Boulevard in Cranford (for map visit mapquest.com at  mapq.st/1M3VkhU).

For more information on programs in Union County Parks, call 908-527-4900.

(Photo credit: Courtesy of US Department of Agriculture).

Investigators are seeking assistance from the public in locating an autistic Elizabeth boy who was reported missing overnight.

David Isaac Bardales, 12, was last seen shortly before 9 p.m. Thursday, March 12 on the 400 block of Rosehill Place in Elizabeth.

Bardales, who also answers to the name Jamie Fernandez, is approximately 5-foot-4, 150 pounds, with brown eyes, a medium skin tone, and short black hair. He last was seen carrying a black backpack containing an  Xbox game console and wearing a green hooded sweatshirt, black pants, and gray sneakers.  

Possible destinations Bardales is believed to have had in mind include School No. 23 on Union Avenue in Elizabeth, Carteret Park, or the Murray Street or South Elmora Avenue corridors.

Investigators with the Elizabeth Police Department, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, and the New Jersey State Police are actively involved in the search for Bardales. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is being urged to contact the Elizabeth Police Department at 908-558-2000.

MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Department of Parks and Recreation are pleased to announce the 2015 Wildlife Photography Contest at Trailside Nature & Science Center.  Amateur photographers, ages six through adult, are invited to enter their original photographs of wild animals in their natural habitat.

“Wild animals are challenging photographic subjects and the Wildlife Photography Contest is a great opportunity for people of all ages to put their skills to the test and attempt to capture animals in their natural habitat,” stated Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh.

Last year the winners of the Wildlife Photography Contested included Jim Duffy of Linden in the adult category for ages 18 and older for his photo of a snowy owl, Danielle Mandile of Berkeley Heights in the 12 – 17 year old category for her spiny orb weaver spider photo and Clemente Brogca in the 6 – 11 year old category for his photo of a Canada goose.

Only images of wildlife species native to the United States are eligible for submission.  Images of exotic wildlife, pets or domestic animals will not be considered.  Individuals may enter a maximum of two photographs.   Entries must be un-matted, un-framed 5” X 7” black and white or color prints.  Entries must be received or postmarked no later than Friday, April 10, 2015. 

Photographs entered into the Wildlife Photography Contest will be judged by local professional photographers for originality, composition, technical excellence and artistic merit.  Participants can enter one of three age groups; 6 – 11, 12 – 17 or 18 and older.  Four winners in each age group will have their photographs published in Trailside’s 2016 calendar.  Winners will be announced on Sunday, April 26, 2015 during Trailside’s Wild Earth Fest event.  All photographs will be displayed at Trailside’s Visitor Center through May 29, 2015.

            To obtain a brochure with the complete list of rules and entry form for the Wildlife Photography contest, call Trailside at 908-789-3670 or visit www.ucnj.org/trailside.   Trailside Nature & Science Center is located at 452 New Providence Road and is a service of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders.