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Moving New Jersey Forward and Vet 4U Present 1s^t Annual Walking In My Boots Walkathon at Warinanco Park to Benefit Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Walkathon is set to begin May 30^th,  10 a.m.; Eric Peters, noted Clark veteran who walked across country to raise awareness, to speak on issue

UNION COUNTY, NJ—A pair of non-profit organizations, Moving New Jersey Forward and VET4U, are teaming up to present the First Annual Walking in My Boots Walkathon to benefit Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The event takes place on Saturday, May 30^th at Warinanco Park in Roselle. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and the walk begins at 10 a.m. The County of Union and the Historic Midtown Elizabeth SID are also co-sponsors.

 “There are not enough people who know or understand what PTSD is, and it’s something we need to change,” said Sergio Granados, Union County Freeholder and a founder of Moving New Jersey Forward, a community-based non-profit that works to raise awareness and education efforts at the local and national levels on issues pertaining to social justice.  “Raising awareness helps to overcome the stigma of PTSD and effectuate treatment and positive outcomes. We need to work to provide more services for our Veterans that have sacrificed so much to improve our quality of life.”

Eric Peters, a 24-year-old Veteran from Clark, will speak at the event. Last year, Peters walked to raise awareness for PTSD. Born out of his frustration to get the proper medical care from the VA and suffering from PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) himself, he decided to make a pilgrimage from his home in Clark, NJ to California to raise awareness. Eric was in the 101st Airborne Division and has received a Purple Heart for his sacrifices. Knowing that he is not alone in his situation, he hopes to open many eyes to the reality of life for many veterans post war with unfortunate outcomes.

“Many of those veterans who are suffering with PTSD  just don’t fit in with civilian life. Many are angry, afraid, irritable and just lost,” Peters said. “These veterans lose their appetites, their friends and any hope of recovering. Every night, they wake up in a cold sweat after having another nightmare.”

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it, such as war, a physical assault, or a disaster. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Getting effective treatment after PTSD symptoms develop can be critical to reduce symptoms and improve function.

“There are several million Veterans who suffer from PTSD and many of them cannot—for a number of reasons–access the resources they need to treat it,” said Janna Williams, a United States AirForce Veteran and founder of VET4U, a non-profit in formation, which advocates for and assists military veterans. “We need to work together to find the best ways to treat PTSD and assist the service members, Veterans and family members who are suffering from its impact.”

The event is a 5K walk in the park, and those who wish to register online may do so at walkinginmyboots.eventbrite.com. Anyone wishing more info can call Janna at 908-590-3869 or email vet4u2@gmail.com.  Entry fees are $15 before May 20^th, and $20 after May 20^th.

“Many cases of PTSD remain unreported and undiagnosed due to a lack of awareness and the stigma of mental health issues,” said Union County Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh. “We are proud to co-sponsor an event aimed at helping our Veterans suffering from these invisible wounds of war receive proper treatment.”

“The brave men and women of the Armed Forces proudly served our country, risked their lives to protect our freedom, and deserve our efforts to ensure their physical, mental, and emotional well-being,” said Freeholder Alexander Mirabella, Freeholder Liaison to Veterans’ Affairs.

The walk leads up to the month of June, which has been designated PTSD Awareness Month.  Those seeking more information on PTSD, can go to http://www.ptsd.va.gov/index.asp or if living in Union County, can call the Union County Office of Veterans’ Affairs at 908-659-7407 for referral information or reach the office toll free, at 1-866-640-7115.

Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi reminds residents that Tuesday, May 12, is the last day for registering to vote in New Jersey’s upcoming Primary Election.

“With the Primary Election approaching on June 2, the deadline is just days away for first-time voters and new residents in Union County to register to vote in either the Democratic or Republican primaries,” Ms. Rajoppi said. “To be eligible to vote in the June 2 Primary Election, new voters must be registered by Tuesday, May 12.”

To register to vote or to register an address change, forms are available in every municipality at the office of the municipal clerk. Forms also may be obtained by visiting the County Clerk’s office at 2 Broad Street in Elizabeth or at 300 North Avenue East in Westfield, or by visiting the Union County website: www.ucnj.org/county-clerk.

Information about the upcoming Primary Election also can be obtained by using the free new app, “Union County Votes,” which is designed to help Union County residents connect quickly and easily with accurate information about voting and elections. The app is available for Apple and Android devices and it has active hyperlinks, phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

“The Union County Votes app enables voters to find their polling place, request voter registration forms and vote-by-mail ballot applications, and view sample ballots,” Ms. Rajoppi added. “The app also provides information for people interested in becoming poll workers or running for office, including election filing dates and district maps.”

The office hours of the Westfield Annex of the County Clerk are 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays; 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays. Regular office hours in Elizabeth are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Voter registration forms and change of address forms must be received by the Union County Board of Elections, 271 North Broad Street, Elizabeth NJ 07208 no later than Tuesday, May 12, in order to be eligible to vote in the Primary Election on June 2. To qualify to vote, you must be a citizen of the United States and at least 18 years old, not serving a sentence, probation, or parole because of a felony conviction, and a resident of New Jersey and Union County for at least 30 days. For more information about voter registration, please call the Union County Board of Elections at 908-527-4123.

This page will be updated as the status changes.

Lifeguards are needed at the two Union County outdoor swimming pools for the summer from mid-June through Labor Day.  Current lifeguard certification required and weekends are mandatory.

If you are interested, please call 908-298-7849 Monday through Friday, 9am to 4pm.

Welcome to a whole new way of  learning about nature—or at least  the trees all around you.

And maybe, just maybe, since it involves smart phones, it will appeal to the younger generation.

In many parks and botanical gardens it is not unusual to see signs identifying trees, giving their name in English and Latin.

Union County Parks is now offering that and much more. In cooperation with The Smithsonian, Columbia University and the University of Maryland, Parks has designed a new signage system that connects to a virtual field guide so that it is possible to learn just about anything one would want to know about a tree, from how it propagates to the region it inhabits, with a click of the phone.

“The photography used in this virtual field guide is absolutely gorgeous,” said Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski, as she watched a group of volunteer Master Tree Stewards install new tree signage in Echo Lake Park.

The first of these new generation signs was installed two years ago in Lenape Park. In addition to Echo Lake, the tree stewards recently finished Nomahegan Park and plan to install a third trail this year at Briant Park.

“It really is amazing how this blends technology and nature in such a harmonious way,” said Freeholder Vice Chairman Bruce Bergen.

“There was a time when you had to bring a field guide with you if you wanted to learn more about this kind of thing. Now you can just go for a walk, and when you see one of these signs, you can scan the QR code and immediately be viewing the information and illustrations about the tree,” Bergen said.

While the signs are beyond reach to thwart vandalism, because the QR boxes are so large, any phone with a free QR phone reader app can easily scan the code.

“It’s no secret that the volunteer tree stewards have a particular fondness for trees,” said Dean Talcott, who coordinates the effort to identify the trees and install the signage.

“We would just like to be able to share this knowledge with the public and enable them to learn more about what is all around them,” he said.

Several years ago, The Smithsonian and the two universities joined forces to create an online tree guide called Leafsnap. While the app was written for iphones, the project had insufficient funds to create the app necessary to work with android and other phones.

“The one thing we didn’t want is a system that only worked with one brand of phones and tablets,” said Freeholder Chairman Mohamed Jalloh. “Parks solved that problem by a incorporating QR codes into the signs. Now they work with all phones, regardless of the operating system.”

 Many of the signs in Nomahegan Park in Cranford are on a trail that is part of  the East Coast Greenway http://www.greenway.org/, a 2,950-mile lowland Appalachian Trail from Maine to Florida that weaves through nearly every major city along the East Coast.

 The signs in Echo Lake Park in Mountainside are located on a trail that connects Echo Lake to the Route 22 pedestrian overpass and the New Providence Road greenway that leads to the southern edge of the Watchung Reservation.

The tree sign identification is an offshoot of the Master Tree Stewards’ ongoing educational program. Volunteers visit youngsters in fourth grade classrooms to teach them about trees and to appreciate the importance of trees to the environment.

Anyone interested in joining the tree steward program should contact the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Union County, (https://njaes.rutgers.edu/county/quickinfo.asp?Union).

14^th Annual Union County Employee Art Show during the opening reception at the Elizabethtown Gas Company’s Liberty Hall Center in Union. The contest, co-sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and The National Arts Program Foundation, was open to Union County employees and their relatives. The exhibit will be open to the public weekdays until May 26, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Elizabethtown Gas Company, located at Liberty Hall Center, 1085 Morris Avenue in Union Township

 

(From left) Union County Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh and Freeholders Bette Jane Kowalski and Bruce H. Bergen congratulate Ryan Frees (2^nd R) of Clark on winning first place in the amateur category

 

(From left) Union County Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh and Freeholders Bette Jane Kowalski and Bruce H. Bergen congratulate Susan Anderson (2^nd R) of Clark on winning first place in the professional category

RAHWAY, NJ – Most teenagers daydream about singing or dancing on a stage before a live audience. That dream becomes reality for some Union County middle and high school students at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12^th when they perform in the Teen Arts Showcase at the Union County Performing Arts Center, 1601 Irving Street, in Rahway’s downtown arts district.

The Teen Arts Showcase is sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Union County Performing Arts Center. Teachers, fellow students, friends and family members of participating students are invited to attend the Showcase along with the general public. Admission is free.

“The annual Union County Teen Arts Festival is a wonderful opportunity for students to interact with professional artists while sharing their own talents with students from other schools,” said Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh. “Students appearing in the Teen Arts Showcase represent many of the performing arts disciplines and the municipalities that participated in the 2015 Teen Arts Festival.”      

Instrumental groups, vocal groups, pianists, dancers, theater performances and visual artists were selected from the 3,500 students who participated at the 2015 Teen Arts Festival at Union County College in Cranford on March 19^th and 20^th.  The annual Festival is sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and coordinated by the Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs in the Department of Parks and Recreation.

The Teen Arts Festival is a two-day celebration of the arts where students and a staff of fifty professional artists participate in performances, critiquing seminars, master classes and workshops in every discipline – visual arts, music, creative writing, theater, media arts and dance.  The Festival’s focus is not on competition but an opportunity for students to develop perceptual, intellectual and technical skills; gain cultural awareness and understanding; develop personal, aesthetic values; and learn self-discipline, critical thinking and problem solving through analyzing, interpreting and making judgments.  

For more information, contact the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, 633 Pearl Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07202. Telephone: 908-558-2550. NJ Relay Users dial 711. Or E-mail: Culturalinfo@ucnj.org.

Top photo, Left: Maria Carvalho, Police Officer, Nelson Pereira, 2nd Runner up Claudia Ribeiro, Princess Karina Amaral, Grand Marshal Leonel Cardoso, Union County Recreation Department , Daniella Andrade, Ashley Batista , Manny Grova III Joao Pinto Past Grande Knight, Freeholder Angel Estrada, Police Officer Claudia Amador, Little Princess Cristina Esteves, Little Prince Patrick Piadade,  1st runner up Pedro Vale , Walter Piadade, 2nd runner up Jaden Canelo

Pilot program part of Chairman Jalloh’s “Families First” Initiative to serve children up to age 12, and special needs children to 18

UNION COUNTY, NJ— The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders last night voted to authorize a pilot program with Community Coordinated Child Care of Union County (CCCC) to serve those who don’t meet eligibility for State subsidized child care with affordable child care. The program is part of Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh’s “Families First Initiative,” announced in January.

The pilot program, which is scheduled to start in June and end in December, will assist approximately 40 families with up to 25% of the cost of child care, and is targeted toward low income working parents, or those in school full-time who do not receive other child care subsidies to secure child care for children up to 12 years of age, or children with a documented “special need” up to age 18. Please note the program is expected to be set up within the next few weeks, and additional information will be forthcoming from the County and CCCC in Rahway on how and when to sign up.

“Obtaining quality, affordable Child care is a glass ceiling for many working class families and single parents,” Freeholder Chairman Jalloh said. “The benefits of child care are many, including better health, and better socialization and improved behavioral attributes. Children in childcare also tend to score slightly higher on measures of academic and cognitive achievement years later as in comparison to their peers without child care, according to long-running Federal studies.”

The program will permit families living on low income, or suffering from catastrophic illness, homelessness, domestic violence crises to access child care for pre-school before/after school and summer camp. Under the terms of the $50,000 contract with CCCC, the organization will also assist parents with inquiries, screens, maintain all records and documentation and refer them to licensed child care providers in the geographic location that is preferred. (Please note CCCC will not directly administer child care, but rather serve to process and refer parents.)

“We are excited to partner with Union County in helping parents and families obtain affordable, quality child care,” said Pat Mennuti, CCCC Executive Director. “Child Care provides a great start to a successful future for many children.”

Community Coordinated Child Care of Union County is a not for profit agency, whose goal is to meet the wide range of needs families face as they raise young children.

As part of its mission, the organization believes all families should have good child care that they can afford. CCCC works with parents, community, business, and government, and helps parents find services to help them. The agency helps the early childhood centers and family child care providers by giving training and other help to improve their programs.

Union County, NJ – More than 1,000 volunteers spent a total of 5,501 hours picking up litter, planting trees and shrubs, clearing fallen trees from walking paths, removing invasive species, and performing other acts of kindness in Union County parks last year. The volunteers were recently honored for their efforts at the eighth annual Union County Adopt-a-Park/Adopt-a-Trail award ceremony and dinner, at Maskers Barn in the Deserted Village of Feltville.

“Whether you volunteer for a few hours or make a long term commitment, the Freeholder Board values each and every one who donates their time to help make our parks more pleasant for all to enjoy,” said Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh. “Every little bit counts when it comes to conserving the unique legacy of our County parks, and together you all make a big difference.”

Adopt-a-Park volunteers can join in one-time cleanup and restoration events, which are often organized by local businesses and other civic groups. Adopt-a-Trail Stewards sign up to take care of a trail over the course of a year. 

The 2014 accomplishments included:

• 20 school, scout and corporate groups helped to maintain and beautify trails and parks.
• 1051 volunteers spent 5,501 total hours working in County parks.
• 52 Adopt-A-Trail stewards worked on trail maintenance and monitoring. They spread gravel, woodchips, installed erosion control measures, removed invasive species, picked up litter, repaired and replaced fencing, planted native trees, shrubs and other vegetation, removed graffiti and performed many other tasks.
• The specially trained Adopt-a-Trail Chainsaw Crew removed 160 fallen trees in Watchung Reservation and other parks.
• Groups that volunteered more than once in 2014 included:

Kean University Center for Service and Leadership

Kean University School of Environmental & Sustainability Sciences

Merck

Haitian Flag Day Committee

• Jersey Cares has continued to bring many business and individual volunteers to County parks for a variety of projects.
• The North Plainfield Shade Tree Advisory Board has been adopting a section of Green Brook Park located in North Plainfield for nine years, keeping the area clear of litter and managing invasive plants.

• Morgan Stanley and Phillips 66 Bayway donated $1,000 and $1500, respectively, for a stream and wildflower meadow project in Warinanco Park (scheduled for 2015).
• Friends of Battle Hill Area joined the AAP program in 2014.  This group has been removing litter for many years in the Union section of Rahway River Parkway and will continue its work.

Union County parks also host mandatory community service programs. Participants in these programs spent a total of 90 hours working on projects in Green Brook Park and Warinanco Park.

To join Adopt-a-Park or Adopt-a-Trail, call the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation, 908-789-3683, or visit online at ucnj.org.

Maskers Barn is available to the public to rent for weddings and other gatherings. For more information call the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation, 908-527-4900 or visit online at ucnj.org.

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More scenes from the 2015 Recognition Dinner recognizing the efforts of volunteers in 2014. Many thanks to all who contributed!