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Union County Freeholders Bette Jane Kowalski (L), Vernell Wright (2nd L) and Angel G. Estrada congratulate Tiina Nummela of Somerset on winning first place in the amateur category at the 11th 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 29, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Elizabethtown Gas Company, located at Liberty Hall Center, 1085 Morris Avenue in Union Township.  (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

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For more information on any Union County press release, please contact Sebastian D’Elia, Communications Director for the County of Union, or a designee listed at the top of this press release.   Please join the County of Union online at www.ucnj.org. On Facebook at www.ucnj.org/facebook.
On Twitter at http://twitter.com/countyofunionnj.

Union County Freeholders Bette Jane Kowalski (L), Vernell Wright (2nd R) and Angel G. Estrada congratulate Ara Herrera of Elizabeth on winning first place in the teen category at the 11th 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 29, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Elizabethtown Gas Company, located at Liberty Hall Center, 1085 Morris Avenue in Union Township.  (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

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For more information on any Union County press release, please contact Sebastian D’Elia, Communications Director for the County of Union, or a designee listed at the top of this press release.   Please join the County of Union online at www.ucnj.org. On Facebook at www.ucnj.org/facebook.
On Twitter at http://twitter.com/countyofunionnj.

Union County Freeholders Bette Jane Kowalski (L), Vernell Wright (2nd R) and Angel G. Estrada congratulate Ruth Brown of Edison on winning first place in the professional category at the 11th 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 29, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Elizabethtown Gas Company, located at Liberty Hall Center, 1085 Morris Avenue in Union Township.  (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

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For more information on any Union County press release, please contact Sebastian D’Elia, Communications Director for the County of Union, or a designee listed at the top of this press release.   Please join the County of Union online at www.ucnj.org. On Facebook at www.ucnj.org/facebook.
On Twitter at http://twitter.com/countyofunionnj.

Union County Freeholder Vernell Wright (R) congratulates Patricia Cullen (L) of New Providence and Mary Ann Sodano of Madison on being honored for their 5 years of volunteer service at the 49th Annual Volunteer Awards Luncheon for Runnells Specialized Hospital volunteers. Dozens of other volunteers were also honored at the luncheon on May 9 in Mountainside.  (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

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Union County Freeholder Vernell Wright congratulates Chet Hospattankar of Scotch Plains on being honored for his 5 years of volunteer service at the 49th Annual Volunteer Awards Luncheon for Runnells Specialized Hospital volunteers. Dozens of other volunteers were also honored at the luncheon on May 9 in Mountainside.  (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

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For more information on any Union County press release, please contact Sebastian D’Elia, Communications Director for the County of Union, or a designee listed at the top of this press release.   Please join the County of Union online at www.ucnj.org. On Facebook atwww.ucnj.org/facebook. On Twitter at http://twitter.com/countyofunionnj.

Union County Freeholder Vernell Wright (R) congratulates Joseph Inserra of New Providence and Edith Diffenderfer of Summit on being honored for their 10 years of volunteer service at the 49th Annual Volunteer Awards Luncheon for Runnells Specialized Hospital volunteers. Dozens of other volunteers were also honored at the luncheon on May 9 in Mountainside.  (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

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For more information on any Union County press release, please contact Sebastian D’Elia, Communications Director for the County of Union, or a designee listed at the top of this press release.   Please join the County of Union online at www.ucnj.org. On Facebook atwww.ucnj.org/facebook. On Twitter at http://twitter.com/countyofunionnj.

Union County Freeholder Vernell Wright (R) congratulates Pat and Anita DiFabio of Garwood on being honored for their 20 years of volunteer service at the 49th Annual Volunteer Awards Luncheon for Runnells Specialized Hospital volunteers. Dozens of other volunteers were also honored at the luncheon on May 9 in Mountainside.  (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

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For more information on any Union County press release, please contact Sebastian D’Elia, Communications Director for the County of Union, or a designee listed at the top of this press release.   Please join the County of Union online at www.ucnj.org. On Facebook at www.ucnj.org/facebook. On Twitter athttp://twitter.com/countyofunionnj.

The Academy for Information Technology, one of five high schools at the Union County Vo-Tech Schools campus on Raritan Road in Scotch Plains.       (photo: Union County Vo-Tech Schools)

Union County, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to announce that four of the five Union County Vo-Tech high schools have been named among the top high schools in the nation by the annual U.S. News & World Report school survey.

“Our Union County Vo-Tech schools continue to earn outstanding recognition because the students, faculty, staff and parents work together with community stakeholders to foster a supportive yet challenging learning environment,” said Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella. “We are all very proud of their efforts.”

The nationwide survey recognized the top 500 schools with a Gold Medal award, and it recognized other outstanding schools with Silver and Bronze medals. In all, 82 New Jersey high schools achieved one of the three medals.

“Throughout the Vo-Tech campus, our faculty and staff work to ensure that our students are prepared to enter a challenging world, with solid academic and career skills and also with the kind of teamwork skills that will stand them in good stead throughout their lives,” said Dr. Thomas J. Bistocchi, the Vo-Tech Superintendent of Schools.

Vo-Tech had three schools in the Gold Medal category: the Academy of Allied Health Sciences (AIT), which placed #4 in New Jersey and #106 nationally, Magnet High School ( #13 in New Jersey and #243 nationally), and the Academy for Information Technology ( #27 in New Jersey and #443 nationally.

This is the second year in a row that AIT and Magnet have been recognized with a Gold Medal. Last year, Allied Health earned a Silver Medal.

This year’s survey also included a fourth Vo-Tech school, UC Tech High School, which was recognized with a Bronze Medal. UC Tech prepares students for careers in traditional and emerging vocations such as new electric vehicle technology.

Vo-Tech’s fifth school, The Academy for Performing Arts, was not included in the annual survey because it is a new school.

The complete survey is available online at usnews.com.

Last year, AIT, Magnet High School and Allied Health also made Newsweek’s list of the top 500 public high schools in the nation. UC Tech and Performing Arts were not included in that survey.

For more information about Union County Vo-Tech Schools, visit ucnj.org or www.ucvts.tec.nj.us/ucvts.

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For more information on any Union County press release, please contact Sebastian D’Elia, Communications Director for the County of Union, or a designee listed at the top of this press release.   Please join the County of Union online at www.ucnj.org, on Facebook at www.ucnj.org/facebook, and on Twitter athttp://twitter.com/countyofunionnj.

Union County, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to announce the start of a new program that enables County residents to recycle scrap metal free of charge.  A wide variety of metal goods, from household appliances to gutters and sheds, are included in the program.

The new countywide program will help to fill a service gap in some Union County municipalities, which currently have no pickup for scrap metal recycling.

“By sharing public resources we can ‘do more with less,’ and Union County is able to offer this convenient new service to residents of all 21 municipalities at no charge,” said Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella.

The Scrap Metal Recycling Program is available for use by households, commercial establishments, nonprofit agencies and other organizations.

“As a community, we benefit across the board by recycling more and throwing away less waste, and we also stand to gain some revenue from the program,” said Mirabella.

Starting on Thursday, June 7, the program will be open on the first Thursday of each month and the third Saturday of each month, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.

Scrap metal from any municipality may be brought to any of the following four drop-off centers:

• Clark: Oak Ridge Park, 36 Oak Ridge Road (the Oak Ridge Service Yard).
• Mountainside: Watchung Reservation, Tracy Drive (the Loop parking area).
• Rahway: Rahway Park, Rahway Service Yard (across from the pool).
• Westfield: Westfield Conservation Center, 1300 Lamberts Mill Road.

Mirabella reminded County residents who are recycling refrigerators or freezers that by law, doors must be removed. The Scrap Metal Recycling Program cannot accept refrigerators or freezers with the doors intact.

Acceptable items include aluminum scrap, aluminum cans, brass, copper, dishwashers, gutters, microwaves, refrigerators and freezers with doors removed, stoves, clothes washers and dryers, air conditioners, metal cabinets, metal chain or wire fencing, clothes irons, railings, metal sheds, tire rims (with tires removed), metal window frames (with glass removed), bicycles, metal lawn furniture, rebar, aluminum siding, toasters, and wire hangers.

The Scrap Metal Recycling Program will be available every month of the year; however, in the event of extreme bad weather individual events may be cancelled.

To get more details online about the scrap metal program and other Union County recycling programs, visitucnj.org/recycling.

For information by phone, including weather-related cancellations, call the Union County Recycling Hotline, 908-654-9889.

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For more information on any Union County press release, please contact Sebastian D’Elia, Communications Director for the County of Union, or a designee listed at the top of this press release.   Please join the County of Union online at www.ucnj.org, on Facebook at www.ucnj.org/facebook, and on Twitter athttp://twitter.com/countyofunionnj.

Union County –The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to announce that County of Union will host a Veterans Job Fair and Resource event on Wednesday, May 23 from 10am to 3pm at the National Guard Armory at 500 Rahway Ave in Westfield.

“The Freeholder Board has made it a priority to offer our veterans every resource possible to successfully re-enter the work force,” Chairman Mirabella said. “Statistics show that nation-wide, young male veterans ages 18 to 24 had an unemployment rate of 29 percent in 2011.”

The upcoming job fair, which is also open to active duty military personnel, is expected to bring veterans together with over 50 employers in an effort to network and make connections for new employment opportunities.

Among the participating organizations are:

• Wells Fargo
• Prudential
• Johnson & Johnson
• Panasonic
• Barnabas Health
• NJ Transit
• Helmets to Hardhats (NJ Building and Construction trades)
• Joule Staffing
• PSE&G

With help from partners like the New Jersey Department of Labor, the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Lyons Veterans Administration Medical Center and Investors Bank in Plainfield, the Job Fair is being offered free of charge to veterans, active duty military personnel, and their families.

As part of the event representatives will be on site with information on veterans’ benefits, Social Security, and the GI Bill, as well as other State and County sponsored services. A representative from Lyons VA Medical Center will also be present to conduct health screenings.

As part of his 2012 “Putting People First Initiatives,” Chairman Mirabella recognized the need to enhance outreach to local veterans through Union County’s Office of Veterans Affairs. In addition to events like the Job Fair, the Chairman’s initiatives include a Veteran’s Appreciation day to take place this summer in the County parks system.

Working with the Veterans Affairs office, the Department of Parks and Community Renewal is also offering Union County’s active duty military personnel a number of complementary passes to recreational programs in the County parks system during 2012.

For additional information on the Veteran’s Job Fair please contact Elizabeth L. Sebring of the Union County Department of Human Services at (908) 527-4890 or via email at esebring@ucnj.org.

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For more information on any Union County press release, please contact Sebastian D’Elia, Communications Director for the County of Union, or a designee listed at the top of this press release. Please join the County of Union online at www.ucnj.org, on Facebook at www.ucnj.org/facebook, and on Twitter athttp://twitter.com/countyofunionnj.

Union County Freeholders Mohamed Jalloh (4th R) and Vernell Wright (3rd R) helped
Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage (C) break ground on the new Spring Street Project in Elizabeth. They are joined by (from left) Elizabeth Councilman Manny Grova, Greg Dozier of NJ Community Development Group, LLC, Reverend John Howard, Armando D’Errico of NJ Community Development Group, LLC, Councilwoman-At-Large Patricia Perkins-Auguste and Union County Manager Alfred Faella. The site will feature an African American Cultural and Learning Center, a boutique theater and 20 affordable rental housing units. Financing for the development was provided in part by the City of Elizabeth, the Elizabeth Development Company, the County of Union and North Jersey Community Bank. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

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For more information on any Union County press release, please contact Sebastian D’Elia, Communications Director for the County of Union, or a designee listed at the top of this press release.   Please join the County of Union online at www.ucnj.org.
On Facebook at www.ucnj.org/facebook. On Twitter at http://twitter.com/countyofunionnj.