Author: Web Site Administrator

Union County, NJ – Middle and High School students are invited to a free education and career panel discussion event hosted by the Union County Youth Services Commission entitled, “Take Control of Your Future, A Panel Discussion Giving Insight on Education and Careers” will be held on Saturday, May 18th at the Union County College Kellogg Building, 40 West Jersey Street in Elizabeth, NJ from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Parents, guardians and teachers are welcome to attend with their student. A luncheon and networking session are also included in the event.

“There are many wonderful career pathways to explore right here in Union County that depend upon a strong education,” said Union County Freeholder Chairman Linda Carter. “This event is a great opportunity for young students to get a first-hand look at the opportunities available to those who strive to do their best.”

The keynote address will be delivered by Charles Atkins Jr., who serves as Chaplain for the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility.

Members of the panel are:

• Brandon Frame, Director of Business Partnerships and Program Development at High School Inc., in his home town of Hartford, Connecticut.

• Nadirah Keith, Literacy Coordinator in the East Orange School District and 2011-2012 East Orange School District Teacher of the Year awardee.

• Amanda A. Ebokosia, Founder & CEO of the Gem Project, Inc., a nonprofit organization for children, youth and young adults. Among other honors, Ms. Ebokosia has been featured in the annual FORBES Magazine “30 under 30” list.

• George Scott, founder and business owner of Octavia Homes, LLC with his partner and sister, Sherrica McDonald.

• Ebony McQueen, founder of founder of PRINCESS Foundation and Search Engine Marketing Supervisor at a digital marketing agency in New York City.

“Take Control of Your Future,” Part II of the Union County Youth Services Commission Community Engagement Initiative, is made possible through support from the Juvenile Justice Commission and the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Pre-registration is required by visiting ucnj.org/take-control-of-your-future.

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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 7, when they perform in the Teen Arts Showcase at the Union County Performing Arts Center, 1601 Irving Street, in Rahway’s downtown arts district.

Instrumental groups, vocal groups, pianists, dancers and theater performers were selected from the 3,500 students who participated at the 2013 Teen Arts Festival at Union County College in Cranford in March. 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 Community Renewal.

“Teen Arts is a wonderful opportunity for students to interact with professional artists while sharing their own talents with students from other schools,” said Freeholder Chairman Linda Carter. “Students appearing in the Showcase represent many of the performing arts disciplines and the municipalities that participated in this year’s festival.”

Teachers, students, friends and family of performers are invited to attend the Showcase along with the general public. Admission is free. The Teen Arts Showcase on May 7 is sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Union County Performing Arts Center.

The annual Teen Arts Festival is a two-day celebration of the arts where students and a staff of 50 professional artists participate in performances, critiquing seminars, master classes and workshops in 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.

The historic Union County Performing Arts Center, formerly the Rahway Theatre, opened in 1928 as a classic vaudeville/movie showplace. In 1984, the theatre was saved by a dedicated group of volunteers. The theatre features live performances and seats more than 1,300 people.

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. E-mail: Culturalinfo@ucnj.org.

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MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to announce a program, “Cooking with Wild Edibles” for adults at Trailside Nature and Science Center on Thursday, May 16, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. The fee for this program is $15 for Union County residents and $20 for out-of-county participants.

“This is a delicious way to learn about the wealth of food we commonly call weeds that can be found readily in our own backyard,” said Freeholder Chairman Linda Carter. “You’ll never look at a weed the same way again.”

Participants in this Wild Edibles class will enjoy learning to identify some common plants of the Watchung Reservation. Trailside senior park naturalist Joe Filo will teach how to collect, prepare and cook these familiar, backyard plants. Attendees will sample delicious foods including “Cossack asparagus,” wild salad and mint tea.

For additional information about this lecture or other adult programs or upcoming events at Trailside, call 908-789-3670 or visit www.ucnj.org/trailside.  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.

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UNION, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders announces that its next mobile paper-shredding program for confidential personal documents will be available on Wednesday, May 15, at the Township of Union DPW facility in Union.

“Union County’s mobile document-shredding service helps residents fight identity theft and eliminate clutter in their homes,” said Freeholder Christopher Hudak, liaison to the Solid Waste Advisory Council. “It is a cost-effective way to assist our recycling efforts and it ties in with Union County’s other Go Green Initiatives.”

The May 15th shredding event will take place at the Department of Public Works facility in Union, located on Swanstrom Place, off Vauxhall Road. NEXCUT Shredding of Teaneck 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 Wednesday, June 5, at the DPW facility 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 Recycling Hotline at 908-654-9889 or visit us online at www.ucnj.org/recycle .

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Drake House in Plainfield. Once used as George Washington’s headquarters during the Revolutionary War, this former farmhouse was built in 1746. It was enlarged and restyled to Victorian tastes in 1864, and was recently restored with support from Preserve Union County.

Union County, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to announce that the sixth round of funding is available for Preserve Union County, a matching grant program under the Union County Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation Trust Fund.

Preserve Union County is a merit-based grant program that helps local governments and preservationists save treasured civic landmarks and historic sites.

“Union County’s roots go back more than 340 years, with a legacy rich in the historic moments that have defined our communities and our country,” said Freeholder Alexander Mirabella, who is Chairman of the Trust Fund. “We are very proud that Preserve Union County has played a key role in ensuring that future generations can experience these living reminders of our shared past.”

The Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation Trust Fund was established in the year 2000 with overwhelming support from Union County voters, who approved it by referendum.

The Preserve Union County program was added in 2003, providing for grants every other year. Since then, it has awarded more than $2.5 million in dollar-for-dollar matching funds. This year’s funding total will be $300,000.

“If you take a look at the previous grant cycle in 2011, you can see how Preserve Union County reflects the complex effort involved in refurbishing these sites, and making sure they are accessible to the public,” said Freeholder Chairman Linda Carter. “This program is a real testimony to the dedication of local preservationists in Union County.”

Some of the projects approved in the 2011 cycle dealt with basic upkeep needed to prevent water damage and deterioration. That included funding for the First Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth, to restore the slate roof and masonry at the tower; repairs to active roof leaks at the George A. Strong Residence in Plainfield, and complete replacement of the slate roof at the Liberty Hall Museum Carriage House in Union.

Other grants involved upgrades to windows and building systems, needed to ensure the safety and comfort of those visiting it, as well as to replace inefficient or non-functioning equipment.

For example, the Carriage House in Fanwood and the Caldwell Parsonage in Union received funding for air conditioning and other upgrades, and the Deacon Hetfield House in Mountainside replaced a hot water heater.

Access is another type of project eligible for grants. In 2011, Reeves-Reed Arboretum in Summit was awarded a grant to build a short walkway across the grounds, in order to provide visitors with a safer route from parking areas to the main building.

Aesthetic upgrades are also part of the Preserve Union County mission. These were represented in the 2011 cycle with new paint for doors and trim at the Merchants and Drovers Tavern in Rahway (among other repairs), and a period stove for the Oswald J. Nitschke House in Kenilworth.

For the 2013 grant cycle, application packets were mailed to municipalities and preservationists on Friday, April 26. The deadline for submissions is Thursday, July 25.

To obtain a packet or to get more information about the Preserve Union County program, contact the Trust Fund at 908-558-2277.

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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.

(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.

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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.

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