Category: Public Info

Union County Freeholder Vice Chairman Sergio Granados and Freeholders Bette Jane Kowalski and Angel G. Estrada presented “Union County Kids Dig In!” grants to representatives from 32 schools in 12 county municipalities during a ceremony at the Hamilton Stage in Rahway. The grant assistance covers establishing/building of gardens, garden boxes and/or tools and equipment. It is aimed at educating students about gardening and fostering the growth and creation of community gardens at the schools.

The County presented the Union County Kids Dig In! grant program to each school district through its Open Space Trust Fund, offering a total of just under $40,000 in grant assistance through revenues from golf fees administered through the fund.

The grant program covers produce gardens including vegetables, fruits, nuts, berries, herbs and spices, pollinator-attracting plants and plants for pest management. It does not cover ornamental plants or non-producing gardens.

Gardens must agree to set aside 30% of their harvest for community donation and enroll in Come Grow With Us!, a free countywide information and resource sharing network for community gardens.

The program is the second community gardening initiative the County has initiated in the past two years. Last year, Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen announced the Union County Means Green Community Gardening grant program to community gardening organizations. The program will also be renewed this year.

Union County, NJ – Union County Freeholder Linda Carter visited Debra Vizzi, President and CEO of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, on Thursday to view a “canstruction” project of 3,536 cans of tuna assembled with the assistance of local high school students. The project highlights a 6,000-pound food donation to the FoodBank organized by students participating in the Kans 4 Kids food drive under Union County’s annual UC-STEP youth leadership program, with the sponsorship of Sysco and ShopRite.

More than 100 students from 14 high schools participated in the friendly competition. The school collecting the most donations will receive a Start Now grant sponsored by the Freeholder Board.  The Start Now recipient will be announced on May 25.

“I would like to thank UC-STEP students, and our sponsors and supporters, for providing the Community FoodBank with this outstanding volunteer service. Food donations are especially important heading into the summer, when can be more difficult for children and families in need to access school meals and other resources,” said Freeholder Linda Carter, who initiated the first UC-STEP program in 2013 when she was Chairman of the Freeholder Board.

UC-STEP is a unique youth development program that brings together high school students from different parts of Union County. The program provides students with the opportunity to engage the whole community in a county-wide service project. UC-STEP participants design the projects themselves, and carry them out with the support of the Freeholder Board and local sponsors.

“Union County is fortunate to have a rich reservoir of talent, drive and heart among our students. They are willing to take charge and get the job done when there is an opportunity to help those in need, and they inspire all of us to keep working for a better tomorrow,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen.

“It’s always great to see students unite to make an impact in the community,” said Debra Vizzi, President and CEO of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. “These Union County high school students worked together to collect 6,000 pounds of food and build structures out of cans to represent the collaboration between the FoodBank and UC STEP. The FoodBank is so grateful for their efforts to help end hunger and for the freeholders who lead UC STEP – a wonderful initiative that gives students the opportunity to brainstorm and implement ideas to better the community.”

High schools participating in UC-STEP this year are:

• John E. Dwyer Technology Academy
• Linden High School
• David Brearley High School
• Union County Vo Tech
• Union Catholic Regional High School
• Roselle Park High School
• Rahway High School
• Cranford High School
• The Barack Obama Academy for Academic & Civic Development Charter School
• Jonathan Dayton High School
• Arthur L. Johnson High School
• Governor Livingston High School
• New Providence High School
• UC TEAMS

The UC-STEP program begins with an annual summit, held each year in December. In addition to workshops on leadership and life skills, the participants form teams that blend together students from different high schools.

 Each team is tasked with creating a countywide community service project for the following spring.

Before the summit is over, all participants vote on their favorite projects. The top vote getters are then put online so members of the public can join in the final voting and help choose the project that will be implemented.

Each year, the Freeholder Board joins with local sponsors to help the students publicize and conduct the winning project.

This year’s winning project, Kans 4 Kids, was created by the “Orange” team at the UC-STEP summit last December to benefit the Community FoodBank.

“This was an ambitious and imaginative undertaking that involved the food drive, the “canstruction” project, volunteer opportunities and a virtual food drive,” said Bergen. “The Orange team really set a high bar for next year’s UC-STEP participants.”

To see a stop-motion video of the “canstruction” project under way and more photos, visit the Union County main website at ucnj.org/uc-step.

Union County Freeholders Angel G. Estrada and Christopher Hudak joined Congressman Donald Payne, Jr. and Linden Mayor Linden Derek Armstead in honoring Officer Angel Padilla, Investigator Pete Hammer, Investigator Mark Kahana, and Officer David Guzman during the Police Unity Tour stop in Linden. The officers were recognized for their actions involving the arrest of suspected bomber Ahmad Rahami last September and were awarded the medal of Valor by Chapter 37 of the Police Unity Tour.

Bicycling from the World Trade Center in New York City to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washing DC, thousands of officers participate in the Police Unity Tour to raise awareness of Law Enforcement Officers who have died in the line of duty and to raise funds for the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial and Museum.

Legislators, elected officials, transportation professionals and the public are invited to the next meeting of the Raritan Valley Rail Coalition on Monday, May 15, starting at 6 p.m. at the Cranford Community Center.

Somerset County Freeholder Director and RVRC Chairman Peter S. Palmer will summarize the coalition’s 2016-2017 one-seat ride efforts along with a new proposal for adding one new early-evening weekday off-peak one-seat ride train.

Representatives from NJ Transit will provide updates on the Hudson River Tunnel Project, repairs at Penn Station New York, renovations at the Cranford and Roselle Park train stations, and the status of the Hunter Flyover and the Lehigh Line triple-tracking.

Ms. Mindy Scarlett from the Scarlett & Ryan consulting firm will report on the coalition’s social media and website activities. These include an opportunity for residents, businesses and rail commuters to sign an online petition at https://raritanvalleyrail.com/ in support of expanding one-seat ride service.

Ms. Kathleen Prunty, Economic Development Director, Cranford Township will speak about the Townships recently completed 3-year Strategic Plan emphasizing residential development in Cranford’s downtown.

The GPS address for the Cranford Community Center is 220 Walnut Ave., Cranford, NJ 07016.  Parking is available behind the community center in a parking lot shared with the township library.    

The building is located near the NJ Transit Cranford rail station and NJ Transit bus routes.  For NJ Transit bus and rail schedules and fare information, call (973) 275-5555 or visit www.njtransit.com

For questions, driving directions or more information, contact the Raritan Valley Rail Coalition at (908) 541-5773, by fax at (908) 707-1749 or by e-mail at rvrc@co.somerset.nj.us  

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to announce the second lecture in its spring “Trailside Talks” series, for adults and high school students at the Trailside Nature and Science Center in Mountainside.   These spring programs are free to the public. Donations are welcomed.    

On Saturday, May 13 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. NASA Solar Ambassador Paul Cirillo returns to Trailside to enthrall audiences with a lecture on the great American solar eclipse of 2017.   In August of this year, a total eclipse of the sun will be visible in the United States along a 70 mile wide path from Oregon to South Carolina.  This will be the first solar eclipse visible since 1979. This is a rare and once in a lifetime event.  Cirillo will lead listeners through the history of eclipses and how and why they happen and how to best prepare to view this year’s best astronomical event.

“This spring offers and excellent line up of interesting speakers from Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ and the NASA Solar System Ambassador Speaker’s Bureau.  The spring adult programs offer a perfect invitation for a visit,” notes Freeholder Chairman, Bruce H. Bergen.

The final lecture of the series is “Pollinators” on Saturday, June 3 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.   Butterflies, bumblebees, moths and other creatures help pollinate over 75% of our flowering plants and crops: contributing to over $29 billion in crops each year.  Currently many species of pollinators are struggling to survive.  A naturalist from the Conserve Wildlife Foundation explores why pollinators are crucial to our environment, health, food systems and economy.  Learn how to help the declining species of New Jersey pollinators with simple steps we can take to protect them in our own backyard. 

For more information about these programs or other activities at Trailside, please 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 facility of the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation.

Historic American Revolutionary War battle re-enactment to occur on June 24th and 25th in Clark

The Battle of Short Hills planning committee and the Brigade of the American Revolution are happy to announce the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders  are co-sponsoring the Battle of Short Hills 240th Anniversary re-enactment at Oak Ridge Park in Clark on Saturday, June 24th and Sunday,  June 25th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is free to the public.

“We are pleased to co-sponsor an event that highlights the historic importance of Union County in the founding of our Country,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce Bergen. “This re-enactment brings history alive and reminds us of the sacrifices our founders made in the name of liberty and love of Country.”

Paul Tofani, a participant and one of the organizers of the event thanked the Freeholder Board for their co-sponsorship.

“This is a great step forward for public education on our history,” said Tofani. “This event will bring to life what took place here and help our visitors to understand the complexity of the foundation of our nation. We appreciate the co-sponsorship and the opportunity to present this in a County park.”

Preceding the battle the night before (Friday, June 23rd), the New Jersey Symphony will also perform a free concert beginning 6:30 p.m. at Oak Ridge as part of annual Union County’s Summer Arts Festival series of concerts.

At the Battle of Short Hills in late June 1777, a numerically inferior force of 2,500 Local New Jersey and Pennsylvania troops serving in the Continental Line, along with patriot militia, achieved a strategic victory against over 10,000 British and Hessians troops seeking to trap the main body of Washington’s army. This strategic victory prevented almost certain destruction, allowing the Americans a tactical retreat to the Watchung Mountains. 

The battle took place on June 26, 1777, at Scotch Plains and Metuchen, New Jersey, stretching through Clark (where the re-enactment is being staged) and all the way to Westfield. Despite the name, no fighting occurred in modern-day Short Hills, a section of Millburn.

On a related note, the Frazee House in Scotch Plains is a Union County landmark made famous by its sheer survival for more than 230 years and by the tale of Elizabeth “Aunt Betty” Frazee’s legendary confrontation with a British general during the battle of Short Hills. The house, constructed by Gershom Frazee,  has received official recognition on the National Register of Historic Places and the New Jersey Register of Historic Places. The Frazee House is located at 1451 Raritan Road, near Terrill Road, Scotch Plains, NJ.

The County of Union also maintains a Battle of Short Hills historic trail link, which outlines the other historic sites in Union County, including Plainfield and Fanwood: https://ucnj.org/parks-recreation/paths-trails-greenways/battle-of-short-hills/

Visitors to Oak Ridge park should note that portions of the park, including the public parking lot, will be closed from June 23 to 26th for the re-enactment to be set up and take place. Also those attending  are advised to bring hats, sunscreen and water as the re-enactment will take place in an open field at the height of summer.

Those wishing more information on this event or who may be interested in participating should go to either the event’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BoSH2017/

The contest was open to students from 4th thought 8th grade from schools throughout Union County. The winners were selected by a group of volunteer judges. This event is sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders in cooperation with the Union County Shade Tree Advisory Board.

Union County Freeholder Angel G. Estrada presents Evelyn Burnett Marchione with a resolution congratulating her on being named Linden’s 2017 Outstanding Senior Citizen of the Year by the Linden Department of Public Property and Community Services during the city’s 59th annual Senior Citizen Day ceremony at the John T. Gregorio Recreation Center in Linden.

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 families. The exhibit will be open to the public weekdays until May 23, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Elizabethtown Gas Company, located at Liberty Hall Center, 1085 Morris Avenue in Union Township.

Necessary safety work will require road closure and detours

New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials today announced a railroad crossing rehabilitation project that will require a week long closure and detour of Rahway Avenue in Westfield, Union County.

Beginning at 7 a.m. Monday, May 8, until 7 p.m. Friday, May 12, the two-way traffic on Rahway Avenue in Westfield, which becomes Westfield Avenue in Clark is scheduled to be closed at the railroad crossing between Terminal Avenue in Clark and Lamberts Mill Road in Westfield. The existing railroad crossing will be removed and replaced with a new concrete crossing and asphalt approach. The following detours will remain in place:

Westfield Avenue Detour

• Motorists from Westfield Avenue in Clark will be directed to use Terminal Avenue/L’Oreal Way
• Make a left onto Central Avenue
• Make a left onto West Grove Street in Westfield and follow to Rahway Avenue

Rahway Avenue Detour

• Motorists from Rahway Avenue in Westfield will be directed to use West Grove Street
• Make a right onto Central Avenue
• Make a right onto Terminal Avenue/L’Oreal Way in Clark and follow to Westfield Avenue

The traffic detour will be coordinated with the local police. If work is completed earlier, the roadway will be reopened accordingly.
In order to provide safer and smoother railroad crossing in Westfield, the existing crossings will be replaced with new asphalt crossings and new asphalt approaches. This federally-funded project is included within NJDOT’s railroad grade-crossing safety program which repairs, upgrades, or removes approximately 30 crossings each year, statewide.

The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weather or other factors. Motorists are encouraged to check NJDOT’s traffic information website www.511nj.org for real-time travel information and for NJDOT news follow us on Twitter @NJDOT_info.