County of Union, New JerseyDefault category for all normal press releases
Union County Freeholder Vice Chairman Alexander Mirabella (2nd L) joined (from left) Scotch Plains Recreation Commissioner Tom Kucin, Eileen Lawrence, Scotch Plains Mayor Nancy Malool, Recreation Director Ray Poerio, Mike Dempsey and Neil Kaufman, president of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Youth Baseball Association in cutting the ribbon at the grand reopening of Brookside Park in Scotch Plains. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
Union County, NJ – Russell Landwehr of Linden displays his catch during the Spring Fishing Derby at Union County’s Echo Lake Park earlier this month. An avid fisherman, Mr. Landwehr attended with his daughter, Jan, to celebrate his 92nd birthday. The East Central District Elks organized and staffed the event with volunteers, and provided lunch and prizes. Union County partners with the Elks and other groups to offer recreation activities for people with disabilities of all ages including golf, swimming, karate, ice skating, horseback riding, ceramics, horticulture, cooking, yoga, and more. For more information on the Union County Recreation for People with Disabilities programs visit www.ucnj.org or contact Margaret Heisey, Program Coordinator, 908-527-4806 or mheisey@ucnj.org (photo: 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, and on Twitter athttp://twitter.com/countyofunionnj.
Union County Freeholder Christopher Hudak (L) presents a resolution to Austin Frank, Captain of the Linden High School Wrestling Team, congratulating him on becoming the first wrestler from Linden High School to win 100 matches. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
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 Chairman Deborah Scanlon presents resolution to Rahway Fire Department Capt. Michael Johnson (C) congratulating him on earning the rank of captain. They are joined by former Freeholder Chester Holmes of Rahway. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
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
SPRINGFIELD, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to announce that the 2011 Teen Arts Traveling Exhibit will open this year’s tour of Union County today, May 16th at the Springfield Public Library, located at 66 Mountain Avenue in Springfield. The art work will be on display through June 23 during regular library hours.
The exhibit consists of 68 pieces of art selected from more than 700 visual art works shown at the 2011 Union County Teen Arts Festival held in March at Union County College in Cranford. The annual event is administered by the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs in the Department of Parks & Community Renewal.
“Each year I am amazed by the wonderful artwork submitted by local students,” said Freeholder Chairman Deborah P. Scanlon. “I encourage everyone to get out and see this fun, lively exhibit as it goes on tour throughout Union County.”
For information about the Teen Arts program, contact the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs at 633 Pearl Street, Elizabeth 07202; telephone (908) 558-2550. NJ Relay service users should call 711 or email culturalinfo@ucnj.org.
The exhibiting students are:
Berkeley Heights
Clark
Cranford
Elizabeth
Hillside
Kenilworth
Linden
Mountainside
New Providence
Plainfield
Scotch Plains
Springfield
Summit
Union
Westfield
Winfield
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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 – If you are looking for budget-wise ways to introduce more healthy seafood into your diet, check out the new “Seafood at its Best” cooking class offered by the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Union County. The two-session class includes taste testing as well as tips on food prep, recipes and nutritional information. The class will be conducted on Tuesday, June 7 and Wednesday, June 8, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Extension offices in Westfield, 300 North Avenue East. A fee of $20.00 covers both classes along with all food and materials. Pre-registration is required by June 1: contact Digna Torres at the Extension, 908-654-9854.
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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 First Alert “Best Option” for Emergency, Traffic and Community Notification
Union County – Union County municipalities seeking a cost effective way of relaying critical information to the public and emergency responders during a crisis, can do so by using Union County First Alert; the County’s free emergency messaging system.
In contrast to private emergency alert options, the Union County First Alert system is available to all municipalities at no cost for email and text alerts (text messaging rates do apply). In addition to email and text alerts, the Union County First Alert system also provides municipalities with voice messaging at a low rate. As part of a shared service endeavor, Union County First Alert was unveiled on February 11, 2009 and has been providing critical emergency and community notifications to Union County residents with great success.
The Union County First Alert system is powered by Cooper Notification’s Roam Secure Alert Network™ (RSAN™), and can enable city and county officials to send e-mail, text and voice messages to first responders and the County’s more than 500,000 citizens via cell phones, pagers, Blackberry®, and other mass notification media during an emergency. Notifications can also be made in Spanish and other languages. For the special needs community, the system can deliver a message via Telecommunications Device for the Deaf/Teletypewriter (TDD/TTY) without pre-registration or administrative configuration.
Union County First Alert was an initiative of then Chairman, Angel G. Estrada. “It was important for the County to have a mechanism in place to relay critical public safety information to our residents,” said Freeholder Angel G. Estrada. “While First Alert initially was a public safety initiative, the reality is this has “shared services” written all over it.” In the past, the only option for municipal police departments was to purchase their own “Reverse 9-1-1” systems, which cost over $75,000 plus the cost of additional telephone lines. Freeholder Estrada added “Union County First Alert has made “Reverse 9-1-1” very affordable for many municipalities.”
Municipalities across the state, including the Townships of Cranford and Hillside, are discontinuing their service with private companies as they begin to charge for non-emergency text alerts and other messages. Nixle, the company previously used by Cranford and Hillside and currently used in several other municipalities, imposes annual fees and, as of April 29, 2011, service fees on non-emergency notifications according to an articles posted by Cranford Chronicle on May 5, 2011 and the Daily Record on April 30, 2011. In contrast, these services are available free through the Union County First Alert program.
“Union County First Alert is without question the best option for local police departments to disseminate emergency, traffic and community messages for their respective residents,” said Hillside Police Chief Robert Quinlan. “I encourage all Hillside, and Union County residents, to sign up with the Union County First Alert system so they can receive emergency service announcements from their local officials.”
Municipalities interested in joining the Union County First Alert should contact Cherron Rountree, Division Director of Intergovernmental Policy and Planning at 908.527.4200. Training will be provided by the County’s Department of Public Safety. Residents who wish to sign up for the system can do so at www.ucfirstalert.org.
Union County Freeholders Linda Carter (4th R) and Christopher Hudak (3rd R) join Linden Mayor Richard Gerbounka, city officials and Union County Improvement Authority members in cutting the ribbon officially opening Fire Station No. 3 in Linden. The firehouse is the third such facility to come online during the past three years in Linden that are being financed through the Improvement Authority. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
ELIZABETH, NJ – Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi will open her office in the County Courthouse at 2 Broad Street in Elizabeth on Saturday, June 4, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for voters seeking last-minute mail-in ballots. The office will be open as a public service for those voters who choose the Vote By Mail option for the Primary Election to be held on Tuesday, June 7.
“Every voter should have the opportunity to cast his or her ballot in the primary election for state, county and municipal offices,” Rajoppi said. “We want to ensure that even those who have a last-minute change of plans can have a chance to vote.”
Walk-in applications are accepted up to 3:00 p.m. on Monday, June 6, the day before the primary election.
“By opening the Elizabeth office on the Saturday before the primary election, as we have done for the past 15 years, we hope to assist those citizens whose working hours or other commitments keep them from applying during the work week,” Rajoppi said.
Voters will be able to drop off their completed mail-in ballot, formerly known as an absentee ballot, at the Union County Clerk’s office in Elizabeth. This option allows voters to pick up their ballots, vote in privacy and deposit them in a secured lockbox – all at the same office through 3:00 p.m. on Monday, June 6.
“Voters used to pick up absentee ballots at the Clerk’s office and then had to drive across town to deliver them to the Board of Elections,” Rajoppi said. “This option makes voting more accessible, particularly for senior citizens.”
Completed ballots will be kept in a secure lockbox under the control of the Union County Board of Elections, who will collect them for counting.
The Clerk’s office has processed more than 1,300 mail-in ballots to date for the Primary Election and expects the number to exceed 3,000 by Primary Day, Tuesday, June 7.
To obtain an application, voters may download the form at the Clerk’s website:https://ucnj.org/government/county-clerk/vote-by-mail, but they must bring the completed application to the County Clerk’s Office on Saturday, June 4, between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., or Monday, June 6, before 3:00 p.m. For more information, contact the County Clerk’s office at 908-527-4996.
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Photo Caption: Union County participated in National Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day last month. Union County Freeholder Nancy Ward brought her daughter Josielee, age 2-1/2 (center right), and her nieces Josiejames (far left) and Savannah Conway (center left) to attend a public meeting of the Board of Chosen Freeholders on April 28.
by Nancy Ward
Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders
May 2011
From its small beginnings almost twenty years ago, Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day has grown into one of the best known public awareness campaigns in America. This year, Union County residents joined with more than 35 million participants across the country to bring boys and girls together in the working world, to explore new horizons and open new doors to the future.
Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day has become such as significant event that the United States Senate adopted a resolution this year, commending the participants for their service in “promoting and ensuring a brighter, stronger future for the United States.”
As a member of the Union County Freeholder Board, I welcomed the opportunity to bring my two-year-old daughter Josielee to our public meeting on April 28, along with my nieces Savannah (age 7) and Josiejames (age 8). It turned out to be a learning experience for me as much as it was for them.
I always thought of this event as a wonderful opportunity for parents to strengthen bonds with their children and introduce them to the responsibilities and new adventures that await them as adults. Now I realize that it means much more.
For my daughter and nieces, the workplace experience turned into a unique encounter with the community that they will occupy as they grow into adulthood. They had a chance to step out of the familiar routine of school, neighborhood and family, and enter a world that reflects the diversity and liveliness of neighborhoods all across Union County.
At the meeting, the Freeholder Board honored two groups of students who had participated in the county’s Arbor Day Poetry Contest and Consumer Bowl competition. My family got to see how the contributions of young people in Union County are respected and valued by adults, and my daughter was able to identify the Union County seal behind the dais, which she recognized from her replica refrigerator magnets at home, thereby making the connection between home and community even at her young age.
My nieces certainly gained a new appreciation for their potential to make an impact in their community, and they shared their experiences with classmates at school the next day. They were able to see how in this day and age every door can be opened. There are many different roads that can be taken to achieve a goal in life. If you can think it, then you can do it – and you can be it.
Part of the goal of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work is to encourage adults to reach out to other families with a message of encouragement and support, so I also appreciated the thoughtfulness and enthusiasm displayed by the many Union County employees who welcomed children into their workplaces from other families as well as their own.
Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day is now coordinated by a nonprofit organization, and it assists groups from countries all around the globe in starting up similar programs. That’s a strong testimony to the universal message, of adults reaching out to help a younger generation find its place in a changing world. It makes me very proud to know that this unique American invention is valued the world over.
Above all, I came away from Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day with a renewed appreciation for the importance of helping all children to enter the working world with full confidence in their own potential. Your roots are in your family, but work is where we grow wings that can take us anywhere.
I am looking forward to bringing my family to work again next year, and I hope you will join me.