County of Union, New JerseyDefault category for all normal press releases
Union County Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen and Freeholder Alexander Mirabella present a resolution to Union County Vocational-Technical Schools Superintendent Peter Capodice and UCVTS students and faculty designating February 2017 as National Career and Technical Education Month in Union County. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
Mountainside, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Department of Parks and Recreation are pleased to announce that residents of Union County can register online at www.ucnj.org/trailside for Trailside’s popular summer camp and family programs beginning Saturday, March 4th at 9:00 a.m.
“Trailside summer programs offer adults and children a great opportunity to explore the outdoors while learning about nature,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen, “Through the variety of camp and family programs, Trailside has something for everyone this summer.”
Half-day and full-day camps are offered this summer for children pre-first through sixth grade from the end of June through August. Each day campers spend time outdoors exploring nature through interactive and engaging activities that foster a love for the natural environment. Parents have commented that the summer programs offer a unique combination of fun activities and educational content. Children come home each day eager to share what they have learned at Trailside camp.
Additionally, families can spend quality time together learning about nature. Fridays are packed full of fun activities for the whole family; including, Bubblemania, Stream Stroll, Pond Search and more. Enjoy evenings with your family discovering the world of bats and catching tadpoles and crayfish at Seeley’s pond. Participate in a sing-a-long with interactive, silly skits around a campfire or try an over-night camp-out for beginners.
As of January 1, 2017, a new online registration system, designed to make access to our Parks and Recreation services easy and convenient, has been adopted. Register online at www.ucnj.org/trailside and create a new account and password. Please make sure all of your family members are listed in your new account with correct ages. If you would like to register in-person, the Visitor Center will be open on March 4th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Cash and credit cards are accepted. Trailside is unable to accept personal checks as of January 1, 2017.
For additional information about summer camps and family programs, including camp descriptions and registration policies, please call 908-789-3670 or visit www.ucnj.org/trailside. Trailside Nature & Science Center is located at 452 New Providence Road in Mountainside and is a service of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
# #
For all Union County programs and services visit ucnj.org, call the Public Info Line, 877-424-1234, email info@ucnj.org or use the online Contact Form.
Connect with Union County on social media.
Union County Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen and Freeholders Christopher Hudak, Angel G. Estrada, Bette Jane Kowalski and Vernell Wright present Springfield Mayor Diane Stampoulos, Committeewoman Geri Ann Bujnowski and Township Administrator Ziad Andrew Shehady with a new 12-passenger van that will provide free transport for senior citizens. The vans are being awarded to a total of 18 municipalities this year through Freeholder Chairman Bruce Bergen’s “Seniors in Motion” initiative to assist seniors with free, local transport. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
Union County Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen and Freeholders Christopher Hudak, Angel G. Estrada, Bette Jane Kowalski and Vernell Wright present Cranford Mayor Thomas H. Hannen with a new 12-passenger van that will provide free transport for senior citizens. The vans are being awarded to a total of 18 municipalities this year through Freeholder Chairman Bruce Bergen’s “Seniors in Motion” initiative to assist seniors with free, local transport. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
Route 1&9 northbound ramp to Port Street to be closed Friday night
New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials today announced the start of a project to replace bridge decks on three I-78 ramps over Routes 1&9 in Newark, Essex County.
The ramps are part of I-78 interchange 58 located just north of Newark Liberty International Airport and connect to Port Street, which is the major entrance to Port Newark from the north. The project primarily effects traffic heading to or from airport cargo facilities and Economy Parking Lot P6 on Brewster Avenue, and traffic going to or from Port Newark.
The $26.6 million federally-funded project will replace three structurally-deficient bridge decks over Routes 1&9 with new pre-cast bridge deck panels, parapets, guiderail and lighting. The project will be completed in stages with the majority of work being done overnight or on weekends to minimize impacts on motorists and marine terminal traffic. A series of weekend closures are scheduled to begin in March and continue most weekends through the fall, and restart again the spring of 2018. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.
Beginning on Friday, February 24 from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next morning, NJDOT’s contractor Union Paving and Construction, Inc., is scheduled to close the exit ramp from Routes 1&9 northbound to Port Street/Port Newark to install construction signs and traffic barriers in preparation for the upcoming bridge deck replacement work. The following signed detour will be in place to direct motorists to Port Street/Port Newark during the overnight closure:
Routes 1&9 northbound local to Port Street/Port Newark Detour
Variable message signs and lane closure signs will be utilized throughout the project limits to provide advance notification to motorists of all traffic pattern changes associated with the deck replacement project. Throughout the project, NJDOT will provide information before upcoming road closures.
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.
UCPO, UCSO, UCPD, Linden police investigating circumstances behind object left in parking lot An object left in a Linden parking lot Tuesday was found not to pose any danger to the public, but it appeared to be designed to resemble an explosive device, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park, Union County Sheriff Joseph Cryan, Union County Police Chief Christopher Debbie, and Linden Police Chief Jonathan Parham jointly announced Wednesday.
Linden Police Department patrol units responding to a report of a suspicious object traveled to the 1100 block of West St. Georges Avenue (Route 27) at approximately 6 p.m. Tuesday, located the object, and immediately began clearing the area. West St. Georges was closed between North Stiles and Ross streets, and residents of two nearby apartment buildings were evacuated.
Police, fire, and emergency management personnel from Linden, the Union County Police Department Bomb Squad, and members of the Prosecutor’s Office, Union County Sheriff’s Office K-9 and Crime Scene units, New Jersey State Police, and the FBI responded to the scene, and at approximately 8:30 p.m. an assessment was made that the object did not contain explosive materials. The scene was cleared a little more than an hour later, when evacuated residents were permitted to return to their homes. Police units also swept the area for additional devices, but did not locate any.
This remains an active investigation, and anyone with information about this matter is being urged to contact Prosecutor’s Office Detective Dennis Donovan at 732-232-2049 or Linden Police Detective Joseph Kaulfers at 908-474-8537. The Union County Crime Stoppers are also offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and indictment; tips can be given anonymously by phone at 908-654-TIPS (8477), via text message by texting “UCTIP” and a message to 274637 (CRIMES), or online at www.uctip.org.
“Thank you to the concerned citizen who first made us aware of this suspicious device,” Chief Parham said. “This event, like so many others we have seen, truly highlights the significance of the police-community relationship, and how important it is for our friends and neighbors to remain vigilant. We cannot do our jobs without you.”
Charlotte DeFilippo was a visionary, an innovator, and a trailblazer throughout an extraordinary governmental and civic career that spanned six decades.
A titan of County and local government, Charlotte also served in various elected, and governmental capacities in her hometown of Hillside. At the County, she served as a Freeholder early on in her life. She later served for more than a decade as the Director of the Union County Improvement Authority where she created a legacy of public projects that transformed County Government and are providing long lasting benefits to all citizens at every level of society.
On a personal level, Charlotte had a brilliant mind, was a great strategist and incredibly engaging in conversation on so many topics. Her influence on her friends, as well as local and County government, and the residents of our community will be long felt. She will be sorely missed. Flags in Union County will be flown at half-staff.
To pre-register, visit www.ucnj.org/parks-reg/
Union County, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to announce that Freeholder Vernell Wright will be presented with the annual Chester Holmes Humanitarian Award on Monday, February 27 as part of the Union County 2017 Black History Month Celebration at the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway.
“Black History Month is a time to celebrate and learn about the rich culture of leadership that shaped America, and in that spirit it is a great honor to present the Chester Holmes Humanitarian Award to Freeholder Wright,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen. “Freeholder Wright has made her presence felt throughout Union County and beyond with her unwavering commitment to improving life for all in our community.”
Freeholder Wright has been a resident of the Vauxhall section of Union Township for more than 50 years, during which time she served as a teacher, principal and in other capacities in the Union Public Schools System.
She is affiliated with numerous community and professional organizations including New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, United Community Center Scholarship Committee, Tri-City Branch – NAACP, First Baptist Church of Vauxhall, Boylan-Haven Mather Academy National Alumnae Association, Vauxhall Historical Society, and the Concerned Citizens of Vauxhall and Vicinity Civic Association.
In recognition of her service and commitment to the residents of Union County, Freeholder Wright was awarded the New Jersey Association of Counties with its Maurice Fitzgibbons Freeholder of the Year award in 2017.
Serving her first term on the Freeholder Board from 2012 to 2014, Freeholder Wright was Chairman of the Policy and Administrative Code Committee, as well as a member of the Homeland Security Committee, the Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation Committee, and the Policy and Administrative Code Committee.
She has also served as liaison to several advisory boards including the Advisory Council on Aging, the Senior Citizen & Disabled Resident Transportation Advisory Board, the Commission on the Status of Women, the Youth Services Commission, and the Local Advisory Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, among others.
Freeholder Wright was re-elected in 2016 and is serving her second term in office.
Presented annually by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the Chester Holmes Humanitarian Award is given to a candidate that displays outstanding devotion to the people of Union County through their service-based or philanthropic work.
The Union County 2107 Black History Month celebration features Terrance McKnight of WQXR, presenting “A Beautiful Symphony of Brotherhood: A Musical Journey in the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.”
Admission is free but pre-registration is requested. To register or for more information visit ucnj.org/black-history-month or call the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, 908-558-2550.
# #
For all Union County programs and services visit ucnj.org, call the Public Info Line, 877-424-1234, email info@ucnj.org or use the online Contact Form.
Connect with Union County on social media.
Union County, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to present “Snapshots… Black History in Plainfield,” an exhibit of twenty photos and text, curated and written by Plainfield Public Library’s Local History Department, headed by archivist Sarah Hull.
“We’re pleased to host this evocative exhibit that celebrates many aspects of local black history,” said Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski, liaison to the Union County Cultural and Heritage Advisory Board.
The wide-ranging images feature residents and notable people including accomplished leaders, activists, artists and athletes. Since the city’s beginning, black residents influenced the building and development of Plainfield. The city has been home to numerous social, religious, and professional organizations, some of which are documented in the exhibit.
Exhibit materials were coordinated by Jeff Wassen, with photos including: 1902 postal workers; Milt Campbell, the gold medalist in the decathlon at the 1956 Olympic Games; and Coretta Scott King urging Plainfielders to vote for Jimmy Carter at a rally in 1980. The exhibit also features text exploring subjects including: Slavery in Plainfield; Black-Owned Businesses in the Early 1900s; Early Clubs and Organizations; and Firsts in Education.
The Freeholders Gallery is located on the 6thfloor of the Union County Administration Building, Elizabethtown Plaza, in downtown Elizabeth. Gallery hours are 9 am to 5 pm, weekdays. The exhibit will be displayed through Tuesday, April 4, 2017.
Plainfield Library’s Local History Collection, the largest such collection in Union County, is composed of books, documents, photographs, blueprints, maps, newspapers, personal papers, oral histories, and local organizations’ records of significance in Plainfield and the surrounding communities.
In addition to items relevant to County and State histories, there is also an extensive Genealogy Collection, as well as publications on the American Revolution 
and the Civil War. Special collections include Fine Arts, Jerseyana, Local Authors, and Diversity Studies. The Local History Room is open to the public on weekdays from 9 am to 5 pm, at 800 Park Avenue in Plainfield. Information about the Local History Collection can also be found online at http://www.plainfieldlibrary.info/.
For further information, or to learn more about exhibiting at the Freeholders Gallery, contact the Union County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs, 633 Pearl Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07202; telephone, 908-558-2550; or email culturalinfo@ucnj.org. NJ Relay users may dial 711.
# #
For all Union County programs and services visit ucnj.org, call the Public Info Line, 877-424-1234, email info@ucnj.org or use the online Contact Form.
Connect with Union County on social media.