County of UnionDefault category for all normal press releases
On Sunday, November 15th, Freeholders Linda Carter and Sergio Granados attended a soccer tournament at Greenbrook Park in Plainfield hosted by Plainfield Soccer League. After a successful day of play they handed out trophies to the 28 teams that participated.
Union County Freeholder Alexander Mirabella joined Union County Vocational-Technical School Superintendent Peter A. Capodice, representatives from the Wakefern Food Corporation and Union County Vocational-Technical (UCTECH) High School faculty and students at the ribbon cutting reopening the training supermarket at UCTECH in Scotch Plains. The market is part of the supermarket technology program that is designed to introduce students to the various aspects and career opportunities associated with the retail food industry. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
Union County Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh, Freeholder Christopher Hudak and Union County Public Safety Director Andrew Moran discuss with Linden Mayor Derek Armstead, Linden Police Chief James Schulhafer, Capt. Dave Hart and Linden Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Deputy Coordinator Joe Stigliano the county’s donation of two vehicles to the Linden OEM. The two vans were donated by the Union County Sheriff’s Office and the Union County Department of Public Safety.
(Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to present an exhibit of photographs by Sam Awad in the gallery space at the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, located in the historic St. John’s Parsonage at 633 Pearl Street in Elizabeth. A selection of his work entitled “Phantoms” is on display at the Pearl Street Gallery through December 30. The public is invited to enjoy the exhibit during regular gallery hours, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.
“Sam Awad is a talented and experienced photographer,” said Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski, liaison to the Union County Cultural and Heritage Advisory Board. “It’s a great pleasure to display his beautiful and skillfully done images.”
Sam Awad is an architect and photographer. Ever creative, he also composes music and plays the guitar. Originally from Lebanon, he immigrated to the United States in 1985 to start a new life away from the horrors of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990). He enjoys studying languages and speaks Arabic as well as English, French, Italian, some German and Polish, and a bit of Spanish. He and his wife, artist and photographer Agnieszka Solawa, travel to Europe often and come home with thousands of gorgeous photographs between them.
At the age of ten, Sam did his first architectural drawing of his house and knew he wanted to be an architect. He sees architecture as “being a solution to a problem” and works on residential and commercial constructions.
Sam actively exhibits in many local venues including several juried shows in New Jersey. He recently exhibited his photography in the New Providence Public Library, the Union County Senior Art Show, the Millburn Public Library, and the Donald Palmer Museum in the Springfield Library. To enjoy Sam Awad’s photography and learn more about him, visit his website: www.samawad.com .
Union County artists (whose works can be hung on a wall) interested in exhibiting in the gallery space are welcome to apply. For more information about the Pearl Street Gallery or other programs, please contact the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, 633 Pearl Street, Elizabeth NJ 07202. Free on-site parking is available. Telephone 908-558-2550. NJ Relay users can dial 711. Send E-mail to: culturalinfo@ucnj.org.
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As some of you may know the Surrogate’s Office is responsible for assisting residents in the orderly process of estates after the death of a Union County Resident. As Surrogate of Union County, one of my obligations is to alert residents of potential problems with the processing of residents estates.
Recent events concerning Chase and Wells Fargo Banks compel me to warn residents that their loved ones may confront severe problems when they attempt to manage their deceased loved ones assets at the time of their death. Chase Bank has displayed in the recent past a refusal to follow New Jersey Law and instead follow their own bank instituted policy which adds expense and delay to the orderly processing of the decedents estates. Wells Fargo has acted in a similar manner on many occasions.
I am therefore advising Union County Residents that commencing or continuing a banker-customer relationship with Chase and Wells Fargo Banks may cause several unforeseen impediments with the timely processing of your estate after your death or the death of a loved one.
Please remember this alert when deciding to commence or continue a financial relationship with Chase Bank or Wells Fargo Bank.
Nominations are now being accepted for the 24th annual Women of Excellence awards program, sponsored by the Union County Commission on the Status of Women and the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
The Women of Excellence awards are a great opportunity for businesses and organizations in Union County to nominate and recognize the personal achievements of an employee or volunteer.
“For more than 20 years, the Women of Excellence Awards have celebrated and supported the difference that women make to strengthen our communities and impact the quality of life in Union County,” said Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh. “If there is an extraordinary woman in your life, whether professional or volunteer, I encourage you to submit her name for consideration.”
Women can be nominated for their contributions in the categories of Arts and Humanities, Business and Entrepreneurial, Community Service, Education, Government, Law, Law Enforcement, Medicine and Health Care, or Women’s Advocacy.
The Women of Excellence award is open to all women, 21 years or older, who live, work, or volunteer in Union County.
Awardees will be celebrated and will receive a certificate at the annual Women of Excellence gala awards dinner, to be held on March 18, 2016 at Galloping Hill Caterers in Union Township.
For more information about submitting a Women of Excellence nomination, or to download a nomination form, visit ucnj.org/women-of-excellence. Questions about the nomination process can be emailed johara1217@gmail.com.
All nominations should be mailed to Jane O’Hara at 708 Newark Avenue, Westfield, NJ 07090 and postmarked no later than December 1, 2015.
Education, outreach and enforcement to encourage safer walking, driving in city
The City of Elizabeth has been selected as one of six sites for the next round of a pedestrian safety education campaign aimed at promoting safe travel behavior through education and enforcement.
The selection of Elizabeth and other communities for the Street Smart NJ campaign was announced at the Nov. 9 meeting of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) Board of Trustees in Newark. The NJTPA coordinates the campaign, a collaborative effort between public, private and non-profit organizations that urges motorists and pedestrians to obey New Jersey’s pedestrian safety laws.
“Safety on our streets is a vital concern in Elizabeth because of the high number of pedestrian crashes,” said Union County Freeholder Angel Estrada, second vice-chairman of the NJTPA Board. “This campaign will raise awareness and encourage drivers and pedestrians alike to make smarter, safer decisions on the road.”
The six pilot areas – Elizabeth, Franklin Borough (Sussex County), Metuchen, Passaic, Red Bank and a joint campaign in Toms River and Lakewood – will undergo pedestrian safety evaluations prior to the campaign launches in March. Following the campaigns, which use advertising, grassroots public awareness efforts and targeted law enforcement, there will be a second evaluation to determine whether drivers, cyclists and pedestrians changed their behaviors.
“We are excited that the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority selected us to participate in this important effort,” said Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage. “The city is committed to keeping everyone who travels our streets safe, and this campaign will help us meet that goal.”
Street Smart NJ conducted first phase pilot programs in Newark, Hackettstown, Jersey City and Woodbridge in 2013. The program was also implemented in Long Beach Island during summer 2014. Motorists and pedestrians were urged to “check your vital signs” – speed limit and stop signs for drivers, and walk/don’t walk signals and crosswalks for pedestrians. Evaluations completed as part of those efforts show that the Street Smart NJ campaign improves pedestrian and motorist behaviors, reducing the risk of pedestrian crashes. The program is funded by the Federal Highway Administration.
Pedestrian safety continues to be an important issue in New Jersey. New Jersey is ranked 10th in the nation in per capita pedestrian fatalities. The state has been designated a “focus” state by the Federal Highway Administration for the high incidence of injury and fatal motor vehicle crashes involving pedestrians. From 2011-2014, 591 pedestrians were killed and more than 17,000 injured on New Jersey’s roadways, which translates to one death every 2.5 days and 11 injuries daily.
To learn more about the campaign, visit bestreetsmartnj.org.
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(posted on behalf of NJTPA)
The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to announce online registration at www.ucnj.org/trailside for “Flower Arranging with Kurt Christoffers” for adults, ages 18 and older, on Monday, November 9 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Trailside Nature and Science Center in Mountainside.
“This program not only offers inspiration, it provides a relaxing environment to cure the ills of a stressful day,” says Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh. “Residents can have fun while learning how to skillfully create a beautiful floral centerpiece just in time for the holidays.”
Join Kurt Christoffers, floral designer and owner of the innovative Christoffers Flowers of Mountainside, as he demonstrates how to arrange a centerpiece using nature’s best harvest. Relax as you watch Mr. Christoffers masterfully design an artistic piece that can be used to dress your holiday table with beauty. Try your hand at designing a centerpiece of your own to take home. Floral material and a container will be provided. Bring your own shears or clippers if you have them.
The fee for this workshop is $25 for residents of Union County and $30 for out-of-county residents. Pre-registration for this program is required as materials are limited. For more information about this program, 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.
Sitting with her grandmother at the age of seven, a young Andrea Clinton wrote her first play.
“I was talking her ear off and she sat me down with a pencil and notebook and said, ‘Why don’t you put it in a story for me,’” Clinton recalls.
Since they had been reading plays together at the time, Clinton wrote her story in that format- one which would stick with her through her adult life, and ultimately lead to her passion for writing novels and screenplays.
At first glance, Clinton seems to be the antithesis of the typical theater person, she’s demure, quiet, and very reserved, but behind that exterior lies something bold, brave and colorful. It is the person that has been inspired by her Funkadelic uncle George Clinton, and the rest of the eclectic and creative Clinton/Giles family.
It is this person that is the mastermind behind Murphy’s Law: Group Therapy Gone Wild- a dark comedy that is set to premiere in Union County next week at the Union County Performing Arts Center’s Hamilton Stage.
In the play, Dr. Kapewski also known as Dr. Pew is an unconventional, quirky, hippie-psychotherapist that brings her patients, who would not normally be in each other’s company, together for “dramatic group therapy.” As the saying goes, anything that can go wrong will, as her patients get carried away in their own personalities, in a group therapy session gone wild.
In addition to her creative work, Clinton is the founder of People Helping People, Inc. a non-profit that seeks to help disenfranchised people become independent and self-sufficient by providing programs, services and counseling, and connecting people with resources.
Then there is People Helping People’s mental health initiative- a program that was ignited when, in addition to the growing number of reported suicides, one of Clinton’s loved ones took their own life and another died as an adverse affect of a suicide attempt some years earlier.
Coping with these tragedies and reminiscent of her own challenging bout with panic attacks over a decade prior, Clinton found commonality among diversity in her own group therapy sessions and her passion for advocating mental health awareness developed.
“In theatre, we playwrights and others ask ourselves, ‘Why this play? Why now?’ The issue of mental health around the nation today demands this play and calls for it and others that advocate the cause, now. This is why we seek producers and producing theatre’s—we hope they will join me in utilizing theatre to spread the word about the importance of a healthy mental health to the masses.”
She explains that battles with mental health come in all shapes and sizes.
“I knew that this play couldn’t just reveal how sharing your woe or being with others – that isn’t enough. This play had to ADVOCATE.”
So how do you seek advocacy through comedy? According to Clinton, people digest things better with a dose of laughter.
“We need to be sensitive about the platter on which we serve these issues or else it may be too dismal,” said Clinton. “Similar to what you see on TV, when a sitcom addresses an issue but there is still laughter involved, it lessens the blow of the reality.”
Murphy’s Law is set to run November 13th through the 15th at the Union County Performing Arts Center’s Hamilton Stage.
Tickets are priced at $15 general admission and $20 for a VIP ticket, which includes a cocktail hour reception & VIP seating. Group rates are also available for 10 or more tickets. To purchase, or for additional information, please contact UCPAC Box Office at 732-499-8226 or visit ucpac.org.
Murphy’s Law is being produced by People Helping People, Inc. and the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholder through the UCACT Program. UCACT grants funding to cover the hard costs associated with putting up at production at the Union County Performing Arts Center. Through creative partnership and a holistic approach, the program creates a successful business model for Community Theater, allowing them to provide quality performances while also thriving financially.
Clinton is currently working on an adaptation of her first novel, One Who Loves You More into a 2-act play and is working on another play titled A Family Affair. She has two completed 1-act plays, Tracy and Only the Strong Survive, which have been accepted to the DC Black Theatre Festival for 2016. She is an independent author and has published 4 books: One Who Loves You More, A Blessing and a Curse, Red Dollar and Love at First Plight. She has two more books going into publication in the near future titled Where Do We Go From Here and Pot Luck, a book of poetry, short stories and commentary. In 2016, she seeks to follow with Silent as a Lamb and Tracy, which are sequels to her first book One Who Loves You More.