Category: Public Info

Union County Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen joined Acting Union County Prosecutor Grace Park and Janice C. Lilien, Executive Director of the YWCA of Union County, at the third annual Union County C.A.R.E.S. (Community, Action, Response, Education, Safety) Domestic Violence Symposium at Kean University in Union.

The symposium was co-sponsored by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, YWCA Union County, Kean University, the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the Elizabeth-based Family and Children’s Services, Iris House, and Trinitas Regional Medical Center.

For more information about YWCA domestic violence programs, visit http://www.ywcaunioncounty.org/.

(Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

Artist residents of Union County who are 60 years of age or older are invited to participate and exhibit an original work of art which has been completed within the last three years in the annual Union County Senior Citizens Art Exhibit. Entrants may be either amateur/non-professional or professional in status. Any person who meets at least two of the following criteria is considered professional: a) sold the type of art entered in the exhibition through commercial channels; b) exhibited in a professional gallery; c) held professional membership in a guild or association.

The annual Union County Senior Citizens Art Exhibit will be held in the Atrium of the Elizabethtown Gas Company, Liberty Hall Center, 1085 Morris Avenue, Union. The exhibit will run from May 31 to July 12, with an artists’ reception on Wednesday, June 8, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

“We have some amazing senior artists in Union County, and it’s always a pleasure to see their work,” said Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski, liaison to the Cultural and Heritage Programs Advisory Board.

The ten categories of eligible work are: oil; acrylic; watercolor (including gouache); pastel (including chalk, charcoal and oil pastel); drawing and prints (including drawings with pencil, pen, ink, graphite, and prints such as etching, engraving, lithograph, woodcut, monoprint, monotype, silkscreen, etc.); mixed media (combines two or more media, no one of which clearly predominates; including collage and assemblage); sculpture (three dimensional, carved, or constructed in any medium, abstract or figurative, painted or unpainted); craft (one-of-a-kind creations only, no kits or molds); digital/computer art (art generated or altered digitally using software); and photography. Please note: photos taken with a digital camera, digitally altered photos, and images made using a scanner must be entered in the Photography category.

Three professional artists will judge the entries. Awards will go to first, second, third place and honorable mention winners in each category. First Place winners in all categories go on to compete in September at the New Jersey State Senior Citizens Art Show which will take place at the Meadow Lakes retirement community (www.meadowlakesonline.org) in East Windsor.

Hanging artwork, crafts and photos may not exceed 36” nor be less than 10” in any dimension, including matte and frame. Sculpture or 3-D crafts may not exceed 20” in any dimension (measurements include any base for the sculpture). All work must be properly labeled and delivered “show-ready” with screw eyes and wiring ready for hanging. Where necessary, pictures must be protected with glass, Mylar, Plexiglas or other clear material. Plexiglas is strongly recommended on pieces exceeding 24 inches.

For a copy of the application, call Martha Sturm, Senior Arts Coordinator, at the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, 908-558-2550, or email culturalinfo@ucnj.org. Relay users dial 711. Mail completed applications to Senior Art Show, Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, 633 Pearl St., Elizabeth, NJ 07202; or fax to 908-558-2652 on or before Wednesday, May 18. Completed applications may also be scanned and emailed to msturm@ucnj.org.

Union County, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to announce that the new Union County Means Green Community Garden Grants program is now accepting grant applications to start a new community garden, or to expand and improve an existing garden. The garden grant program will be administered by the non-profit organization Groundwork Elizabeth under its Come Grow With Us! community garden program.

“Growing fresh produce provides the benefits of improved nutrition, environmental education, recreation, socializing, volunteer opportunities, and neighborhood beautification,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen. “This new funding opportunity is designed to help local groups assemble the resources they need to bring these positive experiences to their community.”

“The community gardens funded through this program will provide a source of enrichment for many years to come, and I thank Chairman Bergen and the Freeholder Board for introducing this new grant program,” said New Jersey State Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (District 20), whose advocacy for community gardening lead to the founding of Come Grow With Us! in 2009. “Come Grow With Us addresses the goal of making sure everyone has access to locally grown, fresh foods, and the Union County Means Green initiative is a key part of meeting the objective of sustainability and food access.”

The Union County Means Green Community Garden Grants program is part of Chairman Bergen’s 2016 “Union County Means Green” 2016 initiative for environmental outreach. It builds on the County’s support for the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Union County Master Gardeners program, which focuses on community nutrition and education.    

“This new grant program joins Union County residents with national efforts to raise awareness about the importance of gardening for a fit, healthy community, such as the USDA Peoples Garden Initiative and the Let’s Move! Initiative, and we are very excited to help this movement grow,” said Jonathan Phillips, Executive Director of Groundwork Elizabeth.

Funding from the Union County Means Green Community Garden Grants is available to non-profit civic organizations and agencies including historical societies, community centers, senior centers, municipal agencies or departments, and volunteer civic groups such as municipal Environmental Commissions and neighborhood associations. At this time funding is not available to schools or school districts.

The grants for new gardens are designed to take all of the guesswork out of creating a new community garden. The grant package includes planning, setup, maintenance, education and guidance, all provided in one package by Groundwork Elizabeth’s expert community garden team. Matching grants of up to $3,000 are available.

For existing gardens, matching grants of up to $3,000 are available for expansion or to replace critical infrastructure such as sheds, fences, new soil, and raised beds.

Applications for 2016 are due May 6, 2016. Union County will notify grant recipients by May 16, 2016.

More details and downloadable application forms are available on the County website, at ucnj.org/garden-grants.

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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.

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Workshop for Museums, Schools & Non-Profit History Groups, April 20

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders announces the availability of two types of history grants for Union County-based non-profit groups and diverse organizations through the FY 2016 Union County History Re-grant Program funded by the New Jersey Historical Commission. The program is administered by the Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs in the Department of Parks and Recreation.

A history grant-writing workshop will be held from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20, at The Carter House in Summit. Grant applications will be available at the workshop.

“The grant-writing workshop is intended for Union County-based non-profit historical societies, schools, museums, libraries, municipal governments and other groups seeking funding for a history project or event that promotes better understanding of Union County and New Jersey history,” said Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski, liaison to the Cultural and Heritage Programs Advisory Board.

There are general standards of eligibility as well as specific requirements for each grant:

• General Operating Support (GOS) grants provide assistance for the basic costs of operation (e.g. programming, preservation of collections, salaries, marketing, etc.) to Union County based historical societies, house museums or historic sites only. The maximum GOS grant request is $7,500.
• Special Project (SP) grants support history organizations, museums, schools, libraries and similar organizations with collections or programming relating to Union County and New Jersey state history. The maximum SP grant request is $5,000.  

To confirm attendance (recommended) at the April 20th workshop or to receive more information, contact the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs at 633 Pearl Street, Elizabeth 07202. Telephone: (908) 436-2912. E-mail requests to jprescott@ucnj.org.

Funding for this program is made available through the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State.

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is proud to support People Helping People, a nonprofit community organization based in Rahway, to produce the internationally acclaimed dark comedy God of Carnage at UCPAC’s Hamilton Stage in Rahway this weekend, April 7-9.

Embracing the art of theatre to address an important social issue, People Helping People’s production of God of Carnage gets to the root and nature of how society deals with bullying.

“The Union County Advancing Community Theatre program seeks to provide opportunities that draw people together to participate in collaborative art experiences,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce Bergen. “The Freeholder Board is very proud to support the creative efforts of the community organization People Helping People to help explore important social issues and bring them to life on stage.”

Directed by Andrea Clinton, God of Carnage is a fast, furious and very, very funny, dark comedy about two sets of parents who meet to discuss the unruly behavior of their 11-year-old sons. However, in their own union, when niceties and manners go out the window, the God of Carnage rears its ugly head.

Written by Yasmina Reza and translated by Christopher Hampton, this Tony-award winning play is recommended for mature audiences.

Founded by Union County resident Andrea Clinton, People Helping People’s Arts and Entertainment program seeks to uncover life events through the art of theatre. “We chose to produce God of Carnage because it is a play that reflects everyday people, their conversations, their belief structures, behavior and disguises,” said director Andrea Clinton. “This play offers audiences a dialogue and imagery of everyday life events and issues, and we believe it’s a play that helps audiences examine their lives and choices.”

Sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders through the Union County Advancing Community Theatre (UCACT) program, People Helping People’s production of God of Carnage will run for four performances at UCPAC’s Hamilton Stage this weekend, Thursday, April 7 and Friday, April 8 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 9 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. General Admission tickets are just $20. Student, Senior and Group discounts are also available through the UCPAC Box Office. For more information or to purchase tickets visit ucpac.org or call the UCPAC box office at 732-499-8226.

The UCACT program launched in 2015 as a special initiative of Freeholder Mohamed S. Jalloh during his chairmanship and continues on the footsteps of last year’s success, which included a diverse body of work including two original plays, a student production, a new community theatre organization, among others featuring the high-quality artistic talent of many Union County residents.

The UCACT program aims to provide a strategic platform to support the development of Union County’s rich theatre talent by leveraging existing resources and broadening the definition of economic development and public recreation to include support for community theatre. For more information about UCACT visit ucnj.org/ucact.

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders have launched a new online resource center webpage for Veterans at www.ucnj.org/uc-hero

The webpage is part of Union County Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen’s “UC HERO” initiative for 2016 in honor of Veterans and is a guide to services at the different levels of government, including County Government. The “UC HERO” initiative involves outreach, as well as raising awareness about available services for Veterans through various County agencies, including the County’s Office of Veterans’ Affairs, the County Clerk, the Division on Aging, health and mental health referral services, and job opportunities through the Workforce Innovation Business Center.

“We owe an unending debt of gratitude to all the brave men and women who have made a great sacrifice for our country and committed themselves to maintaining our freedom,” said Freeholder Bruce H. Bergen. “We’ve designed this webpage to serve as a helpful guide for Veterans at all stages of life.”

The webpage contains links for the Federal Veterans Administration, various State and County agencies,  retirement planning, transportation, education, job training, health care, mental health services, end of life planning, and more.

Union County Freeholder Vice Chairman Sergio Granados was honored by the Urban League of Union County Young Professionals at their 3^rd Annual Black Tie Affair in Union. Kendall Givens and Crystal Orr of the Urban League’s Young Professionals presented the Vice Chairman with the Outstanding Work in Government and Civil Service award for his commitment to the Union County community and his continued efforts to achieve social and economic equality among all residents.

(Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

New stage in bridge deck project removes temporary work zone

New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials today announced a traffic shift to the right-side of the bridge for the removal of a construction work zone on the Route 22 westbound over Burke Parkway bridge replacement project in Union County.

Starting at 10 p.m. tonight Friday, April 1 until 8 a.m. Saturday, April 2 and from 10 p.m. Saturday, April 2, until 8 a.m. Sunday, April 3, NJDOT’s contractor Power Concrete, Co. Inc., is scheduled to temporarily close travel lanes on Route 22 westbound to remove concrete barriers and signage. The overnight operations will shift motorists onto the right-side of the bridge, removing the temporary single-lane 11-foot cattle chute currently on either side of a center work zone on the bridge. Route 22 eastbound will not be affected.

The $2 million bridge deck replacement project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2016. The project is being constructed in stages, which began with the new deck and parapets. Each stage is re-constructing approximately one third of the bridge deck at a time. The bridge deck replacement project includes milling and paving the bridge approaches, and reconstructing the guide rail, sidewalk, and curb. As the project progresses, NJDOT will provide information before any closures or detours are implemented.

NJDOT will be using Variable Message Signs to provide advance notification to motorists of traffic pattern changes associated with the work.

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.

All of Union County is invited to help high school students with a new student-created civic campaign this year called “Garments & Gear – Greatness for Years.” The campaign is aimed at helping ensure that all student athletes can obtain the necessary equipment and clothing, regardless of their financial situation.

Garments & Gear was developed by high school students participating in UC STEP, the Union County Student Training and Enrichment Program, an initiative of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

“This exemplary civic campaign will help ensure that finances are no obstacle to students who want to engage in school sports with their friends and classmates,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen. “It’s a great way to show that the Union County community respects and supports all young people who desire to work hard and excel.”

In the Garments & Gear campaign, high school students from across Union County will collect new and gently used sports equipment and clothing, raise funds by selling Garments & Gear merchandise, and reach out to the community for additional donations.

“Garments & Gear really demonstrates the value of having students brainstorm on civic projects,” said Freeholder Linda Carter, who conceived and launched the first UC STEP during her term as Chairman in 2013. “These young people recognized a significant need among their peers, and they envisioned how we can all step up together and pitch in.”

UC STEP is an annual youth development seminar and civic engagement project for high school juniors and seniors. This year’s UC STEP seminar was held in December with the participation of 195 students from 27 public, private and charter schools throughout Union County.

Each year, the highlight of the UC STEP seminar is the creation of original civic engagement campaigns by teams of student from different schools, working together for the first time. One of the campaigns is ultimately selected as a countywide project supported by the Freeholder Board. Garments & Gear was created by “Team Red,” consisting of 15 members from 12 schools.

Participating in the Garments & Gear campaign this spring are schools that were also represented on Team Red, including Cranford High School, David Brearley High School, John E. Dwyer Academy, Linden High School, New Providence High School, Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, St. Mary’s High School, UC Vo-Tech High School, Union High School, Roselle Catholic High School, and Plainfield High School.

Governor Livingston High School, Union County TEAMS Charter School, Rahway High School, and Jonathan Dayton are also participating in the campaign.

Union County residents, businesses, organizations and local agencies can participate in Garments & Gear by bringing donations of new or gently used clothing and equipment to drop-off sites, listed on the County website at ucnj.org/uc-step.

To find out how to participate in Garments & Gear with additional funding call UC STEP at 908-659-7412 or email ucstep@ucnj.org.

The campaign will wrap up on Saturday, April 30.

Union County Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski and Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Union County Environmental and Resource Management Agent Michele Bakacs speak with Pedro Esteve, Lorraine MacNamara and Penny Blackmond of the Richmond Towers Garden Club in Plainfield. Freeholder Kowalski spoke with club members about Freeholder Chairman’s Bruce H. Bergen’s Union County Means Green initiative which includes a new “Community Garden Grant” program for new and existing gardens.

(Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)