County of Union, New JerseyDefault category for all normal press releases
Marking the beginning of Chanukah, Union County Freeholder Vice Chairman Bruce H. Bergen, Freeholders Christopher Hudak and Sergio Granados, Union County Manager Alfred Faella, Deputy County Manager William Reyes and other county officials gathered with Rabbi Mordechai Kanelsky and representatives from Bris Avrohom of Hillside to light the menorah in Phil Rizzuto Park in Elizabeth.
(Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
Filmgoers packed the seats at Hamilton Stage in Rahway on Sunday evening for the Union County premier of the legendary documentary, “Rat Slayer of Hillside NJ,” which captures the real life case of man vs. rat that made headlines around the globe back in 1994. The screening, sponsored by the Freeholder Board, was attended by a costumed rat character and other local luminaries including director and writer Andrew Ruotolo, co-producer Andrew Lessner, and co-director of photography Sean Devaney, who all grew up together in Westfield.
Not in attendance were co-producer Michael Angelo Covino and co-director of photography Zach Kuperstein. Freeholder Chairman Mohamed Sellu Jalloh and Vice Chairman Bruce Bergen were in attendance for the premiere along with Rahway Mayor Samson Steinman.
Learn more about the documentary at https://www.facebook.com/ratslayerofhillsidenj/
New Jersey native Ronald L. Charles served as Associate Director of the Essex County Department of Corrections and as Facility Administrator at Delaney Hall
Ronald L. Charles, a New Jersey native who has extensive experience in managing both public and private correctional facilities in the state, has been hired as the new Director of the Union County Department of Corrections, County officials announced.
Charles is a former Associate Director of the Essex County Department of Corrections, the state’s largest County correctional facility, and has also served in senior level executive positions at Delaney Hall, a private facility.
Charles was hired following a nationwide search conducted by the County following the retirement of former director Brian Riordan, who left in July after seven successful years. During the interim period, Assistant Director George Blaskiewicz had served as acting director.
The County received well over 50 resumes during the job search, and narrowed the list to nearly a dozen finalists before selecting Charles.
“Ronald Charles has an outstanding record of public and private-level experience in corrections,” said County Manager Alfred J. Faella. “He has managed the administrative and fiscal operations of two major correctional facilities, and had his boots on the ground as a corrections officer for many years as well. We look forward to working with him.”
Charles is earning a salary of $115,000 a year, and started his new job yesterday, following his hiring by the County Manager. He is responsible for the supervision of a total staff of approximately 295 corrections officers and supervisors, 34 civilian employees, and a census count of approximately 720 prisoners, with another 40 under contract at Delaney Hall in Essex County.
Charles will work to continue many of the reforms begun under way at the facility. During the past eight years, the County has focused on reducing its daily census count (number of inmates) at the jail by nearly 30 percent, resulting in operational efficiencies.
The County implemented the findings from the Luminosity study, which has succeeded in reducing operational costs and expenses at the adult facility (Union County Jail) by $1 million.
This report continues to reap benefits by bringing together stakeholders in an effort to reduce unnecessary detention while maintaining public safety and the integrity of the courts process.
Charles said he looks forward to starting his job, and thanked the Freeholder Board and the County Manager for the opportunity to lead the Department of Corrections.
“There is still much to accomplish and there are many challenges before us, but I look forward to working with the County team in providing a safe, secure, productive and efficient facility,” Charles said.
During a 29-year career in corrections, Charles, who started as an Essex County Corrections Officer, rose through the ranks meritoriously to Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Associate Warden and climbed to the position of Associate Director of the Department in 2006, where until his retirement in 2011, he was responsible the supervision of more than 700 employees with a operating budget of over $100 Million dollars. Among his other duties, he authored RFP’s (Requests for Proposal) and contracts, and wrote a financial review process for the budget with department heads and administrative officials.
In 2011, he began work for Delaney Hall Detention Center, a private run facility that contracts with governmental agencies such as Union County and Essex County for its detainees. Over the next four years, he served as a Facility Administrator and then a Facility Training Administrator whose responsibilities included managing the budget, supervising staff, establishing operational plans, and developing lesson plans and learning objectives for professional and leadership development.
Charles is a Certified Public Manager (CPM) and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice. He is a graduate of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government Leadership Program and is a certified instructor with the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety Police Training Commission and is a certified auditor with the American Correctional Association.
Standing outside the Mignone family’s home in Clark, Union County Freeholder Vice Chairman Bruce H. Bergen (right) thanked Michael Mignone for the donation of a 30-foot tall blue spruce from his front lawn that will be this year’s Christmas tree in the rotunda at the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth. The public is invited to view the tree on weekdays during the holiday season. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
Union County Freeholder Vice Chairman Bruce H. Bergen and Freeholders Bette Jane Kowalski, Angel G. Estrada and Alexander Mirabella accept a plaque from Roselle Public Library Director Jeanne Marie Ryan, Clark Public Library Director Dawn Jenkin and Elizabeth Public Library Director Mary Faith Chmiel representing the Libraries of Union County Consortium thanking the Freeholder Board for its continued support of libraries throughout Union County. The presentation took place in the Elizabeth Public Library.
(Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to announce a call for visual artists to participate in the County’s second public art project this year, Art Outside the Box – Beautiful Bench Project.
“Entries for the beautiful bench public art project will support Union County’s ongoing efforts to broaden cultural development through the promotion, coordination, and integration of public art into our communities,” said Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh. “The Freeholder Board is proud to provide opportunities that celebrate creativity, enhance community identity, and encourage cultural tourism.”
The new Beautiful Bench Project is an expansion of the County’s Art Outside the Box program created to help integrate the arts into non-traditional venues and expand, broaden, and diversify public exposure to the arts. Union County visual artists are invited to submit artwork renderings for the County’s Art Outside the Box – Beautiful Bench Project online at ucnj.org/beautiful-bench-project. The deadline for entry is December 18, 2015. There is no fee required to participate.
Three designs will be selected to be attached to benches in front of the following Union Township locations:
This call for entries is open to all artists who paint residing in or working in Union County. Local artists are invited to submit renderings of up to three proposed designs for the painted bench. For artist submission(s) that are chosen, the County will provide fiberboard on which the artist will paint the selected design. The top three selected submissions will be awarded an honorarium. The deadline to submit your artwork is Friday, December 18th.
Offered as part of Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh’s Building a Community of the Arts initiative, the Beautiful Bench Project is an expansion of the County’s Art Outside the Box public art program that has awarded12 individual artists the opportunity to have their artwork cover 13 different traffic control boxes in Elizabeth, Linden, Plainfield, and Rahway.
For further details about how to participate, and to learn more about the project, including entry form, bench locations, reference samples, and artist agreement are available online at ucnj.org/beautiful-bench-project or call the Union County Department of Cultural Heritage at (908) 558-2550.
Union County Freeholder Vice Chairman Bruce H. Bergen and Freeholders Bette Jane Kowalski and Sergio Granados joined Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage, Assemblyman Jamel Holley, Community Development Group CEO and President Armando D’Errico, Elizabeth Council President Patricia Perkins-Auguste, Councilmen William Gallman, Carlos Torres, Kevin Kiniery and Manny Grova, Union County Manager Alfred Faella and other officials in cutting the ribbon opening the Spring Street Project in Elizabeth.
The Spring Street Project is part of a $3.2 million mixed use development featuring the city’s first African-American Cultural and Learning Center located in the city’s Keighry Head neighborhood.
The 39,498 square foot site will include a community theatre/multipurpose facility and 20 affordable rental housing units encompassing 10 multi-generational residences and 10 active adult residences.
The Spring Street Project the NJ Community Development Group is and County of Union to catalyze advancements in socialized housing for the millennium in the city of Elizabeth, New Jersey’s fourth largest city.
Working in partnership with the city of Elizabeth and the NJ Community Development Group, Union County contributed $850,000 in Neighborhood Stabilization funds, and an additional $250,000 in Home Investment Partnership Program funds.
Union County, NJ – The evidence shows that preparing wholesome meals at home can have a significant impact on both family health and household budgets, and experts from the Rutgers Cooperative Extension have summed up the basics in two articles packed with tips and facts. The articles are available on the Union County website, ucnj.org/rce.
“According to the evidence, households are in better shape when they focus on healthy, home cooked meals,” said Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh. “I encourage everyone to take a look at the information and see how you can benefit by taking a few simple steps.”
The Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Union County is supported in part by the Freeholder Board. It belongs to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s nationwide Extension program, aimed at providing the public with scientific research about community health and economics. Extension offices throughout the country are encouraging families to join the “Dine In” campaign on December 3, as part of an annual celebration of the family and consumer sciences profession.
Some of the tips and observations provided by the Rutgers Extension experts are:
For all community information from the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Union County including 4-H youth clubs and adult volunteer programs, visit ucnj.org/rce.
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Union County, NJ – Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi is pleased to announce that the 2016 Election Date Calendar is now available. Fully illustrated with striking historical photographs, the new “Presidential Connections to NJ” wall calendar includes every important deadline and date for local and statewide elections as well as the Presidential primary election on June 7 and the Presidential general election on November 8. There is no charge for the calendar.
“Next year will be the first time in four years that voters will go to the polls to elect a new President, and to underscore the significance of 2016 we have designed the calendar to reflect some of the many different connections between the State of New Jersey and the Presidency,” said Rajoppi.
The calendar includes famous photographs such as former New Jersey Governor and U.S. President Woodrow Wilson throwing out the first ball on the opening day of the baseball season in 1916, as well as some lesser-known images, including a poignant photo of President James A. Garfield reading to his daughter.
Rajoppi also reminded voters that they can access important election information on their mobile devices, including incoming Election Day results, by downloading the free Union County Votes app.
To have a free copy of the County Clerk’s 2016 Election Calendar mailed to you, visit the County Clerk’s website at ucnj.org/county-clerk and provide your mailing address in the online form, or call the County Clerk Elections Division, 908-527-4996.
For all County Clerk programs and services visit online at ucnj.org/county-clerk or call 908-527-4787.
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