Category: Public Info

Special Lecture, “Mastodons in NJ” on Sunday

MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Department of Parks and Community Renewal invite you to explore the fascinating world of rocks, minerals, fossils and gems at Trailside Nature & Science Center on Saturday, Oct. 20, and Sunday, Oct. 21, from noon to 5 p.m. on both days. The weekend’s activities will also include a special lecture on Mastodons in New Jersey.

“This two-day event, open to the public, brings the world of rocks and gems to life with many exhibits and displays,” said Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella. “And the featured lecture on Sunday ties in with our popular new Mastodon Exhibit at Trailside.”

Sponsored jointly with the New Jersey Mineralogical Society, the Rock, Gem & Mineral Show will host more than 25 vendors selling minerals, rocks, gemstones, jewelry, sea shells and fossils from around the world. Geologists young and old will be mesmerized by the variety of specimens on display and for sale.

Admission to the weekend Rocks and Gems event is free. On both days, vendors will be displaying and selling their specimens and there will be ongoing free children’s activities.

Sunday will feature a separate special presentation from 2:30 to 3:15 p.m. in Trailside’s Auditorium: a lecture on “Mastodons in New Jersey,” which celebrates Trailside’s new mastodon exhibit.

The lecture on Sunday, offered by Hofstra University faculty member and geologist, Steve Okulewicz, examines the lifestyle of the mastodons which roamed the forested lands and swamps during the Pleistocene epoch. In New Jersey, the remains of these six-ton, vegetarian browsing beasts have been found in several localities. The audience will enjoy the illustrated talk on these large elephant-like creatures and other extraordinary animals such as the giant sloth that once inhabited New Jersey.

Tickets for the lecture about Mastodons in New Jersey go on sale at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 21. The fee is $8 for Union County residents and $10 for out-of-county residents. This lecture is recommended for ages 9 and older.

For more information about the Rock, Mineral & Gem Show, or upcoming programs and special events at Trailside, call 908-789-3670 or visit www.ucnj.org/trailside.  Trailside Nature and Science Center is located at 452 New Providence Road (at Coles Avenue) in Mountainside and is a service of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

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MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ – “Mastodons in New Jersey” is a feature presentation on Sunday, Oct. 21, at 2:30 p.m. during the two-day Rock, Mineral & Gem Show at Trailside Nature & Science Center in Mountainside. The lecture offered by Hofstra faculty member and geologist, Steve Okulewicz, examines the lifestyles of mastodons that roamed forested lands and swamps during the Pleistocene. This program ties in with the new Mastodon Exhibit at Trailside and is suitable for audiences aged 9 years and older. Admission to the lecture is $8 per person for Union County residents; $10 for out-of-county residents. Tickets go on sale at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

Admission is free to the Rock, Mineral & Gem Show, open Saturday, Oct 20 and Sunday, Oct. 21 from noon to 5 p.m. with more than 25 vendors displaying and selling rocks, minerals, gems and fossils from around the world. There will be ongoing free children’s activities. Trailside is located at 452 New Providence Road in Mountainside and is a service of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders. For additional information call 908-789-3670 or visit us on the web: www.ucnj.org/trailside.

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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 Clerk Joanne Rajoppi (C) and Union County Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski (L) watch as Freeholder Vernell Wright draws the winning tickets for two books about the Civil War era at the Civil War exhibit in the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth. There will be a drawing for a book about the Civil War each month.

The Civil War exhibit will be on display until 2015 in the rotunda of the Union County Courthouse, 2 Broad Street in historic midtown Elizabeth. To participate in the drawing for a Civil War book, visitors may fill out a coupon with their name, phone number and/or email address, and drop the coupon in the box provided in the rotunda.

The exhibit may be viewed weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The displays will change from time to time. Anyone wishing to loan historical artifacts from the Civil War era for the exhibit can contact committee member Katherine Craig at 908-282-7617. All objects will be secured, locked and acknowledged. (Photo by Jim Lowney/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. On Twitter athttp://twitter.com/countyofunionnj

Union County Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella (C) presents a resolution to Lorraine Demeter (L), Mike Guarino (2nd L) and Lucille Disano of the Columbus Day Parade Association of Union County 500 during the group’s annual Columbus Day celebration at III Amici Ristorante in Linden. They are joined by Union County Manager Alfred Faella (R). (Photo by Jim Lowney/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. On Twitter athttp://twitter.com/countyofunionnj

Union County Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella (L) and Union County Sheriff Ralph Froehlich (R) congratulate the winners of the Union County Sheriff’s Second Annual Police Pistol Competition at the Union County Sheriff’s Firearms Training Facility in Springfield. Sgt. Jerry Plum (2nd L) of the Plainfield Police Department won first place, Sgt. Carlo Caparruva (C) of the Union County Sheriff’s Office won second place and Sgt. William Bizun of the Linden Police Department won third place. Twenty-eight officers from the Union County Sheriff’s Office and the Plainfield, Linden, Roselle, Roselle Park, Kean University, Hillside, Mountainside, Summit, Springfield, Kenilworth and Union County Police Departments competed. (Photo by Jim Lowney/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. On Twitter athttp://twitter.com/countyofunionnj

Union County Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella (3rd R), Vice Chairman Linda Carter (4th R), Public Safety Director Andrew Moran (2nd R) and Union County Police Chief Daniel Vaniska (R) visit members of Union County Police PBA Local 73 at the Habitat for Humanity project on West Fourth Street in Plainfield where members of PBA Local 73 volunteered and helped build a house that will go to a deserving member of the community. (Photo by Jim Lowney/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. On Twitter athttp://twitter.com/countyofunionnj

NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ – The County of Union will sponsor a recycling event for electronic equipment and unwanted paper documents on Saturday, Oct. 27, so Union County residents can get rid of unwanted computers, televisions and other electronic equipment, and shred old personal documents in a secure and environmentally proper manner.

The special recycling event will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Alcatel-Lucent Technologies facility, 600 Mountain Avenue, New Providence 07974.

All residents of Union County are eligible to participate at no cost. There is a limit of six electronic items and/or four bags/boxes of paper per car.

“Computer monitors and old televisions are the source of a considerable amount of lead – about five pounds per screen,” said Freeholder Christopher Hudak, liaison to the Union County Solid Waste Advisory Board. “Up to 95 percent of most electronic appliances can be recycled. This is a responsible way to keep hazardous heavy metals out of our environment.”

A complete list of the materials that will be accepted on Oct. 27 is available at the Union County Bureau of Recycling and Planning website: www.ucnj.org/recycle. All that residents need to do is drive to the site with their electronic equipment and unwanted personal documents. Workers at the site will unload the vehicles. Pre-registration is not required for this collection.

Refrigerators, washers and dryers, microwaves, and air conditioners will not be accepted on Oct. 27. These items will be accepted at Union County’s new scrap metal recycling program which is conducted twice each month in Clark, Mountainside, Rahway and Westfield. Visit the Union County website at www.ucnj.org/recyclefor more information about the new scrap metal recycling program.

The electronics collection will be held rain or shine, for Union County residents only and not for businesses. Proof of Union County residency is required.

In addition to the special Oct. 27 electronics recycling event sponsored by the County of Union, there are other local opportunities for residents to recycle electronic equipment. Visit www.ucnj.org/recycle for more computer and electronics recycling options.

The Oct. 27 paper-shredding event will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine. The shredding event will end before 2:00 p.m. if the shredding truck reaches capacity.

“Union County’s mobile document-shredding service helps residents eliminate clutter in their homes and also fight identity theft,” said Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella. “It is a cost-effective way to assist our recycling efforts and it ties in with our other Go Green Initiatives.”

All Union County residents are eligible to use the paper-shredding service. In an effort to accommodate everyone, there is a limit of four, 10-pound bags or boxes per person. Documents should not be bound. Please remove plastic binders and paperclips. Paper that is wet/damp will not be accepted. Residents should continue to recycle non-confidential papers and magazines with their municipal recycling program.

Documents are put into 96-gallon containers provided by the shredding company. The items are then dumped onto a conveyor belt and shredded on site. Participants are welcome to view the shredding process via a closed-circuit television. The shredded documents are then recycled, shipped to paper mills and used as pulp.

The mobile shredding program is paid for through New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Recycling Enhancement Act Grant Funds.

Shredding may be cancelled in the event of extreme bad weather. Please call the Recycling Hotline for more information about future events, directions, or event day cancellation at 908-654-9889 or visit us online atwww.ucnj.org/recycle .

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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 Freeholders Bette Jane Kowalski and Mohamed Jalloh (R) present Barry O’Donovan of Cranford with a resolution congratulating him on receiving the United States Business Administration’s Phoenix Award for his efforts to rebuild his business, the Kilkenny House Restaurant & Pub in Cranford, that was severely damaged by flooding following Hurricane Irene in August 2011. Phoenix Awards are given to individuals (business owners, volunteers and public officials) whose efforts and contributions have enabled their businesses or communities to recover successfully from a disaster.   (Photo by Jim Lowney/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. On Twitter athttp://twitter.com/countyofunionnj

Union County Freeholders Vernell Wright (L) and Bette Jane Kowalski (2nd L) and Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi (R) welcome Dr. Linda Caldwell Epps to the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth. Dr. Epps, past-president of the New Jersey Historical Society, spoke about the Underground Railroad in the period leading up to the Civil War. The lecture by Dr. Epps was presented by the Union County Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee. (Photo by Jim Lowney/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. On Twitter athttp://twitter.com/countyofunionnj

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ – Visitors to the Deserted Village of Feltville/Glenside Park in the Watchung Reservation will have an opportunity on Saturday, October 20, and Sunday, October 21, to dig into the history of the Deserted Village, literally. Using an archaeologist’s trowel, visitors can dig through a box of soil in search of an artifact related to Feltville’s past. Children will be allowed to keep what they find during the weekend-long open house of the historic site, as part of Union County’s “Four Centuries in a Weekend” celebration.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20, and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 21, most of the Village’s buildings and grounds can be seen from a hayride, which will run continuously both days. The ghost of David Felt will lead a two-hour guided tour of the site starting at 2 p.m. each day. County staff will provide a 45-minute version of the tour at various times.

A hands-on demonstration of apples being pressed into cider will be ongoing over the weekend of Oct. 20-21. Nearby, children can play old-fashioned games. Elsewhere in the Village, visitors can hear the director of the Feltville Archaeology Project explain how the site of David Felt’s house was discovered. Masker’s Barn will be open throughout the weekend.

All of these activities are offered free of charge. Light refreshments will be available for purchase. Picnic tables are available for families wanting to pack a lunch.

“The Union County Freeholder Board is very appreciative to the New Jersey Historical Commission for funding that helped us to open the Church/Store Building and Masker’s Barn to the public this year,” said Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella. “Since the beginning of June, these historic buildings have been open from noon to 5 p.m. on weekends, and will continue to be so until the Thanksgiving weekend.”

Feltville was a thriving mill town from 1845 to 1860. After being sold by David Felt, the village wasted away and became deserted, but was reborn in 1882 as Glenside Park, a summer resort. This business closed in 1916 and the Village was again briefly deserted until being purchased by the Union County Park Commission during the 1920’s.

Feltville’s general store and church building was restored in 1998 and subsequently opened as a visitor center. In addition to restrooms and other visitor services, this building houses an exhibit of artifacts, photographs and paintings that depict the Village’s history across four centuries. Visitors may pick up a map and narrative at Feltville’s parking lot at any time for a self-guided tour. Restoration of the resort-era carriage house called Masker’s Barn was completed last year. During the restoration, the building was actually levitated and held in mid-air for months as the foundation was replaced.

All activities for the Four Centuries weekend are rain or shine. Enter the Deserted Village via Cataract Hollow Road, off of Glenside Avenue on the Berkeley Heights side of the Watchung Reservation. Wear warm clothes and sturdy walking shoes.

Information about 23 other Four Centuries in a Weekend sites is available from the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, telephone: (908) 558-2550; e-mail: culturalinfo@ucnj.org; or by visiting the Union County website at www.ucnj.org and clicking on “Fall Activities in Union County.”

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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 –The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to announce that County of Union will host a Veterans Job Fair on Thursday, October 25th from 9a.m. to 1p.m. at VFW Post 2230 located at 33 S. 21st St in Kenilworth.

“Our community of veterans is extremely important to us here in Union County,” said Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella. “We are constantly seeking new and innovative partnerships to engage them and help provide new job opportunities.”

The upcoming job fair, which is also open to active duty military personnel, is expected to bring veterans together with approximately 50 employers in an effort to network and make connections for new employment opportunities.

Among the participating organizations are:

• Wells Fargo
• Prudential
• Barnabas Health
• NJ Transit
• Helmets to Hardhats (NJ Building and Construction trades)
• Home Depot
• Cablevision
• Weichert Realtors
• Frito Lay

With help from partners like the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Developmnt, the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, and Lyons Veterans Administration Medical Center, the Job Fair is being offered free of charge to veterans, active duty military personnel, and their families.

Representatives will be on site with information on veterans’ benefits, the GI Bill, as well as other State and County sponsored services. A representative from Lyons VA Medical Center will also be present to conduct health screenings, and the NJ State Library will be participating offering hands-on demonstrations of their Job and Career Accelerator and Career Transitions resources.

As part of his 2012 “Putting People First Initiatives,” Chairman Mirabella recognized the need to enhance outreach to local veterans through the Union County’s Office of Veterans Affairs.

Working in conjunction with their office and the Department of Parks and Community Renewal they are also offering active duty military personnel a number of complementary passes to recreational programs in the County parks system for the duration of 2012.

For additional information on the Veteran’s Job Fair please contact Elizabeth L. Sebring of the Union County Department of Human Services at (908) 527-4890 or via email at esebring@ucnj.org.

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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.