UNION COUNTY’S TRAILSIDE CENTER OFFERS AFFORDABLE FAMILY FUN
May 2009

For something different, educational and inexpensive to do, consider the Trailside Nature and Science Center.  It’s in the Watchung Reservation in Mountainside, a short drive from anywhere in Union County.  Admission and parking are free, and that’s hard to beat.

Trailside is a perfect way to spend an afternoon with youngsters.  A gigantic beech tree seems to grow right up through the floor.  It’s the centerpiece of many hands-on, walk-through exhibits that let visitors crawl through a hollow log, explore a rock formation, visit up close with live turtles, fish and frogs, discover woodland night life, and much more.

There is also a full slate of educational programming.  Workshops, special events, summer camps, and family programs are all affordably priced.  Many of the activities take place on and about the 13 miles of scenic trails that wind around the Watchung Reservation.

How did Union County come to host this first class, state of the art facility?  Trailside is a standout example of the lasting impact that volunteers can have on our public resources.  Many years ago, a volunteer named Mildred Rulison set up a collection of feathers, leaves, and tortoise shells in a garage.  From this modest foundation, Union County opened the Trailside Museum in 1941.  It was the first nature museum in New Jersey.

Volunteers stepped up to help fill the exhibits with minerals, fossils, eggs and many other local specimens from their own collections.  These donations firmly placed the fledgling museum in the local “trail-side” tradition of the National Parks System.

Today, volunteers at Trailside help run special events, summer camps, and workshops. They help clean and maintain the Watchung trails, and they have contributed many improvements over the years.  Sturdy new picnic tables around Lake Surprise and a pond by the museum are just two examples.  Since 1956, volunteers with the nonprofit Trailside Museum Association have provided key support, including classrooms, displays, furnishings, equipment, and special projects including a donation of $56,000 to build the stunning beech tree exhibit.

The Museum Association currently has about 150 members, many of whom first visited Trailside with their children, or when they were youngsters.  Their continued dedication is a wonderful tribute to the special role that Trailside plays in the life of Union County families and residents.

For more information about Trailside or to find out about Museum Association membership, call 908-789-3670 or visit www.ucnj.org/trailside.

MUTUAL AID FIRE SYSTEM BRINGS UNION COUNTY TOGETHER
April 2009

The next time you happen upon a fire, take a closer look at the fire trucks. It’s not surprising to see equipment from other nearby towns, or even clear across the county. That’s the Mutual Aid Fire System in action: all twenty-one municipalities in Union County sharing resources to help each other through emergencies.

Mutual Aid is something we tend to take for granted today. Not too long ago, the picture was quite different. Local fire departments rarely needed extra help. When they did, someone had to phone around to see who could pitch in.

Today, Mutual Aid is an everyday occurrence, and the response is no longer left to chance. The local fire departments coordinate through a highly structured command system that answered 385 calls last year.

Firefighting itself has become more structured, too. For example, to meet current regulations, seventeen responders must go to a one-room house fire. Smaller departments must now routinely call on Mutual Aid to staff up the scene as required, even when a fire is relatively minor.

Today’s fire fighters handle situations involving hazardous materials, complicated rescue operations, and medical emergencies, all requiring specialized equipment and training. As a consequence of the September 11 attacks, fire departments must also be prepared for regional emergencies including bioterror.

Due to the dedication of personnel at our local fire departments, the Mutual Aid system in Union County has grown to meet these challenges. Other counties have replicated its command structure and operational guidelines. In fact, Union County has become a model for how Mutual Aid works in New Jersey.

Our municipal fire chiefs and deputies are the backbone of the system, headed by Mutual Aid Fire Coordinator Lathey Wirkus, who is a Deputy Fire Chief in the Elizabeth Fire Department. They are on call to coordinate Mutual Aid responses 24/7. They receive no extra pay for this work, and no municipality ever charges a fee for its Mutual Aid services. The County’s Office of Emergency Management provides funding for communications equipment and on-scene supplies through the County budget, and by securing state and federal grants.

With municipal budgets strained by an economic crisis that is global in scope, the Mutual Aid Fire System is more important than ever. It deserves all the support we can provide, and fire fighters from all 21 municipalities in Union County deserve our thanks for making
it work.

An Open Door Helps Kids Avoid Alcohol and Drugs
March 2009

As we near the end of a long, cold winter, it’s time to look forward to the celebrations that come with the warmer season.  Easter and Passover gatherings, spring break, senior prom, and graduation parties are just a few that come to mind.

Among all the festivities, this is also a season in which many parents are on the alert for underage drinking and other substance abuse.  In this regard, a recent survey of Union County students in grades 6-12 provides some eye-opening guidance.

The students generally reported a lax attitude toward alcohol and cigarettes, as well as over-the-counter, prescription, or illegal drugs.  This should be no surprise.  By sixth grade, our young people have already been exposed to drinking or smoking in many public places and in private homes including their own.  They have also seen cigarettes, drinks and drugs in thousands of advertisements, in neighborhood drugstores, corner stores, and supermarkets, and in the cabinets and drawers of their own homes.

Unfortunately there is a very permissive culture when it comes to buying and using substances that bring about an altered state of consciousness – and our kids know it.

And yet, the survey also revealed something very encouraging.  In the face of mixed signals from the world at large, students look toward home for guidance.  When parents strongly disapproved of substance abuse, students reported that they were less likely to experiment at a younger age, and less likely to turn an experiment into a habit.

That is why an open door is so important.  As parents, we need to be clear about our expectations.  But we also need to be available to our children, listen to them, and learn more about the problems and the pressures they are dealing with.

If your family needs an extra hand to open the lines of communication, help is available.  Union County Prevention Links, which commissioned the student survey, has partnered with United Way of Greater Union County to establish free family education and support services.

You can find out about the Prevention Links Family Success Centers and others throughout Union County by calling the Roselle Family Success Center at 908-445-8043, or visiting www.preventionlinks.org.

Cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs of all types are part of our world, and that we can’t deny.  What we can do is reach out, communicate, and be there to help our children mark the path between responsibility and abuse.

CALL FOR HELP WHEN FACING FORECLOSURE
February 2009

The Union County Foreclosure Task Force, formed last fall, is pulling together County government resources, municipalities, financial institutions, and nonprofit groups to help property owners and tenants stay in their homes or get other forms of assistance.

A wave of foreclosures has hit the nation, contributing to a record 19 million unoccupied homes.  Regardless of the individual circumstances we are all at risk when our friends and neighbors abandon their property.  For every padlocked door there is another stressed or broken household in our communities.

The key fact to know is that you can take steps to improve your situation.  To get help, you don’t have to pay someone for advice or risk falling prey to a con artist.  Free, reliable guidance is just one phone call away.

An experienced non-profit organization called the Home Ownership Preservation Foundation offers help with any and all foreclosure issues, for Union County residents and throughout New Jersey.  Call toll free at 888-995-4673.

Trained counselors at the Foundation will provide guidance over the phone.  If needed, they can refer you to dependable community organizations with solid experience in foreclosure issues, so you can meet with a counselor in person.

You can call for guidance as a preventive measure, before a foreclosure starts.  Or you can call any time during the process.  And if you’re a tenant in a property facing foreclosure, you can get help, too.  The important thing is to make the call.

To get information online about where to go for help with foreclosure issues, you can visit the Union County Clerk’s web page at www.ucnj.org/ctyclerk.  The Task Force is also using all available resources to get printed material into the hands of people who need it, and to assist those who have lost their homes.

As we address the crisis at hand, the Task Force is looking to the future and planning advocacy, policy, and rehabilitation programs to prevent blight from taking hold and spreading.

In the best of times, we in Union County enjoy our vibrant and diverse communities.  Now that times are challenging, we are drawing on the strength of our communities to help each other through, together.