Cranford Calendar
The Opioid Epidemic: Silently Affecting Our Community
Union County residents can learn about the local impacts of the national opioid crisis first-hand from representatives of the Union County Prosecutor, Sheriff, Police Division and other professionals by attending a free public meeting hosted by the Public Safety Committee of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders titled, The Opioid Epidemic: Silently Affecting Our Community.
The meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 21, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the McManus School auditorium, at 300 Edgewood Road in Linden. Admission is free and no pre-registration is required.
“Opioid abuse impacts the entire community, and that is why we are providing the public with an open discussion about the scope and nature of opioid abuse in Union County, and an assessment of the tools that are available to fight it,” said Freeholder Chair Bette Jane Kowalski. “I encourage all concerned citizens to come and learn how public resources are deployed to fight this epidemic.”
“Although the most recent numbers are encouraging, now is the time to bear down and get to the root of the crisis,” said Freeholder Christopher Hudak, who is the Chairman of the Public Safety Committee. “We are looking forward to hearing from professionals on the front lines of the battle against opioid abuse, and sharing this information with the public.”
The Opioid Epidemic: Silently Affecting Our Community will include:
- Overview of facts and trends about the opioid epidemic in Union County
- Details about the County Prosecutor’s Operation Helping Hands program and CLEAR, a collaborative program including the Union County Department of Public Safety, the Office of the Union County Sheriff, the nonprofit organization Prevention Links, and the Union County Department of Human Services
- Prevention Links presentation on prevention, treatment and recovery featuring personal stories and Recovery Coaches
- Information on Naloxone lifesaving assistance presented by First Responders
- Office of the Union County Sheriff K-9 demonstration and discussion about the impact of fentanyl on drug detection
- Discussion of statewide efforts to combat the opioid epidemic by representatives from the New Jersey Department of Health and Department of Human Services
A question and answer period will follow the presentations.
For more information contact Karen Dinsmore, Assistant Director, Union County Department of Human Services, [email protected]
The Union County Freeholder Board proudly invites families and residents to the grand opening of the Wheeler Park Spray Park—the largest of its kind in the County system—in Linden on Saturday, May 25th.
Doors are open from 11 a.m-7 p.m., and admission is free to the state-of-the-art facility. The Freeholders will hold a ribbon cutting marking the opening of the Spray Park at 1 p.m. All residents are invited to attend. In the event of a postponement due to weather, the ribbon cutting will be held the next day, Sunday, May 26th, at 1 p.m.
Wheeler Park is located at Route 1 and 9 between South Wood Avenue and South Stiles Street. Parking for the spray park is off W. Stimpson Avenue. Hours for the spray park are: Monday-Friday: 12-6 p.m., Saturday, Sunday, holidays 11a.m.-7 p.m.
Freeholder Chair Bette Jane Kowalski stated:
“With the opening of the spray park, the Freeholder Board has completed yet another step in a process that is not only renovating our parks system but also providing more recreational opportunities for our residents,” Kowalski said. “The Wheeler Park Spray Park is an impressive facility that generations of our residents will enjoy.”
Freeholder Christopher Hudak, a resident of Linden who championed the project, said:
“We have built what will become a countywide attraction for our families to enjoy. This Freeholder Board has continued to make upgrades to Wheeler Park, transforming it into one of the County’s best recreational facilities. We are looking forward to marking a great day for Linden and the County of Union as a whole.”
The spray park, which is the largest of eight spray facilities the County maintains in its parks system, contains 33 above ground attractions, including water cannons, a full-size dragon, slides, fake palm trees, dump buckets, a psychedelic spray bus, and a multi-function pirate ship and surf shack.
The spray park encompasses 11,000 square feet of the total 49,000 square foot area, and also contains picnic tables, ample space for lounging, gazebos for shade, artificial turf areas, and plenty of free-play space.
A new 24,000 square foot building, which replaces the old Wheeler Pool building, contains lockers, bathrooms, changing space, vending machines and mechanical and electrical facilities.
An entrance and ticketing building near the parking lot will house nurse and lifeguard quarters. The Spray Park was designed by USA Architects and constructed by Billy Contracting and Restoration Inc. of Pine Brook, NJ.
As Freeholder Hudak noted, the spray park announcement is among the latest in a series of high-profile improvements at the park in recent years, including the opening of a new skate park, new softball and soccer turf fields with lights, and a new playground. The park was also enabled for Wi-Fi in 2014.
Wheeler Park was developed in 1925 by the Union County Park Commission and was designed by the Olmsted Brothers, the noted engineering firm that designed a series of historic landmark parks in urban areas. Their list of projects includes Central Park in New York City and ten others in the Union County parks system.
In the spirit of the National Memorial Day Program, the Cranford Memorial Day Committee will hold its annual Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 27, 2019. Members of the Governing body of Garwood will participate in the parade and all residents are encouraged to attend.
The parade will assemble at 8:30 a.m. at the Cranford Community Center, 220 Walnut Avenue, Cranford, New Jersey. Marching will start at 9 a.m. The parade will finish with services at approximately 10 a.m. at Memorial Park on Springfield Avenue. In case of inclement weather, services only will be held at the Community Center.
Union County will host two Mobile Paper Shredding Events in June; the first on Saturday, June 1st at Union County College Cranford Campus located on Springfield Avenue (in the back parking lot by the planetarium) and then on Wednesday, June 12 at Clark Public Works located at 315 Westfield Avenue in Clark. Both events will run from 9 am to 1 pm or until the truck(s) get filled. Residents can bring up to four bags of confidential documents for shredding. Please DO NOT bring material that is already shredded.
Please visit www.ucnj.org/recycling for more information or directions.
Have you ever wanted to see what is inside the Hanson House? If so, join us on Sunday, June 2nd at 2 pm when the Society will open its doors to the public to enjoy a tour of the building. After hearing a brief history of Hanson House you will learn about the lives of the Cranford artists Leslie and Alice Crump and will view the Society’s collection of their art. You will then be taken on a tour of the Society’s collections of costumes by its curator. Afterward, you will have the opportunity to visit the Fridlington Room where research into the history of Cranford and its homes takes place. Don’t miss this interesting event. Admission is free and open to the public.
Please RSVP by Thursday, May 30, 2019. Tour will begin at 2:15 pm. For more information, email at cranfordhistoricalsociety@
Union County’s Scrap Metal Recycling program also continues in June. The events are the first Thursday and Third Saturday of each month. This month the collections will be on Thursday, June 6th and Saturday, June 15th. There are two (2) locations in Union County for residents to drop off their metal for recycling, one in Cranford and Rahway. All locations will be open from 9 am to 12 pm. Residents can drop off old appliances, microwaves, air conditioners, and metal lawn furniture to name a few.
Visit http://ucnj.org/recycling/scrap-metal/ for locations and details.
Please visit www.ucnj.org/recycling for more information or directions.
On Saturday, June 8th, there will be a Household Hazardous Waste Program at Union County College located on Springfield Avenue in Cranford. The event will be held from 9 am to 2 pm. Items for drop off include old pesticides & herbicides, pool chemicals, gasoline, oil-based paints, and deck stain. Latex Paint (wall paint) is NOT ACCEPTED. It should be dried out and discarded in with your regular garbage.
Please visit www.ucnj.org/recycling for more information or directions.
Mark your calendars for June 9. We’re designating it “Celebrate Cranford,” in honor of Cranford’s recent ranking as the top downtown in NJ! The event will have a Kid Zone, Fit Fest, Music, and Sloppy Joe Eating Contest! The event is sponsored by Downtown Cranford, Cranford Community Connection, Cranford Jaycees, Cranford Area Chamber of Commerce, Hanson Park Conservancy, and Cranford Municipal Alliance. The day promises to be a true celebration of everything we love about Cranford.
Union County will host two Mobile Paper Shredding Events in June; the first on Saturday, June 1st at Union County College Cranford Campus located on Springfield Avenue (in the back parking lot by the planetarium) and then on Wednesday, June 12 at Clark Public Works located at 315 Westfield Avenue in Clark. Both events will run from 9 am to 1 pm or until the truck(s) get filled. Residents can bring up to four bags of confidential documents for shredding. Please DO NOT bring material that is already shredded.
Please visit www.ucnj.org/recycling for more information or directions.
Union County’s Scrap Metal Recycling program also continues in June. The events are the first Thursday and Third Saturday of each month. This month the collections will be on Thursday, June 6th and Saturday, June 15th. There are two (2) locations in Union County for residents to drop off their metal for recycling, one in Cranford and Rahway. All locations will be open from 9 am to 12 pm. Residents can drop off old appliances, microwaves, air conditioners, and metal lawn furniture to name a few.
Visit http://ucnj.org/recycling/scrap-metal/ for locations and details.
Please visit www.ucnj.org/recycling for more information or directions.
Union County’s Scrap Metal Recycling program also continues in June. The events are the first Thursday and Third Saturday of each month. This month the collections will be on Thursday, June 6th and Saturday, June 15th. There are two (2) locations in Union County for residents to drop off their metal for recycling, one in Cranford and Rahway. All locations will be open from 9 am to 12 pm. Residents can drop off old appliances, microwaves, air conditioners, and metal lawn furniture to name a few.
Visit http://ucnj.org/recycling/scrap-metal/ for locations and details.
Please visit www.ucnj.org/recycling for more information or directions.
Our partnership with Cranford Theater continues with the June Movie Series, centered around classic summer movies. Check out the schedule below and remember, tickets are only $8 for adults and $6 for kids. The movies will be shown at 11AM Saturday mornings, so why not grab lunch downtown afterwards also? Our thanks to That Suburban Life from Lindsay Lehault Real Estate for sponsoring the movie series!
• National Lampoon’s Vacation (June 1st)
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (June 8th)
• Troop Beverly Hills (June 15th)
• The Great Outdoors (June 22nd)
• Summer Rental (June 29th)
Our partnership with Cranford Theater continues with the June Movie Series, centered around classic summer movies. Check out the schedule below and remember, tickets are only $8 for adults and $6 for kids. The movies will be shown at 11AM Saturday mornings, so why not grab lunch downtown afterwards also? Our thanks to That Suburban Life from Lindsay Lehault Real Estate for sponsoring the movie series!
• National Lampoon’s Vacation (June 1st)
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (June 8th)
• Troop Beverly Hills (June 15th)
• The Great Outdoors (June 22nd)
• Summer Rental (June 29th)
Union County will host one more Mobile Paper Shredding Event in June; the event will be on Saturday, June 29 at the Union County Vo-Tech School located at 1776 Raritan Road in Scotch Plains. Union County will continue their Mobile Paper Shredding Program in July with events on Thursday, July 11th in Rahway River Park located off St. Georges Avenue in Rahway, and on Saturday, July 20th at the old Bristol Myers complex located at 1350 Liberty Avenue in Hillside. All events will run from 9 am to 1 pm or until the truck(s) get filled and there is a limit of four (4) bags or boxes of confidential documents per car. Please DO NOT bring material that is already shredded.
Our partnership with Cranford Theater continues with the June Movie Series, centered around classic summer movies. Check out the schedule below and remember, tickets are only $8 for adults and $6 for kids. The movies will be shown at 11AM Saturday mornings, so why not grab lunch downtown afterwards also? Our thanks to That Suburban Life from Lindsay Lehault Real Estate for sponsoring the movie series!
• National Lampoon’s Vacation (June 1st)
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (June 8th)
• Troop Beverly Hills (June 15th)
• The Great Outdoors (June 22nd)
• Summer Rental (June 29th)
Union County will host one more Mobile Paper Shredding Event in June; the event will be on Saturday, June 29 at the Union County Vo-Tech School located at 1776 Raritan Road in Scotch Plains. Union County will continue their Mobile Paper Shredding Program in July with events on Thursday, July 11th in Rahway River Park located off St. Georges Avenue in Rahway, and on Saturday, July 20th at the old Bristol Myers complex located at 1350 Liberty Avenue in Hillside. All events will run from 9 am to 1 pm or until the truck(s) get filled and there is a limit of four (4) bags or boxes of confidential documents per car. Please DO NOT bring material that is already shredded.