McLoughlin-general
McLoughlin Begins Soccer
Program for Area Children
The McLoughlin School of Soccer has begun its soccer classes for children, which are open to four and five year olds in Westfield and the surrounding area.
In the program, children learn soccer through play and structured activities related to soccer. Youngsters work in small groups, gaining confidence with the soccer ball through a variety of games.
Classes are led by Tom McLoughlin, Head Soccer Coach at Fairleigh Dickinson University, and his professional staff.
The classes are offered weekly on Fridays in Westfield at Echo Lake Park at 1 p.m. and at 1:45 p.m. Classes run for eight weeks and are 45 minutes long.
To register, please call the McLoughlin School of Soccer at (908) 562-8751 and request a program information brochure.
Jardim-General or WJump
SYMPHONY CELEBRATION…Patrick Gaines, left, Executive Director of the Westfield Symphony Orchestra (WSO), receives a proclamation from Westfield Mayor Thomas C. Jardim on behalf of the WSO’s 15th season.
Mayor Jardim Recognizes
WSO on 15th Anniversary
Mayor Thomas C. Jardim of Westfield recently issued the following proclamation on behalf of the Westfield Symphony Orchestra (WSO).
The WSO, founded in 1983, will present its 15th season opening concert, “Passport to the World of Music,” on Saturday, September 27, beginning at 8 p.m. at the Union County Arts Center in Rahway.
The performance includes Rachmaninov “Piano Concerto No. 3” with soloist Emma Tahmizian, and Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 5.”
Season subscriptions start at $20 per concert and are on sale now by calling (908) 232-9400. Single tickets are available at WSO ticket outlets, including Cranford Book Store, Camelot Books in Summit, Garden of Paper in Clark, Richard Roberts, Ltd. in Scotch Plains, and Lancaster Ltd., Rorden Realty, Town Book Store and Music Staff, all in Westfield.
League-general
Junior League to Raffle
‘American Girl’ at Festifall
The Junior League of Elizabeth-Plainfield (JLEP) has announced that area residents will have an opportunity to win the newest American Girl, “Josefina Montoya,” at Westfield’s FestiFall on Sunday, September 21.
Raffle tickets will be sold throughout the day and the winner chosen that evening. Participants need not be present to win. The winner will be notified on Monday, October 22.
The raffle is being held in conjunction with the JLEP’s second annual American Girls Fashion Show, to be held on Saturday and Sunday, November 8 and 9, at Union Catholic Regional High School in Scotch Plains. Show times are Saturday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Tickets to the show are $22 each and may be purchased or reserved at the FestiFall.
The proceeds of the raffle and fashion show will benefit the Paige Whitney Babies Center in Basking Ridge, and The Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless.
Last year’s event raised more than $30,000 for the AIDS Resource Foundation for Children and other community projects of the Junior League, according to a spokeswoman.
Sayles Letter-Editorial
United Effort is Vital
In Campaign to Get
Direct Train Service
I’d love to shorten my commute to Manhattan, so I listened with interest to Pat Plante’s comments about direct train service at the Fanwood Borough Council meeting on September 11. I’m glad to know that there is interest in Fanwood in direct train service to New York.
Mayor Jardim in Westfield has been active in trying to get direct service and I think the other towns along the Raritan Valley Line should lend their support to this effort.
Our combined voices will get New Jersey Transit’s attention when they consider extending direct train service to more towns But without a united effort now along the Raritan Valley Line, we may miss the opportunity to get direct train service to Manhattan in the future.
Pamela G. Sayles
Fanwood
UCC-general
UCC Earns Highest Rating
After Accreditation Review
There’s a renewed sense of pride and accomplishment at Union County College, highlighted by banners at the Cranford, Elizabeth and Plainfield campuses which proclaim that the college has received the highest possible rating from the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools when its accreditation was reaffirmed without condition in June.
The Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the United States Secretary of Education and the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation.
Originally accredited in 1957, the college must submit to a rigorous evaluation every five years and an on-site visit by a Middle States team every 10 years. According to UCC President Thomas H. Brown, much of the 1996-1997 academic year was spent preparing the information and reports required in anticipation of a visit by the evaluation team that took place in April.
According to their report, the Middle States Characteristics of Excellence state: “A basic characteristic of excellence in an educational institution is the clear expression and active pursuit of its mission and goals in relation to its students, its staff, its supporters, and the community-at-large.” Against this measure, the evaluation team found that “Clearly, Union County College meets this standard.”
On the occasion of an accreditation review, Middle States frequently conditions its approval upon additional remedial action and improvement by a college which is then subject to further study and review by the evaluators. In the case of Union County College, however, they required no follow-up, according to a spokeswoman for the college.
The next review is scheduled for June 1, 2002.
MARK OF EXCELLENCE…Pictured installing a banner celebrating Union County College’s reaccreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, left to right, are: Dr. Sondra Fishinger, Chairwoman, Faculty Executive Committee; Dr. Thomas H. Brown, College President, and Brian Penschow, Treasurer of the college’s Student Government Association.
Mindowaskin-general or WJump
Garden Club Plans Project
For Fall at Mindowaskin
The Garden Club of Westfield has begun plans for another project for one of Westfield’s parks. Mindowaskin Park will be the site of this new landscape improvement. Under the direction of Craig R. Stock, landscaper/ designer, 15 shrubs will be planted along Park Drive.
Mr. Stock has chosen doublefile viburnum and pragense viburnum for this beautification project.
The Garden Club has funded many civic projects. Funds for the Mindowaskin Park plantings were raised from the 1996 Garden Tour in addition to memorial donations in the memory of Mary Ann Rounds, Virginia Waddey, Dottie Burns and Charles Jones.
Dedication of this project will take place on Tuesday, October 21, following the Garden Club’s 75th anniversary celebration.
PLANTS ON THE WAY…This section of bare ground along Park Drive in Mindowaskin Park will soon be filled with 15 shrubs as part of a beautification project sponsored by the Garden Club of Westfield. The dedication of the project will coincide with the club’s 75th anniversary.
CDC-general
Cranford Dramatic Club
Offers Discount Tickets
The Cranford Dramatic (CDC) is currently offering discounted season tickets for all three 1997-1998 theater productions. This year the CDC will present Neil Simon’s award-winning play Lost in Yonkers in October, followed this winter by the musical She Loves Me, by the authors of Fiddler On the Roof, and will close the season next spring with the musical comedy, Baby.
Season tickets for reserved seats to all three shows are being offered for a limited time for $35, resulting in a savings of $10 off single ticket prices.
Benefits to season ticket holders include the free annual subscribers show and dessert held at the theater each spring, according to a spokeswoman for the organization.
The 79-year-old CDC is a local community theater. The theater seats 300 people and also offers an area for refreshments and other amenities.
Season tickets as well as information about membership and auditions to the CDC may be obtained by calling the CDC Hotline at (908) 276-7611.
The CDC Theater and box office is located at 78 Winans Avenue, Cranford, minutes from Exit 136 of the Garden State Parkway, or off Centennial Avenue, near the Cranford train station.
Proof: 2:14 PM on 9/12/97Page #1