MCCC slates Job Fair
Mercer County Community College (MCCC) will host its annual Spring Job Fair on April 1 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Student Center on the college’s West Windsor Campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road.
There is still space for area employers who would like to set up a recruitment table. Interested employers should contact Letrice Thomas in MCCC’s Career and Transfer Services office by emailing [email protected].
The Job Fair is open to MCCC students and the general public.
’Welcome Back Wildlife’
People aren’t the only creatures out there excited to see this winter’s accumulation of snow disappear. After back-breaking hours of shoveling walks and driveways and tending a woodstove, you may feel as though you have earned spring. However, the real victors of winter are the wildlife, many of which performed amazing feats just to survive.
Appreciate these animal achievements and meet a few of these winter-adapted animals when Mercer County Naturalist Jenn Rogers and Jane Rakos-Yates, of the County Wildlife Center, present “Welcome Back Wildlife” on March 30 at the Wildlife Center.
The program will explore the concepts of hibernation and migration with an interactive presentation and the appearance of several of the Wildlife Center’s education animals. The live animal demonstration will include an up-close look at a few animals that spend winter in hibernation and will feature the hawk that performs the longest annual migration — a flight that averages more than 4,000 miles!
The family oriented program will take place from noon-2 p.m. inside the Wildlife Center’s education room. The program costs $6 per person.
The Wildlife Center is located on Route 29 in Hopewell Township, approximately 2.5 miles south of Lambertville. The driveway for the center is just south of the Mercer County Correction Center.
For more information about this and other nature programs offered by the Mercer County Park Commission, call 609-303-0706 or visit the Park Commission website www.mercercountyparks.org.
County’s 175th culminates
with Historic Records Exhibit
Mercer County celebrated its final program in the yearlong celebration marking the 175th Anniversary of the founding of Mercer County, New Jersey, last week with the unveiling of a permanent display of records at the office of Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello.
The permanent display will showcase the earliest maps, election results, and deeds recorded in Mercer County, along with artifacts and relics of Mercer County when it was established in 1838.
”We kicked off our celebration just over a year ago with our first event, ‘Mapping Mercer,’ which explored the history of Mercer County through maps from the Revolutionary War period through present day, and over the course of the year, we conducted tours of historic properties and hosted the ‘Mercer by Architecture’ and ‘Mercer Makes’ symposiums, which were both attended by hundreds of people,” said Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes.
At the final Mercer 175 celebration, the county clerk offered a glimpse into the treasure trove of documents housed here in the county vaults, documents which tell the stories of our forefathers and mothers who helped build this unique county that is home to the capital and home to the nation’s revolution.
On display now are the deeds of county luminaries and historic figures, such as Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U.S. president who also served as governor of the State of New Jersey and president of Princeton University. Other Mercer residents highlighted will be Albert Einstein, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Aviator Charles Lindbergh, Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Mary G. Roebling, and Actor/Singer Paul Robeson.
Representing the elections division will be the 1960 and 1984 presidential election results. The Kennedy and Nixon results will be on display as well as the 1984 presidential results where two women ran as vice presidential candidates: Angela Davis and Geraldine Ferraro.
”It’s been a great year of celebrating our rich history and heritage,” said Mr. Hughes.
Summer session registration
at MCCC now open
New students, current students at Mercer County Community College (MCCC) and visiting students home on summer break will have an opportunity to catch up or get ahead by earning college credits during the summer session at MCCC, which is now open for registration.
Students can choose from a variety of general education courses, including English, mathematics, communications, history, psychology, and foreign languages. On-site classes are available in abbreviated sessions — many lasting six weeks or less — or students can study at home or on the go through MercerOnline. The start dates for most summer session classes are May 27 and July 9.
In addition to summer session, registration for MCCC’s seven-week spring semester courses remains open, with classes starting March 25. Registration is available in-person and online at www.mccc.edu/enroll.
Mercer offers 70 associate degree and 30 certificate programs, many in career areas with projected job growth, including health professions, education, business, law enforcement, and computer technology. Through the University Center at Mercer, students who complete their associate degree are eligible to transfer into bachelor’s degree programs offered on the Mercer campus through partnerships with William Paterson University, Rutgers University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and Felician College.
MCCC also offers assistance with financial aid, academic counseling, tutoring, and career services. Payment plans are available. For more information, visit www.mccc.edu/finaid.
MCCC expands
services to veterans
Mercer County Community College (MCCC) has forged a partnership with the Trenton Vet Center (located on the border with Ewing) to expand the services the college offers to military veterans.
Therapist Teresa McArthur will be on the West Windsor campus every Monday from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. to advise veterans about issues they may be facing that are interfering with their success in college and in their personal lives. Services include counseling, outreach and referrals to community agencies.
Ms. McArthur explained the mission of the Vet Center at a recent information session for faculty and staff. “Our goal is to understand and appreciate veterans’ war experiences while assisting them and their family members toward a successful post-war adjustment in their community,” she said.
Ms. McArthur observed that veterans re-entering civilian life often struggle with behaviors that can disrupt their learning in the classroom, such as difficulty concentrating, difficulty being in small rooms without windows, difficulty tolerating crowds, and difficulty having people standing or sitting behind them.
She said that in too many cases, veterans become desperate enough to take their own lives. “We are here to provide solutions so that they realize they have other alternatives.”
By offering counseling right on campus, Ms. McArthur said she will be coming to the source. “Sometimes it’s difficult for veterans to reach out. We are making it easier for them to seek help. They will be able to schedule appointments in advance. There will also be time for walk-in conversations.” All services are offered free of charge.
Drew Daddio, MCCC’s Veterans Services coordinator, saiud that after serving in the Marines in Iraq, he found himself in college just a few short months after coming home. “It was a challenging transition,” he recalled, adding that he hopes to provide MCCC vets with the kind of services that he wishes his own college had made available.
According to Mr. Daddio, there are 144 veterans at Mercer this semester receiving education benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs, with many more who served but are pursuing their education independently.
Ms. McArthur stressed that the need for these services is expected to grow as military action in the Middle East winds down. “More and more veterans are likely to turn to community colleges as they seek to re-establish themselves in civilian life,” she said. “We will be ready to serve them.”
The Vet Center’s direct line is 1-800-905-4675, or, for crisis counseling 24 hours a day, 1-800-273-TALK.
Public Document Search
course set May 17
Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello and Mercer County Community College will hold a one-day class this spring focused on searching for public records in the Mercer County Courthouse.
Responding to an overwhelming response to last year’s sold-out course, the County Clerk’s Office has renewed its course offering.
”This year we are again offering our popular Search the Search Room Class,” said Ms. Sollami Covello. “The class is designed by the Clerk’s Office to allow more local residents to navigate the search room and take advantage of our open county resources and records.”
The course offering comes on the heels of the recent installation of a cutting-edge computer system for researching and recording land and property records. “The search system presents the county’s land records in a new and simple, user-friendly format,” added Ms. Sollami Covello.
The non-credit, half-day course will be presented on May 17 from 9 a.m.-noon to assist local residents in researching deeds, liens, and other property information, current or historical, back to the 1800s. One does not need to be a historian or a real estate professional to attend.
The course, open to local residents, will be held in the Search Room of the County Clerk’s Office, at the Old Mercer County Courthouse, 209 S. Broad St., Trenton.
Upon completion of this half-day session, participants will be able to search official County records for:
— A basic copy of a deed or to verify that mortgage debt has been discharged from property records.
— A home’s sale price and names of past and present owners of a specific property.
— Deeds on properties dating to 1838 for historical purposes.
— Verification of easements or right-of-ways on a property.
— Comparative research for tax appeals.
— Information on the origins of local housing developments, subdivisions and their maps.
— Historic landmark filings, business name registrations, military discharge records.
— Access to many more types of documents.
Registration is coordinated though Mercer County Community College’s Center for Continuing Studies. Go to www.MCCC.edu/ccs or call 609-570-3311 to register. The course is limited to 25 individuals with a fee of $15. Ample and free parking will be available near the Old Courthouse on the day of class.

