Raymond Santoro writes more ‘tales of mystery and the unexplained’

Photos by Tom Rivers

CLARENDON – Raymond Santoro, the Holley and Murray historian, had a line of people wanting him to signa  copy of his new book, Beyond Haunted Holley – Further Tales of Mystery and the Unexplained. Santoro held a book-signing on Wednesday evening at the Hillside Cemetery chapel.

He will be signing books and reading from the book at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Community Free Library in Holley. He has another book signing and talk at 6 p.m. on Nov. 6 at Gaines Basin Cobblestone Schoolhouse, 3286 Gaines Basin Rd., Albion. This schoolhouse is used by the Orleans County Historical Association.

Ghost-themed cookies were served Wednesday evening at the Clarendon chapel. Santoro has 500 copies of the new book available.

“Beyond Haunted Holley” costs $18 and can be purchased at Author’s Note bookstore in Medina, the Community Free Library in Holley, Murray Town Hall and Cobblestone Museum in Albion.

Santoro’s new book is a follow-up to his book from 2023 on Haunted Holley. That book has been a sellout with two printings. He wrote about paranormal experiences for people in the Holley community.

He included his email at the end of the book. He received 80 emails from people, sharing their own stories and experiences. Others have called him or told him in person that they felt encounters with ghosts or the unexplained. Santoro said Haunted Holley has generated a lot of interest, much more than he expected.

“There are plenty of local stories to fill a dozen books,” he said.

Santoro encourages people to read the stories with an open mind.

“There is so much of the world we don’t comprehend and perhaps aren’t meant to fully understand,” he writes in the introduction of the 174-page book. “I hope that reading this work as whole might shed light on some of these mysteries.”

Raymond Santoro signed a copy of his book for Gerry Rightmyer, the Murray town supervisor. Rightmyer said he found the first book on Haunted Holley to be a page-turner that he couldn’t put down.

“It is extremely interesting,” Rightmyer said. “I’m real excited to get started on reading this one, too.”

Santoro wore a black cape for added effect during a brief book talk on Wednesday evening in the Hillside chapel.

His new book shares stories from communities near Holley – Bergen, Churchville, Hulberton, Kendall and others.

Santoro was joined up front by Peter Turkow, left, the president of the Clarendon Historical Society. Turkow said Santoro has done a commendable job writing stories that have a profound impact on many people in the community.

“Everybody has a scary story to tell,” Turkow said. “He has done a great job. It’s an important and unique contribution to the history of Holley and the surrounding towns.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – The Holley community celebrated a new mural today. Mary Jo Whitman, a 1995 Holley graduate, created the “Holley is Home” mural on the Geddes Street side of the Heath and Heath law offices at 66 Public Square.

Whitman said she appreciated the chance to reconnect with her hometown. She now lives in Batavia.

Mary Jo Whitman stands next to the mural she painted on the Heath and Heath law offices.

Whitman was approached by Holley mayor Mark Bower to paint the mural. He wanted it to feature local landmarks. Whitman came to Holley and photographed landmarks, printed out the photos and visualized how the mural could look.

Whitman painted the Salisbury Fountain, the Holley Waterfalls, the gazebo by the canal, the old Holley High School and the block of storefronts in the Public Square that incudes Sam’s Diner.

“She did a most spectacular job,” Bower said during the mural dedication today.

He praised Whitman for engaging with many residents while she was working on the mural.

The mayor noted the community added other new murals recently. Arthur Barnes painted a large agricultural scene on the back of the Community Free Library in 2024. Tony Barry painted a large-scale Erie Canal-themed mural on the back of the library in 2023.

Barry, a retired Holley teacher, was one of Whitman’s teachers when she was a Holley student. Barry and Barnes both attended the mural dedication today.

Doug Heath, owner of the Heath and Heath building, said Whitman did an amazing job. Doug is the fourth generation of Heaths to be a lawyer locally. His great-grandfather, Edward Heath started in Bergen in 1895, followed by his son Mark and then Doug’s father,  Robert Heath. The family has been in Holley for more than 100 years. Doug has been working as a lawyer in Holley for 41 years.

Mary Jo Whitman thanked the Holley mayor and village clerk Rainey Losee for their support of the project. Losee was a key partner in getting a grant application completed through the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council (Go Art!). The project was funded with a $7,500 grant through Go Art! That money came from the New York State Council on the Arts.

Whitman thanked Clarence Moyer for loaning her use of a lift to paint the high parts of the mural.

Whitman signed the lower right corner of the mural, in a final piece of the painting.

Photos and information courtesy of Holley Central School

HOLLEY – The Holley Central School Class of 1986 recently marked a major milestone by celebrating their 40th class reunion during the district’s homecoming weekend on October 2-3.

The weekend kicked off with classmates gathering to watch the annual homecoming parade. Afterward, the group headed to the Woodlands soccer stadium for the alumni soccer game. Two members of the Class of ’86, Walter Bennage and Peter Lehning, suited up to play and were honored with team captain status for the game.

Following the game, 29 classmates and spouses gathered at the Holley firemen’s field to reminisce and catch up. The reunion drew attendees from across the country, with several classmates traveling from as far as California, Texas and Illinois to celebrate.

On Saturday, the festivities continued with breakfast at Sam’s Diner. This was followed by a guided tour of both the elementary and Jr./Sr. high school buildings, led by Holley School District Superintendent Karri Schiavone.

The tour held special significance for the attendees. The Class of 1986 was among the very first groups of students to occupy the current high school when it opened in the late 1970s. At the time, the building featured a trendy “open classroom” concept. The alumni found it fascinating to see how the physical spaces had evolved and noted the remarkable modern upgrades completed over the last 40 years.

A major highlight of the landmark weekend was a philanthropic effort by the self-proclaimed “Generation X” class. Both weekend attendees and classmates who could not make the trip combined forces to collect donations. In honor of their graduation year, they raised $1,986, which will be awarded as a scholarship to a deserving Holley graduating senior.

File photo by Tom Rivers: This photo from May shows the entrance of Veterans Drive being barricaded to prevent traffic from going through.

HOLLEY – Mayor Mark Bower said it will be costly to replace the culvert on Veterans Drive but he wants to start the process of getting a new small bridge eventually in place.

The culvert was badly damaged by a powerful storm on April 1 with flooding. The road and culvert are both crumbling.

The entrance has been blocked off to traffic. Bower doesn’t want to see the entrance stay closed long-term, saying that it hurts the VFW Post, a tannery business and the companies in the Holley Business Park.

Wendel, an engineering firm, has offered to do a preliminary engineering assessment for free for replacing the culvert. Bower said a new culvert and road repairs could be around $850,000. Wendel will be able to provide more specific numbers.

Holley could then pursue grant funding for the project.

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Holley Police station is located at 8 Thomas St. The department has been in Holley since 1930.

HOLLEY – The Village Board won’t be voting anytime soon to dissolve the police department or put the issue to a public vote.

Instead, the Village Board will look to reduce spending in the department in the village budget, with dissolution a possible focus the following year, said Holley Mayor Mark Bower.

The mayor said he values the police department but also is aware of a high tax burden for village residents. He praised the Holley Police Department for its quick response on Tuesday when a man who was allegedly highly intoxicated fired multiple gun shots from a Geddes Street address. That man was taken into custody without anyone being harmed.

The Village Board said the police budget  accounts for over $500,000 to village taxpayers each year. That is precisely $523,973 of the village’s $2,165,925 budget in 2026-27.

Mayor Bower said the board is determined to try to bring down the tax burden in the village. Residents and some of the larger businesses in Holley tell him the taxes are too high in the village.

The Holley PD has a chief, two full-time officers and six part-timers. There are officers on duty nearly 24-7. There are currently two night shifts not filled each week.

Bower said the village will look to make some reductions to bring down costs but won’t be looking at dissolving the department this budget cycle or in the 2027-28 fiscal year.

Interact Club advisor leads students on many service projects in community

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – Holley Mayor Mark Bower presents Samantha Heise Zelent with the Mayor Vaughn Appreciation Award for her efforts as a Holley school social worker and as advisor of the school’s Interact Club. The award was presented during Tuesday’s Village Board meeting at the American Legion. In back are village attorney John Sansone and village trustee Brenden Bedard.

Hundreds of students have tackled community service projects in recent years through the Interact Club.

Bower said he remembers when Zelent moved to Holley with she was a first grader. Her father, the late John Heise, was starting a job as Holley principal. John and his wife Sandy, and their children – Kevin and Samantha – settled into the Holley community.

John Heise was very involved in Rotary and served as the district governor. He pushed to start the Interact Club at the school. Interact is affiliated with Rotary.

Zelent has helped turn Interact into a powerhouse, connecting students to service projects throughout the school year.

Samantha Zelent addresses about 200 volunteers on May 17 for the annual “Day of Impact” as part of the Canal Clean Sweep.

The Day of Impact includes a huge group of students and community volunteers who pick up litter in the community, tend to landscaping by the tank at the VFW, clean blankets to be given to a homeless shelter and work on other service projects.

The Interact Club also cleans headstone at Hillside Cemetery, serves food at the Orleans Koinonia Kitchen in Albion, prepares meals for the Open Door Mission in Rochester, and helps in numerous other ways.

Mayor Bower said Zelent has given many years of dedicated service to students and the Holley community.

“She’s a force to be reckoned with,” Bower said. “She’s a get-it-done person.”

Samantha Zelent in March 2025 gives Holley students a pep talk before they served sloppy joes at the OK Kitchen in Albion. Clockwise from Zelent include MacKenzie Fiorito, Lily Moore, Brianna Pellegrino, Leon Wilcox, Charli Gearing, Madie Lowell, Kylie Dann, Joscelyn Underwood and the back of Erin Dibble.

The Holley community donated the food for a sloppy joe dinner, including 90 pounds of ground beef, 83 cans of Manwich, 83 jars of peas, 500 Little Debbie snacks and a $100 from Wegmans. The Holley school kitchen staff cooked the sloppy joes which were then reheated at the OK Kitchen and then served by the students.

Zelent said the Holley community eagerly steps up to serve others. She praised the Holley community “tribe” for their giving hearts.

“This tribe has come through every single time and it is so powerful,” Zelent said. “Be it donations, manpower or support, this community is always there. They are the reason all of this happens, including Interact.”

She praised her father for his example of service, and for pushing to start Interact in Holley. The students have embraced the Rotary mission of “Service Above Self.”

“It is for the 100s of kids who have come through Interact who inspire me and make me so incredibly proud,” Zelent said. “They make me know that the future is so bright and that the world is going to be left in pretty caring, determined, and hard working hands.”

Mayor Bower reactivated the Mayor Vaughn Appreciation Award in 2022. Since then the recipients have included: Charlene Sielaff in 2022, Sabir Khan in 2023, Sandy Shaw in 2024, Mark Scarborough in 2025 and Samantha Heise Zelent in 2026.

MEDINA –The National Honor Society at Medina High School will again be serving dinner to veterans and their families.

The annual Veterans’ Day Dinner will be at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6, at the high school cafeteria.

The dinner will be catered and is free to veterans and their families. NHS members collect donations to cover the cost of the meals.

Veterans and their families who want to attend are urged to call the high school office at (585) 798-2700 by Nov. 2. Reservations can also be emailed to NHS advisor Zachary Harris at zwharris@medinacsd.org.

Photo by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – Village officials will be joined by artist Mary Jo Whitman during a dedication and reception at 3 p.m. on Oct. 21 for the new “Holley is Home” mural.

Whitman, a Holley native and graduate, spent about six weeks diligently creating the mural on the Geddes Street side of the Heath and Heath law offices at 66 Public Square.

Whitman, a Batavia resident, used a $7,500 grant through the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council to create the mural. She was approached by Holley mayor Mark Bower about a mural with Holley landmarks.

Whitman painted the Salisbury Fountain, the Holley Waterfalls, the gazebo by the canal, the old Holley High School and the block of storefronts in the Public Square that incudes Sam’s Diner.

HOLLEY – A Holley man who was heavily intoxicated allegedly fired multiple gun shots this afternoon. The shots weren’t fired at a person, said Police Chief Robert Barton.

There was a large police presence at 68 Geddes St. after neighbors called 911 at 2:47 p.m. about a man with a gun.

When police arrived, the man was agitated but was responsive to verbal commands, Chief Barton said. The man was taken into custody without incident. He was taken by Mercy EMS ambulance to Unity Hospital for a psychological evaluation. A Holley police officer rode in the ambulance with the Mercy EMS crew.

Chief Barton said the incident remains under investigation. He expects criminal charges will be filed.

He didn’t release the man’s name this evening. He said the man is known to Holley Police based on prior interactions.

There was a search warrant of the home, a spacious former bed and breakfast. The Albion Police Department K9 and a K9 from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department skilled in nitrate detection for gunpowder were part of the search. Chief Barton isn’t publicly disclosing anything from the search due to the ongoing investigation.

Holley Police were assisted at the scene by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, State Police, Albion PD and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Barton commended neighbors for their assistance and statements. One neighbor said three shots were fired by the man, while another neighbor said it was four shots.

Part of Geddes Street was shut down for several hours by the Murray Joint Fire District while police and the K9 units searched the scene.