Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – Sandra Shaw, director of the Community Free Library in Holley, congratulates Arthur Barnes on Saturday for completing the second phase of a mural on the back of the library. Barnes painted the farming and country scene on the right side.

Tony Barry did the left side with an Erie Canal theme last year.

The library used a grant from the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council to pay Barnes for the project. The library will pursue more grants to extend the mural in what could be four phases in all.

Shaw said the agriculture mural highlights an important component of the local community of Holley, Murray and Clarendon.

“This is who we are, and we wanted to celebrate farming, agriculture and the industries that grew out of it,” Shaw said. “We are exploring our agricultural past and the people who built the wonderful farms in our community.”

Arthur Barnes is shown next to the apples he painted as part of the mural. He created the depiction from memory, recalling a country scene growing up in Shelby Center. Barnes said he picked apples as a teen for a neighbor, Jeff Smith.

Barnes painted a mural that is 25 feet high and 21 feet wide. Barnes worked on the project over the summer, painting trees, a church, wheat fields and an apple orchard.

Arthur Barnes is shown with the two murals together. His mural blends in with artwork painted on the back of the library last year by Tony Barry.

Barry painted a portrait of Holley’s namesake, Myron Holley, and a Erie Canal scene. Myron Holley was an early commissioner for the canal.

Barry shared some of his leftover paint and a color scheme for the overall project.

“I owe a lot to Tony Barry,” Barnes said. “It was his idea.”

Shaw said Barnes did a great job with the mural, and was very welcoming to the public when they stopped by to see the progress.

“I met some old friends and I made some new ones,” Barnes said about working outside on the mural. “It was more fun than I thought it would be.”

This is the sixth large-scale mural Barnes has done in Orleans County. The other five are canal scenes, including his first one in Holley from about 30 years ago. That one is on display in the Murray-Holley Historical Society Museum.

Grounds could be sold by Diocese; Volunteers hope festival will continue for many more years

Photos by Tom Rivers

HULBERTON – Joe Morlino was among many volunteers cooking food at St. Rocco’s Italian Festival on Sunday in Hulberton. The event has been a big fundraiser for the St. Mark’s and St. Mary’s Catholic Parish.

Morlino has been volunteering at the festival for 20 years. He is cooking French fries, ravioli and mozzarella sticks.

The festival included a bocce tournament, arts and craft vendors, food, a beer tent, and other activities.

Sunday was the 49^th St. Rocco’s Italian Festival.

The property has been listed to be sold by the Buffalo Diocese, but church members have advocated that the property be kept by the local church and continued to be used for the Italian Festival, which volunteers say is a community event, bringing many former Holley residents back for a homecoming.

Bishop Michel W. Fisher said the Diocese will announce its final recommendations this week or early next week on what churches and properties will be closed and sold in the Diocese.

Kevin Lynch, a former Holley mayor, eyes where to toss the ball in the bocce tournament. Lynch and three of his high school friends – Charlie Smith, Bernie Ruggeri and Paul Gifaldi – have been playing as a team for about 30 years. They were 1-1 in the early going of the tournament on Sunday.

The bocce tournament had 10 teams on Sunday, up from eight last year. Another tournament was held on Sunday at the courts at Hickory Ridge Golf Course. The goal is to be the closest to the small ball. The first team to 16 wins, and the team has to win by at least 2 points.

Dan Mawn prepares waffles to be deep fried and then covered in confectionary sugar. He has been volunteering at St. Rocco’s since 2009, when Holley ended its firemen’s carnival.

I hadn’t noticed the plaques on the festival grounds until Sunday. This monument sign is concealed in bushes.

One side facing the road declares: “In gratitude to the J. Walter Koessler Family (Greater Buffalo Press) for the gift of this land and building.”

The other side is in memory of the Rev. James D. Walker, who served St. Mary’s, St. Rocco’s and St. Mark’s.

HOLLEY – The Holley community is expanding a celebration of residents who are 90 and older to include people outside the village of Holley in the towns of Murray and Clarendon.

Those 90 and older will be celebrated at 1 p.m. on Sept. 13 in the Village Square with a reception in the Community Free Library.

Those residents of Murray and Clarendon who are 90 and older as of Sept. 13, and residents of the village of Holley who have turned 90 since September 2022 are welcome to the gathering.

To attend, call Holley’s Village Clerk, Rainey Losee, at (585) 638-6367 with name, age and contact information as soon as possible.

Photos courtesy of Orleans County Soil and Water Conservation District

HOLLEY – The popular Holley Falls and Canal Park has many dead ash trees, including trees that have toppled.

The Orleans County Soil and Water Conservation District has been able to secure a $350,046 grant from the United States Forest Service to pay to clear out the dead trees.

Gov. Kathy Hochul last month announced the recipients of the Urban and Community Forest Grants. Soil and Water Conservation Districts applied on behalf of municipalities and communities that face environmental challenges due to climate change as well as economic disparities.

“As many residents of the Village of Holley and throughout Orleans County visit the park for hiking, fishing, and picnicking, keeping the park safe for visitors as well as protecting this environmental resource remained a high priority for our organization,” said Katie Sommerfeldt, district manager for Soil & Water in Orleans County.

“We are excited to take on new and challenging projects that will benefit the community we serve.”

The Village of Holley DPW will be doing the work over the next three years. Sommerfeldt said the work could start this winter.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MURRAY – Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke speaks during Sunday’s Back the Blue rally in Murray. Bourke said law enforcement officers appreciated the support of the community as the job becomes more challenging with what Bourke said are “pro-criminal” laws.

Bourke is critical of state legislation that make it more difficult for judges to set bail for people who have been arrested and are a danger to the community.

He shared how the SWAT team arrested a drug dealer in Orleans County and that person was sitting back on their porch a few hours later, smoking a cigarette.

“We’re not taking care of our citizens,” Bourke said about the legislation. “This should be about protecting people and quality of life.”

Judges should be allowed to review a defendant’s criminal history and determine whether that person is a flight risk in setting bail, Bourke said.

About 150 motorcyclists and 70 other vehicles participated in the 50-mile ride in Orleans County that started and ended on Monroe-Orleans Countyline Road. The ride went along Route 31 from Holley through Albion to Medina, and then went north on Route 63, and came back east through Ridgeway, Gaines and Murray.

The state’s “Raise the Age” law also means people can’t be prosecuted as an adult until they are 18, instead of 16.

Other legislation, including discovery laws, have titled the balance towards criminals, Bourke and other speakers said during the rally.

“We love you if you support the police and if you don’t support the police,” Bourke said. “We take care of everybody.”

Many elected officials and those seeking public office welcomed the chance to speak at the rally, including from left: State Sen. Rob Ortt, Murray Town Supervisor Gerry Rightmyer and Kimberly DeRosa, a candidate for the 135^th Assembly District on the east side of Monroe County.

Ortt said the State Legislature needs more conservative members who will push back on “pro-criminal legislation” that he said is making our communities less safe and putting law enforcement officers in more danger.

He cited the examples of officers killed in New York City and Syracuse by people who would have been held in jail before the bail reform changes, which Ortt said has turned the state into “catch and release” program for criminals.

“We need strong candidates who won’t be swayed,” Ortt said about having more Republicans in the Legislature.

Rightmyer, the Murray supervisor, said he is particularly angered by people who burn the American flag and then replace it with another country’s flag.

DeRosa said the state laws have gone in the wrong direction with community safety.

“Criminals are emboldened by policies that don’t give them any kind of consequence,” she said.

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney said she would have loved to have ridden her motorcycle on the 50-mile trip but had five events on Sunday. She wore earrings that looked like handcuffs for the Back the Blue rally.

She said the bail reform has made law enforcement more dangerous. She cited the death of Rochester police officer Tony Mazurkiewicz, who was shot and killed on July 21, 2022 in an ambush.

Tenney urged the crowd of about 300 people to support candidates who stand by the Constitution, which she said emphasizes public safety and border security.

This vehicle shows a sign in support of Donald Trump and Congresswoman Claudia Tenney.

Ayesha Kreutz, left, and Peter Vazquez spoke at the rally. Kreutz is a member of the Protect Kids Coalition. That group opposes Proposition One on the back of the November ballot. Kreutz said it is presented as an Equal Rights Amendment but is a “Parent Replacement Act,” giving parents less say in how their children process gender identity and medical decisions.

Vazquez is a candidate for Monroe County clerk. He said he the country need to move past political party labels. He is focused on “God, country and family.”

He spoke against the progressive left and “the buffoon in the White House.”

Many of the rally attendees displayed signs to show their support for law enforcement.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley railed against recently passed state legislation that he said put the communities at risk around the state.

“We are absolutely appalled and dismayed at what law enforcement is facing from the people in Albany,” Hawley said. “Our society has lost its way. The police are our last line of defense.”

These speakers include from left: Orlando Rivera, a candidate for State Assembly; Gregg Sadwick, a candidate for the 25^th Congressional District against Joe Morelle; and retired Gates Police Chief James VanBrederode, who is running for state senator.

Rivera thanked the law enforcement officers for their service.

“You get up every day serving us tirelessly and you don’t have to,” Rivera said.

Sadwick, a Navy veteran and business owner, said, “You will never see me sitting or kneeling against you.”

VanBrederode said state legislators are out of touch with how police officers do their jobs.

This was the fifth “Back the Blue” ride through Orleans County and the event has many vocal supporters for Donald Trump. There were a few Trump flags at Sunday’s rally, but the message and flags were more focused on the “Back the Blue” message. The rally was held on property owned by David Paul and his family.

Monroe County Legislator Virginia McIntyre, an opera singer, sang the national anthem.

File photo by Tom Rivers: A caravan of about 500 vehicles were part of the first “Back the Blue” ride on Sept. 12, 2020 in Orleans County. Here they pass underneath a giant American flag on Route 31 in Holley.

MURRAY – A “Back the Blue” ride will cover 50 miles in Orleans County today, starting at David Paul’s property on Monroe-Orleans Countyline Road.

The ride shows support for law enforcement and is expected to include several hundred participants who will leave 3823 County Line Rd. at about 1 p.m. and go to Route 31 and then head west to Medina. They will turn onto Route 63 and go north to Route 104 and then head east to Monroe-Orleans Countyline Rd. The entire ride is about 50 miles.

Before the ride there will be a rally on Paul’s property with conservative talk show host Bob Lonsberry serving as emcee. The scheduled speakers include Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke, Assemblyman Steve Hawley, State Sen. Rob Ortt and Murray Town Supervisor Gerry Rightmyer.

Monroe County Legislator Virginia McIntyre is expected to sing the national anthem.

Press Release, Holley Central School

Mackenzie Swartz

HOLLEY – Holley Central School is thrilled to introduce Mackenzie Swartz as the new assistant principal of Holley Elementary School. She will be formally appointed by the Holley Board of Education at the Aug. 19 meeting.

Before working at Holley, Swartz was a teacher on special assignment (TOSA) in the East Irondequoit School District, providing strategic instructional support for elementary teachers.

She previously taught first grade at Kendall Elementary School and second grade at Ivan Green Primary School in East Irondequoit, where she also served as Literacy Leader and Equity Facilitator. She received her bachelor’s degree in Childhood Education and her master’s degree in Literacy from Roberts Wesleyan University. Swartz received her School Building/District Leadership Certificate from SUNY Brockport.

She is very excited to join the Holley community and share her passion for elementary education.

“I truly believe that I am a better person today because of all the students I have worked with,” Swartz said. “Elementary school is so special because you get to see students grow so much in their time with us. I am looking forward to learning from and with students here at Holley, and seeing all the unique qualities each student contributes to the school community. I know that this is an incredible community, and I am thankful for the opportunity to be joining the team.”

The district extends a very warm welcome to Swartz as she embarks on her journey at Holley.

“Mackenzie brings valuable and unique elementary experiences to our building, and we look forward to learning from and growing with her,” said Tim Artessa, principal at Holley Elementary. “We couldn’t be more excited for Mackenzie to be joining our school community. Her enthusiasm for elementary education is going to be very well received by both our students and staff, and I truly believe that her impact will be immediate as she is ready to hit the ground running!”