By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 June 2024 at 3:27 pm
HOLLEY – The school district is looking to fill two vacancies on the Board of Education after two recently elected members notified the district they won’t be taking the volunteer positions when the terms start on July 1.
Sal DeLuca Jr., the board’s vice president, was elected to a three-year term on May 21. But he is not going to take the new term.
Shannon Brett was elected to a two-year term but was informed after the election that she would have to give up a security position in the district if she takes go on the Board of Education. Brett, a retired Sheriff’s deputy and investigator, wants to stay in the security position in Holley because she said she has built many strong relationships with students, teachers and administrators. She doesn’t want to commute a half hour to another district.
The BOE will fill the two vacancies by appointment. Candidates will be considered and possibly interviewed, according to a notice from the district.
For more information about the duties of being on the BOE, click here. For further questions contact District Clerk Connie Nenni at 585-638-6316 X: 2003 or cnenni@holleycsd.org.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 June 2024 at 1:13 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
MURRAY – A train from Genesee Valley Transportation hit a flatbed tow truck at about noon today. The truck from A & M Transmissions and Complete Automotive Center had just left a parking area north of the railroad tracks when the truck stalled on the tracks as a train was rounding the bend to the east.
The train hit the front side of the truck which then was pushed into a railroad crossing sign, knocking it down.
A state trooper on the scene said the driver of the truck initially was “shaken up” but is OK. No one else was injured and no violations will be issued, the trooper said.
The train is expected to be stuck on the tracks, blocking Fancher Road (Route 387) for extended period of time while GVT waits for a mechanic to fix an air leak in the engine.
HOLLEY – The Board of Education has selected Karri Schiavone as the next superintendent of the Holley school district. She will succeed Brian Bartalo who is retiring on June 30.
Schiavone has worked for Holley for 26 years, including the past 12 years as the principal of Holley Elementary School. Prior to that she served as the director of instruction and special programs in Holley. Her educational career also includes work in Medina, Brockport and Buffalo.
“Karri brings an unmatched wealth of knowledge, experience and dedication to Holley that shined through our search. Her passion for education coupled with her love for the Holley community will bring growth and success to our school district. We look forward to collaborating with her to support the needs of the district,” said Holley Board President Anne Winkley. “We are thankful for the outstanding leadership Superintendent Bartalo has given to our district these past six years and wish him a happy, healthy retirement.”
The Board will formally appoint Schiavone at a special board meeting on Thursday, June 6. Schiavone will assume her new role July 1.
“I am humbled and honored to have been selected as the next superintendent of the Holley Central School District, a place I call home,” Schiavone said. “I look forward to working with the Board of Education, staff, students and community as we continue our journey toward excellence. Together, we will further build on the district’s successes and ensure that every student has the opportunity to achieve their highest potential.”
Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES District Superintendent Jo Anne L. Antonacci assisted the Holley Board of Education as search consultant throughout the process.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 June 2024 at 8:37 am
Terms for office increased from 2 to 4 years
Mark Bower
HOLLEY – Three names will be on the ballot for the June 18 village election and all three are current members of the Village Board.
Mark Bower is unopposed for mayor. He is running under the “Historic Holley Party.” Two incumbent trustees also are unopposed. Jessica MacClaren is running under the “Four Holley Party” and John Morriss is under the “Family Party.”
Voting will be from noon to 9 p.m. in the village office foyer. Holley’s terms of office used to be for two years but this election they will be for four years. The board voted to increase the terms on Jan. 10, 2023. This is the first election it takes effect.
Bower was elected mayor in June 2022. A retired school administrator, he wants to see projects to completion, including with street repairs. White Street is the first on the list for upgrades.
“There are a lot of unfinished things I want to bring to closure,” Bower said.
In the past two years some new businesses have opened in Holley. Bower said other projects are close, including a new Dollar General in the former Jubilee and Save-A-Lot grocery store building.
“We’re just waiting on that,” he said. “I’m trying to be a champion and an advocate for the businesses in Holley.”
Bower said the board members have a good working relationship, and respectfully disagree at times.
“We have a very good board,” he said. “It is a pleasure working with them. We don’t agree on everything.”
MacClaren is a fourth-grade teacher in Brockport. Morriss is a retired teacher and former Murray town supervisor.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 June 2024 at 1:22 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – Shannon Brett, right, gets ready to sound the horn to start the Jim Ferris Memorial 5K on Saturday in Holley. It was the first event of the day for Holley’s June Fest celebration.
Brett and the Holley Rotary Club brought the race back after an absence in recent years. The race started on North Main Street Road, just north of the elementary school.
There were 91 participants in the race.
Ferris was one of the top runners in the Rochester region in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He died at age 53 from a sudden heart attack on May 7, 1994.
Lucas Lyons, 22, of Rochester was the first overall finisher in 20:57, just ahead of Jose Quiros of Medina.
Emma Brady was the first female to finish the race. The 17-year-old from Holley ran the 3.1 miles in 24:02. She finished ahead of Tyler Moore, 15, of Holley, who was done in 24:10.
(Left) Matt Feldman, the Holley Jr./Sr. High School principal, heads to the finish line. He completed the 3.1 miles in 27:25. (Right) Holley students painted these rocks which were given to the top 3 finishers in the different age groups.
Carsyn Mogle, 13, edged her father David Mogle down the stretch in the race. Carsyn finished in 27:46, 2 seconds ahead of her father, who is the Albion police chief. Kathryn Berner, no. 152, finished in 27:52.
Brian Bartalo, the Holley school district superintendent (in red), was among the runners in the race. Bartalo is retiring in June after six years of leading the school district. He is next to Grace and Tom Torpey of Holley.
Josh Mitchell and his dog cross the finish line, just ahead of Makenna Seaward, 11, of Holley. Mitchell is co-owner of Mitchell Family Cremations & Funerals. He brought his dog Charles along for the race. Charles is a Golden Doodle grief therapy dog. Mitchell was impressed Charles conquered the course.
“He is a stallion,” Mitchell said.
There were 49 craft, food and other vendors along the canal trail in Holley for the June Fest celebration.
Holley also unveiled a “Telephone of the Wind” in memory of Helene Gleason Calleri.
“This phone is for everyone who has lost a loved one,” according to the plaque with the phone. “This phone is an outlet for those who have messages they wish to share with friends and family. It is a phone for memories & saying the goodbyes you never got to say.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 June 2024 at 4:06 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
Kim Remley, left, and her sister Anne Beaty toss candy to kids along Route 98 during a parade in Carlton today.
The two were part of a float for Oak Orchard on the Lake. They are in a truck owned by Gary Wilson. His wife, Susie Wilson, and Km’s husband, Richard Remley, were also in the float.
Carlton last year had a bicentennial parade and festival and enjoyed it so much the town is looking to make it an annual event.
These families enjoy bounce houses and a saw dust pile at the town park.
Coupe de Ville was the first band to play under a big tent behind the Carlton Rec Hall. The Stony Creek Band takes the stage at 5 p.m.
Holley also celebrated with its annual June Fest today. The events began at 9 a.m. with the return of the Jim Ferris Memorial 5K. About 100 runners take off at the start of the race. They are headed down North Main Street and would soon go over the Erie Canal. Lucas Lyons of Rochester, no. 157, was the first overall finisher in 20:57.
This bench – “I’ll Meet You On The Other Side” – was dedicated today in memory of Tyanna Lutes. There were 49 different food, craft and other vendors for the festival.
George Johnson of Holley was the lone entrant in the regatta on the Erie Canal where people needed to make a vessel from cardboard and duct tape. Johnson was able to turn boxes from the Dollar General into a boat he called “Ship Happens.” He used four rolls of duct tape to hold it together. He was able to paddle across the canal and back in just over 2 minutes. He urges more people to try next year.
“It just takes gumption,” he said.
Orleans Hub should have more photos from the festivals later tonight or tomorrow.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 May 2024 at 5:34 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – Sierra Apicella and her brother Xander are asked to look into a body bag where their younger sister Jasmine was pretending to be dead. Jasmine had makeup on her face to look like blood.
Chief County Coroner Scott Schmidt is at right. Holley police officer A.J. Fisher is at left.
Holley first responders staged a driving while intoxicated accident in front of the junior-senior high school. There were six students who were in the accident. Five had injuries and Jasmine was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sierra Apicella, 22, is overcome with emotion after seeing her sister lying motionless and pretending to be fatally injured in a car accident. Her brother, 25, also said it was difficult to see their younger sister in such a state.
“It was shocking,” Sierra said after the simulation. “It was a lot more than we thought.”
Lance Babcock has a neck brace as he led to an ambulance. About 75 Holley students watched from bleachers in the parking lot.
Holley did the simulation this morning. The junior-senior prom is tonight at the Ridgemont Country Club in Rochester.
Students were strongly encouraged not to drink and drive, and to be careful in the upcoming season of graduation parties. That includes any distracted driving, including texting and being overly tired.
Holley and Clarendon firefighters take the windshield out of a vehicle to try to extricate two students inside.
Gallo’s Performance Auto Parts donated an Infinity and Mazda to simulate the crash. The Village of Holley DPW brought a loader over this morning to smash up the vehicles to make them look like there had been an accident.
Holley police officers have Noah St. John do a field sobriety test to see if he can walk in a straight line. The Holley officers Jacob Buzard is at left and AJ Fisher is at right.
St. John said he considered it an honor to be part of the simulation, showing the serious consequences that can occur from drunk driving.
Lorenzo Zaragoza is taken by stretcher to a Monroe Ambulance to be transported.
Before going outside to see the simulation, Holley students saw a video that showed where some of the students pretended to be at a party, drinking alcohol. One student tried to stop them from getting in a car and driving.
The video then went to black, and then there was a 911 call about a two-vehicle accident in Murray with serious injuries.
Murray Fire Chief Rick Cary told students to show respect and look out for each other. Cary said car accidents with teen-agers are very difficult for the volunteer firefighters, who often have children of their own. He said the accidents are often avoidable.
“Guys, it’s up to you,” Cary told the students.
Holley has doing the simulation around prom and graduation season nearly every year for about 25 years, Cary said.
There also was a court proceeding in the school auditorium where St. John was arraigned on charges of felony aggravated vehicular homicide and driving while intoxicated, facing likely imprisonment when he is sentenced.
Orleans County District Attorney Joe Cardone acted as the judge with assistant district attorney Susan Howard, left, the prosecutor and Elizabeth Ogden, an assistant district attorney who served as public defender. Holley police officer A.J. Fisher is at right.
Photos courtesy of Holley Central School: Holley students have again built sheds to be used by Homesteads for Hope, a nonprofit community farm on Manitou Road in Spencerport that gives people of all abilities a place to grow their talents.
Posted 28 May 2024 at 1:46 pm
Press Release, Holley Central School
HOLLEY – Holley math teacher Russ Albright and technology teacher Dylan Sharpe co-teach Geometry in Construction, with students rotating between math days and building days each week.
There are 14 students in this year’s class, with the majority in 10th grade. The class helps students learn how math concepts can be applied to real-world problems to create solutions.
Students combined their math and construction skills to build two sheds for Homesteads 4 Hope this year. The sheds are both 8′ x 10′. One has a traditional gable end roof and the other has a “salt box” roof. They have done four previous building projects for H4H.
“I think some students benefit from a ‘hands on’ learning approach,” Albright said. “Not every student that takes the class will want to pursue a career in construction, but they will all leave with a general understanding of building techniques and see how geometric concepts are used in the construction field. The kids also like the idea of helping a non-profit organization with what we build. It gives them a sense of pride seeing that we accomplished something as a group that will benefit an organization in some way.”
This is the first year the class built the structures at the school and will have them delivered to H4H fully completed. Usually, they build the structure at the school in panelized form, break down the panels and load them onto a trailer, and reconstruct them on the H4H site, spending two full days there building.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 May 2024 at 3:41 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – The top of a new historical marker includes artwork by Holley teacher Kayla Thrower. The marker was unveiled and dedicated today for the 9 “Holley Boys” who were killed during the Vietnam War.
Those young men include: John P. Davis, age 30: David Duane Case, 20; Ronald P. Sisson, 23; Howard L. Bowen, 20; Gary E. Bullock, 24; Gary Lee Stymus, 26; George Warren Fischer Jr., 23; Paul Scott Mandracchia, 18; and David States, 21.
Nick D’Amura, a former middle/high school history teacher at Holley, gave the keynote address. He is shown taking a photo with his phone. D’Amura now works for the Genesee Valley BOCES in Le Roy.
He taught at Holley for 10 years and his classes researched the Holley men who died in the Vietnam War.
Holley suffered one of the highest casualty rates in the country during Vietnam, and D’Amura said the losses are still felt deeply in the community.
The marker is next to the former Holley High School, where eight of the nine soldiers graduated.
“They grew up in a small town,” D’Amura said. “They played sports. They were in the marching band. They revved up cars.”
Melissa Ierlan, Clarendon town historian, hugs D’AMura after his speech.
D’Amura’s Holley students helped with the wording on the marker. In addition to listing the names of the Holley soldiers, the marker states the following:
“This marker is to commemorate the nine young men who lost their lives in service to their country during the conflict in Vietnam. The ‘Holley Boys’ attended classes here at the high school in the heart of the village before war called them to adulthood. They grew up with stories of their fathers from battlefields past, and each of them served with distinction when the great battle of their age arrived.
“Holley sent her finest when called.”
The marker ends with a quote from Abraham Lincoln: “I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.”
Ierlan pushed for the monument and secured funding from the Elizabeth Dye Curtis Foundation, Clarendon Historical Society and Murray-Holley Historical Society.
Dan Mawn, president of the Murray-Holley Historical Society, was among about 150 people who attended the dedication ceremony in the rain. Mawn said he was born the same year as Mandracchia and rode the same school bus with Stymus and Bowen.
“This is long overdue,” Mawn said about the prominent display for the Holley soldiers.
Before the marker dedication, there was a Memorial Day service in the American Legion Post in Holley. Scott Galliford, the post commander, welcomes about 125 inside the hall for the service.
He noted the Legion post is named for Jewell Buckman, the first soldier from Holley to be killed in World War I about a century ago. Buckman’s life was cut short on June 7th, 1918, fifty miles northeast of Paris, at the Battle of Belleau Wood. He was 26 and a member of the Marine Corps.
Ron Ayrault, the Legion’s chaplain, shared the names of local veterans who passed away since last Memorial Day: Robert Stirk, Army; Alfred Pulcino III, Air Force; Paul Wright, Army; James Miller, Navy; James B. Coats, Navy; Garland Miller, Army; Robert Pinson, Army; Frank Mandigo, Air Force; Noel Zicari, Air Force; Neil Passarell, Army; Wayne Robinson, Navy; and Jerome “Jeff” Machamer, Army.
Kevin Foley, a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War, received a Purple Heart and two Distinguished Flying Cross medals after being shot down and being determined to help his fellow soldiers.
He spoke to about 125 people inside the Legion hall. The service moved indoors because of the rain.
Mark James Morreall reads a poem he wrote, “The Cost of Freedom.”
Some of the poem’s lines include:
“He gave his life at Little Round Top,
At Valley Forge and Normandy,
In Flanders Fields and Iwo Jima,
At Pork Chop Hill and in Quang Tri.
“Sometimes we take this life for granted,
Do we forget the price they paid?
They say the freedom wasn’t free my friend,
It’s been paid for by the brave!”
Joyce Foley, a retired teacher and Kevin Foley’s wife, said she attended church with Ron Sisson, one of the nine from Holley killed in Vietnam. That United Methodist Church was in the Public Square and still stands, although it’s now used for apartments.
“He made everyone feel special,” Foley said about Sisson. “He had a smile that lit up a room.”
She recalled being on her senior trip with her classmates. They went to Gettysburg. They were having a great time, when news came that Gary Stymus had been killed. Two of his family members were on the senior trip.
She said the historical marker is ideally located next to the old high school.
“How fitting that they will be honored in front of the high school where they lived, loved, laughed and learned,” Foley said.
Foley said many of the Vietnam vets who came home suffered with missing limbs, PTSD, brain injuries, exposure to Agent Orange and other hardships.
She said the vets served “for love of family, for love of God and for love of country. It was their sense of duty.”
Before the service and rain these scouts stand in front of a 5-ton military dump truck from 1991. The truck is now used by Howard Farms. Todd Klatt brought it from the farm for its first parade. Klatt is a mechanic in the National Guard.
Mark Morreall rides his motorcycle in the parade followed by several fire trucks.
Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts ride in the parade to Hillside Cemetery. Scouts and veterans laid wreaths at Hillside and Holy Cross Cemetery. The Scouts are in Pack 62, and Troops 62 and 59.
Photo courtesy of Erin Anheier: Alvin Anheier, 97, of Brockport. sits in the passenger seat of his 1928 Ford Model AA. Anheier, a World War II veteran, wanted to be at the parade. Ross Sceusa is driving, Sandy Moy is in the second row seat and Kevin Bedard and Wally Sanford are in the top back seats.
Photos courtesy of Holley Central School: Board of Education members celebrated the ground-breaking. They include, from left: Trina Lorentz, Jennifer Reisman, Anne Winkley (President), Salvatore De Luca Jr. (Vice President), Tracy Van Ameron, Anne Smith and Brian McKeon.
Staff Reports Posted 22 May 2024 at 3:19 pm
HOLLEY – The school district today celebrated the start of an $18 million capital project.
Celebratory photos were taken in the Holley Elementary School small courtyard where its new science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) classroom will be.
The project was approved by voters in December 2022 and school leaders said the construction work is expected to be finished by the fall of 2025. The district completed the construction bid process in March. This capital project is led by architects from LaBella Associates and a project management team from Turner Construction.
The district is working with the construction management team to ensure that there is as little disruption to students’ regular school day experiences as possible.
“The district is excited to work with the professionals from Turner Construction and LaBella Associates on this project so that the students and staff of Holley continue to have a safe, innovative, and well-maintained learning environment that the entire community will be proud of for years to come,” said Brian Bartalo, Holley school district superintendent.
Brian Bartalo (center), Holley district superintendent, is shown with project managers from Turner Construction and LaBella Associates.
The $18.1 million project is funded by New York State building aid and a school district Capital Reserve Fund. There will be no additional tax impact to district residents, district officials said.
The scope of the project includes:
Safety
New secure entrances at the Elementary School and Middle/High School
Security film applied to doors at both schools’ main entrances
Program Improvements
Music rooms renovated in both schools
New STEM and instructional spaces created at the ES
M/HS Auditorium lighting updated
Site Renovations
New bleachers, scoreboard, lights and parking lot installed at The Woodlands
Air conditioning established in remaining ES classrooms
Storage added inside and outside district buildings
