By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 February 2022 at 7:32 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – Ashlea Strouse of the Kendall school district leads the All-County elementary band in “Starsplitter Fanfare” during today’s All-County Festival, featuring some of the top music students at Albion, Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville and Medina.
The All-County music festival returned after the 2021 event was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. Holley hosted the festival today in the Junior-Senior High School Gymnasium instead of the school auditorium.
The crowd sizes were smaller than in the past. Rather than have the crowd stay for the entire event, the spectators left after each group performed at the elementary, junior high and high school levels.
The 183 students rehearsed together for the first time today, from the morning through early afternoon until the 3 p.m. concert.
There will be a second All-County Festival in March featuring the elementary chorus, junior high band and senior high chorus.
There were 61 students selected for the senior high band.
Kelly Marzano of Holley directs the junior high chorus in singing “Tuimbe.” The Orleans County Music Educators Association organizes the All-County Festival. Instead of having guest instructors from other districts, teachers from the five districts in Orleans directed the bands and chorus today.
The junior high chorus included 63 students from the five school districts in the county.
Jim Steele of Medina leads the senior high band in performing “Rest.” Steele is retiring after this year. Two of his former students, Zach Busch and Kyla Leno, also led the senior high band. Busch is now a teacher at Holley and Leno teaches at Kendall.
The elementary band included 59 students.
Zach Busch directs the senior high band in performing “Vanishing Point.” Busch is president of the Orleans County Music Educators Association.
Some of the trombone players perform during the senior high concert.
Jennifer Trupo of Lyndonville leads the junior high chorus’s performance of “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel.”
The tuba players brought some big brass sounds to the concert.
Kyla Leno of Kendall directs the senior high band in “His Honor.”
Rachel Trillizio of Medina leads the junior high chorus in performing “Sing To Me.”
Photos and information courtesy of Holley Central School
HOLLEY – The Holley High School National Honor Society inducted 11 students recently. They were inducted based on their application to the faculty selection committee and maintenance of a 90 percent or higher academic average.
The students must demonstrate the five qualities of NHS membership: character, scholarship, knowledge, leadership and service.
New NHS inductees are: Morgan Blosenhauer, Drew Carlston, Hunter Kaminski, Sarah Kelly, Shannon Kelly, Sara Kingdollar, Casey Onisk, Ava Quincey, Elise Quincey, Lily Sprague and Lydia Sprague.
The ceremony began with new inductees called to the front of the Holley Middle School/High School Auditorium, where they were escorted by current NHS members out of the auditorium to change into their black gowns. When they returned, new inductees joined current NHS members on stage for the ceremony. NHS officers lit the ceremonial candles and described each of the qualities of membership.
When the inductees’ names were announced, they received their membership certificates from Principal Susan Cory and signed their names in the book that maintains a record of every NHS inductee since 1938. Superintendent Brian Bartalo distributed membership pins to students’ family members. New inductees were then pinned by their family members before taking the NHS oath of membership as a group.
The guest speaker at the Induction Ceremony was Crystal Dobri, a Holley alumna and Professor of Nursing at St. John Fisher College. She was a member of NHS when she was a student at Holley. When she pursued her master’s degree at Roberts Wesleyan College, she was also part of the nursing honor society there.
Dobri reflected on her time at Holley, saying that Principal Cory was her guidance counselor and NHS Advisor Russ Albright was a first-year teacher when she was a senior. She talked about lifelong learning and all the nametags she’s had over the years as she progressed through being a student and employee in various settings.
“You’ve overcome many barriers in your time as a student,” she said. “You’ve shown your dedication to learning these last few years, and that’s what brought you here tonight. Keep growing and keep learning.”
Principal Cory congratulated the inductees and reminded them, “It’s what we do with our attitude and character that makes us successful.”
Current NHS members are: President Harleigh Andrews, Vice President Adriana Botello, Secretary Hope Falls, Treasurer Thomas Dobri, and members Kirsstin Althoff, Cora Bennage, Tatum Gagne’, Rachel Kinsey, Hayley Lipke, Grace McKeon, Broek Ostrom, Libbie Pecora and Deanna Schubmehl.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 December 2021 at 7:36 pm
Lynn-Ette & Sons also awarded $148K in state funding
HOLLEY/LYNDONVILLE – The state has awarded grants to upgrade the sewer or wastewater treatment plants for both Holley and Lyndonville.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the awards earlier this month as part of $196 million for 488 projects identified through Round XI of the Regional Economic Development Council initiative.
The Village of Holley was awarded $783,016 to install ultraviolet effluent disinfection at the village’s wastewater treatment plant. This project will improve water quality by reducing pathogens in the plant’s discharge to East Branch Sandy Creek.
The Village of Lyndonville was approved for $483,460 to install an effluent disinfection system at the village’s wastewater treatment plant. This project will improve the quality of treated effluent entering the Johnson Creek.
Gov. Hochul also announced $148,050 to assist Lynn-Ette & Sons, a vegetable, produce and grain farm in Carlton. Lynn-Ette will invest in a new snap bean processing line and will add cold storage capacity to increase the amount of cabbage that can be stored for sale later into the season.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 December 2021 at 8:20 am
Photo courtesy of Dan Mawn
HOLLEY – Annette Curtis won the money/lottery/gift card basket worth about $700. She is shown at the Community Free Library in Holley.
The basket was raffled off last Friday and raised about $1,100 for the Murray-Holley Historical Society.
Several local businesses and Historical Society members donated to the basket, including gift cards from Subway, Dunkins, Sam’s Diner, Walmart, Tops, Tim Hortons, Wegmans, Black North Inn, Holley Falls Restaurant, Hair Salon in Holley and Kim Gottman.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 December 2021 at 9:49 am
Canceling $3,292 will help village revitalize abandoned site
File photo by Tom Rivers: The county’s move to cancel back taxes at 89 Public Square removes another obstacle in trying to redevelop the site.
UPDATED: An earlier article stated the county was forgiving $11,426.91 in back taxes on the building, but it instead is forgiving $3,292 in penalties and back interest.
HOLLEY – The Orleans County Legislature is forgiving $3,292.44 in penalties and back interest at 89 Public Square in Holley, a building the village has been trying to revitalize.
County legislators said the former Odd Fellows Hall “is a historical structure in the heart of the Village of Holley.” The structure was built in 1890 and is at the northeast corner of the historic Public Square.
The Village of Holley Development Corporation has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Genesee Valley Rural Revitalization Grant Program to put a new roof on the Odd Fellows Hall.
But the county started a foreclosure on the property and wanted the back taxes. The VHDC paid 11,426.91 in back taxes on Monday. The county agreed to cancel the other $3,292.44 owed in back interest and taxes.
Legislators on Monday said canceling the back interest and penalties will allow the VHDC to move forward with the roof replacement.
The Odd Fellows Hall in 2019 was named to the “Five to Revive” list by the Landmark Society of WNY, an annual list that tries to bring funding an attention to important sites in the region.
The VHDC owns the building after the previous owner gave it to the village. The previous owner bought it at the county tax foreclosure auction. The owner bid online from Florida. She saw it as an investment, but no tenants or new buyers emerged.
The village stepped in, not wanting to see the building fall in disrepair and have to be torn down.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 December 2021 at 8:50 pm
Provided photos: Nick Callahan receives a pin from a model after being inducted into the The Order of Towman during the 32ndAnnual American Towman Exposition in Baltimore, Md.
HOLLEY — The owner of a towing company in Holley has been inducted into The Order of Towman by American Towman Magazine.
Nicholas Callahan of Callahan Towing was awarded the Cross of The Order with a Maltese Cross with a unique towing icon. Receiving the Cross of the order puts Callahan into an elite organization of towing professionals nationwide. He was presented the honor last month at the 32ndAnnual American Towman Exposition in Baltimore, Md.
Sarah Callahan
He was nominated for the recognition by Harris Reed, fire chief of the Murray Joint Fire District. Reed cited Callahan’s community involvement and his work with accident-related tows when dispatched by law enforcement and fire departments.
Nick and his wife Sarah Callahan moved Callahan Towing from Batavia to 106 Geddes St. in Holley about two years ago. They have the contract for emergency towing in eastern Orleans County in the towns of Kendall, Murray and Clarendon.
The Callahans respond to numerous automobile accidents and stay busy with other towing jobs, including emergency roadside assistance and moving vehicles for an auction company.
Both Nick and Sarah operate the tow trucks, and they respond to calls at all hours of the day.
Nick was 18 when he started working for a towing company. At the time his car broke down and he needed to be towed. He talked with the tow operator on scene and even helped to get the car hooked to the tow truck. Soon he had a job with the towing business.
He enjoys the challenge of the job and helping people who are often in distress.
“You need to be able to think on your feet and do it fast,” he told the Orleans Hub during an interview last year.
He knows it is an inconvenience for other motorists when a road is closed due to an accident or incident with a vehicle off the road. He tries to work quickly, while preserving as much of a damaged vehicle as possible.
Callahan Towing in March organized a “Slow Down Move Over Brigade” with tow operators travelling from Rochester to Buffalo. The group of tow trucks traveled about 25 miles per hour so drivers would pay more attention to tow operators on the road.
File photo by Tom Rivers: Sarah and Nick Callahan are shown in this photo from October 2020 when they were preparing for an open house with the community featuring tow trucks and fire apparatus.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 December 2021 at 2:31 pm
Photo courtesy of Orchard Rehabilitation & Nursing Center
MEDINA – The American Legion and VFW in Medina delivered gifts to veterans at Orchard Rehabilitation & Nursing Center to remember them at the holiday season.
The photo shows Dave Kusmierczak from the American Legion and VFW in Medina presenting Ted Fiorito with a Christmas gift. Fiorito served in the US Marine Corps and was very active for many years with the Fancher-Hulberton-Murray Volunteer Fire Company. There are 23 veterans at the nursing center.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 December 2021 at 8:07 pm
Fancher Memorial restoration also recognized by preservation organization
Photos by Tom Rivers: Bill Lattin, in this photo from August 2015, paints the trim on a window of the Gaines Basin Schoolhouse, a former one-room schoolhouse he helped to save from the brink of ruin.
ROCHESTER – The Landmark Society of Western New York is honoring Bill Lattin for a lifetime achievement award for his decades of work preserving numerous local sites, and his efforts to highlight local history.
The Landmark Society also will present a stewardship award to the Cobblestone Museum for its 60 years as a caretaker of properties that are a National Historic Landmark.
The Town of Murray also is receiving a special citation for its effort to restore the Fancher War Memorial on Route 31 in Fancher, a monument to 10 soldiers killed in World War II.
The awards will be presented during a virtual ceremony on Dec. 12.
Bill Lattin – Jean France Special Achievement Award
Lattin will receive the Jean France Special Achievement Award which recognizes “accomplishments that have occurred over a lengthy period of time.”
Lattin has been a caretaker and storyteller of Orleans County history for the past 50 years. He is officially retired as Orleans County historian and Cobblestone Museum director. He served in those roles for 35 years. (He retired from the museum in 2010 and from the county on Dec. 31, 2014.)
But he remains an active force in preserving important local sites and documenting history.
“Bill has advocated for local history for over six decades, through countless tours and publications,” the Landmark Society said. “The foremost authority on all aspects of Orleans County history, Bill continues his involvement with preservation and museum programming, lifetime commitments for this accomplished community activist.”
Bill Lattin welcomes visitors to the Vagg House on Nov. 7, 2020 following the Cobblestone Museum’s annual meeting. Lattin led the transformation of the Vagg House, at the corner of routes 98 and 104, into a home decorated in the 1920s and ’30s. Lattin spearheaded the restoration of many of the sites on the museum’s campus in the past 40 years.
After the Cobblestone Museum acquired the Vagg House at the corner of routes 98 and 104 last year, Lattin led the efforts to curate the former home of blacksmith Joe Vagg and his wife Nellie, who was active in the temperance movement. The house is filled with antiques and is decorated the in a 1920s, ’30s theme, with many of the early electrical appliances. Lattin even built an outhouse for the site to help it match the others on the museum’s grounds.
The Vagg House is a new “jewel” in the Cobblestone Museum’s crown, said Doug Farley, the museum’s current director. The house can be used for small gatherings of less than 30 people, such as meetings, rehearsal parties or teas, and other museum events.
In 2020, Lattin also helped relocate a log cabin built by Boy Scouts in 1930. It went from an Albion backyard to behind a cobblestone school built in 1832 on Gaines Basin Road. Lattin has been a key worker on saving that school in recent years. He has handyman skills and deep connections to rally the community to a cause. That school and the log cabin are recent examples. But that mission started long ago. He was a key leader of the Save the Tower committee that raised $30,000 in the mid-1970s for the Civil War Memorial at Mount Albion Cemetery. Lattin has given new life to many local structures.
Cobblestone Society and Museum – Stewardship Ward
The Cobblestone Museum will be honored with a stewardship award for its care of a campus that is a National Historic Landmark and includes this church that was built in 1834.
The Cobblestone Society and Museum will be presented the Stewardship Award for its efforts preserving and maintaining three cobblestone buildings – a church, a home and a school – on Route 104, and for saving other sites in the museum campus, including outhouses, a former town hall, harness shop, print shop and voting booth and other important community artifacts.
Kevin Breiner, a mason from Brockport, works on one of 14 new concrete piers underneath Farmers Hall at the Cobblestone Museum, in this photo from August 2019. The building was previously the Kendall Town Hall. It was taken apart and reassembled in 1978 at the Cobblestone Museum on Route 98. It’s one of several recent repair projects at the museum.
The Stewardship Award recognizes an individual or organization that has provided continued care of and commitment to the preservation of an architecturally and/or historically significant public property over a period of years.
“For 60 years, this organization has focused on the history and architecture of this iconic type of stone masonry,” the Landmark Society said. “Highlighted by one of the largest cobblestone churches in North America, their multiple-building campus is the only designated National Historic Landmark in Orleans County. The museum maintains an extensive archives, as well as the on-going Cobblestone Info Base, with data on all known cobblestone buildings in the U.S. and Canada.”
The museum recently announced it is working to acquire the 1834 “Brick House,” a stately red brick home with six fireplaces. The museum wants to put on an addition to make the site a visitor’s center with new modern bathrooms and meeting space for up to 100 people at the intersection of routes 98 and 104. The museum has raised more than $400,000 out of a $750,000 goal for the initiative.
The site would be an Orleans County welcome center and would promote businesses and other tourism sites in the county.
Fancher War Memorial – Special Citation
The Fancher Memorial was rededicated on Aug. 14. Richard Christopher of Albion places a commemorative wreath by the monument in Fancher. Richard is the son John Christopher, who was killed on November 26, 1943 when the transport ship carrying his unit was struck by a German glider bomb and sunk off the coast of Algeria. He was laid to rest at the North Africa American Cemetery in Tunis, Tunisia. John’s brother Joseph also was killed during the war. Another pair of brothers from the Fancher community – Leonard and Martin Licursi – also died in the war.
The Landmark Society picked the restoration of the Fancher War Memorial for a Special Citation. The monument at the “Fancher Curve” on Route 31 honors 10 local soldiers who were killed in World War II.
The memorial is a four-faced clock in a stone monument made of local sandstone. It gradually deteriorated over 72 years.
The crumbling mortar was chipped out and replaced with new matching green mortar. New movements for the clocks and new electrical service were installed. The flag pole was painted. New sandstone pavers were added as a walkway on the north side of the property.
Neal Muscarella, a mason from Albion, chips away old and loose mortar on May 27 on the Fancher Clock, a World War II Memorial at the curve on Route 31 on the east side on Murray. Muscarella put in new mortar, matching the original color green. He said this is the only sandstone structure that he has seen with green mortar.
And a new bronze plaque was mounted on the north side near the flagpole. The original plaque remains, but it is on the west side facing the guardrails and wasn’t in an easy-to-see location for most people to know the true purpose of the monument.
“The restoration of this unique World War II memorial was achieved via a remarkable partnership of town government, local historical society and a former Fancher resident/philanthropist,” the Landmark Society said. “With repairs completed by local craftsmen, the Medina stone tower, with clock, was re-dedicated this year, exactly 72 years after its original dedication in 1949.”
Local mason Neal Muscarella replaced the mortar, matching it to the original green. Dan Mawn put in new electric.
The Fancher community built the memorial out of local Medina sandstone as a tribute to 10 local soldiers who died in World War II. Those soldiers include John Christopher, Joseph Christopher, Cosmo Coccitti, John Kettle, Jr., Leonard Licursi, Martin Licursi, Richard Merritt, Camille Nenni, Floyd Valentine and Richard Vendetta.
About 200 people attended the rededication ceremony on Aug. 14, including family of some of the soldiers honored with the monument.
Town Supervisor Joe Sidonio said it should be clearer now that the site isn’t a municipal clock, but is a war memorial dedicated to local soldiers who died serving the country.
The project was funded with a donation from Fred Fiorito, a former local resident who now lives in the New York City area. He would typically home a few times each year to see family, including his brother Ted Fiorito. Fred noticed the memorial gradually deteriorate and wanted it to be a fitting tribute to the 10 soldiers.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 December 2021 at 11:40 am
$17 million project turned long-vacant structure into 41 apartments, village offices
Photos by Tom Rivers: The former Holley High School was given a major transformation, including new columns, and a conversion into apartments and the village offices, while preserving some of the original characteristics of the school.
HOLLEY – The $17 million transformation of the former Holley High School has won the top preservation award by the Landmark Society of Western New York.
Home Leasing, developer of the project, will receive the Barber Conable Award during a presentation on Dec. 12. The award recognizes a large-scale rehabilitation of a historic building that was completed within the past two years.
The cover of Landmarks, the magazine of the Landmark Society of Western New York, features the old Holley High School which has been turned into the Holley Gardens by Home Leasing.
The award was created to honor the late Congressman Barber Conable of Genesee County, who pushed to establish the Federal Investment Tax Credit Program for the rehabilitation of historic, income-producing buildings.
The Holley school had been vacant and neglected for nearly three decades. It was last used by a manufacturer that went bankrupt in the mid-1990s.
“This impressive rehabilitation is the result of a talented team that included an exceptional developer, veteran contractor, supportive local officials and experienced preservation consultants, who tackled a daunting list of challenges to complete this remarkable $17 million project,” the Landmark Society stated in announcing the award.
Home Leasing Corp. teamed with Edgemere Development LLC to rehabilitate a building from 1931. The Landmark Society called the structure, last used as a school in 1975, “of the most important civic buildings in Orleans County.”
The site was converted into 41 mixed-income apartments and the new administrative headquarters of the village of Holley. The project was completed using the Historic Investment Tax Credits for buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The project in 2020 won one of 11 New York State Historic Preservation Awards.
For many years it pained the Holley community to see its gradual demise – the many broken windows, peeling paint, rotted columns and a fate that seemed destined for the wrecking ball.
Holley village officials reached out to developers over the years, pitching the site for apartments and other uses. But a deal never came together – until 2018.
Home Leasing and Home Leasing Construction in Rochester committed to transforming the building into 41 apartments for seniors and the Holley village offices, with the auditorium space being a meeting room.
The old school, shown during a recent evening, has been a major uplift to the community. The school is located along Route 31, one of the county’s most travelled roads.
Here is how the building looked in May 2018. Contractors removed the trees coming out of the façade, and put back columns in the front, among the many extensive upgrades.
A worker cleans in the stairwell at the former Holley High School on April 1, 2020. The original railings were saved as part of the construction project.
Here is how the hallways looked in April 2020 after most of the work was done. The old lockers were included as a decorative touch and to connect to the building’s original use.
The main meeting room is pictured in August 2020, after the village relocated its offices to the space. Home Leasing was able to refurbish about 70 seats from the old auditorium. There are also about 40 seats up in the balcony that are for display and aren’t available to the public.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 November 2021 at 11:46 am
HOLLEY – The school district is proposing $650,000 in technology improvements to be paid for from the Smart Schools Bond Act.
Holley was approved for $1,311,463 through the Bond Act and spent $497,104 in 2019 for 33 flat panels or interactive whiteboards, 200 laptops for students, 20 laptops for teachers, five carts and new security software and cameras.
That left Holley with $814,359 remaining in funds through the Bond Act. Holley will have a public hearing at 6 p.m. on Dec. 20 in the Holley Elementary School Café to discuss the next phase of its technology improvements.
Holley plans to submit three applications to the state to access its Bond Act funding. Those applications include:
$400,000 to replace ethernet cables that are 10 to 12 years old; ensuring all classrooms have at least 5 drops for flat panels, teacher computers, action tech devices, voice over IP and wireless access points. In addition, the offices, auditorium and computer labs will be replaced.
$120,000 to purchase 33 flat panels and interactive whiteboards
$130,000 to purchase 33 flat panels or interactive whiteboards $164,359 remaining in its Bond Act funds.
For more information on the district’s proposal, click here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 November 2021 at 8:40 am
TeacherGeek makes kits for students to use to build STEM skills
ALBION – A company the creates and sells educational kits is planning an expansion on Ridge Road in Murray.
Darren Coon, owner of TeacherGeek, presented his plans last week to the Orleans County Planning Board for two additions at 16551 Ridge Rd.
Coon wants a side addition that’s 4,960 square feet and a rear addition at 3,348 square feet.
“His business is expanding and growing,” Dave Knapp, a member of the Murray Plannign Board, told the county Planning Board.
He praised Coon for cleaning up a property that had been damaged in a fire and was an eyesore. The expansion will allow Coon to bring in more equipment to manufacture the hands-on kits require students to use STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).
The site doesn’t draw much car traffic because most of the products are sold on-line, Knapp said.
TeacherGeek in 2017 did a 9,225-square-foot warehouse expansion to the location in Murray.
Coon, the company’s chief executive officer, founded the company in 2006.
The County Planning Board recommended Murray approve the site plan and issue a permit for the additions.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 November 2021 at 2:07 pm
MURRAY – The Orleans Economic Development Agency has approved mortgage and sales tax abatements that will save the owners of Big Guys Campground about $144,000.
The owners are developing a 98.5-acre campground at the former Brockport Country Club at 3739 Monroe Orleans County Line Rd.
The project will cost nearly $3 million and will be built in three phases with about 350 camp sites when it’s done.
The EDA said the project will be a tourism draw for the county, drawing many visitors from outside the area.
The owners of the project – Laura Perri, William Bosley, Marie Loewke and Jim Loewke –said the $2.9 million project includes new construction, site work, utilities and infrastructure, and design and legal fees.
They are estimating 3 full-time permanent jobs in the first year, and 8 full-time jobs by year 3, paying average of $25,000 a year.
The EDA board on Oct. 18 approved the $144,566 in abatements. That includes abated the 8 percent sales tax on $1,517,251 for construction materials, fixtures and equipment or $121,380 and the 1 percent mortgage tax on a $2,318,576 mortgage or $23,186.
Big Guys is planning to construct 350 new camp sites, in a project over three phases that is expected to be complete by May 2025.
Big Guys have a motto “have a XXL-ent time!” The camp sites are at 3,000 square feet, which are bigger and more private than most sites, according to information from the company submitted to the EDA.
The campground will offer full hookups with water, sewer and electric, and Big Guys are looking into providing cable and WiFi. Most of camp sites are pull through to accommodate bigger rigs.
The owners also will be offering clamping tents, unique cabins such as sheds with a bed, and standard trailer/cabin rentals.
The property will include Glow Golf, two activity rooms, coffee bar, tiki bar, bar and restaurant, event room, multiple rentable spaces and natural playground made from trees, tires and recycled materials. Big Guys also will keep most of the mature trees to provide natural barriers from neighbors and sun shade.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 October 2021 at 9:46 am
Photos courtesy of Samantha Zelent
HOLLEY – These Holley students joined others from the Holley Interact Club on Sunday morning, cleaning grave stones at Hillside Cemetery. These students include Alexis VanAmeron, Lily Newman and Allison Merle.
A big group of students and Holley Rotary Club members worked on cleaning the grave sites.
Aidan Kelley, Elena Girangayas, Isla Schultz, Madison Lowell and Charli Gearing work on one of the big monuments at the cemetery. Melissa Ierlan, Clarendon historian, helped organize the effort.
Assistant Principal Dan Courtney and his family came to help, including two of his daughters, Bridget and Claire.
Fire Chief Harris Reed of the Murray Joint Fire District brought water to help with the cleaning. He was assisted by Erin Reed, Abby Reed and Brody Fiorito.
Lance Babcock was happy to help with the morning project, even after a busy homecoming week at Holley.
Ellie and Ava Quincey work together on this grave stone.
Thomas Dobri and Board of Education member Anne Smith teamed up.
Photos by Tom Rivers: There are two Medina sandstone signs at each end of Holley’s canal trail that proclaim the path as the “Andrew Cuomo Canalway Trail.” Cuomo visited Holley, arriving by boat on the canal with his family, for the dedication on Aug. 9, 2000.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 September 2021 at 8:57 am
HOLLEY – A village resident wants the Holley Village Board to no longer have the canalway trail named in honor of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The trail was dedicated for Cuomo on Aug. 9, 2000. At the time Cuomo was secretary of the federal Housing and Urban Development. In that role, he pushed through a $300 million “Canal Corridor Initiative” for canal communities to upgrade public spaces and also assist some businesses.
He arrived in person by boat at Holley just over 20 years ago with his then wife and his daughters for the ceremony.
Holley used nearly $1 million to develop the canal trail and a canal park that also includes a gazebo, docks, a paved path, public bathrooms with showers, a playground, pond and other amenities. There are two large Medina sandstone signs at each end of the trail, declaring the path as the “Andrew Cuomo Canalway Trail.”
Kerri Neale said Cuomo has disgraced himself with the sexual harassment allegations, which led to his resignation on Aug. 24. Neale will address the Village Board during its meeting at 6 p.m. today at the Holley Gardens, the former Holley High School where the village now has its offices.
He said the village’s “beautiful park” shouldn’t be name Cuomo, who also faces investigation about the accounting of nursing home deaths from Covid and whether he used taxpayer resources to help write a book about his response to Covid.
A cyclist enjoys the canal path last week, passing by the pond.
Neale also said many Cuomo policies have negatively impacted the area, including the SAFE Act, bail reform and the Raise the Age law for dealing with juvenile offenders in the criminal justice system.
Photo courtesy of Kerri Neale: One suggestion from resident Kerri Neale would be putting a cover on the stone sign. That would be an inexpensive remedy without chiseling off the top of the sign.
“Now that he has been disgraced and forced to resign this monument is an abomination and should be corrected,” Neale said. “We will ask the Village Board to join those who want change and find a way to make that change with little or no expense to the tax payer. It’s a beautiful piece of Medina sandstone so let’s fix it not destroy it.”
Neale said a simple fix is putting a cover on the top of the monument that excludes Cuomo’s name. He doesn’t want to see the stone be chiseled, to remove Cuomo’s name.
Kevin Lynch, the Holley mayor, said yesterday he had only received a couple messages about removing Cuomo’s name from the sign. Neale did put a post on Facebook that had 20 comments, with nearly all wanting the trail to be renamed.
Lynch is retired from the State Canal Corp. He remembers when Cuomo came to Holley for the dedication. And Lynch remembers how the canal improvements made Holley the talk of this section of the canal.
Many canal park continues to be a draw and a source of pride for the community, Lynch said.
“Before there wasn’t anywhere for boats to stop in Holley,” Lynch said.
Holley has had docks with electricity for 20 years and doesn’t charge the boaters. The gazebo is a popular place for people to relax and also hosts many concerts. The canal path is well traveled by people on walks, jogs or on bikes. Lynch said.
The mayor wants to hold off on an opinion about the issue, whether the trail should remain named for Cuomo, until hearing from the other Village Board members.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 September 2021 at 11:04 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: This photo from April 2019 shows the former Odd Fellows Building in Holley’s Public Square.
HOLLEY – The Village of Holley Development Corporation has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Genesee Valley Rural Revitalization Grant Program to put a new roof on the Odd Fellows Hall, located at 89 Public Square.
Dan Schiavone, president of Holley Development Corp., announced the funding today. The grant was made possible by the National Park Service Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Fund and is a partnership between the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and the Landmark Society of Western New York.
The Odd Fellows Hall was built in 1890 building. It is at the northeast corner of the historic Public Square.
“It is the hope of the Village of Holley Development Corporation that this grant will ensure the preservation of this historic component of the Public Square,” Schiavone said. “It is also our hope that a new roof will attract potential developers who might further renovate and bring new life to this very important building.”
The building in 2019 was named to the “Five to Revive” list by the Landmark Society, an annual list that tries to bring funding an attention to important sites in the region.
The village has been working to save the building and find a developer for the site. Holley wants to avoid another scenario where the building is bought and then left to sit empty, gradually deteriorating, Schiavone said.
That LDC owns the building, which was given to the LDC by the previous owner who bought it at the county tax foreclosure auction. The owner bid online from Florida. She saw it as an investment, but no tenants or new buyers emerged.
The village stepped in, not wanting to see the building fall in disrepair and have to be torn down.
