Provided photos: (Left) Bella Thom graduated on Saturday from Genesee Community College, about a month before Holley’s commencement. (Right) Cavan Bennage was inducted into the National Society of Leadership and Success at GCC.

Press Release, Holley Central School

HOLLEY – Two Holley seniors recently earned impressive distinctions.

Bella Thom on Saturday graduated from Genesee Community College with an associate’s degree in advanced science.

Aside from taking advantage of Holley’s college precalculus course offering during her senior year, she independently enrolled in and completed both online and in person classes GCC over the past two years.

“My mom really pushed me to do this,” Thom said. “She is my biggest inspiration and support.  It has been a challenging process, but something that I do not regret doing.”

With over 60 completed college credit hours, she will attend D’Youville University in the fall as an incoming sophomore where she will study to become a pharmacist. She will graduate from Holley High School on June 29 in the Top 10 of her class with National Honor Society honors, the Seal of Civic Readiness, an Advanced Regents Diploma and as a three-time Genesee Region All Star soccer player.

“Bella is an incredible young lady,” said Holley Middle School/High School Social Worker Samantha Zelent. “To watch her manage the workload of both her senior year and her GCC classes has been amazing. It has taken a ton of determination and planning on her part. It is not very common to see students demonstrate this level of proactiveness and accomplish a feat such as earning a college diploma before graduating high school.”

Holley senior Cavan Bennage was recognized by the Monroe County Council of Superintendents as a 2024 Outstanding Senior at the 29th Annual Dr. Michael C. O’Laughlin Outstanding Senior Recognition Dinner on May 8.

One senior from each school in Monroe County, as well as Holley and Kendall in Orleans County, is selected for this honor based on their scholarship, leadership, service and character.

“Cavan represents the best we have at Holley. He’s an excellent musician, athlete, student, and an even better person. He’s a tremendous young man with a very bright future,” said Holley CSD Superintendent Brian Bartalo.

Bennage on May 7 also was inducted into the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) at Genesee Community College. NSLS is the largest leadership honor society in the country. Students are selected for membership based on academic standing or leadership potential, and less than five percent of students nationwide receive nominations. He plans to transfer this membership to the Rochester Institute of Technology chapter where he will be attending in the fall to study engineering.

Press Release, Peter D. Hendrickson, Jr., Deputy Chief of Murray Joint Fire District

Provided photo: ShawnMarie Hendrickson checks the blood pressure of a man in Holley last year. The Murray Joint Fire District last year started several community blood pressure checks for the community.

HOLLEY – May is Blood Pressure Awareness Month and this is a great opportunity to emphasize the importance of monitoring and maintaining healthy blood pressure levels.

The Murray Joint Fire District is pleased to announce the teaming up with local community partners to promote cardiovascular health, through community blood pressure clinics. One of our missions is to provide accessible and high-quality care to our community and this is one way to aid in improving their cardiovascular health.

With heart disease and hypertension posing significant health risks to millions worldwide, it has become increasingly vital to offer convenient avenues for monitoring and managing blood pressure.

The members of the Murray Joint Fire District are dedicated to empowering individuals with the knowledge they need to take control of their heart health and reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease. By focusing on prevention and proactive management, we aim to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our patients and the broader community.

Together, we can work towards a future where heart disease is no longer a leading cause of illness and mortality.

The clinics will be held as follows:

Murray Joint Fire District Headquarters

7 Thomas Street

Holley, NY 14470

585-638-6884

The first Wednesday of the month from 1 to 3 p.m. (All year long)

Community Action, Eastern Orleans Community Center

75 Public Square

Holley, NY 14470

585-638-6395

The third Friday of the month from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. (All year long)

Big Guys Campgrounds

3739 Monroe-Orleans Countyline Rd.

Brockport, NY14420

585-638-2237

The third Saturday of the month from 1 to 2 p.m. (May 18 through October 19)

Red Rock Ponds – RV Resort

16097 Canal Rd.

Holley, NY 14470

585-638-2445

The third Saturday of the month from 11am-12pm. (May 18 through October 19)

For more information about our local clinic please call the firehouse at (585) 638-6884. To learn more about high blood pressure and the risk factors for stroke and heart disease, click here.

Heather Kelley will take over dance studio in Holley with Lisa Bower-Logsdon to continue as teacher

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – Lisa Bower-Logsdon is hugged by Kamryn Berner, one of her faculty choreographers, at the end of Saturday’s recital at the Holley Junior-Senior High School Auditorium. Heather Kelley, second from right, and Caitlin Milizia, the other choreographers on staff, move in to congratulate Bower-Logsdon on her 47-year career as the owner and dance instructor at Lisa’s Dance Boutique in Holley.

“The dance studio became my second home, as I know it was for so many of our students,” Bower-Logdson said. “It was there that I met such wonderful families and made everlasting friendships. Bot now, it is time to pass the torch to capable hands and I am confident that this studio will continue to thrive.”

Lisa Bower-Logsdon thanks the community, the dance families, her staff and her family members for their support in her 47 years of running the dance studio. Her choreographers join her on staff, including from left: Heather Kelley, Kamryn Berner and Caitlin Milizia.

Bower-Logsdon announced her retirement from owning the business at the conclusion of the Saturday night recital and that Heather Kelley will become the new owner. Bower-Logsdon will continue to work as one of the dance instructors.

“It is time to take my final bow,” Bower-Logsdon said at the end recital, which was attended by 650 people.

Bower-Logsdon said Kelley brings a love of dance, children and community. Kelley has coached the Holley cheerleaders and served as a dance instructor at Lisa’s for 27 years. Her dancers are regulars in the finals at the State Fair and one year won a state championship.

“Her passion for dance is unlike anyone I know,” Bower-Logsdon told the crowd about Kelley. “And when it comes to choreographing dance or cheer, she is one of the best.”

Saturday’s show included Bower-Logsdon’s granddaughter, Emilia Logsdon, in the baby tap class. Bower-Logsdon said teaching dance to her granddaughter has been an extra joy this year. Emilia is shown here during the “Baby Take A Bow” number. Emilia is doing leaping toe, back step.

Lisa started her dance studio as a junior in high school, first operating out of the St. Mary’s hall and then the Presbyterian Church before buying a building in the Public Square in 1991. Lisa’s has been there since. This year she had 200 students with most from Holley, Kendall, Albion and Brockport.

Bower-Logsdon said her parents, the late George and Sandy Bower, nurtured her love for dance and urged her to open a dance studio in Holley. Lisa praised her husband Kevin Logsdon for his steady support, including countless hours of maintenance with their building, and she commended her children Lauren and Mike and their families.

Bower-Logsdon said her fellow dance instructors over the years are the “unsung heroes behind the scenes.” They include Jill Bower, Beth Friedo, Caitlin Milizia, Alana Piccirilli, Malia Gardner, Lora Bower and Kamryn Berner. All started dancing at Lisa’s when they were young children.

“Together we’ve laughed, cried and brainstormed choreography,” Bower-Logsdon said. “Your creativity knows no bounds, and you commitment to our dancers has been nothing short of extraordinary. As I retire, I leave you with the legacy of collaboration and camaraderie that defines our studio.”

Lisa Bower-Logsdon sits close to the stage and helps guide a a tap dance from her young dancers. The number was called, “When I Grow Up.”

Caitlin Milizia, 33, has been part of Lisa’s since she was 3. She started as a staff choreographer when she was 17. She drives in from Webster to be part of Lisa’s Dance Boutique.

“She has been my role model for my whole life,” Milizia said. Her love for her dance families doesn’t stop when they leave her studio.”

Milizia had to wipe away tears talking about Bower-Logsdon after the recital.

“She puts forward her love of dance and it’s contagious,” Milizia said. “She puts her whole heart into it.”

Heather Kelley, the new owner of the dance studio, joins some of the dancers, including many alumni, in a number called, “Pass That.”

Kelley said she will continue Bower-Logsdon’s commitment to the community. Like Lisa, Heather has grown up in Holley and wants the dance studio to be a vital part of Holley for years to come.

“This has been my dream ever since I was little,” Kelley said.

These dancers perform “Gotta Be Mine” during the recital on Saturday.

This group performs “Fun” with some gravity-defying moves.

This younger group of dancers sport sunglasses in a number called, “Shades.”

“Dynamite” was one of many dancers with exuberant energy on stage.

“Sugar Sugar” featured dancers in colorful costumes with a lollipop prop.

This group performs M.C. hammer’s “Can’t Touch This” and even wore similar-style baggy pants as the rapper from the early 1990s.

“The Nicest Kids In Town” offered high-energy and upbeat music and moves.

HOLLEY – The Village Board approved a budget on April 30 that increases taxes by 5.5 percent, an amount needed for the village to keep up with services and not keep projects on the back burner, Mayor Mark Bower said.

Mark Bower

The board considered three options for the budget, a tax increase of 5 percent, 5.5 percent or 7 percent.

Bower and the board felt the 7 percent was too much of a burden on the village taxpayers. It went with the 5.5 percent so the village could maintain services and not put things off.

“We didn’t want to impose such a high increase on village residents,” Bower said. “But we have to get back to maintaining our village streets and village-owned properties.”

The $2,509,431 total village budget includes a general fund of $1,673,609, water fund of $554,226, and sewer fund at $281,596.

The village will be collecting $1,078,527 in property taxes, up 5.5 percent from the $1,022,300 in 2023-24.

The tax rate will increase by 3.56 percent from $17.26 to $17.87 per $1,000 of assessed property.

The village saw about $1 million in growth in its tax base, from $59,238,365 to $60,350,244. The community hasn’t gone through a full reassessment like other villages in Orleans County either last year or this year.

Provided photo

HOLLEY – The Holley school district has picked the Holley Rotary Club to receive “A Community Together for Education” or ACT award for its support of Holley students through scholarships and its partnership through service clubs in the school – Rotary Interact at the junior-senior high school and EarlyAct for grades 4-6.

Brian Bartalo, left, the district superintendent, presented the award to Jeff Martin, center, and Josh Mitchell from the Rotary Club.

Holley is part of the Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES and all school districts in the BOCES pick an ACT recipient or “community champion” each year. Last year Holley chose TeacherGeek for its support of STEM projects in the district and also teacher development.

Bartalo attended the canal and community trash pickup event on Saturday led by the Rotary Interact Club. Many Rotarians joined about 100 students in picking up litter in the community.

The district superintendent also noted another big annual effort when about 70 Interact Club students clean headstones at Hillside Cemetery.

Holley Rotary also sponsors many events throughout the school year, Bartalo said.

100-plus hunt down litter; Today’s effort dedicated to Danny Cory, husband of retired Holley principal

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – Ryan Seward, a Holley seventh-grader, snags an empty beer can from a  drainage area next to the Holley Pharmacy. He is joined by friends Mason McGuire, top left, and Logan Lane with the trash bag.

They were  among more than 100 Holley students and many other school and community volunteers who were out picking up garbage in Holley’s annual Canal Clean Sweep effort.

Holley makes the event a big effort, with students getting a tie-dyed T-shirt to mark the occasion. Students also get a sense of pride in cleaning up litter in the village and along the canal towpath in the town of Murray and Village of Holley.

Holley Mayor Mark Bower addresses the group at about 10 a.m. in the elementary school parking lot. He thanked them for helping to make the Holley community a better place.

The students split into smaller groups with two adult volunteers in each pod. Elementary students in the Rotary Early Act group picked up litter along the canal. The Early Act Club, for students in grades 4 to 6, is led by Jessica Seaward.

The junior-senior high school students dispersed into different parts of the village, as well as the canal park to hunt down trash.

Before the left, they were welcome to a Paula’s Donut. Holley Rotary Club member Craig Lane picked up 10 dozen donuts early this morning. He has made Paula’s Donuts part of the annual tradition for the canal clean sweep.

Brian Bartalo, the Holley school district superintendent, takes a photo of the large group. Many of the students are in the Holley Interact Club, which is led by advisors Samantha Zelent and Erin Dibble.

“They are very excited about this,” Dibble said about the annual cleanup. “this is our biggest event of the year.”

Dibble and Zelent thanked the students, and many teachers and parents who stepped up as volunteers.

Brian Bartalo also addressed the group before they headed out for about two hours of volunteer service.

The cleanup effort was dedicated to Danny Cory, the husband of retired Holley principal Susan Cory. Mr. Cory passed away unexpectedly on April 22 at age 61 while on a vacation with his wife in Nashville.

Mr. Cory attended numerous Holley school events while his wife was principal. Even though he was proud to be a Le Roy graduate, he became an enthusiastic Holley Hawk.

Kayla Neale, a Holley senior, designed the t-shirt for the annual cleanup day.

The students were on the hunt for trash in the village and along the canal.

Provided photo: Jim Ferris is shown giving maximum effort in a race. Ferris was one of the top runners in the Rochester region in his 40s and early 50s.

HOLLEY – A 5-kilometer walk and run honoring the memory of one of the area’s top runners will be returning to Holley on June 1.

The Holley Rotary Club is organizing the Jim Ferris Memorial 5K. The race is coming back after an absence of several years, going back before the Covid pandemic.

“We’re excited to do it,” said Shannon Brett, the Holley Rotary president. “We want to turn it into a community event.”

The Rotary Club wanted to bring back a 5K and have it be part of Holley’s June Fest. The Rotary Club choose to continue to honor Ferris with 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.

Ferris was a dominant runner in the master’s division, over age 40, beating fast runners half his age.

Ferris graduated from Holley in 1959. He was a star baseball and basketball player, and scored 38 points in one basketball game, then a school record. He played on the basketball team at Niagara University.

Ferris was in the ROTC program and served with the Army in the Vietnam War. He stayed in the Reserve, retiring as colonel in 1993.

Ferris and his wife Linda lived in Clarendon. They raised two daughters, Carson Ferris-Zeolla and Jane Ferris.

Ferris did not start running competitively until age 43. At age 47, he ran his fastest 5K in 15:44. He averaged between 16 to 17 minutes in most of his races, which are blazing fast times.

For a 10K, 6.2 miles, Ferris ran 32:45 for his fastest at that distance.

Brett said the race will bring people together for an endurance challenge, and also raise money for Rotary to give out to causes in the community.

The course will start and end near the elementary school, and go through part of the village, and Telegraph and Hurd roads.

“It should be a fun race,” Brett said. “We wanted to bring it back.”

The race starts at 9 a.m. For information about registering to participate, click here.

To sponsor the race for $100, which gets your name on the back of the race shirt, send a check to Holley Rotary Club at P.O. Box 224, Holley, NY 14470.

Provided photos

HOLLEY – Zach Busch, the Holley High Band and Jazz director, joins some of his students in holding a trophy Holley won at Music in the Parks competition at Hershey Park.

There were 60 Holley High School Concert Band and Mixed Choir students who traveled to Hershey this past weekend.

The Holley Band earned 1st Place in High School Concert Band Class A, with a “Superior” rating from their score average of 91.75 (of 100). They performed two selections: “The Witch and the Saint” by Steven Reineke and “Americans We” by Henry Fillmore.

The Choir earned 2nd Place in High School Mixed Choir Class A, with an “Excellent” rating from their score average of 86.75 (of 100). They performed two selections: “O Love” by Elaine Hagenberg and “Let Everything That Hath Breath” by Jeffery Ames.

The trip was also highlighted by sight-seeing in Philadelphia, including: the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Rocky Statue, a Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park, the Liberty Bell, and Reading Terminal Market.

The Holley HS Band and Choir will close out their yearly concerts with their Spring Concert on Thursday, May 30 at 7 p.m. in the Holley MSHS Auditorium.

Photos courtesy of Jessica Greean, Troop Leader for Girl Scout Troop 60916

HOLLEY – There were about 20 young scouts out Saturday morning picking up litter along the Erie Canal in Holley. The Girl Scouts from Troop 60916, and Lion, Tiger, Wolf and Bear Scouts in Cub Pack 62 as well as Webelos braved the windy and chilly temperatures to help clean up the area.

The top photo shows them by murals created by artist Stacey Kirby Steward near the canal gazebo.

Gabriella Greean, a Brownie Scout, was among the scouts on cleanup duty.

These “Scout Dads” include, from left: Zach Reed, Jason Greean, Sam Hackenberg, John Schneider, Adam Wallenhorst and Michael Restivo.

From left include Kelsie Reed, Katie Applegate, Katie Wallenhorst and Parker Wallenhorst.

The group gathers at the canal gazebo in Holley. The effort was part of the annual “Canal Clean Sweep” along the canal system in New York State. There were more than 150 cleanup events along the canal system, including several in Orleans County.

Press Release, Holley Central School

HOLLEY – The Holley school district’s annual senior citizen appreciation breakfast will be on Thursday, May 9, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. in the Holley Elementary Café.

The district would like to thank the senior citizens in the community for all they’ve done and continue to do to support the students and schools. You must be age 55 or older and a resident of the district to attend.

RSVP by Wednesday, May 1, to Connie Nenni in the District Office at 638-6316, ext. 2003. Transportation is available by request.