Sidonio with slight lead over Bower in Murray; McKenna and Waters apparent winners in Barre

The Republican primary for Murray town supervisor is too close to call after polls closed tonight. The results will determined on Monday when absentee ballots are counted.

In Murray – the only race for town supervisor in Orleans County – Joe Sidonio is leading by 13 votes over Randy Bower, 263-250. Sidonio is the current supervisor and Bower, the retired Orleans County sheriff, is currently a town councilman.

There are 44 absentees turned in so far in Murray and 64 were sent out. There may be more than 44 to count if they are received by next Tuesday and are postmarked by today. The Orleans County Board of Elections plans to count the absentees on Monday, and will include any received more if they arrive on Tuesday, as long as the ballots are postmarked by today.

• In Barre, two candidates – George McKenna and David Waters – have stated opposition to the wind turbine project. They are the apparent winners with 163 for Waters and 162 for McKenna, over incumbents Tom McCabe, 146, and Lynn Hill, 145. McCabe and Hill both voted to change the town ordinance to allow for turbines up to 700 feet in height.

Barre has 13 absentees turned in so far out of 20 that were requested.

• In Carlton, Karen Narburgh received 101 votes for town clerk, compared to 66 for Dori Goetze. Narburgh has been the town clerk the past seven years.

• In Gaines in the primary for town justice, Charles Prentice Jr. received 146 votes to Henry Smith Jr.’s 48. Bruce Schmidt, the incumbent, isn’t seeking re-election.

• In Ridgeway, in a three-candidate race for town clerk, Hannah Hill is the overwhelming winner with 228 votes, followed by Laurie Kilburn with 75 and E.J. Cox with 16. Karen Kaiser, the current town clerk, isn’t seeking re-election.

Also in Ridgeway, there were three candidates for two open seats on the Town Board. Jeff Toussaint leads with 255 votes, followed by 249 for Cliff Barber. David Stalker, an incumbent, received 72 votes.

• In Shelby, three candidates were seeking two positions. Edward Zelazny has likely defeated one of the incumbents, William Bacon. The vote totals include 172 for incumbent Stephen Seitz Sr., 166 for Zelazny and 143 for Bacon.

There are 13 out of 38 absentees turned in so far.

‘You have reminded us of our purpose, which is to love and care for children. That is why we exist.’ – Brian Bartalo, Holley district superintendent

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – The school district on Monday evening honored six retiring teachers and staff who have a combined 182 years of service to students.

The top photo shows Sue Cory (left), junior-senior high school principal, with Kathy Monks, who is retiring after 30 years as a Spanish teacher. Monks also was the Spanish club advisor, a yearbook advisor and put on elaborate Day of the Dead celebrations. The latter is a Mexican holiday on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2.

Cory praised Monks for her dedication to students and an engaging teaching style.

“I loved the kids, and I loved my co-workers and the school district,” Monks said. “At Holley there is a sense of family.”

Sue Morreall retired after 25 years in the elementary school office. She was praised for her organizational skills, a welcoming personality and a deep institutional knowledge of the school.

“I loved it,” Morreall said about the job. “I loved seeing the students’ smiling faces in the morning.”

Roxanne Wagner is retiring after 33 years with Holley as an administrative assistant and a stint as athletic director. She showed an eagerness to help the district and connect with students, including chaperoning many school events.

“These are two great people and workers,” Brian Bartalo, the district superintendent, said about Morreall and Wagner.

He said the two employees and other administrative assistants are critical to the school operations.

“We all know who really runs the district,” he said about the staff.

Karri Schiavone, elementary school principal (left) congratulates Wanda Farrell on her retirement. Farrell has served as a school counselor at Holley, working in both the middle-senior high school and then in the elementary school.

She was compassionate with many Holley families, and helped connect the district with agencies that provided additional services.

“I just like the kids,” Farrell said about her career. “I had a great staff to work with.”

Sheri Viscardi, a fourth grade teacher, is congratulated by Karri Schiavone, the school principal. Viscardi was a very popular teacher who made her classroom fun while pushing students to excel, Schiavone said.

“Sheri loves her children clearly,” Schiavone said. “She puts everything she has into her class.”

Holley also recognized Brandi Zavitz, who is retiring as the middle and high school art teacher. She was unable to attend Monday’s Board of Education meeting.

Bartalo, the district superintendent, congratulated the retirees.

“You have reminded us of our purpose, which is to love and care for children,” Bartalo said. “That is why we exist.”

The six retirees worked 182 years combined for the district.

“I can’t even imagine how many students and lives have been positively impacted by these remarkable individuals,” Bartalo said.

The Board of Education also recognized two BOE members who are leaving after completing their terms. Robin Silvis, the BOE president, presents a gift to Mark Porter. He will continue in an official Holley capacity, representing the district on the board for the Monroe II-Orleans BOCES.

Melissa Ierlan also was commended by Silvis for her volunteer efforts on the BOE. Ierlan seemed to know nearly all of the families and was very student-focused, Silvis said.

“She reads everything and she knows everybody,” Silvis said. “She cares for every student.”

Photo by Tom Rivers: John Heise gives Holley’s commencement address on June 28, 2014. He was heavily involved with the school district the past 40 years.

HOLLEY — The school district on Monday will dedicate the Holley Jr./Sr. High School Library in memory of John Heise, who dedicated 40 years to serving the district as a school administrator and then as a volunteer on the Board of Education..

The district is planning a 5:30 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 21 to dedicate the John P. Heise Memorial Library. This will be by invitation only.

Heise, 73, passed away on December 23, 2020. He started working at Holley in 1981 as the elementary school principal. He was later the high school principal and then director of special programs, overseeing special education. About a year after he retired, he joined the Board of Education.

In addition to serving on the Holley BOE, Heise was president of the Holley Rotary Club and a former district governor for Rotary. He also was previously a member of the Holley Village Board and a trustee for the Community Free Library.

He attended numerous school and community events, and loved to chaperone foreign exchange students on excursions to Niagara Falls and other sites in the region.

Heise was active on social media, often bragging about Holley students, especially with their community service projects.

“John was a consistent champion for the students of Holley,” Brian Bartalo, district superintendent, said after Heise’s death. “He was a fixture at all school events from concerts and plays to athletic events and award ceremonies. Through John’s work with the Holley Rotary, he helped many students over the years with scholarships and assistance with whatever was needed, many times, right out of his own pocket.

“Mr. Heise always wanted the best for the district. He loved and worked on many committees to improve the school system. He also was also Holley’s representative on the Monroe2-Orleans BOCES Board of Education, where he served for well over a decade. John’s generosity and dedication to the students of Holley left a legacy that will never be forgotten.”

HOLLEY – A man has been charged with attempted murder in the first degree after he allegedly lunged at a Holley police officer, attempting to stab him.

A Holley police officer was dispatched to the Holley waterfalls on Frisbee Terrace at 6:11 p.m. on Tuesday for report of a suspicious male walking around with a knife antagonizing people, said Robert Barton, Holley’s police chief.

Upon arrival, the officer approached David J. Simoni, 32, who was sitting on a park bench who did not respond to any of the officer’s questions. The officer then spoke with other individuals in the park to investigate the incident, Barton said.

When the officer returned to Simoni, who was still sitting on the bench, a physical altercation ensued as Simoni lunged at the officer, Barton said. During the altercation, the man attempted to stab the officer with a knife, Barton said.

With the assistance of nearby citizens, the officer was able to disarm Simoni and then the officer utilized his taser to cause the male to disengage. The male was taken into custody without further incident.

Simoni has been charged with attempted murder 1^st degree, criminal obstruction breathing, attempted aggravated assault, menacing, resisting arrest and criminal possession of a weapon. He was transported to the Orleans County Jail.

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Holley Village Board met for its monthly meeting on Tuesday evening in the auditorium of the former Holley High School. That building is now used for the village offices and also 40 senior apartments. Pictured from left include village trustees Rochelle Moroz and Connie Nenni, Mayor Kevin Lynch, attorney John Sansone, and trustees Mark Bower and James DeFilipps.

HOLLEY – The village will hold its election next Tuesday, June 15, and the two candidates are unopposed.

Current village trustees Rochelle Moroz and Jim DeFilipps are seeking re-election to two-year terms on the board. Voting will be from noon to 9 p.m. in the downstairs lobby of the village office, which is now in the former Holley High School at 1 Wright Street.

Moroz has been on the board for four years. She and her husband moved from Texas to Holley to be close to their daughter and her family in Brockport.

Moroz is a retired church secretary and treasurer. She is running under the “Common Sense” party.

She wants to see the village continue making progress with infrastructure projects, including sidewalk replacements.

DeFilipps has been a village trustee for five years. He is an Orleans County deputy sheriff and is running under “The People’s Party.”

DeFilipps is pleased with recent successes in the village, including a $17 million transformation of the old Holley High School and the start of water and sidewalk upgrades. He expects the village will tackle more projects, especially with federal funding through the American Rescue Plan. The village is awaiting to see how much funding it will receive through that federal program and the guidelines for how the money can be used.

DeFilipps, son of long-time Holley-Murray Historian Marsha DeFilipps, said Holley is headed in the right direction.

“It’s community involvement and betterment of the village that I want to be a part of,” he said.

Photos by Tom Rivers: The Public Square is was a busy place on Tuesday evening. The Village Board agreed to extend the 2-hour parking limit in the Square from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

HOLLEY – The Village Board is extending the 2-hour parking limit in the Public Square. Motorists were limited to no more than two consecutive hours in the Public Square from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Board members held a public hearing on Tuesday evening on the change. No one spoke against allowing people to park up to two hours in the Public Square until 9 p.m.

Mayor Kevin Lynch said Holley village officials were asked by businesses to extend the 2-hour parking.

Village Attorney John Sansone will send the local law to the Secretary of State to be certified. Once the village receives notice from the notice, the law will go into effect.

The Village DPW also will put up new signs with the later hours for the 2-hour parking. The new law doesn’t include Sundays and holidays.

In other action, the Village Board also accepted the construction bid of $80,915 from Watson Enterprises to install new sidewalks, curbs and aprons on East Albion Street. This street wasn’t included in the recent sidewalk improvement project in the village.

People will soon be able to legally park longer in the Public Square for up to 2 hours. The Village Board said the later times were in response to a request from businesses in the Square.

Scout organized crew for the project, earned final merit badge while he was hospitalized with leukemia

Photos by Tom Rivers: Penny Cole, a secretary at Holley Junior-Senior High School, speaks during the dedication today for Evan Valentine’s Eagle Scout project, which is the stone wall around the veterans’ monument. “You all know he was a special boy,” Cole told the crowd. “I know how happy and proud he is right now.”

HOLLEY – While Evan Valentine’s body was being ravaged by leukemia this past winter, he pushed to complete the final requirements for his Eagle Scout rank.

Valentine in December finished the last of the 21 badges he needed for the Eagle. He also had Scouts and volunteers lined up to build a veterans’ wall around the monument in Holley by the Post Office and Jewell Buckman Post for the American Legion.

He was presented the Eagle Scout badge while in the hospital in February.

Today, the Holley and Boy Scout community dedicated Valentine’s Eagle Scout project. Valentine passed away from leukemia at age 18 on Feb. 21. Speakers commented that his presence was felt at the ceremony this afternoon, with bright sunshine and frequent gusts of wind.

The stone wall around the monument includes a sitting area in front with an inscription, “Forever Remembered – Forever Missed.” Dale Smalley of Smalley Monuments donated that marble stone with the inscription.

The Holley Garden Club planted the flowers just before Memorial Day.

Andrew Drechsel speaks at the dedication. He and Evan joined scouts together in first grade as Tiger Cubs. The members of Troop 62 in Holley were the only ones in their cohort to earn the Eagle.

Andrew said Evan enjoyed being a Scout and going on camping trips. When Evan completed his first chemotherapy treatment and the leukemia was in remission, he spent many hours back in Scouts at camp, troop meetings and getting approvals for the veterans’ wall.

Evan approached former Legion Commander John Pera about the project back in 2018. Evan and his father Neil researched the stones and dimensions to build the veterans’ wall.

“The main part of an Eagle project is the planning and providing direction to the volunteers to make the project a success,” Drechsel said. “Evan completed all of this. He facilitated this project from the beginning and wanted to be a part of each step. As much as he wanted to be there, the volunteers knew it might not be possible and they worked to get the project completed on Evan’s behalf.”

Andrew Drechsel speaks to the crowd at times pausing due to the gusts. Andrew and Evan completed the last merit badge together, which was about personal management.

“Evan continued to persevere through so much and I just want to say how proud I am that Evan was able to complete his Eagle project for the American Legion and earn the rank of Eagle Scout,” Drechsel said.

Bob Miller, a member of the Sons of the American Legion Squadron 529, lives next to the Valentine family. Miller said Evan was deeply loved by the community.

Miller thanked several key supporters for the project, including Smalley Monuments, Millspaugh Construction Company for assisting with the excavation, Preston’s Landscaping for setting the stone and getting the stone blocks at a discount, the Village of Holley DPW for assistance with the electricity and for clearing the site in February when there was ice and snow.

The Holley Village Board also helped secure approvals for the project. The Holley Fire Police closed down a section of Route 31 for the dedication ceremony today. The Kingdollar family, Western New York Energy and Holley Rotary Club donated to the project.

Erik Volk of the Boy Scouts of America assisted Evan with the paperwork to meet the standards to be an Eagle Scout. Major Craig Lane, retired from the Air Force, helped with the construction.

Neil and Diane Valentine (left), Evan’s parents, were praised “for the gift of their amazing son.”

Diane Valentine thanks the community for rallying to make the Eagle Scout project a reality.

“He would have been so grateful for the people who brought this to fruition,” she said.

Mrs. Valentine said her son loved being in Scouts and made it a goal soon after he joined to become an Eagle Scout.

Scott Galliford (left), commander of the Jewell Buckman Post, joined Penny Cole and Bob Miller in announcing Evan Valentine won the Post’s “Good Citizen” award.

Tom Gardner, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Holley, leads the group in a prayer.

The reception after the dedication included some of Evan’s favorite snacks – Cheez-Its and Reese’s milk chocolate peanut butter cups.

Evan’s Eagle Scout uniform was on display, as well as the shovel used for the ground-breaking in February.

The wall includes a plaque noting the project was the result of Evan Valentine’s community service requirement to be an Eagle Scout.

Jim McMullen, the Scout executive for the Iroquois Trail Council of the Boy Scouts of America, said he was inspired by Evan’s determination to obtain Scouting’s highest rank, and to take on an important project for the Holley community.

“I think it’s very profound that he wanted this last piece for the community,” McMullen said. “He is an Eagle Scout and he earned it. He provided the leadership to get the project done.”

Provided photos

HOLLEY – Members of the Holley senior class on Friday morning witnessed a simulation of a deadly crash due to a driver impaired by alcohol and drugs.

Firefighters, law enforcement, Monroe Ambulance personnel and County Coroner Scott Schmidt were part of the simulation, as well as several Holley students who wore makeup to appear bloodied.

One of the students was pronounced dead at the scene by the coroner in the simulation.

The first responders and school district wanted to send a message about the seriousness of not being impaired while driving a vehicle.

Holley had its senior prom on Friday night at the Plantation Party House in Spencerport. Last year there wasn’t a formal prom due to the Covid-19 restrictions.

The next few months there will also be many graduation parties and other events for the students.

Holley student Zach Dann was the driver and is led through field sobriety tests. He was charged with drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter in the mock event.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Zach Dann was arraigned in the mock court appearance in front of Gaines Town Justice Bruce Schmidt. District Attorney Joe Cardone is at right. Dann was represented by Robert Zickl from the Public Defender’s Office.

Schmidt determined Dann to a flight risk and set bail at $25,000 cash or $50,000 bond.

Cardone said he would seek state prison for Dann in the upcoming court proceedings. The charges against Dann derailed his plans to enter the Marine Corps. Cardone also requested an order of protection for the victim’s family, with no contact from Dann, including texts or phone calls. Schmidt approved the order of protection.

Cardone addressed to students in the auditorium, telling them they should celebrate the completion of their high school careers, but do it responsibly and not put themselves and others in danger.

If they are under the influence or if the driver of a vehicle is impaired, Cardone urged them to call for help to get a safe driver.

“You’ve worked very hard to get to this point in your lives,” Cardone told the students. “I would just say to you we want you to be careful, especially these next few days.”

He also told them it is still illegal for people under 21 to use marijuana. The state recently legalized recreational use of marijuana, allowing people up to 3 ounces of marijuana if they 21 and older.

“If you are under 21 you can still be charged,” Cardone said.

MURRAY – The Town of Murray is planning a 12-month moratorium on any applications for solar, wind, biomass or alternative sources of renewable energy.

Town officials want to look at Murray’s current ordinance for renewable energy and see if any updates are needed. The town may not take the full 12 months for a review of its ordinance for alternative energy, said Paul Hendel, a town councilman and Orleans County Planning Board member.

He spoke during last week’s Planning Board meeting, when the county recommended Murray approve the moratorium. No applications for renewable energy projects will be accepted or reviewed while the town has the moratorium.

This doesn’t apply to projects where the power is used for a homeowner. It only includes energy that is marketed or sold.

Alternative energy, especially solar, increasingly is being sought in Orleans County. Last week the County Planning Board reviewed four solar projects, with two in Albion, and one in Carlton and another in Kendall.

“As you can see renewable energy is active in many towns in the county,” Hendel said. “We want to take a pause and look at other towns’ laws to see if a rewrite is necessary.”

The Erie Canal will reopen the section from Holley to Spencerport this morning beginning at 7. That area had its guard gates down and water levels lowered on May 16 so engineers and contractors could work to mitigate localized seepage occurring west of the Smith Street Bridge in the Village of Brockport.

The canal opened for its 197^th navigational season on May 21 but the section of eastern Orleans and western Monroe counties was closed to traffic. That changes beginning this morning with guard gates raised and the lift bridges operational, the Canal Corp. posted in a notice to mariners.

“Boaters should expect some delays in lift bridge operations as lift bridge operators will be roving between lift bridge locations to operate the lift bridges on Saturday, May 29,” the Canal Corp. said.

Photos by Tom Rivers

FANCHER – Neal Muscarella, a mason from Albion, chips away old and loose mortar today on the Fancher Clock, a World War II Memorial at the curve on Route 31 on the east side on Murray.

Muscarella will be putting in new mortar and it will be the color green like the original. Muscarella said this is the only sandstone structure that he has seen with green mortar.

The four-sided clock at the Fancher Curve is a memorial to 10 young men from the community who died in World War II. The memorial was dedicated on Aug. 14, 1949.

Murray town officials are pushing to have the restoration done in time for the anniversary of the clock’s dedication.

Neal Muscarella removes the mortar between the sandstone blocks.

Fancher native Fred Fiorito has donated to cover the costs of restoring the monument. Fiorito is a retired chiropractor who lives in Mount Vernon, outside New York City. He grew up on a farm at the intersection of Fancher and Telegraph roads.

He was only 10, and he has never forgotten seeing the Gold Star mothers in mourning during the clock’s original dedication.

Fiorito in trips home over the years has noticed the memorial’s gradually deterioration. Sometimes the clocks haven’t worked. The mortar has crumbled.

Fiorito wants the site to be a well cared for showcase for the 10 local residents who died in World War II. Those 10 include John Christopher, Joseph Christopher, Cosmo Coccitti, John Kettle, Jr., Leonard Licursi, Martin Licursi, Richard Merritt, Camille Nenni, Floyd Valentine and Richard Vendetta.

Provided photo: Dan Mawn, president of the Murray-Holley Historical Society, removes one of the clock faces. The clocks will have new movements put in, and a new electrical service. They will be programmed to automatically adjust for Daylight Savings in March and also for way the clocks “fall back” an hour in November.

The four clock faces also will have new metal rings so they can slide in more easily into the monument and have better structural support.

The project also is expected to include upgraded landscaping and improvements to the flagpole.

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Debbie Rothmund, center, director of the Eastern Orleans Community Center, accepts a check for $6,000 from the Odd Fellow and Rebekah Benefit Fund. Representing the Fund are, from left, Eugene Urban, former director of the Odd Fellow and Rebekah Home in Lockport for more than 30 years;  and board members Oradell Banker, Clement Olson and Barbara Quick.

HOLLEY – The Eastern Orleans Community Center got a boost Friday when representatives from the Odd Fellow and Rebekah Benefit Fund visited the center to present them with a check for $6,000.

Appearing on behalf of the Fund were Eugene Urban, former director of the Odd Fellow and Rebekah Home in Lockport for more than 30 years; and board members Oradell Banker of Mehoopany, Pa.; Barbara Quick of Binghamton; and Clement Olson of North Tonawanda.

The donation came about because the Odd Fellow and Rebekah Benefit Fund had money to donate from the sale of their Odd Fellow and Rebekah Rehabilitation Center in Lockport 3 1/2 years ago.

“The courts decided how the money was to be dispersed,” said Banker.  “We have money available to donate to agencies which provide or support delivery of programs to promote physical, social or mental health. Healthcare is more than a doctor, dentist or hospital.”

Banker went on her computer looking for 501c3 agencies.

“I read about each one that fit our criteria,” she said. “There was the Eastern Orleans Community Center, and I called Debbie and told her we have financial help available, if you’re interested.”

Debbie Rothmund runs the Community Center and Banker told her how to get a grant application. Rothmund wrote the grant for the purchase of food, containers, dehumidifiers and computers. Once it was received, the donation committee reviewed it and took it to the board, which approved the  $6,000 gift.

“I can’t tell you how much we appreciate it,” Rothmund said.

Banker said they’d like to come in the future and see how the Community Center is making use of the funds.

During the week, the Community Center provides meals five days a week. During the pandemic, they provided 800 Grab and Go meals a month, and still continue to do it.

“It’s not just that we feed people,” said Annette Finch, director of Emergency Services at Community Action, which runs the Community Center. “The people who come in here take of each other. If one doesn’t show up one day, someone else is on the phone checking up on them. We also make sure the people who can’t cook go home with food for the weekends.”

Another service the Community Center provides is making food donations from Wegman’s three times a week available outside for people to pick up.

A donation last year from the local Lions Club has resulted in another service to the community, Finch said.

“With their donation we were able to buy a generator, and we are now considered a warming center,” she said.

She cited an instance last winter when several families were forced from their burning apartment house in the middle of the night. The victims were taken in their pajamas, some shoeless, to the Community Center, where they were warmed and fed. A clothing depot maintained next door by the Center provided shoes and clothing for the families.

Four representatives from the Odd Fellow & Rebekah Benefit Fund visited the Eastern Orleans Community Center in Holley on Friday afternoon to present them with a donation. From Community Action are Rachael Escobar, assistant at the Center; Annette Finch, director of Emergency Services; Renee Hungerford, executive director; and from the Benefit Fund, Oradell Banker of Mehoopany, Pa., Barbara Quick of Binghamton, Clement Olson of North Tonawanda and Eugene Urban of East Amherst. At right is Debbie Rothmund, director of the Community Center.

Rothmund added the Center is a destination for many children who come after school when their parents are working.

“They know we are a safe place to hang out,” she said.

The Center also sponsored cooking classes and special speakers before Covid restrictions were placed on their activities.

“We are going to continue those things, now that we can get back in the swing of things,” Rothmund said.

“I don’t know what people in the community would do without the Community Center,” Finch added.

Urban explained how the Odd Fellow and Rebekah Lodge has a history steeped in helping others.

“The primary tenets of our organization are caring for widows and orphans and burying their dead,” he said. These go back four or five hundred years, when somebody took the responsibility of seeing that widows had food on the table, that their children were cared for and their dead were buried.”

Olson explained how centuries ago the Masonic Lodge in England was formed by men whose livelihood was the masonic trade.

“When a group of men wanted to join, they were refused because they were not masons by trade,” Olson said. “Those men decided to form their own group, calling themselves ‘Odd Fellows’ due to the fact it was considered odd at the time for someone to care about others, such as widows and their children.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – Debbie Smith and other members of the Holley Garden Club were out this morning planting flowers in 24 large planters on Route 31 near the former Holley High School and also in the Public Square.

The Garden Club has planted the flowers in the Holley downtown area since 2005.

Some of the Holley Garden Club member are shown this morning at the Public Square where they planted flowers and added mulch. Pictured from left includes Mylynda Kuba and her bulldog Biz-Kit, Denise Bedard, Beverly Whiteman, Dee Langfitt, Debbie Smith, Janet DeGraw, Jude Lane and Ingrid Lestorti.

Beverly Whiteman joined the group about a year ago. Besides the annual spring project, ordering and planting the flowers, the group of about 10 members gets together for garden tours.

“We have a good time and have fun together,” Whiteman said.

Ingrid Lestorti and Jude Lane plant flowers in front of the former Holley High School, which is now apartments and the village offices.

The village pays for the flowers. The Garden Club orders them through Kirby’s Farm Market in Brockport. The village Department of Public Works will water the flowers in the coming months.

Mylynda Kuba adds flowers to one of the planters. She stopped by last year when the Garden Club was working on the flowers and offered to help. She joined the group and she said she has learned a lot from the other members.

“I fell in love with what they do,” Kuba said. “We share plants when we have extras. They have a lot of knowledge.”

Dee Langfitt  gets a batch of flowers from the back of the Holley DPW truck. Langfitt joined the Garden Club about five years ago and is the acting president.

“I look forward to this every year,” she said about planting the flowers in the downtown. “We’re beautifying the village. It is so pretty when the flowers fill out.”

Denise Bedard spreads mulch in the Public Square.

For more information on the Holley Garden Club, which started in 1998, check their Facebook page by clicking here.

(Editor’s Note: This was updated from an earlier version that stated three candidates were elected to the BOE instead of four.)

HOLLEY – The school district’s proposed $26,150,000 budget passed today, with 359 yes votes and 137 against.

The budget increases spending by 1.44 percent or $370,000 from $25,780,000, the amount the past two school years. The budget increases taxes by 1.95 percent to $7,572,763, which is under the tax cap.

• Proposition No. 2 authorizes up to $318,000 to purchase two 72-seat passenger school buses and one 22-seat bus – passed 338 to 160.

• Proposition No. 3 authorizes $189,287 for Community Free Library in Holley – passed 358 to 141.

• Board of Education – Four candidates were elected to the Board of Education with three getting 3-year terms: Brian McKeon with 301 votes, Anne Smith with 298, and Salvatore DeLuca Jr. with 258. Tracy Van Ameron, 241 votes, was elected to a one-year term.

There were three other candidates: Nancy MacPhee, 178; Jennifer Verhagen, 170; and Michelle Hodge, 160.