HOLLEY – The Holley Police Department will have a public forum at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the village office as part of the requirement to meet Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive order issued last June on police reform.

The governor mandated that law enforcement agencies review policies on use of force and de-escalation, and with policies on training of officers on bias in profiling. The governor urged each department to form a committee to review the policies and solicit feedback from residents.

Each department needs to submit a plan to the state by April 1, or they could be cut off from state funding.

Holley is having a public meeting to get feedback from residents. The session will be in the meeting room at the recently reopened old Holley High School at 1 Wright St.

District Attorney Joe Cardone and Public Defender Joanne Best are expected to attend the meeting to discuss recent changes in the criminal justice system.

Residents who want to speak at the meeting are asked to call the village office at (585) 638-6367 to be put on the agenda.

Photo by Tom Rivers: The school district has recently welcomed more students back for in-person learning, from 2 to 4 days a week.

HOLLEY – The district started the school year on a hybrid schedule with students able to take two days of in-person classes a week. The students were split into two different groups in each grade level and those groups alternated days of in-person school with everyone going remote on Wednesdays.

That was done to reduce the number of students on buses and in the school buildings, to allow for social distancing and reduce the chances for spreading Covid.

The district early in the school year increased the in-person days to four days for students in prekindergarten, those in self-contained special education classes and the alternative high school, which is held in a wing of the elementary school.

Those groups are all smaller classes of no more than 12 students where the district can meet the social distancing requirement, keeping desks 6 feet apart.

The district has recently pushed to bring back more students for four days of in-person learning. That includes about 100 students with IEPs who have a learning disability and need some additional educational services.

This week the district also allowed students at the WeMoCo in Spencerport to attend in-person classes four days a week. That started on Monday.

Holley wants to bring back more students for four days a week of in-person learning, but the district needs to ensure it can meet the state mandates for social distancing on buses and in classrooms, said Brian Bartalo, the district superintendent.

Or, the state needs to provide some relief to the 6-foot distance for social distancing to allow more students to be in class. Bartalo said students have been wearing masks inside classrooms which should allow them to be closer together than the 6 feet.

‘I want our families to know we’re working on it. We’re looking at our options. We want the kids to come back but we have to do it in a way that abides by the rules.’ – Brian Bartalo, district superintendent

Paul Pettit, the public health director in Orleans County, said the state is expected to make an announcement soon about the 6-foot buffer between desks and what districts must do to allow students to be closer together.

Some districts have set up Plexiglass barriers between desks. Bartalo said that would be a big expense for the district to go with the barriers.

If the state doesn’t allow desks to be closer than 6 feet, Holley still may be able to bring more students for in-person classes. Holley has about 20 percent of its students fully remote who don’t attend in-person classes this year. That gives the district some room to bring students back for in-person classes four days a week.

“At this time, I want everyone to know that we expect some changes soon regarding how to increase our in-person opportunities for students at school,” Bartalo said in a message to school community on Monday. “As we await new guidance on safety protocols, we’re working diligently at the district to consider all options for transportation and classroom limits to have students return more fully. It’s likely, just as we’ve done with other aspects of our phase-in approach, that we start bringing our younger (elementary) students in more at first, then move to the middle/high school.”

Bartalo said the district would like to keep pushing to have more students in-person by April 19, which is the start of the final quarter when students will be gearing up for final exams and state assessments.

The district will be reaching out to parents and guardians to see if they would support four days of in-person instruction. Bartalo also wants to know if the students who are fully remote would stay that way if they had the option for four days.

The district could find out some families would be uncomfortable with more in-person days and would rather stay with two in-person days or be fully remote.

“I want our families to know we’re working on it,” Bartalo said. “We’re looking at our options. We want the kids to come back but we have to do it in a way that abides by the rules.”

Teen inspired community during fight with leukemia for 2 ½ years

Photos by Tom Rivers: Evan Valentine is hugged by principal Sue Cory when he returned to school on April 22, 2019. About 450 of his classmates surprised him in the school gym and gave him a standing ovation for his first day back at school after enduring five months in the hospital for chemo and recovery. Many of the teachers and students wore orange “Evan Strong” shirts to celebrate Evan’s return.

HOLLEY – Evan Valentine, a member of Holley’s Class of 2021, passed away on Sunday after fighting leukemia for nearly 2 ½ years.

“This is a loss to our school and our community, as many have rallied around Evan for the past couple of years,” Sue Cory, the middle and high school principal, said in a message on the district website. “Death is difficult for us all to deal with,” Cory wrote in her message. “We all handle this in different ways. We want you to know that it is OK to need and ask for support.”

Provided photo: Evan Valentine is shown on Nov. 4, 2018 with some of the get well cards he received. These cards were from Boy Scouts in Holley and the First Presbyterian Church of Holley.

Grief counselors were at the school today and will be available on Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Students, even those on remote learning are welcome to come to the school for any support.

Evan, the son of Diane and Neil Valentine, was a very popular student at Holley. He played soccer and golf and performed in the school musicals. He was confirmed at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in August and was the altar server of the year in 2018 in the Western New York Diocese.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Valentine family,” Cory said. “They have continually felt the love of this community.”

Evan was diagnosed with leukemia on Oct. 19, 2018, a day before he was to play in a Sectional soccer game for Holley as a center defender.

Evan went to the doctor after battling some digestive issues. After getting his blood drawn, doctors were concerned about the presence of blast cells. Evan was diagnosed with leukemia and was admitted to Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong.

He completed multiple rounds of chemotherapy and had a bone marrow transplant, but the leukemia returned. He handled the chemo, the hair and weight loss, and the pain with grace and in a laid-back manner, with few complaints while keeping his faith.

Since his diagnosis, Evan and his family were inundated with love from his classmates and teachers. There are many cards, signed by hundreds of students and staff, in his hospital room. He and his family have seen the social media posts, showing the school community wearing orange T-shirts, face masks and bracelets in his honor.

Earlier, this month most of the Holley teachers wore orange “Evan Strong” T-shirts to school and posted those photos to an Evan Strong Facebook page.

Mrs. Valentine posted on Feb. 13  in response to the many photos of Holley teachers in the orange shirts: “HCSD we are thankful for your support EVERY SINGLE DAY. It has made such a difference to Evan and to us knowing that we have an army behind us in this battle. Evan Strong!”

Evan Valentine was given an escort by local fire trucks and community members lined the sidewalks on April 19, 2020 when he returned to the hospital for a bone marrow transplant at Golisano Children’s Hospital in Rochester.

There were fire trucks from Holley, Clarendon, Fancher-Hulberton-Murray and Brockport in the escort for Valentine.

The community organized the sendoff for Evan partly due to the Covid restrictions on visitors at the hospital. Many of Evan’s friends weren’t able to visit him while he recovered from chemo and when he prepared for the bone marrow transplant. Evan’s classmates, teachers and the firefighters wanted to give him a show of support and strength as he prepared for the transplant.

“He is an inspiration to not only all the students and staff at Holley High School, but to the entire Holley community,” Brian Bartalo, the Holley school district superintendent, said that day. “He is an incredible young man with an engaging personality and unwavering spirit that encourages all of us.”

A Clarendon fire truck displays an “Evan Strong” sign during his escort on April 19, 2020.

Illuminating Orleans, Vol. 1, No. 6    

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

HOLLEY – The recent award-winning rehabilitation of the former Holley High School has been in the news. This postcard from the Orleans County Department of History collection shows the original High School building. (The building that was just rehabbed for $17 million was built in 1930 and 1931. The last class graduated from the school in 1975.)

In 1848, Hiram Frisbee donated a site on Wright Street for the construction of a school. It was operated as a private school for three years and then incorporated as the Holley Academy in 1850.

In 1868, the Academy’s financial problems and an increase in the number of students led to the formation of a Union Free District. An addition to the two-story brick building was completed in 1882 and a remodeling project was undertaken in 1896. The school was formally renamed Holley High School in 1898. It was demolished in 1930 to make way for a new high school.

The Orleans County History Department collection also includes several early Holley High School Alumni programs which indicate that a strong school spirit pervaded, including this program from 1907.

The Fifth Annual Alumni Banquet held at the Village Hall on June 22, 1905 included a formal program of Toasts.

The Banquet menu featured Cold tongue, Egg Croquettes, Cream sauce, Saratoga chips, White and brown bread sandwiches, Olives, Pickles, Coffee, Neapolitan ice cream, Assorted cakes, Salted almonds and Bon bons.

The program concluded with the school song, sung to the tune of “Auld Lang Syne”

State paying 75% of project to reinforce wall, upgrade lighting and doors

File photo by Tom Rivers: Sandra Shaw, director of the Community Free Library in Holley, holds a puppet at the library’s puppet theatre in this photo from February 2016. The library will be upgrading a wall, lighting and the front doors at the site.

HOLLEY – The Community Free Library will be upgrading the site at 86 Public Square with a $100,000 project.

The public library has been approved for a $75,000 state library construction grant, said Sandra Shaw, director of the Community Free library.

That will pay 75 percent of the cost to reinforce a wall in 110-year-old building, replace lighting and put in two sets of handicapped accessible doors, one for the front entrance and the other inside the foyer. The library will pay the other 25 percent of the expense.

The wall that will get needed attention is on the back side of the children’s library. A contractor, Tower Construction of Albion, will be excavating, digging a trench and then replacing some of the brick in the wall that had disintegrated, Shaw said.

Tower will rebuild part of the wall, reinforce it and put on waterproofing sealant.

The two sets of doors will be enabled with push buttons. They will make it easier for people in wheelchairs, walkers or who have children in strollers, Shaw said.

“We want to do anything we can to help our patrons get in and out of the building,” she said.

Jedamski Electric will replace the electric fixtures and put in energy-efficient LED lights. Shaw said that will reduce the library’s ongoing electricity costs.

She expects the electric work will be started in about two months and the work on the exterior wall getting started in late spring or summer.

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – Rick Cary, the deputy fire chief for the Murray Joint Fire District, speaks to Holley prekindergarten students on Wednesday when he gave them a virtual tour of the Holley fire house on Thomas Street. Kevin Dann is filming the session, which should be available on the fire department’s website and Facebook page.

Holley and Fancher-Hulberton-Murray firefighters usually do a fire prevention program in-person at the school in October. That was cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions. The school district also alternates days for students to be in school to reduce the student population, with others fully remote only.

“We still want to send a message about fire prevention,” Cary said about making the video. “This is a trial. Hopefully it worked.”

The firefighters plan to make another video about kitchen safety.

Holley and FHM, which on Jan. 1 began operating as the Murray Joint Fire District, want to stress fire prevention to younger students and also familiarize them with firefighters and their equipment.

Sparky the firedog joined the tour and stressed the ABC’s of fire prevention. (A is for Alarms that let you know there’s a fire in your home. B is for Beep, Beep, Beep the sound a smoke alarm makes. C is for Calm, as in calmly get outside when the smoke alarm sounds.) Click here for more on the ABC’s.

The video shows life in the fire house, and shows Ron Meiers cooking in the kitchen. Cary said the firefighters wanted to show they are regular people.

This group put on their turnout gear. Cary, speaking in the video, told the students they don’t need to be afraid if the see firefighters show up and their homes wearing the thick coats, boats and masks.

Some of these firefighters include Andrew Cary, Justin McMillion and Michael Snell.

Cary talked about some of fire trucks at the Holley fire house. The driver put on the lights and turned on the siren.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Local firefighters are shown at about 6 p.m. on Wednesday, responding to a fire at 9 Wright St. in the Village of Holley.

Press Release, Rick Cary, deputy fire chief at Murray Joint Fire District

HOLLEY – The Murray Joint Fire District responded for the report of a house fire at 4:54 p.m. on Wednesday at Wright Street in the Village of Holley.

Upon arrival of the fire crews, they found smoke coming from the second story and roof area. The house on Route 31 is utilized for seasonal employees for the local farming community and was vacant at the time of the fire.

The fire was contained to the second story and attic of the structure. Due to the cold weather several mutual aid companies from both Orleans and Monroe counties were called either to the scene or to back fill the Murray fire house.

No injuries were reported during the incident and the fire was determined to be accidental by the Orleans County Fire Investigation Team.

Firefighters credit the on-duty crew of “Engine 372” for the quick response and initial knock down of the fire. Engine 372 is a group of volunteer firefighters that gather at Murray station on Wednesdays to assist all department with additional manpower if needed.

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 Holley Board of Education last week gave its approval for a new scholarship in memory of John Heise, who was a long-time school administrator who later served more than a decade on the Board of Education.

Heise, 73, passed away on December 23, 2020. He was fully involved in the community.

“John Heise’s contributions to the Holley Central School District are immeasurable,” said Brian Bartalo, the district superintendent. “From the time he spent here as an administrator starting as the Elementary Principal in 1981, right up until this school year as the vice president of the Board of Education, John’s given so much to the Holley School District and community.”

In addition to serving on the Holley Board of Education, 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 liked to brag about Holley students on social media.

The district didn’t set parameters for the scholarship. Heise’s family will work out the details for the selection criteria and the amount of the scholarship. The first scholarship in memory of Heise is expected to be awarded in June at graduation.

“John was a consistent champion for the students of Holley,” Bartalo said. “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.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – Valerie O’Hara (right), president of Pike Stained Glass, and Chris Grooms set a repaired stained glass window into place at the Holley Presbyterian Church today.

Pike Stained Glass Studios of Rochester was hired to repair two sections of the “Come Unto Me” window, a centerpiece of the church.

The window is believed to have been installed in 1907 when the sanctuary was built. The window is dedicated in memory of George and Sarah Garfield, who were residents of Holley in the late 19th century. The picture of Jesus is based on the “Come Unto Me” painting by Heinrich Hoffman.

Valerie O’Hara sets the window in place. Pike Stained Glass Studios needed to replace broken pieces of the two windows and create a new frame with rebar. The two windows had bulged and there were broken sections of glass.

Pike made new pieces of glass that needed to be painted and reset. The company put in new lead to hold the glass pieces together and created a new frame. Pike also cleaned the larger window depicting Jesus.

The church in 2019 celebrated its 200^th anniversary in Holley. Tom Gardner, the church pastor, said the congregation values the stained glass window. It was about a $25,000 project.

“We looked very close at it and we could see it had problems,” Gardner said about the window. “The congregation wanted it to be right and be here for future generations.”

The church this year also expects to complete a $40,000 project on part of the roof.

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – Don Welch, a member of the Holley Presbyterian Church, was among the volunteers out this morning, putting away the cutouts of a Nativity scene that were in front of the church on Route 31.

Fred Roeck, left, and Glenn Maxon detach the cutouts from stakes that held them up. The cutouts were then put in the basement and will be out again for the Christmas season in 2021.

Ron Meiers was among the volunteers who took care of the task this morning.

George Bower and John Heise both made a lasting impact and delighted in small-town life

HOLLEY – The Holley community has lost two of its most dedicated leaders with the recent deaths of former County Legislator George Bower and John Heise, a retired Holley school administrator who remained active on the Board of Education and the Rotary Club.

Photos by Tom Rivers: George Bower is pictured in December 2013 at Holley Public Square after a breakfast at Sam’s Diner. He and his wife Sandy raised their four children in Holley and all remained in the community as adults.

Both enjoyed life in a small town and attended numerous school events and community activities.

Bower was at Sam’s Diner almost every morning where he relished being one of the guys. He didn’t want to talk about county business or politics. Instead, it was updates on the grandkids and the Holley sports teams.

Bower passed away at age 83 last week. He had a long career at Kodak and 45 years of local public service, with 21 years as a Murray town justice and 24 years on the County Legislature, including a term as the chairman and six years as vice chairman.

“We remember George as a very dedicated family man,” Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson said in leading a moment of silence for Bower during last week’s Legislature meeting. “He also was very involved in the community.”

Heise worked as a Holley school principal. He waited two years after he retired before joining the Holley Board of Education. He was the board president for 9 years. He served on the Library Board and the Village Board. He was Holley’s representative on the board for the Monroe II-Orleans BOCES.

“I know it’s a cliché but I want to give back to the community because the community has been good to me,” Heise told me in an interview in 2013. “It’s a good little community. We love it here.”

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

Heise was very active with the Holley Rotary Club and the Rotary District 7090, which includes about 70 Rotary clubs in Western New York and Ontario, Canada. He was district governor in 2011-12. He led Rotary’s youth exchange programs and brought many foreign exchange students to Holley. He delighted in taking them to sites around Western New York, and attended many of their school events as a doting supporter.

Heise passed away on Wednesday at age 73.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the loss of an extraordinarily beloved, irreplaceable member of our Rotary Club and a pillar in the Holley community, Mr. John Heise,” The Holley Rotary Club posted on Facebook today. “John was a selfless soul, always ready to help and give whatever the goal. He was a leader and a friend to all of us. He touched so many lives both here and abroad over the decades and personified the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self,” enriching everyone he came across with a spirit of joy and enlightenment.”

Bower was often outspoken on the County Legislature, willing to cast a lone nay vote. He opposed the effort to sell the county nursing home, for example.

Bower say the nursing home as a source of pride. He often stopped by and visited with residents, especially on the major holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

When the county completed a $10 million expansion and renovation of the nursing home in 2007, Bower proudly led tours of the site.

Bower made friends with the residents, many who seldom were visited because their families are out of town. He offered encouraging words to the staff, who Bower said do the hardest jobs in the county, with the least appreciation.

“I think the workers are special,” Bower told me in an interview back in January 2006. “I understand what they do day in and day out. They make the nursing home the best asset in the county.”

George Bower, left, and Carson Bailey walk through The Villages of Orleans after a $10 million addition and renovation project was complete in 2007. Bower was proud of the nursing home when it was owned by the county.

Bower enjoyed the community, whether the annual bocce tournament at St. Rocco’s Italian Festival the Sunday before Labor Day, snowmobiling on local trails or attending the many sporting events for his grandchildren – Holley soccer, basketball, baseball or softball games.

Bower was proud of his kids. His late son, Ed, worked at Kodak and was a Murray Town Board member for more than 20 years. Randy was a dispatcher before being elected Orleans County sheriff. Mike owns the Erie Way Tree Farm in Clarendon with his wife Jill. Bower’s daughter Lisa Logsdon has run a popular dance studio in the Public Square, Lisa’s Dance Boutique, for more than 40 years.

Bower lived in the Holley area all of his life. He grew up in the Erie Canal hamlet of Brockville, only a few miles from Holley. His wife Sandy grew up nearby in Hulberton. They were married 62 years.

He resisted moving closer to the city for his job at Kodak. Bower worked 48 years for Kodak, starting as a draftsman and working his way up to head of patent researching, a job that took him to Washington, D.C. monthly for more than 25 years. He went to D.C. to the U.S. Patent Office to check patents. He would make sure other companies weren’t infringing on Kodak, and vice versa.

Bower told me in previous interviews that as the town justice he abhorred fines, preferring to assign community service. If teen-ager was in trouble, Bower scheduled appointments were the teens had to meet with him and prove they were doing their homework. But court got busier near the end of Bower’s tenure, and he didn’t have the time to work with some of the troubled teens.

“The job wasn’t as rewarding,” he said.

With the Legislature he quickly found his niche. First off he pushed to start a work crew were welfare recipients would build sidewalks and do other public works for local municipalities. Rather than sitting at home and “wasting time,” Bower said they people on the crews were learning work skills. The program drew attention to the county from throughout the state.

Bower in previous interviews also was pleased with the development of the Holley Business Park, where Holley’s low-cost village electricity was a draw for companies.

Provided photo: John Heise took Milla Steenholdt, Holley’s exchange student from Greenland, to Niagara Falls last year. Milla was at Holley for the 2019-2020 school year. Heise welcomed many of the exchange students at Holley, and took them to many of the popular sites in Western New York, as well as attending many of their athletic events and activities at Holley.

John Heise enjoyed life in Holley, and frequently posted on Facebook about how proud he was of students at Holley Central School. He shared his photos from athletic games, school musicals, concerts and other events.

His daughter, school social worker Samantha Zelent, leads the Interact Cub, which is affiliated with Rotary. Those students tackle numerous community service projects throughout the year and Heise loved to talk them up on Facebook.

Heise was one of Holley’s most enthusiastic cheerleaders, and one of its most dedicated workers.

Heise and his wife Sandy, a retired Albion teacher, were married more than 50 years. Besides Samantha, they have a son, Kevin. The family lived on North Main Street. Heise loved to read the New York Times and a novel from his porch. He often posted book reviews on Facebook, or his thoughts on a news article. He shared his feelings on the emotional roller-coaster ride as a Buffalo Bills fans in recent years.

He came to Holley after 11 years in the Rochester City School District. He was first hired at Holley Elementary School principal and then went to the high school as principal.  He ended his career as the district’s Director of Special Education, retiring in 2002.

Heise in his role as Board of Education president congratulated and handed diplomas to about 1,000 students in a decade. He was picked to give the Holley commencement address on June 28, 2014.

“No matter what your path, you have an opportunity to reinvent yourself,” Heise told the graduates. “Keep what is good, get rid of what is not, and move forward. There will always be new skills to learn. Listen to others. Choose your friends wisely. Anything you achieve will come from hard work.”

MURRAY – The community can offer input on a proposed comprehensive plan for guiding the town’s land use, and policies and actions for zoning regulations and capital investments.

There will be a 7 p.m. meeting on Monday through Zoom where the community can learn about the plan and offer feedback. Click here for a link to the meeting. The meeting ID is 861 2115 5436, with the passcode, 172412.

An Advisory Committee appointed by the Murray Town Board has been working on preparing the comprehensive plan with assistance from LaBella Associates. Click here to see a draft of the proposed 130-page plan.

The document includes descriptions of existing conditions, analysis of issues, and recommended actions to advance the town’s goals. The plan will help the town publicize its agricultural, natural, historic and scenic assets for beneficial development of compatible businesses and homes.

The plan addresses the following topics:

• Land Use
• Historic Resources
• Population and Housing
• Recreational Resources
• Economic Vitality
• Utilities
• Agriculture & Farmland
• Transportation
• Natural Resources
• Public & Community Services

A representative from LaBella Associates will summarize the findings and recommendations and facilitate public comment during the meeting on Monday. The session will be recorded for viewing later.

Following the presentation, those in attendance will be invited to comment. Written comments will be accepted through December 18. Comments can be sent to the Town Clerk via e-mail at clerk@townofmurray.org or by mail to:

Town Clerk, Town of Murray

3840 Fancher Road

Holley, NY 14470

Please call Cindy Oliver, Town Clerk, at (585) 638-6570 with any questions.