Photos courtesy of GO Art! – Bart Dentino, left, and Judd Sunshine will both be performing Saturday and Sunday at the Erie Canal Artisan Festival in Holley.

Press Release, GO Art!

HOLLEY – The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council has planned a three-day Erie Canal Artisan Festival in Holley from Friday through Sunday at the Canal Trail Park.

The schedule includes:

Friday

Vendor preview (5-9 p.m.)

Holley Concerts on the Canal featuring the Blue Circle Band (6-8 p.m.)

Saturday

Vendors and food trucks (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

Music and children’s performances (10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.)

• Judd Sunshine Children’s Performance (10-10:45 a.m.)
• Bart Dentino Children’s Performance (11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.)
• Judd Sunshine Children’s Performance (1-1:45 p.m.)
• Bart Dentino Children’s Performance (2:30-3:30 p.m.)
• Damn the Flood (4-5 p.m.)
• Paul Almeter (5:30-6:30 p.m.)

Family outdoor movie (7 to 9 p.m.)

Sunday

Vendors and food trucks (10 a.m. to  5 p.m.)

Music and children’s performances (10 a.m. to  5 p.m.)

• Bart Dentino Children’s Performance (10 to 11 a.m.)
• Judd Sunshine Children’s Performance (11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.)
• Bart Dentino Children’s Performance (1 to 2 p.m.)
• Judd Sunshine Children’s Performance (2:30 to 3:15 p.m.)
• The Strummerz (4 to 5 p.m.)

Families are invited to sing, laugh, imagine and join in when award-winning children’s musician Bart Dentino performs at the GO Art! festival on Saturday and Sunday.

Dentino will present two one-hour shows each day, combining original music, humor, storytelling, and plenty of audience participation in a warm, engaging experience for children and the grown-ups who bring them.

Dentino has spent more than three decades creating music and arts experiences that invite children to use their imaginations and discover that their ideas and voices matter. His original album I Wish I Was a Dinosaur was selected as an American Library Association Notable Children’s Recording. He has appeared as guest soloist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s Orkidstra concert, performed frequently at The Strong Museum and the Rochester Museum & Science Center, and was featured on PBS as an innovator in children’s music.

The festival performances will feature songs from I Wish I Was a Dinosaur and The Spaces Between the Leaves, along with interactive favorites designed to get the whole family singing and participating.

Judd Sunshine is a pianist and vocalist with over 30 years of experience as a professional musician and entertainer. An extensive repertoire of well-known popular music from the ’40s to the present as well as special styles such as children’s music, jazz standards, classic rock, blues, country, and bluegrass music.

Paul Almeter, left, will be performing Saturday. Damn the Flood, right, features an acoustic duo features Billy Lambert and Michael Iten.

The band “Damn the Flood” is an acoustic duo featuring longtime musicians Billy Lambert and Michael Iten. Lambert is a singer-songwriter who has released two solo albums and fronts the long-lived Rochester rock band Woody Dodge. Iten has performed in various bands such as Mayberry After Midnight, The Incredible Venus Flytrap, The Neurotic Blondes, and Phoenix, featuring the Morgan Twins.

Their duo features acoustic and electric guitars, tight harmonies, and harmonica. They will be playing from 4-5 p.m. on Saturday.

Paul Almeter who will be playing from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. He has played multiple times at Batavia Ramble Explore Art and Music Festival. He has been featured at various open mics and has performed at several GO Art! music series.

Strummerz will perform Sunday from 4 to 5 p.m. Strummerz is a musical duo based in Batavia, featuring members Rich Conroy and Don Bouchard. Established in 2001, they perform classic rock, pop, and folk music from the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s.

Press Release, Holley Central School

HOLLEY – The Holley school district will host Homecoming Weekend on Oct. 2-3, and registration is now open until Sept. 8 for the annual Alumni Soccer and Alumni Football games.

The games are open to all Holley alumni who graduated from the district on or before 2023. Participants do not need to have played the sport while attending Holley to take part.

The Alumni Soccer Game will be held on Friday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. at Sander Soccer Field at The Woodlands. To register to play in the game, complete the registration form: Holley Alumni Soccer Game Registration.

Alumni cheerleaders are also invited to participate during the soccer game. To register to cheer for the game, complete the registration form: Holley Alumni Soccer Game – Cheerleading Registration.

The Alumni Flag Football Game will take place on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 4:30 p.m. at Hawk Stadium. To register to play in the game, complete the registration form: Holley Alumni Football Game Registration.

The Alumni Soccer Game will benefit the Interact Club and the Eighth Grade Washington, D.C., Trip Scholarship Fund. The Alumni Football Game will benefit the Holley JV/Varsity Wrestling teams.

Press Release, Holley Central School

HOLLEY – The Holley Central School District is proud to announce that all dual enrollment courses offered at Holley Jr./Sr. High School will now be available to students tuition-free, eliminating any cost burden for families.

Through the district’s continued partnership with area colleges and universities, and as part of the Early College Access (ECA) program through Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES, students who have completed prerequisites and are currently registered for college courses will no longer pay tuition beginning in the 2026-27 school year.

Holley students currently take dual enrollment classes at SUNY Brockport and Genesee Community College. The new policy from the school district doesn’t include students in the 3-1-3 program at Brockport.

Dual enrollment courses allow high school students to earn both high school and college credit simultaneously, enhancing their academic readiness for higher education while helping to reduce the overall cost of a college degree.

“Investing in dual enrollment is an investment in our students’ futures,” said Brendan Keiser, Director of Teaching and Learning. “By removing the financial barrier to college-level coursework, we are empowering our students to earn college credit and take confident steps toward their postsecondary goals.”

“This initiative reflects our commitment to the goals outlined in our Strategic Action Plan and our Portrait of a Graduate,” said Karri Schiavone, Superintendent of Schools. “By making dual enrollment tuition-free, we are ensuring that more students have access to challenging academic experiences that build confidence, expand opportunities, and prepare them for success in college, careers, and life.”

The Holley Central School District remains committed to ensuring that all students receive a high-quality education characterized by rigorous, engaging, and meaningful learning experiences that challenge students, foster their growth, and inspire them to reach their full potential.

For more information, families are encouraged to contact Principal Matthew Feldman at (585) 815-5459.

Severe, prolonged cold spell strained electric system, causing big jump

Photos by Tom Rivers: Jim Stokes, executive director of the Municipal Electric Utilities Association, speaks during the Village of Holley board meeting on Tuesday. In back from left include board members Rochelle Moroz, Jessica MacClaren, Mayor Mark Bower, Brenden Bedard and John Morriss.

HOLLEY – Village residents are accustomed to getting a very good deal on their electric bills. But last winter those costs skyrocketed after a prolonged cold spell in late January and part of February.

There were about two weeks total of very cold weather, and the frigid temperatures affected the Northeast, straining the electric system.

The power stayed on, but the price was up exponentially, even for municipal electric systems like Holley, said Jim Stokes, executive director of the Municipal Electric Utilities Association.

He addressed the Holley Village Board and residents during Tuesday’s Village Board meeting. Stokes said the state has taken some big power plants off line in recent years. That has hurt the in-state power generation capacity.

Jim Stokes said the state’s electric-generating capacity remains vulnerable to peak demand times where the power would need to be purchased from other states or Canada.

During times of peak demand, such as a prolonged freeze, the demand soars, and New York State looks to get power from Canada and neighboring states. Those areas also saw increased demand during last winter’s drawn-out severe cold, Stokes said.

Holley typically gets its electricity at a very lower price through a Niagara hydropower allocation. The Municipal Electric Utilities Association hedges that price and secures a low price for the 51 municipal systems. Holley has 1,008 customers on a 2,400-voltage system.

But the if the power demand exceeds the hedged amount of power, the municipal systems have to get more power from the open market at a time of high demand and very high prices.

“The market price went through the roof,” he said.

A kilowatt hour is typically about 29 to 30 cents in New York State. But in a municipal-owned system like Holley the cost is about 3 to 3.5 cents. During last winter’s severe cold, the price on the open market shot to 60 cents to a $1, causing shockingly high electric bills, even in Holley.

Stokes said the state hasn’t added significant electric capacity and is vulnerable again this coming winter if there is a prolonged cold spell.

He suggests insulating houses and taking other actions to reduce use during a peak demand time.

The best way to avoid the price spike is for an easier winter, without a prolonged deep freeze.

“Milder temps is our best hope,” he said.

He also was asked by Mayor Mark Bower if larger industrial users can cause price spikes. Stokes said the larger users help keep the base rates down because they pay a high percentage of those costs. But if the demand soars and the municipal systems needs power from the open market, a larger user can be a detriment.

“Large uses are not necessarily bad users,” he said. “The systems without industrial users struggle because it’s all on the backs of the residents.”

Jim Stokes presented Holley with two signs and plaques that proclaim Holley’s is a carbon-free electric system. The village gets a hydropower allocation from the Niagara Power Project. Pictured with Stokes include Matt Campbell (left), the village’s electric & water superintendent; and Mayor Mark Bower. The signs will likely be displayed with the Holley welcome signs at each end of Route 31 in the village.

Photos courtesy of Village of Holley

HOLLEY – The Village of Holley unveiled a new sign today for the Holley Community Garden that is located off State Street.

Mayor Mark Bower is shown removing a covering from the new sign. The village used a grant from The Community Heart and Soul Foundation to pay for the sign.

The Holley Community Garden started in 2017 through the County Health Department, Clarendon Lions Club, Myron Holley Garden Club, and Village of Holley employees and officials. Susan Persia was at the sign unveiling today. She was instrumental in starting the community garden nearly a decade ago.

Beer tent is open and band will play tonight

Photo by Tom Rivers: Lee Bement of Pitcher, NY competes with “New Yorker” in the modified class at the Murray Tractor Pull on July 19, 2025. His tractor is turbine powered and hits 13,000 RPMs.

MURRAY – Organizers of the Murray Tractor Pull have announced the event will be cancelled today due to the severe thunderstorms.

The beer tent will be open and the band will play starting at 6:30 p.m. until 11p.m.

The tractor pull is held on Groth Road in Murray and typically draws 1,000 to 1,500 fans. Last year’s event raised $13,000 for the Ronald McDonald House.

The Christ family created the pulling track and facility about 30 years ago on Groth Road.

Press Release, NYS Department of Transportation

MURRAY – The New York State Department of Transportation is advising motorists that the bridge that carries Transit Road over the Erie Canal in the Town of Murray, Orleans County, has been temporarily closed to traffic to facilitate bridge work.

Motorists should use the Densmore Road bridge to the west. Signboards have been positioned to alert motorists ahead of the closure and NYSDOT will keep the public apprised regarding the reopening of the bridge.

Motorists should anticipate travel delays during this time and are advised to seek alternate routes if necessary. Construction activities are weather dependent and subject to change based on conditions.

Motorists are urged to slow down and drive responsibly in work zones. Fines are doubled for speeding in a work zone. Convictions of two or more speeding violations in a work zone could result in the suspension of an individual’s driver license.

Provided photos

HOLLEY – Jim DeFilipps was commended and presented with a plaque from Mayor Mark Bower during Defilipps’ final meeting as a village trustee on June 29. He was on the board for over a decade.

DeFilipps, a former Holley police officer, chose not to seek re-election last month. Brenden Bedard has taken his position as a trustee. DeFilipps currently works as chief deputy of the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office. He was deputy of the year in 2015 in New York State.

The photo at left shows DeFilipps with his children, Jake and Gianna. At right, Mayor Mark Bower presents DeFilipps with a plaque for his service.

The board also on June 29 accepted the resignation of Katie Niles as village treasurer and Sarah Lyons as the deputy clerk-treasurer. The board appointed Lyons to be the village treasurer at an hourly pay of $25.46 and Vesna McGlen to be deputy treasurer at hourly rate of $20 per hour.

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – The Joey Stempien Big Band, a group of young adults performing as a professional jazz orchestra, gave a concert on Friday evening in Holley by the Erie Canal.

The band includes 17 musicians, many who were students at the Eastman School of Music.

Holley has new banners to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary. The banners were designed by Lake Country Media and funded by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

The Joey Stempien Big Band led off the Holley Canal Concert Series. The rest of the schedule, with concerts beginning at 6 p.m., includes:

• July 10: Feedback
• July 17: Who Dats
• July 24: Triple Play
• July 31: Road Less Travelled
• Aug. 7: Stanton Band
• Aug. 14: Vinyl Recovery
• Aug. 21: Beggers Will Ride
• Aug. 28: Blue Circle Band

The Joey Stempien Big Band played next to the Erie Canal by the gazebo.

Orleans County could see $400K increase in administering SNAP in 2027

Photos by Tom Rivers: U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer speaks at the Eastern Orleans Community Center on Thursday, when he highlighted the impact on cost shifts in the SNAP program. The federal government will shift administration to some states, such as New York and its 62 counties, while other “red states” don’t face the same costly scenario, Schumer said. Pictured from left include Whitley Hasty, benefits navigation manager for Foodlink; Charles Schumer, the U.S. Senate minority leader; Lynne Johnson, Orleans County Legislature chairwoman; and Renee Hungerford, executive director of Community Action of Orleans & Genesee.

HOLLEY – U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is deeply concerned about changes in the SNAP program proposed by the Trump Administration, which he said will result in less food for people in need and higher administration costs for “blue states” such as New York, driving up costs for the state and the 62 counties.

Schumer was in Holley on Thursday at the Eastern Orleans Community Center, to highlight the change that is scheduled to take effect in September. Orleans County officials say the county will face an additional $100,000 in administration costs for the program for the final quarter of 2026 and about $400,000 more in 2027. (Schumer’s office puts the fiscal hit to the county at about $250,000.)

Schumer said he will push to stop the cost shift and potential reductions in SNAP as part of the new Farm Bill. He also said if there is a new Democrat-controlled House of Representatives and U.S. Senate through the mid-term elections, the new Congress would oppose the cost shifts.

“We all know that families are struggling right now,” Schumer said the Holley center.

This chart, released by U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, details SNAP benefits costs and recipients, and cost shifts to counties in the Rochester region.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides food assistance to 135,000 families, kids, and seniors across the Rochester-Finger Lakes region, Schumer said. SNAP is the largest anti-hunger program in the United States and a lifeline for nearly 3 million people in New York State, he said.

Last year, President Trump and Congressional Republicans approved a nearly $200 billion cut to SNAP, Schumer said.

The action also shifted administration costs to some states and counties – about $5.6 million in new annual costs on county budgets in the Rochester-Finger Lakes region, forcing counties to choose between raising local taxes or cutting food assistance for New Yorkers in need, Schumer said.

“These cuts are going to be devastating for Orleans County and all of Upstate New York,” Schumer said. “We’ve always fed the hungry. It’s part of our Judeo-Christian view. Jesus said to feed the hungry.”

Schumer urged the local community to ask Republican Congresswoman Claudia Tenney to back a Farm Bill that doesn’t push SNAP costs on the states and counties – or least gives them more time to prepare for the added expense.

“I’m here today to announce that I will not support a Farm Bill that does not at least provide more time for states and counties to prepare to shoulder the cost of SNAP,” Schumer said. “A Republican Farm Bill that abandons hungry families is not a serious proposal. It’s a non-starter for me”

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer greets Rose Sargent, a part-time employee at the Eastern Orleans Community Center who was holding the door open to the center. In back from left are Holley Mayor Mark Bower, and Ryan Lasal, director of Community & Family Program Innovation / Chief Innovation Officer for Community Action.

The Holley center run by Community Action serves over 6,000 prepared meals each year, said Renee Hungerford, executive director of Community Action of Orleans & Genesee.

“As the cost of basic goods continues to rise, the need for food assistance in our community only grows,” she said.

She noted that SNAP also is an important program for farmers and other small businesses in the community.

“Programs like SNAP, shaped through the Farm Bill, don’t just help families put food on the table, they also support our local farmers, grocery stores, and rural economy,” Hungerford said. “And when federal proposals shift more of those program costs onto states, it puts real pressure on counties like Orleans, where local resources are already stretched, increasing the strain on food pantries, community programs, and the families who rely on them every day.”

Lynne Johnson, the County Legislature chairwoman, said Orleans County’s budget is strained and she doesn’t want to push the added costs onto higher property taxes.

“Our budget is already under tremendous pressure from unfunded mandates from Albany,” she said.

Johnson would like a two-year extension from the higher administration fees, and would like to see New York State treated like other states that were given a two-year delay.

“New York should be treated like other states,” she said.

Lynne Johnson, Orleans County Legislature chairwoman, said the county budget is “already under tremendous pressure” due to unfunded mandates from the state government and other rising costs.