By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 July 2024 at 9:16 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – Andrew Grillo hits a tennis ball to a group of kids at a tennis camp at Holley on Monday. There were about 15 participants on the first day of a tennis camp.
The program is funded with a grant from the U.S. Tennis Association. The camp is usually held in Albion at the school tennis courts, but with those courts under construction Holley is hosting the camp.
The camp is run by the Village of Albion of Albion Recreation Department.
There are two different weeks of camps. This week it runs Monday through Friday except on July Fourth. Next week the camp is from July 8-12, except for July 9.
The camp runs from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. There is no charge to participants.
Basic tennis skills will be taught to the beginners with tennis drills and low-level competitive match situations. Scoring, rules and regulations will be taught along with tennis strategies, said John Grillo, the Albion recreation director ad retired tennis coach at Holley.
There is no pre-registration and participants can still join. Email jgrillo3@hotmail.com if there are any questions.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 June 2024 at 6:48 pm
Orleans expected to go from 3 full-time priests to 2 in near future
Photos by Tom Rivers: Father Mark Noonan, priest for a family of six Catholic churches in Orleans and eastern Niagara counties, met with about 35 parishioners on Wednesday evening for about two hours at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Holley. Father Noonan went over recent data, showing a declining number of priests and church attendees in the 8-county Diocese of Buffalo.
HOLLEY – The numbers at local Catholic churches mirror the challenge throughout the 8-county Diocese of Buffalo: a shrinking number of priests, and smaller congregations and financial resources.
Father Mark Noonan, a priest serving churches in Orleans and eastern Niagara counties, met with about 35 people on Wednesday evening at St. Mary’s in Holley, the first of seven meetings he is holding through Sunday with parishioners at Catholic churches in Holley, Kendall, Albion, Medina, Middleport and Barker.
Noonan is giving the local Catholics a chance to weigh in on a proposal announced last week from the Diocese of Buffalo that would close 34 percent of the churches in the Diocese. The churches in Orleans County are part of a family of churches in Orleans and eastern Niagara. The recommendation from the Diocese is to keep Catholic churches in Medina, Albion and Holley.
“This makes sure there is a Catholic presence within a reasonable geographic distance,” Father Noonan said during a two-hour meeting on Wednesday evening. “I don’t want to lose anything. But what is best for this family of parishes long-term?”
The proposal from the Diocese for ONE Catholic (Orleans and Niagara East) would close St. Mark’s in Kendall and St. Stephen’s in Middleport. St. Joseph’s in Lyndonville was badly damaged in a fire last year and then torn down. The site and the rectory will be sold, and so will the land in Hulberton for the St. Rocco’s Italian Festival.
The Diocese also recommends to move Barker to a different family of churches in Niagara County. That will better align them with churches that are closer to Barker, Noonan said.
Father Mark Noonan said he wants the local Catholic churches to re-engage with the community, especially with its outreach to younger families.
The restructured family of churches will go from seven sites when the family was created to start 2023 to three churches with three priests serving congregations in Medina, Albion and Holley.
Father Noonan said he thinks of the churches locally as “one big family.” He knows some of the Catholics are hurting because their long-term church home has been recommended to close. That includes the church where he was raised: St. Aloysius Gonzaga in Cheektowaga.
“Some of our members in the ONE Catholic community are hurting,” Father Noonan said.
When the Diocese has closed churches before in a downsizing or “right sizing,” Father Noonan said there was a tendency to feel like there had been winners and losers though the process.
“We can’t have that,” he said. “When something is lost, that pertains to all of us. We something is gained, that pertains to all of us.”
Jim Simon of Lyndonville is president of the pastoral council for the family of churches. He said the plan to close about a third of the churches in the Diocese is painful. He is hopeful this will be the last downsizing needed by the Diocese.
“We don’t want to do this again in five years,” he said.
Jim Simon of Lyndonville is president of the pastoral council for a family of churches in Orleans and eastern Niagara counties. He is hopeful the downsizing plan presented by the Diocese will be the last time the organization has to consider closing churches and selling off property. He urged the attendees on Wednesday “to keep the faith and move forward.”
Father Noonan looked at historical data from the ONE Catholic family of churches in Orleans and Niagara East.
The churches, which used to include a site in Gasport and smaller churches in Albion and Medina, had 14 priests in 1985. There were eight or nine assigned to the area in 2005. Now there are three priests – Father Mark Noonan, Father Paul Ladda and Father Jan Trela.
In the Diocese there were 511 active priests assigned to parishes in the 8 counties. Now there are about 115 assigned to churches. That is projected to further drop to 70 in 2030, and then 38 in 2040.
The weekly attendance at the ONE Catholic churches is down collectively from about 1,600 in 2012 to 1,000 in 2023. In the past year, however, it is up about 100, with Holy Trinity in Medina seeing 10 percent growth a Spanish-speaking Mass at Holy Family in Albion drawing about 50 on Sunday afternoons.
Among the ONE Catholic churches individually, the average weekly Mass attendance so far this year include 165 at St. Mary’s in Holley, 27 at St. Mark’s in Kendall, 270 at Holy Family in Albion (plus another 50 for a Spanish-speaking Mass), 273 at Holy Trinity in Medina, 80 at St. Stephen’s in Middleport, and 121 at Our Lady of the Lake in Barker.
Among ONE Catholic churches, annual baptisms in the past decade are down from 76 to 21, while weddings dropped from 21 to 9, and confirmations also decreased from 119 to 39. There were about 600 children in religious education in 2012. Now it’s about 130, Father Noonan said.
The local churches long-term viability will need more younger families, Father Noonan said. He said the churches need to reach out to those who have stopped going to church, and invite people who haven’t been.
“I want to find new ways to grow,” Father Noonan said. “Our goal is to grow, to grow in our spiritual lives and to reach out to more people.”
He would like to see more Bible studies and small group discipleship programs in ONE Catholic .
At the Holley meeting, two of the parishioners asked that the St. Rocco’s festival grounds not be sold. The site is used for a popular Italian festival the day before Labor Day in a tradition going back nearly 50 years.
Father Noonan said the festival could be at a village park or at the St. Mary’s church property. He said the Lawn Fete at Holy Family also is a popular church festival at the Albion parish property.
“Using St. Rocco’s one day a year doesn’t make sense to me,” Father Noonan said.
The church buildings and properties that are sold will go towards a settlement for victims of sexual abuse by priests. That settlement is in negotiation. About 900 people have claimed they were abused by priests.
One of the parishioners at the Holley meeting said the abuse scandal has driven many from the church.
St. Mary’s in Holley would be the only Catholic church to remain open in eastern Orleans, according to a proposal from the Diocese of Buffalo. St. Mark’s in Kendall is recommended to close.
Father Noonan also held meetings on Thursday at St. Stephen’s in Middleport and Holy Family in Albion, and today at St. Mary’s in Medina.
There are meetings scheduled for Saturday at 9 a.m. at Our Lady of the Lake in Barker, and Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at St. Mark’s in Kendall, and then a final Spanish language meeting on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Holy Family in Albion.
Any counter proposals from the Diocese recommendations must be submitted by July 15. If a family of churches recommends keeping one church open that is proposed to close, the family has to pick a different church to close, Father Noonan said.
“There has to be a one-for-one,” he said.
From the counter-proposals from the families of churches the Diocese is expected to make a final decision in September on which churches will be closed.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 June 2024 at 10:31 am
HOLLEY – The Board of Education on Monday voted to fill two vacancies on the board.
Jessica Sniatecki and Stephanie Merkley will start July 1 and serve a term until May 20, the day of next year’s election. At that time, their seats and the remainder of their terms will be up for election.
Sniatecki and Merkley both turned in letters of interest when two seats were vacated. Sal DeLuca and Shannon Brett both were elected in May but had to decline the positions.
Photos by Tom Rivers: The Holley Board of Education and administrative team honored these retiring staff and teachers during the BOE meeting on Monday evening, from left: Penny Cole, cheerleading coach and secretary in the junior-senior high school guidance department; Kellie Burke, English teacher and musical co-director; Sandy Smith, special education teacher; Dan Goodwin, earth science teacher and cross country and wrestling coach; Amie Callen, elementary teacher; and Suzanne Thornton, special education teacher in elementary school.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 June 2024 at 11:19 am
HOLLEY – The school district on Monday honored six retiring teachers and staff with 170 years of collective experience working with students.
The Board of Education also honored Brian Bartalo, the district superintendent the past six years, who is retiring on June 30.
Matt Feldman, the junior-senior high school principal, hugs Penny Cole, one of six retiring Holley teachers and staff members recognized during the Holley Board of Education meeting on Monday.
Feldman called Cole “the mom of the high school.” Cole worked 29 years for Holley as a secretary in the guidance department. She also was a highly respected cheerleading coach for Holley.
Feldman said Cole’s retirement “has been an insurmountable loss” for Holley. Students admire her so much they dedicated the yearbook to her.
“She cares for our students,” Feldman said. “She cares for our staff. She cares for our community.”
Suzanne Thornton, left, is all smiles when she is recognized during the Holley Board of Education meeting on Monday by Karri Schiavone, the elementary school principal. Schiavone praised Thornton for working at all grade levels in the elementary school, and for maintaining close ties with many of her students and their families for years after they leave her classroom.
Thornton retired at the end of last school year but has continued as a substitute teacher for Holley. She has an annual pool party at her home, where she invites students and their families.
Amie Callan, another retiring elementary teacher, was praised by Schiavone for inviting grandparents into the district for a special day to be with their grandchildren. Callan served the district for 35 years, and has a great sense of humor, Schiavone said.
Kellie Burke listens to Matt Feldman, the junior-senior high principal, share about her impact on students in the school during her 34-year career teacher and also as a leader of the drama program. Brian Bartalo, the district superintendent, is at left.
Sandy Smith, a retiring special ed teacher, also was praised for her commitment to students, including as a chaperone on a trip to DC and keeping an old popcorn machine working. Smith said she will gladly hand off that popcorn machine for more years of use.
Retiring superintendent: ‘My life and career wouldn’t have been the same without Holley’
Anne Winkley, president of the Board of Education, presents a gift of appreciation to Brian Bartalo, who is retiring June 30 after six years as Holley’s district superintendent.
The district also commended Brian Bartalo for his leadership the past six years. Bartalo joined Holley after working as a principal at Hilton.
He said he was happy to return to a smaller school district. Holley’s entire student enrollment of about 1,000 is less than the 1,500 at the high school in Hilton.
Bartalo acknowledged he isn’t a big risk-taker. He said he could have finished his career in Hilton but took a chance on Holley.
“It was the best risk I’ve ever taken,” he said. “My life and career wouldn’t have been the same without Holley.”
Bartalo guided Holley through the Covid pandemic. Holley in 2019 also was identified as a “target” school district in need of improvement. The district made solid gains academically and was taken off the list of target districts by the State Education Department.
Holley was put on the list in January 2019 due to low scores for seventh- and eighth-graders. Bartalo praised students, parents, teachers, administrators and board of education members for committing to improvement.
Sal DeLuca, the board vice president, said Bartalo has been “a breath of fresh air” as the district leader.
“He brough enthusiasm, a desire to succeed and a desire for those around him to succeed,” DeLuca said during Monday’s board meeting.
Bartalo is known is the district as “Bart.” He was very visible at school events and quickly became part of the “Holley family,” DeLuca said.
Bartalo also commended Connie Nenni, the district clerk, for being “extraordinarily helpful” as his “right arm” in the district office.
Sharon Zacher, the district’s assistant superintendent for business, also has been a great asset to Holley and Bartalo, the retiring superintendent said. Zacher not only oversees the district’s finances, but she helps manage buildings and grounds, food service and transportation.
“She is the finest business official I’ve ever worked with,” Bartalo said.
Karri Schiavone, the elementary school principal, will succeed Bartalo on July 1. Bartalo said he is confident Schiavone and the administrative team will lead Holley to even more success.
Bartalo was picked by the senior class to give the commencement address on June 29.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 June 2024 at 9:56 am
HOLLEY – Voters in the Village of Holley go to the polls today to elect a mayor and two trustees on the Village Board.
Mark Bower is unopposed for mayor. He is running under the “Historic Holley Party.” The trustee candidates are both incumbents. Jessica MacClaren is running under the “Four Holley Party” and John Morriss is under the “Family Party.”
Voting is from noon to 9 p.m. in the village office foyer.
Holley’s terms of office used to be for two years but this election they will be for four years. The board voted to increase the terms on Jan. 10, 2023. This is the first election it takes effect.
Bower was elected mayor in June 2022. He is a retired school administrator. MacClaren is a fourth-grade teacher in Brockport. Morriss is a retired teacher and former Murray town supervisor.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 June 2024 at 10:12 pm
Leigha Walker, ‘our angel,’ praised for doing compressions on man who had heart attack
Photos by Tom Rivers: Holley school district leaders present “Soaring to New Heights” awards to Leigha Walker, a Holley senior, and teacher Renee Wolf. From left include district superintendent Brian Bartalo and Board of Education President Anne Winkley. Walker performed compressions on a man who went into cardiac arrest and crashed into a pole outside the Brockport Subway where she works. Walker received training in CPR at Holley in a class taught by Wolf.
HOLLEY – The school district this evening presented a “Soaring to New Heights” award to Leigha Walker, a Holley senior who rendered aid to a man who had a heart attack.
The district also recognized Renee Wolf, teacher of the class where students learn CPR, the Heimlich maneuver and first aid.
The wife and two sisters of Jack Brennan also attended the Board of Education meeting in Holley to show their appreciation for Leigha and her teacher. Brennan, 67, of Brockport is the man who had a heart attack and became unconscious on June 9. He crashed into a pole outside the Brockport Subway where Leigha was working.
She heard the crash and immediately called 911 at about 10 a.m. Leigha grabbed a wooden rod so a bystander could break the passenger window of Brennan’s pickup truck and then unlock the vehicle.
Leigha and co-worker got Brennan out of the truck and onto the ground. Leigha checked his vital signs. When the Brockport Fire District ambulance pulled up, a medic urged someone to start CPR.
Leigha did more than 30 compressions to keep Brennan’s blood moving. Then the Brockport ambulance personnel used an AED to get Brennan’s heart restarted. He was then transported by ambulance to a hospital.
It was an intense 12 minutes or so. Then Leigha went back to work for four more hours.
“Leigha is our angel,” said Kathy Conner, one of Brennan’s sisters.
Leigha Walker is joined by the family of Jack Brennan, a man she provided aid to on June 9. From left include Brennan’s wife Caroline Rodriguez, and Brennan’s sisters Maureen Close and Kathy Conner. They attended an award presentation for Walker at the Board of Education meeting this evening.
Brennan is now in stable condition and will have open-heart bypass surgery tomorrow.
His wife, Caroline Rodriguez, said Brennan is very fit. He works out, runs regularly, and stays busy in retirement, sealing driveways and painting. For the past 25 years he has been a softball umpire in Section 5, and has done games where Leigha was the catcher for Holley, with Brennan only a few inches behind her, calling balls and strikes. He also is a volleyball referee.
Brennan has run many marathons. He had already knocked out a 1 ½-mile run the morning of June 9 before he was stricken with a heart attack.
Rodriguez said Leigha’s actions and those of other bystanders saved precious minutes for the medics who arrived later.
“They got him out of the truck, set up and she started CPR,” Rodriguez said. “Those were critical moments when every second counts.”
Leigha has been featured in the media in the past week, including the Orleans Hub, Rochester television stations and has been widely praised on social media.
She prefers to keep a low-profile, said Brian Bartalo, the district superintendent.
“Leigha is a very humble and kind person,” Bartalo said this evening, in presenting her with an award from the district. “I know she doesn’t want this type of attention.”
Provided photo: Leigha Walker is the catcher for Holley’s varsity softball game. In this photo Jack Brennan is the umpire.
The district also presented an award to Renee Wolf, teacher of the Sports, Safety and Fitness class where students learn CPR and other first aid.
Leigha was one of 15 Holley students to take the class last year and become certified in CPR.
Wolf learned CPR when she was 15. But she has never needed to use it. Wolf is also Leigha’s soccer coach on a team that won Sectionals and advanced to the state tournament.
“Leigha is a great young woman,” Wolf said. “I’m super proud of her. She doesn’t want the attention. She just thinks it’s something anybody would do.”
Bartalo said the elective class led by Wolf will stay in Holley, “so more kids can help their community.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 June 2024 at 7:57 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – Holley Elementary School celebrated Flag Day in a big way on Friday with its patriotic parade from the school down North Main Street, to Route 31 and the Public Square before gathering for a ceremony in front of the Murray-Holley Historical Society.
About 500 students were joined by teachers and parents in the parade. This was the 67th annual Flag Day celebration. The parade and ceremony started in 1957,. The school presents citizenship awards for each grade level.
Brian Bartalo (left), the district superintendent, rides with Don Penna, a maintenance supervisor. They are playing music from the golf cart, including “This Land is Your Land” and “Born in the U.S.A.”
Bartalo, who is retiring June 30 after six years as Holley superintendent, said the Flag Day ceremony is a big highlight in the school year.
“I have never seen anything like it until I came here,” Bartalo said about Holley’s Flag Day celebration. “Patriotism and love of country is evident here.”
These elementary students walk along Route 31 through the Public Square.
Fifth-grader Olivia Rebis wore red, white and blue while serving as one of the student emcees during the ceremony. Grayson Kelley, another fifth-grader, also was an emcee. They are joined up front by principal Karri Schiavone, left, Brendan Keiser, the district’s director of teaching and learning, and Sal DeLuca, vice president of the Board of Education.
The elementary band and chorus performed several patriotic songs.
Principal Karri Schiavone presented the Catherine B. Press citizenship awards went to fifth-graders Mya Gerringer and Chase Lasher. These students demonstrate honesty, compassion, respect, responsibility and courage. Schiavone will start as Holley’s district superintendent on July 1.
Good Citizens from last year’s Flag Day ceremony were able to walk near the front of the parade, wearing their “Good Citizen” shirts.
Opening celebration, dedication Mass set for July 11
Press Release, Orleans Niagara East Catholic Community
HOLLEY – The Orleans Niagara East Catholic Community (ONE Catholic) has announced that the opening and dedication of the Saint Gianna Molla Pregnancy Outreach Center will take place at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Holley on July 11 at 4 p.m.
“The St. Gianna Molla Pregnancy Outreach Center in Holley will be the 8th center in the Diocese of Buffalo,” said Father Mark Noonan, Pastor of ONE Catholic. “We are grateful to be able to serve families by providing material, emotional and spiritual support to mothers, fathers and families in need during and after pregnancy.”
The July 11 opening celebration will begin with a dedication Mass at 4 p.m. in St. Mary’s Church, followed by the blessing of the new center in the St. Mary’s Parish Ministry Center next to the church. A reception will follow, and all are welcome.
The namesake of the outreach center, Saint Gianna, was born in 1922 in Milan, Italy. As a young woman she became a pediatrician and wife. She and her husband, Pietro, had three children, and yet Gianna was able to balance the demands of motherhood, wife and doctor.
In 1961 she became pregnant with their 4th child, but learned early in the pregnancy that she had cancer. Gianna, herself a doctor, refused to take any steps that would place her child in danger. Accepting the risks that carrying her child to term meant for her, she insisted in the days prior to giving birth, “If you must decide between me and the child, do not hesitate: choose the child – I insist on it – save him.”
On April 21, 1962, Sr. Gianna gave birth to her daughter, Gianna Emanuela, and despite all efforts to treat St. Gianna, she passed away a week after giving birth. She was canonized a Saint by Pope St. John Paul II on May 16, 2004.
The daughter for whom she gave her life, Gianna Emanuela Molla, will be attending the dedication Mass and opening on July 11 in Holley.
“We are so incredibly blessed to have St. Gianna’s daughter be a living witness to the heroic virtue of her mother at our dedication and opening,” said Kathy Schumacher who, with her husband Bob, are directors of the center. “We hope to provide a caring and compassionate atmosphere to assist families from pregnancy through the first years of life.”
Once the Holley center is established, ONE Catholic plans to open a satellite office to meet with families at Holy Trinity Parish in Medina.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 June 2024 at 4:26 pm
Leigha Walker to be recognized by Brockport Fire District for quick response
Photo by Tom Rivers: Leigha Walker is shown today outside the Holley Junior-Senior High School, where she is an honors student and three-sport varsity athlete.
HOLLEY – Leigha Walker, 18, is used to staying calm and being decisive in stressful situations.
Leigha is a three-sport athlete at Holley, a team captain. She also rides horses. She can decide in a millisecond whether to pass the ball or fire off a shot, or whether to guide a sprinting horse to the left or right an obstacle.
Provided photo: Leigha Walker juggles a busy school schedule with shifts at the Brockport Subway. She has worked there since February. On Sunday she did CPR on a man who was unconscious after crashing into a support beam in front of the Subway.
On Sunday morning, while working at the Brockport Subway, she faced a life-or-death situation. She had just put bread in the oven at the Subway at 10 a.m., when a man crashed his blue pickup truck into a support beam for an overhang outside the Subway.
Leigha immediately called 911. Then she ran outside the store to check on the man. Two customers and a co-worker joined her. Another driver got out of his car.
The driver, an older man, was unconscious at the wheel. But the truck was locked.
Leigha ran back in the store to get a wooden rod used to prop open the back door when employees take out the garbage. That rod was used to smash in the passenger side window. Another man reached in and unlocked the vehicle cutting his arm from the jagged glass.
Another Subway employee grabbed the driver and pulled him out of the truck. Leigha had his feet. They set him down carefully. Leigha rolled up a blanket as pillow underneath his head.
He gasped for air. She checked his vitals. He had a slight pulse.
Firefighters soon arrived from the Brockport Fire District. While they were getting out an AED, a firefighter urged someone to do CPR.
Leigha started doing compressions. She is certified in CPR. She did at least 30 compressions.
Then the medic from the fire district shocked the man with the AED. Monroe Ambulance arrived and transported him to a hospital.
The whole response took about 12 minutes, from the 911 call to the man being taking away by ambulance. Leigha put her headset back on and was greeted with irate customers who were in the drive-through, angry about the wait. They didn’t realize what was going on.
Leigha took their orders, pulled the bread out of the oven and worked four more hours.
Later, she received a message from the driver’s brother-in-law, thanking her for his quick action. He told her the man is alive, recovering in an ICU.
Leigha received another message from the man’s granddaughter, thanking her for making a difference for her grandfather.
Leigha is still processing what happened. It was all so fast.
“I just jumped into action,” she said today during an interview at the school. “It helps to know he is doing OK.”
She is grateful she received training in CPR at Holley. It was part of the Sports, Safety and Fitness class taught by Renee Wolf, who is also Leigha’s soccer coach.
Leigha was one of 15 Holley students to take the class last year. She is certified in CPR. She also learned the Heimlich maneuver and other first aid.
Jose Medina, chief of the Brockport Fire District, said Leigha improved the outcome for the driver in the accident. She and the other people got him out of the truck, saving firefighters time in the response. And the CPR also was likely critical, Medina said.
“The measures that she and other people took made a difference in him being alive,” Medina said.
The chief said if there are bystanders at a scene they are typically gawking, and not offering any assistance.
The Brockport Fire District wants to recognize Leigha for her “outstanding acts.”
Medina said he was able to do life-saving CPR on a person a couple years ago. He was trained to do it and felt like it was his responsibility as a firefighter.
He was amazed on Sunday to see a high school student working at Subway step forward and render aid.
Leigha is planning to attend Morrisville State College to play soccer and study equine management. The response on Sunday makes her want to take more EMT classes so she can better respond if there is ever an incident at a horse show or in the horse barn.
Dan Courtney, the Holley assistant principal, said the district feels very proud of Leigha and her response. Holley has been offering the CPR training through the Sports, Safety and Fitness class for about a decade.
“With CPR you never know if you’ll need it,” Courtney said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 June 2024 at 3:27 pm
HOLLEY – The school district is looking to fill two vacancies on the Board of Education after two recently elected members notified the district they won’t be taking the volunteer positions when the terms start on July 1.
Sal DeLuca Jr., the board’s vice president, was elected to a three-year term on May 21. But he is not going to take the new term.
Shannon Brett was elected to a two-year term but was informed after the election that she would have to give up a security position in the district if she takes go on the Board of Education. Brett, a retired Sheriff’s deputy and investigator, wants to stay in the security position in Holley because she said she has built many strong relationships with students, teachers and administrators. She doesn’t want to commute a half hour to another district.
The BOE will fill the two vacancies by appointment. Candidates will be considered and possibly interviewed, according to a notice from the district.
For more information about the duties of being on the BOE, click here. For further questions contact District Clerk Connie Nenni at 585-638-6316 X: 2003 or cnenni@holleycsd.org.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 June 2024 at 1:13 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
MURRAY – A train from Genesee Valley Transportation hit a flatbed tow truck at about noon today. The truck from A & M Transmissions and Complete Automotive Center had just left a parking area north of the railroad tracks when the truck stalled on the tracks as a train was rounding the bend to the east.
The train hit the front side of the truck which then was pushed into a railroad crossing sign, knocking it down.
A state trooper on the scene said the driver of the truck initially was “shaken up” but is OK. No one else was injured and no violations will be issued, the trooper said.
The train is expected to be stuck on the tracks, blocking Fancher Road (Route 387) for extended period of time while GVT waits for a mechanic to fix an air leak in the engine.
HOLLEY – The Board of Education has selected Karri Schiavone as the next superintendent of the Holley school district. She will succeed Brian Bartalo who is retiring on June 30.
Schiavone has worked for Holley for 26 years, including the past 12 years as the principal of Holley Elementary School. Prior to that she served as the director of instruction and special programs in Holley. Her educational career also includes work in Medina, Brockport and Buffalo.
“Karri brings an unmatched wealth of knowledge, experience and dedication to Holley that shined through our search. Her passion for education coupled with her love for the Holley community will bring growth and success to our school district. We look forward to collaborating with her to support the needs of the district,” said Holley Board President Anne Winkley. “We are thankful for the outstanding leadership Superintendent Bartalo has given to our district these past six years and wish him a happy, healthy retirement.”
The Board will formally appoint Schiavone at a special board meeting on Thursday, June 6. Schiavone will assume her new role July 1.
“I am humbled and honored to have been selected as the next superintendent of the Holley Central School District, a place I call home,” Schiavone said. “I look forward to working with the Board of Education, staff, students and community as we continue our journey toward excellence. Together, we will further build on the district’s successes and ensure that every student has the opportunity to achieve their highest potential.”
Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES District Superintendent Jo Anne L. Antonacci assisted the Holley Board of Education as search consultant throughout the process.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 June 2024 at 8:37 am
Terms for office increased from 2 to 4 years
Mark Bower
HOLLEY – Three names will be on the ballot for the June 18 village election and all three are current members of the Village Board.
Mark Bower is unopposed for mayor. He is running under the “Historic Holley Party.” Two incumbent trustees also are unopposed. Jessica MacClaren is running under the “Four Holley Party” and John Morriss is under the “Family Party.”
Voting will be from noon to 9 p.m. in the village office foyer. Holley’s terms of office used to be for two years but this election they will be for four years. The board voted to increase the terms on Jan. 10, 2023. This is the first election it takes effect.
Bower was elected mayor in June 2022. A retired school administrator, he wants to see projects to completion, including with street repairs. White Street is the first on the list for upgrades.
“There are a lot of unfinished things I want to bring to closure,” Bower said.
In the past two years some new businesses have opened in Holley. Bower said other projects are close, including a new Dollar General in the former Jubilee and Save-A-Lot grocery store building.
“We’re just waiting on that,” he said. “I’m trying to be a champion and an advocate for the businesses in Holley.”
Bower said the board members have a good working relationship, and respectfully disagree at times.
“We have a very good board,” he said. “It is a pleasure working with them. We don’t agree on everything.”
MacClaren is a fourth-grade teacher in Brockport. Morriss is a retired teacher and former Murray town supervisor.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 June 2024 at 1:22 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – Shannon Brett, right, gets ready to sound the horn to start the Jim Ferris Memorial 5K on Saturday in Holley. It was the first event of the day for Holley’s June Fest celebration.
Brett and the Holley Rotary Club brought the race back after an absence in recent years. The race started on North Main Street Road, just north of the elementary school.
There were 91 participants in 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.
Lucas Lyons, 22, of Rochester was the first overall finisher in 20:57, just ahead of Jose Quiros of Medina.
Emma Brady was the first female to finish the race. The 17-year-old from Holley ran the 3.1 miles in 24:02. She finished ahead of Tyler Moore, 15, of Holley, who was done in 24:10.
(Left) Matt Feldman, the Holley Jr./Sr. High School principal, heads to the finish line. He completed the 3.1 miles in 27:25. (Right) Holley students painted these rocks which were given to the top 3 finishers in the different age groups.
Carsyn Mogle, 13, edged her father David Mogle down the stretch in the race. Carsyn finished in 27:46, 2 seconds ahead of her father, who is the Albion police chief. Kathryn Berner, no. 152, finished in 27:52.
Brian Bartalo, the Holley school district superintendent (in red), was among the runners in the race. Bartalo is retiring in June after six years of leading the school district. He is next to Grace and Tom Torpey of Holley.
Josh Mitchell and his dog cross the finish line, just ahead of Makenna Seaward, 11, of Holley. Mitchell is co-owner of Mitchell Family Cremations & Funerals. He brought his dog Charles along for the race. Charles is a Golden Doodle grief therapy dog. Mitchell was impressed Charles conquered the course.
“He is a stallion,” Mitchell said.
There were 49 craft, food and other vendors along the canal trail in Holley for the June Fest celebration.
Holley also unveiled a “Telephone of the Wind” in memory of Helene Gleason Calleri.
“This phone is for everyone who has lost a loved one,” according to the plaque with the phone. “This phone is an outlet for those who have messages they wish to share with friends and family. It is a phone for memories & saying the goodbyes you never got to say.”
