Provided photos: Three students prepare to hula hoop at the Jump Rope and Hoops for Heart event at Holley Elementary.

Press Release, Holley Central School

HOLLEY –Holley Elementary School participated in their 33rd Annual Jump Rope and Hoops for Heart event on Feb. 10.  There were 67 students who participated in the event, and over 100 elementary students collected donations. To date, Holley elementary students have collected $6,300 in donations, exceeding the school’s target goal of $6,000 this year for the American Heart Association.

Students rotated through various stations where they could make cards, sign a large valentine heart and play games. Food Services Director Vickie Scroger provided participants with healthy snack options. Activities were supervised by current and retired elementary staff, and parent volunteers. Everyone enjoyed participating in this worthwhile cause and earning a variety of prizes.

A student is busy jumping rope during the event.

This year’s Jump Rope and Hoops for Heart event was held in honor of the late Jim Campbell, husband of recently retired Holley Elementary Physical Education Teacher Lisa Campbell. Lisa successfully organized this annual event at Holley Elementary for many years. Holley Elementary staff and retirees donated $543.50 to the event in honor of Mr. Campbell and presented a check to Mrs. Campbell for the American Heart Association. Special thanks to Lisa Campbell, her sons, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, who came from out of state, to help support this worthy cause in memory of Jim Campbell.

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Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – It’s high school spring musical season and Holley High School’s Theatre Department will be performing three shows of The Wizard of Oz on Friday and Saturday.

The top photo is from this afternoon’s rehearsal and includes Matt DeSimone as the Tin Man, Sonya Kordovich as the Cowardly Lion, Hannah Bailey as Dorothy and Nina DiLella as the Scarecrow.

Dan Burke has been directing the Holley shows for 27 years. This is the first time he has directed The Wizard of Oz. He said Holley has the students with the zany personalities and talent to put on the show.

The Holley cast includes 60 students, 25 more in stage crew, and four helping with makeup, and six others that painted some of the set pieces.

Hanna Waterman portrays Glinda, the Good Witch. She is shown in Munchkinland.

Hannah Bailey is Dorothy and Toto is Oscar Harrington. Holley has a different student playing Dorothy for each of the three shows. Hannah is Dorothy for the 7 p.m. show on Saturday, while Abrianna Kruger is Dorothy on Friday and Jocelyn Cervone has the part on Saturday for the 2 p.m. show.

Holley rotates the lead roles and some other parts, so it isn’t the same students in those key roles for all three productions.

“It’s important to be inclusive and make sure every kid has a visible presence on the stage,” Burke said. “For a small school to put out three casts and put on the shows we do, it says a lot about the kids we have.”

Burke is the high school biology teacher and also coaches varsity baseball. He said the musical draws together students from different backgrounds and interests.

“The kids get to know each other,” he said. “They are working on a common goal.”

Jessica Sedore is the Wicked Witch of the West on the Saturday night show. Cheyan Palmer and Callie Updike also perform in the role.

Cory Spychalski is the mayor of Munchkinland. She makes her entrance after realizing Dorothy’s house landed on one of the Wicked Witches.

The munchkins are happy to see a nemesis, the Wicked Witch of the East, is dead.

Nina DiLella plays the Scarecrow on Saturday night. Matt Skehan plays the part as well.

Matt DeSimone is the Tin Man on Friday and Saturday nights. Dalton Thurley plays in the role on Saturday afternoon.

Holley has shows on Friday at 7 p.m., and Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m. For more information about tickets, click here.

Photos courtesy of Kerri Neale

HOLLEY – The fierce winds today knocked down two trees at Kerri Neale’s home that is just north of the Erie Canal. One of the trees landed on his house by the front door.

Neale has lived there for 40 years. He never had a tree come down from the wind, even last March when powerful winds left the majority of the county without electricity.

Neale said the tree-clearing in Holley along the canal left his property without a buffer to absorb strong winds. Today, the National Weather Service in Buffalo said the strongest gust in Orleans County was 47 miles per hour in Medina.

“We didn’t have any damage in last March’s wind storm,” he said. “Today, we have a marginal wind storm and two trees come down.”

Neale said a neighbor also had trees toppled by the wind today. Neale said his property gets hit harder by the wind since the tree clearing.

“Right after they cut the trees we noticed the wind chimes were rattling more and we had stuff blow over that never would,” Neale said. “Even the snow drifts a little different.”

The trees came down about 2 this afternoon. Neale took this photo from his roof, looking over the fallen trees toward the canal.

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Photo courtesy of Jim Di Sessa

HOLLEY – A group from Holley Central School is pictured on Sunday at the Polar Plunge in Rochester, when about 2,000 people jumped into the cold water of Lake Ontario as a fundraiser for the Special Olympics.

The Holley students and their teacher and Student Council Advisor Jim Di Sessa (far right) raised just under $1,100.

That passed the group’s fundraising goal of $1,000. Holley has now participated in the Plunge for three years.

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HOLLEY – School teachers will play a basketball against local law enforcement officers on March 2 at 7 p.m. in a benefit for the Ronald McDonald House.

The game will be in the high school gym. Penny Cole, the varsity cheerleading coach and high school administrative assistant, is hoping for a sellout at the game so Holley can top last year’s contribution of $2,050 to the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester.

Last year Holley sold tiles on a roof of a dollhouse. If people paid a $1, they could write a message on a tile of a large dollhouse that was also donated to Ronald McDonald House.

“The Little House That Love Built” netted $2,050 for the organization that provides housing for families with children who are hospitalized.

The Holley school community has been doing fundraisers for the Ronald McDonald House for four years now.

“I’m always trying to find different ways to raise money,” Cole said. “We tried to find another doll house to re-do, but couldn’t find one that wasn’t a fortune.”

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Photo by Tom Rivers: The First Niagara Bank in the Public Square in Holley closed in October 2016. A new grant will fund a revitalization strategy for the downtown business district, and other parts of the community.

HOLLEY – The Village of Holley has been approved for a $165,600 state grant to develop a brownfield opportunities area program.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo this afternoon announced 13 of the grants for $2 million.

The Holley grant will complete a Brownfield Opportunity Area Nomination for 813 acres with 55 potential sites, according to the state announcement. The objectives include identifying opportunities surrounding the former high school in the downtown core; improved housing and income opportunities for residents; identifying strategies to reduce commercial vacancies; identifying opportunities at the Diaz Chemical site remediation; leveraging the Erie Canal; improving wayfinding in the Village; preparing design guidelines for the Public Square; and improving the village’s vitality.

The brownfield opportunity area program provides resources to develop data-driven revitalization strategies for economically distressed areas, the governor said. These plans forge a path to transform blighted properties in urban areas into community assets and catalysts for neighborhood-wide revitalization.

Brownfields are abandoned or underutilized properties where known or perceived contamination has impeded redevelopment, turning the properties into economic and environmental drains on localities. The Brownfield Opportunity Areas Program grants have driven revitalization throughout the state, turning dormant sites into vibrant and productive properties that attract jobs and private investment, ultimately expanding the local tax base.

“This funding will help transform blighted and polluted properties into economic engines in communities across New York,” said Governor Cuomo. “We will continue to work with our local partners to revitalize neighborhoods, create opportunity and build a stronger Empire State for all.”

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Photos by Kristina Gabalski

HOLLEY – A group of Holley Elementary students were treated to a limo ride and lunch at McDonald’s in Brockport today. The students were all winners in this year’s PARP – Pick a Reading Partner – program sponsored by the PTSA.

This year’s winners include:  Leon King, William Butler, Calista Maggard, Peyton Caufield, Mason Girangaya, Bella Hernandez, Alyssa Lipke, Liam Jenks, Zach Fichtner, Laura Moak, Stephanie Miles, Cora Hudzinski, Carter McGuire and Bella Thom.

A group of Holley Elementary students prepares to head out for their limo ride to lunch at McDonalds in Brockport today.

PARP winners enter the limo. Several said they planned on ordering chicken nuggets for lunch.

The limo prepares to leave Holley Elementary School.

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Photo by Kristina Gabalski: Town Supervisor Robert Miller oversees his first Town Board meeting on Tuesday evening.  Town Clerk Cindy Oliver is at left and Town Attorney Jeff Martin is on the right.

MURRAY – Town Board members held their organizational meeting on Tuesday. It was the first meeting for Robert Miller in his official role as town supervisor. Michael Mele, who was elected to the Town Board in November, also is now serving on the board.

Town Board members voted to increase water rates for Kendall (Peter Smith Road) and the Village of Holley.

Ed Morgan, the town’s highway and water superintendent, told the board that Murray hadn’t raised in the Town of Kendall since 2008 and in the Village of Holley since 2010. The Monroe County Water Authority, which provides water to Kendall and Holley, just increased its rates, effective Jan. 1, 2018, Morgan said.

Town Board members voted to increase the rate for Peter Smith Road in Kendall from $3.05/1,000 gallons to $3.50/1,000 gallons. Village of Holley residents will see their rate increase from $3.12/1,000 gallons to $3.50/1,000 gallons.

The rate for Town of Murray residents will remain at $4.50/1,000 gallons, town officials said.

“With Water Authority rates going up every year, it’s not realistic to keep rates the same,” Morgan said. He noted that the Town of Murray does not have a contract with the Water Authority, but is classified as “Out of County Supplementary Supply Class.” He said the town has never signed a long-term contract with the Water Authority because that would allow the Authority to dictate how the Murray system is run.

The new Monroe County Water Authority rate schedule raises the rate the town pays for water from $3.25/1,000 gallons to $3.43/1,000 gallons, Morgan said.

Morgan said he would notify officials in Kendall and Holley regarding the increase.

In other business:

• Morgan also reported that the town will receive $13,050 in federal disaster aid stemming from the March 2017 snowstorm.

• Town Councilman Paul Hendel commended Morgan and the Town of Murray Highway Department for their efforts to keep roads cleared of ice and snow during the stormy weather of the past few weeks. He also said the Town Hall remained open Friday, Jan. 5, despite the frigid temperatures near 0 degrees.

“The supervisor and town clerk felt they should stay open,” Hendel said. “I would like to publicly thank you guys.”

“We got a lot of work done,” Miller said.

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HOLLEY – Holley Central School Board of Education President Brenda Swanger Monday evening introduced the district’s interim superintendent, John Schiess, during the regular monthly meeting of the board.

Schiess was appointed to the post during a special meeting on Jan. 2, and will serve while Superintendent Robert D’Angelo is out on extended medical leave.

Swanger told Orleans Hub that D’Angelo’s medical condition arose suddenly and the board is grateful that Schiess accepted the interim post.  She said she expects D’Angelo to be on medical leave until sometime in February.

Schiess is a retired assistant superintendent for Human Resources at Pittsford Central School. His career in education has spanned more than 35 years. He currently works as an education consultant and most recently has served as interim assistant superintendent for Monroe #1 BOCES.

Additionally, Schiess has served as adjunct faculty at Monroe Community College and the University of Rochester.

“I’ve really enjoyed my first week,” Schiess told board members. “You have a wonderful facility here.”

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File photo Tom Rivers: Developers want to convert the old Holley High School, which has been vacant for two decades, into apartments and offices.

HOLLEY – Village of Holley officials and leaders of the Orleans Economic Development Agency are breathing a little easier after federal historic tax credits were kept in the Tax Reform Bill.

Those credits have helped make the financial numbers work for rehabilitation projects of historic buildings, especially in the Buffalo area.

Home Leasing of Rochester is currently working to secure funding and tax incentives/credits in an effort to restore and repurpose the old Holley High School in the village into mixed-income apartments for seniors, new village office space, and restoration of the auditorium for public events.

“These types of historic rehabilitation projects require a variety of funding sources, tax credits, etc., and a wide array of cooperation from the community and at all levels of government to become a reality,” said Brian Sorochty, mayor of Holley. “For the Holley project, we are fortunate to have a great developer involved, widespread public and private support, and now with this funding source being preserved, we continue to feel we have a strong application and will be looking forward to the results in the spring of 2018.”

The historic tax credit (HTC) was threatened with elimination in the House version of the Tax Reform Bill, but the final version retained the Senate’s modification of the HTC.

The modifications mean that benefits of the tax break to restore and rehabilitate historic properties will now be spread over five years – instead of the first year the building is placed in service. That diminishes the value of the tax credit, the Landmark Society of Western New York said, but, “it is still a big win for preservation.”

The historic tax credit has been cited as the most effective tool to attract private capital into historic buildings.

According to published reports, the state’s historic credit matches the federal one, so it will also be spread over five years, beginning next year. Published reports also state the tax bill includes a grandfather clause which will allow properties purchased by the end of this year to be rehabilitated by 2019 under the old tax rules.

The old Holley High School sits in a prominent location at the intersection of Routes 237 and 31 in the village. The school was built in 1931 and closed in 1975. It was then used by a private manufacturing company, but has been vacant for about two decades.

Developers are seeking $7-8 million in tax incentives and $3 million in low interest loans for the $17 million renovation project.

The Orleans EDA said another project under consideration in the county also would benefit from the tax credits. The historic downtown districts also would likely be eligible for the credits if a developer pursued a project in the future.

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Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – A fire that destroyed a barn, camper and pickup truck this afternoon in Holley has been ruled accidental, Holley Police Chief Roland Nenni said.

Steve and Alissa Cole weren’t home when a fire broke out at their property at about 3:30 p.m. at 31 North Main St.

Dark smoke could be seen from more than 10 miles away. Several fire departments were on scene to battle the blaze.

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Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – Firefighters work in the freezing cold to put out a barn fire in the Village of Holley this afternoon. Firefighters were dispatched to 31 North Main St. at 3:31 p.m. for reports of a barn fire.

The barn and its contents were destroyed from the fire. The dark smoke could be seen more than 10 miles away.

The owners of the property, Steve and Alissa Cole, were away during the fire.

Orleans County fire investigators were on scene to determine a cause of the fire.

Rick Cary, a captain with the Holley Fire Department, helps lead the attack against the fire in Holley.

A pickup truck was also badly damaged from the blaze. The front tires melted from the heat of the fire.

Firefighters get water on the fire. It was 15 degrees outside.

Firefighters, including a recruit in front with the Fancher-Hulberton-Murray Fire Company, battled smoky conditions at the scene.

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