By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 July 2020 at 8:44 am
Village returns to in-person meetings on Tuesday
HOLLEY – The Village of Holley will have its election on Sept. 15, about three months later than was planned.
The village election is usually the third Tuesday in June. The election was pushed back by the governor due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Village election petitions can be picked up in the Village Office and must be turned in between July 27-30. All petitions must be signed by 70 percent of the statutory minimum. In Holley, that minimum is 35 signatures.
The mayor’s positions and two trustees are up for election.
The village also is returning to in-person meetings. Holley has been meeting through Zoom video conferencing since April.
The state has increased the meeting size maximum from 10 people to 25 and now to 50, as long as social distancing guidelines are followed.
Holley village officials announced on Thursday the next Village Board meeting on Tuesday will be back at the Village Office, 72 Public Square. The meeting starts at 6 p.m.
“There will be limited number of attendees allowed due to the overall occupancy of our meeting room being reduced to maintain proper social distancing,” the village announced on its Facebook page. “Attendees will need to wear a face covering.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 July 2020 at 11:21 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers
FANCHER – The clock at the Fancher Curve on Route 31 briefly was on fire tonight. The light on top of the clock is used to illumine the American flag at night. That light also attracts a big collection of bugs.
There were so many bugs on the light that the bugs were fried by the light, causing a small fire on top of the clock, said Fran Gaylord, a deputy fire coordinator for the county and a past Holley fire chief.
Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 10:43 p.m. with reports the town clock was on fire. Gaylord said a firefighter climbed up and removed the bulb, which stopped the fire. Once a new bulb is put in, the light should be working again, Gaylord said.
The clock in Fancher is a World War II memorial to 10 soldiers from the Fancher area who were killed in the war.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 July 2020 at 3:03 pm
Children in program don’t have to be Holley residents
HOLLEY – The school district will begin offering free breakfasts and lunches on Monday to children ages 18 and younger.
Holley has hosted the program the past five summers. Children in the program don’t have to be Holley school district residents. There isn’t an income level threshold and pre-registration isn’t required.
“It’s always been our intention to provide meals to the children of Holley over the summer,” said Brian Bartalo, Holley school district superintendent. “However, we didn’t typically find many children from other districts participating in this program in the past. This year’s circumstances may be different, as many area families are in greater need, given the challenging economic situations many face. We’re happy that the Holley CSD can support the children in our area.”
Holley is offering the meals in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program runs through Aug. 14.
Transportation will not be provided by the district for this program.
The grab and go meals, which consist of one breakfast and one lunch per child, may be picked up from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday, in the Elementary School Back Bus Loop.
Adults may also purchase breakfast and lunch during this program. Breakfast is $2.65 and lunch is $4.45.
Courtesy of NYS Department of Transportation: This is the project map of the maintenance resurfacing project.
HOLLEY – Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) announced today, in partnership with the New York State Department of Transportation, that a maintenance resurfacing project for Route 237 will commence in spring 2021 and be completed in the fall of the same year.
The route repair, which is within the Village of Holley, is going to be coordinated to follow the village’s sidewalk reconstruction and waterline improvements project, which is projected to be completed in 2020.
“I am glad to see our tax dollars doing good work for our communities, as the improvement and maintenance of roads is something I think we can all appreciate,” Hawley said. “The men and women of the NYSDOT are hard-working and dedicated, and I look forward to seeing the fruits of their labor by the end of 2021.”
This project will improve the existing pavement condition through milling and resurfacing Route 237 from the south village line to the Erie Canal Bridge, just north of the village. The project also includes new pavement markings and new signs. In addition, extra signage will be installed to advise truck drivers of the low clearance at the railroad bridge.
As part of this project, the pavement markings on Route 237 will be modified from South Holley Road to Geddes Street and from Route 31 to the north village line to provide two 15-foot-wide travel lanes with no provision for parking.
The existing pavement markings and on-street parking will remain from Geddes Street to Route 31. This striping change was done in consultation with local village officials to address safety concerns and to better provide on-street bicycle accommodations.
Route 237 will remain open to traffic during construction with a minimum of one lane of traffic maintained in each direction. Short-term daily lane closures will be utilized during paving operations.
Drivers will be informed of construction work areas with variable message boards and temporary work zone traffic control signs.
If you have any questions, please contact Joshua Brasacchio, Project Design Engineer at (585) 371-9246 or by e-mail at joshua.brasacchio@dot.ny.gov.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 June 2020 at 8:00 pm
‘We are Holley Strong. This hasn’t been easy but we got through this together’ – Sue Cory, principal
Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – These graduates walk to a stage set up in front of the Holley Junior-Senior High School parking lot, where graduation was held today.
The state has allowed outdoor graduations at drive-in movie theaters. Holley considered having the ceremony at a drive-in, but there isn’t one very close by. The closest are at Middleport in Niagara County and Silver Lake in Wyoming County.
“Why do you have to go to a drive-in?” said Susan Cory, the high school principal. “We can turn our school into a drive-in.”
This sign greets students and their families at the high school parking lot.
Cory and Brian Bartalo, the district superintendent, said seniors wanted to have a ceremony with the class together.
The state has capped the attendance for outdoor graduations to 150 people, unless people are in vehicles. If they are in a car or truck, they don’t count against maximum number, Holley school officials said.
Without the vehicles, Holley would have only been able to allow each graduate to bring one spectator for the ceremony.
The class has 81 members, but three foreign exchange students have returned to their home countries in Greenland, Spain and Portugal.
Holley was able to keep commencement at its usual time, the last Saturday in June at 10 a.m., rather than later in the summer when the state might ease restrictions on crowd sizes.
“Our main goal was to have everybody together and have it today,” Bartalo said before the ceremony this morning.
Brian Gay, who is headed to GCC, poses with his family’s vehicle in the parking lot. Most of the cars were decorated for the occasion. Before the ceremony, Holley played rock music, including “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond.
Brian was happy to reconnect with so many of his classmates.
“I love being here and seeing everybody,” he said. “It’s good to see them all again.”
Jamel Hildreth accepts his diploma from Sue Cory, the high school principal, and Brian Bartalo, the district superintendent.
In her message to the graduates and their families and friends, Cory said this group of a seniors is “a history-making class.” They haven’t been inside the school buildings since March 13, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are Holley Strong,” Cory said. “This hasn’t been easy but we got through this together.”
Morgan Cary, the class vice president, said the Class of 2020 missed the last 67 days of school.
“We are the champions of Senior Skip Day.”
She announced the class gift: a mosaic with tiles designed by each of the seniors.
The mosaic made by the seniors will be displayed inside the school.
Valedictorian Tyra Shepherd said the class is very fortunate to live in a community that cares about the students. She noted how Holley has rallied around a student battling cancer. The community has been generous when several families lost their home when a four-unit apartment building burned down in January.
“This is a very supportive community,” said Shepherd, who will major in cognitive science at Brown University.
She appreciates student attention at Holley with the smaller class sizes. Holley teachers also distributed signs to all of the seniors to put in their front yards. Drivers have kept up with beeps to celebrate the students since the signs went up on April 24.
“We have an incredible support system,” she said. “Our community will always rally behind us.”
Tia Brien walks to the stage to accept her diploma. Holley erected a stage in front of the parking lot for today’s ceremony. Usually commencement is at the football stadium unless it rains. Then it’s at the school auditorium.
Ally Benson, the class salutatorian, said Holley has many caring teachers. The seniors also had an amazing first half of the school year. The group, when they were freshmen three years ago, shocked the district by winning the spirit award over the seniors. That remains a highlight for the Class of 2020.
“Thank you friends for giving me memories that will last the rest of my life,” said Benson, who is majoring in physical therapy at Nazareth College in the fall.
The top 10 graduates include Mikaela Auch, Ally Benson, Kamryn Berner, Autumn Bieber, Megan Harrington, Sarah Harrington, Bradley Kingdollar, Tyra Shepherd, Cody Tanis and Rachel Vanelli.
Jenna Miles sings the national anthem near the beginning of the two-hour program. Kohl Morgan, the class president, led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Holley presented the diplomas to graduates in alphabetical order. The first three graduates to receive their diplomas include Sierra Apicella, Mikaela Auch and Nicholas Ballard.
Alexander Brimacomb watches the graduation while standing next to his family’s vehicle in the parking lot. The car was decorated with a big sign including his picture.
Holley teacher Matthew Hennard gave the commencement address. He has worked at Holley for 10 years as a social studies teacher, middle school coordinator and a teacher on special assignment. Before joining Holley, Hennard served four years with the U.S. Air Force.
Matthew Hennard
Hennard told the class they have clearly demonstrated perseverance and togetherness during their time at Holley. The group remains optimistic about the future despite the recent challenges with the pandemic, national unrest and other uncertainty.
“You have faced the unimaginable and so many of you have a hopeful and positive attitude,” Hennard said.
This year’s Holley seniors also experienced some things no other class has – good things. They received a parade from their teachers, who went by the students’ homes. There were personalized visits from the principal, a drive-through prom and many expressions of support from the community.
“This is a generation that knows how to make the best of a bad situation,” he said.
He urged them to choose kindness, understanding and respect in how they respond to others.
Victoria Rich gave her graduation cap a fancy design and a message, “I Winged It.” She plans to study fashion design in college.
Roberto Castillo moves the tassel on his cap to signify graduating. He is headed to the University of Buffalo to major in television and film arts.
Tony Farruggia has this vehicle all decked out for graduation.
Sean Kennedy wore some cool 2020 glasses for commencement.
Holley teachers and staff watched the ceremony in back by the school, sitting at least 6 feet apart.
A Holley fire truck leads the seniors on a parade through the community. They are headed down North Main Street.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 June 2020 at 2:27 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – Grace Azzolino, the children’s librarian at Community Free Library in Holley, holds some of the books that were available for free at the library today.
Community Free Library will be doing a free-book Friday twice a month through the summer. Many of the books were donated to the library to be given away during the June Fest. But that festival scheduled for June 6 was cancelled.
The library has been open for pickup only, but that will change on July 6 when the building reopens to the public. Library users will need to do social distancing and will be asked to wear a mask inside.
The library will also be hosting a summer reading program.
Photo by Tom Rivers: Staff and volunteers with Community Action of Orleans & Genesee put the last boxes of food from a distribution this morning on a trailer. The food was taken to the Eastern Orleans Community Center in Holley, which has a food pantry and runs a kitchen.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 June 2020 at 12:34 pm
HOLLEY – The food was gone not long after the food distribution started this morning in Holley. For the first time, Holley hosted one of the Foodlink distributions.
The event was advertised to go from 9:30 to 11:30. But by 7 a.m. there was already a lineup of cars.
The food was all delivered by 8 a.m. and by then the line of vehicles was down Route 31. That line, at its peak, went from the Public Square past Bennetts Corners Road on 31.
Organizers decided to start the distribution at 8, to shorter the line of vehicles stretched put in the village.
A few minutes after 9:30, more than 1,000 boxes of food were gone and the distribution was done.
More than 300 people received three boxes of mixed dairy, cooked meat and produce. Today also included bonus bags of grapes.
The drive-through distribution was at the parking lot for the former Save-A-Lot at 3 Geddes Street Ext.
The next event in late July in Holley will likely be moved to the Holley Business Park, which will less likely cause a lineup of cars in the heart of the village.
Community Action partners with Foodlink and the Orleans County Office for the Aging for the food distributions, which also are in Albion and Medina. Orleans Hub will post the schedule for July when it’s available.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 June 2020 at 8:57 am
HOLLEY – There will be a food distribution on Friday morning in Holley, with three boxes for each vehicle.
People will receive boxes of mixed dairy, cooked meat and produce. Each box weighs about 25 pounds. This is a drive-through model from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the parking lot for the former Save-A-Lot at 3 Geddes Street Ext.
There will be enough food for 300 families.
Community Action of Orleans & Genesee is partnering with Foodlink and the Orleans County Office for the Aging in the food distribution. The Holley Police Department also is assisting.
To access the parking lot, drivers should go down Frisbee Terrace and proceed via the access road to the DPW which will loop around back to the north side of the lot. Signs will be posted.
There is no registration required. This is a first come, first served event.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 June 2020 at 11:22 pm
Republicans in Murray and Ridgeway voted in primaries for their committee members. Absentee ballots will be counted on July 1. The Board of Elections didn’t have a breakdown on how many were received so far for each district.
• In Ridgeway, there are three candidates for two positions with District 2 on the Ridgeway Republican Committee. The candidates include Virginia Nicholson, David Stalker and Ayesha Kreutz.
Nicholson leads with 24 votes, followed by 22 for Stalker, and 16 for Kreutz.
• In Murray, there are primaries for three of the districts, with three candidates seeking two positions in District 3, District 5 and District 6.
In District 3, the candidates include Kathleen Case, Anthony Peone and Kerri Neale. Neale leads with 28 votes, followed by 18 for Peone and 17 for Case.
In District 5, the candidates include Lynn Wood, Cynthia Oliver and Ronald Vendetti. Oliver has 42, followed by 41 for Wood and 12 for Vendetti.
In District 6, the candidates include Kellie Gregoire, Robert Miller and Adam R. Moore. Moore leads with 47, followed by 35 for Gregoire and 25 for Miller.
