Holley/Murray

Landmark Society joins Holley in effort to preserve downtown building

Photo courtesy of Dan Dangler and Landmark Society: Village of Holley officials and the Landmark Society of WNY on noon Thursday will hang a “Five to Revive” banner on the former Odd Fellows Building in Holley’s Public Square.

Staff Reports Posted 24 April 2019 at 10:21 am

HOLLEY – The Landmark Society of Western New York will join Village of Holley officials during a noon presentation on Thursday, when a banner is unveiled at the former Odd Fellows Building naming it a “Five to Revive” site.

The Landmark Society and village officials will also discuss future plans for the building. The Landmark Society each year since 2013 has picked five important sites in the Rochester region in need of investment. The Odd Fellows Building in Holley made the list this past October.

The Landmark Society previously listed other sites in Holley, including the old Holley High School in 2013 and the Hillside Cemetery and Chapel in 2014. The designation drew attention to the sites and local officials believe it was helpful in getting investment in the old school and also the cemetery chapel.

Built in 1890, the former Odd Fellows Hall sits at a prominent corner in the village square and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Holley Village Historic District, the Landmark Society said.

The building has been vacant for more than two years. It is at risk due to neglect and masonry deterioration, the Landmark Society said.

Several years ago Orleans County auctioned off the building in a tax foreclosure proceeding to an online bidder. The new owner did nothing but accumulate back taxes and fines for code violations. So, the Village of Holley hired a private investigator to track down the absent owner, as a first step in getting the historic building in the hands of someone who is committed to its revitalization, the Landmark Society said.

The private investigator discovered that the owner had a PO box in Florida. Armed with her name and address, a village code officer paid her a visit on his own time while on vacation. She agreed to turn the building over to the Village of Holley Local Development Corporation (LDC) in exchange for them paying the back taxes.

The village also sought the help of the Landmark Society. The Landmark Society is supporting Holley with a grant to fund a study that will outline what needs to be done to save the building.

Local officials and members of the LDC will join others to hang a “Five to Revive Banner” on the building at noon on Thursday. The banner indicates that the Landmark Society has made revitalizing this building a priority. The public is invited.

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Holley proposes 2.5% tax increase with school budget

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 April 2019 at 9:48 pm

Write-in candidate will likely win seat on Board of Education

HOLLEY – The school district is proposing a $25,780,000 budget for 2019-20 that increases spending by 2.2 percent or $570,000.

The budget would increase taxes by 2.5 percent or $177,704, from $7,108,141 to $7,285,845. That is below the district’s tax cap for 2019-20, which is a 2.639 percent increase, said Sharon Zacher, the district’s assistant superintendent for business.

She went over the budget with the Board of Education during its monthly board meeting today. State aid for the district is up $317,460 to $17,309,898.

Zacher and school officials will present the budget in greater detail during a budget hearing and the district’s annual meeting at 6 p.m. on May 7 at the district office.

The budget will go before voters from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on May 21 at the high school foyer.

Other propositions on the ballot include:

• Authorization to spend up to $178,000 for a large (72 seat) school bus and a small (30 seat) bus.

• Authorization to collect $170,197 for the Community Free Library.

• Election of Board of Education members. The seats for John Heise and current president Brenda Swanger are up for election. Swanger isn’t seeking re-election. Heise has submitted petitions to run again for a three-year term. He was the only candidate to step forward.

The other position will likely be decided by write-in votes. If there are write-ins, the district will check with the person with the most votes to see if he or she wants to serve in the three-year position.

If a person isn’t elected, the board could make an appointment for a one-year term, with the other two years of the term back on the ballot again next May, said Jeff Martin, the school district’s attorney.

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Holley teen gets big welcome back to school after completing chemo

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 April 2019 at 10:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – Evan Valentine returned to Holley Junior-Senior High School today for the first time since being diagnosed with leukemia on Oct. 19.

Evan, 16, completed four rounds of chemotherapy. He is greeted by Susan Cory, the school principal, and about 450 of his classmates in grades 7-12.

Cory gives Evan a hug. “It’s been a long time and we’ve missed him,” she said.

Many of the teachers and students wore orange “Evan Strong” shirts to celebrate Evan’s return.

Four of Evan’s close friends hold a big banner welcoming him back to school. They include, from left: Karl Biedlingmaier, Chuck Turpyn, Nathan Nothnagle and Kohl Morgan.

Sue Cory, the school principal, tells students Evan is about to enter the school gym. This photo was taken a little after 7:30 this morning.

“We are very happy to have him back,” Cory told the student body. “Our family is all back together.”

Evan Valentine received a standing ovation from students and teachers this morning. He endured five months in the hospital for his chemo and recovery.

“I just want to say thank you to the community,” he said.

He was visited by many students and residents during his time at the hospital, and had a wall of get well cards in his hospital room.

About 600 people attended a benefit dinner at the Clarendon Rec Hall on Nov. 18 in his honor. The Kingdollar family also made 800 of the orange “Evan Strong” T-shirts to show support for Evan and raise some money for his family.

A monitor in the hallway displays a welcome back message for Evan Valentine.

“Everybody has been incredible,” said Evan’s father, Neil Valentine. “He is one of those miracle kids.”

Evan, a sophomore, was diagnosed right before a Sectional soccer game. He was moved to varsity this fall. He is eager to join the golf team this spring.

He kept up with his school work at Golisano Children’s Center in Rochester.

“He was ready,” his mother Diane said about his return to Holley. “He was missing all of his friends and the environment.”

The nurses at Golisano were impressed by the many visitors from Holley, who often checked in on Evan.

“The hospital staff was amazed by all of the support from this school and community,” Mrs. Valentine said.

Brian Bartalo, Holley school district superintendent, takes a group photo of the student body with Evan. Bartalo said the school district is a caring community.

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Holley power outage could last several hours

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 April 2019 at 9:07 am

HOLLEY – A tree limb fell and knocked out a primary feeder line for the Village of Holley’s Electric Department this morning, causing a big power outage in the village. The electric line is owned by National Grid and feeds Holley’s electric system.

The outage briefly knocked out power this morning in Albion but electricity was restored in Albion after about 15 minutes.

It could be several hours to make the repair and restore power to Holley, the Orleans County Emergency Management Office is reporting.

Holley has the only municipal electric department in Orleans County.

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Holley students deliver 300-plus pounds of soap, toiletries to Rochester for people in need

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 April 2019 at 8:46 am

Photos courtesy of Samantha Zelent

ROCHESTER – Haleigh Falls, left, and Megan Harrington, both members of the Holley Interact Club, sort soap, toiletries and other supplies on Thursday at Sample Soap, an organization in Rochester that collects and distributes the items to people in need in Rochester.

The Holley Interact Club collected the items for a month, with an end result of 313 pounds. On Thursday the items were delivered in Rochester by 46 members of the Interact Club.

Charles Turpyn is pictured with some of the boxes of soap, toothpaste, tooth brushes and toiletries that were delivered to Sample Soap and also the House of Mercy, which assists homeless people.

The Interact Club had bins at school to collect the items, and also sent home letters with students, asking for donations.

“Once again the community came through for us,” said Samanatha Zelent, one of the club’s advisors.

Taylor Black, a Holley graduate, works at Oral-B and secured eight boxes of toothbrushes and tooth paste from the company.

Casey Onisk, right, sorts items with Sabra Wood, director of Sample Soap. Wood started the organization in 1990.

Holley students get a tour of Sample Soap, which distributes the toiletries to homeless shelters and other locations in Rochester.

The Holley Interact Club poses for a photo at the House of Mercy, a homeless shelter in Rochester.

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Hawley says school trap shooting teams vulnerable with new dynamics in Albany

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 April 2019 at 9:59 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – Three members of Holley’s trap shooting team practice on Thursday evening at the Holley Rod & Gun Club. These three include, from left: Noah St. John, Leah Walker and Evan Press.

This is the fourth season Holley has a team competing in the NYS High School Clay Target League. Kendall started last year, and Albion has a team for the first time this spring.

“This is the fastest growing sport in the state,” said Troy Kingdollar, an assistant coach for the Holley team. His daughter of one of the 20 members of the Holley team.

State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, R-Batavia, met with the team on Thursday. Hawley said he is concerned about legislation in State Legislature that would remove rifle teams from state public schools. Hawley is shown speaking with Butch Moy, president of the Holley Rod & Gun Club.

Assemblywoman Linda Ronsenthal, a Democrat from Manhattan, proposed legislation last year to not allow shooting sports at schools. That bill didn’t get through the State Legislature. But Hawley said the State Senate is no longer in Republican control, and isn’t a road block for legislation that would typically sail through the Democrat-dominated Assembly but then be stymied in the Senate.

Hawley talked with Holley trap shooting members on Thursday, praising them for learning how to safely use guns and for participating in the sport.

In New York City, many people and their representatives see guns as associated with crime. That perception is fueling anti-gun legislation, he said.

“They are so afraid with having knowledge of the term, ‘gun,’” he said.

He also worries about legislation is the Assembly that would ban gun raffles as fundraisers. Those raffles raise lots of money for fire departments and other nonprofit organization.

Hawley said he plans to invite some of the Democratic Assembly members to his district, with a trap shooting team one of the stops. Hawley said building relationships with the downstate legislators is the best way to stave off legislation that he said is an attack on the culture of rural New York.

“We’re going to work hard to make sure some of these whacky ideas don’t become law,” he told the team.

Noah St. John fires at the target. John Waldon, right, is the team’s head coach. The competition for the spring season starts in about two weeks.

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Bridge construction starts next week on Monroe-Orleans County Line Road

Staff Reports Posted 10 April 2019 at 11:30 am

MURRAY – A section of Monroe-Orleans County Line Road will be closed beginning April 16 while the contractor begins work to replace the bridge between Route 104 and Gulf Road. The bridge is over Sandy Creek, south of Route 104.

CATCO in Alden is the general contractor on the project, which is expected to take four to five months.

A posted detour will be in place.

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Murray decides to hold off and rework law for special events at farms

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 April 2019 at 11:21 am

Photos by Tom Rivers: Town Supervisor Robert Miller says Murray officials are trying to encourage more farms to hold special events that can strengthen the operations and draw visitors to the community.

MURRAY – The Town Board didn’t pass a new law regulating special events at farms and wineries on Tuesday, after several residents shared their concerns that the legislation could hurt the operations by imposing new restrictions.

The town will have the Planning Board and attorney Jeff Martin take another look at the law and try to address residents’ concerns.

That will push back enacting the law for at least a few months. The Town Board wanted to have the law in place to assist Kateland Farms, a miniature horse farm, with hosting weddings. The farm owned by Ted Jenney on Lake Road has been hosting weddings and special events in recent years.

However, the property currently can’t host those events, according to regulations for a residential-agriculture zoned district by the town. Murray last year agreed to allow Kateland to host scheduled weddings for 2018, but the town didn’t give approval for weddings in 2019 until Murray has a legal mechanism in place. That was the impetus for the new local law, with the town also wanting to encourage events at other farms and wineries, as long as the farms secured a special use permit with the town.

“We want to promote agri-tourism but not encroach on the neighbors,” said Town Supervisor Robert Miller. “We’re trying to strike a nice balance.”

Farms and wineries can host events if they are in an agricultural district. The Ag and Markets Department says the events are permissible as long as they don’t account for more than 30 percent of the farm’s revenue. Ag and Markets advised the town that Kateland Farms wasn’t covered under Ag & Markets for its events because weddings weren’t a direct tie to a farming operation, town attorney Jeff Martin said during Tuesday’s Town Board meeting.

The town wanted to help Kateland Farms continue to host weddings and special events. The proposed local law was geared towards farms and wineries that aren’t in agricultural districts.

David Piedmonte, a Holley garlic grower, said the proposed law might prove a hindrance to farms, rather than a help.

However, the Town Board was told by some farmers who do special events now that the proposal was vague in some parts, making the farmers nervous how the law would be interpreted by the Town Planning Board and code enforcement officer.

“It was a valiant effort by the town to try to resolve this issue,” said Town Councilman Paul Hendel. “Is this law perfect? I have no idea. But if we are waiting for perfection we will spend a long time waiting.”

Amy Machamer, co-owner of Hurd Orchards, said the farm relies on events to see fruit, flowers and other farm products. Hurd has been doing events for at least 40 years.

The farm wouldn’t be affected by the town’s proposed law, attorney Martin said, because it is covered by Ag & Markets.

Machamer, however, said she remains concerned the law could be interpreted differently by town officials in the future, potentially impacting Hurd’s events. For example, the town proposed law requires 100-foot setbacks from the road for buildings. Hurd has many historic buildings that are close to the road.

The proposed law also has regulations for noise, bathrooms and other proposals to help mitigate the impact to neighbors.

“We’re trying to control it but not for the sake of controlling it,” Miller said. “It’s so it doesn’t get out of control.”

Joe Sidonio, Machamer’s husband, believes Kateland Farms is already covered in the town’s Right to Farm legislation. Sidonio said the proposed law is “overregulation” with unintended consequences.

Town officials said the law doesn’t include farms and barns that host graduation parties and family reunions – events where no profit is made.

Hendel said the town will continue to work on what he said it a “hard issue.” The town wants to help more farms to be able to sell products and host events that can help the farms supplement their income.

“I think this has the potential to be a win-win for everybody,” Hendel said.

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Murray approves ‘confidential separation agreement’ with former employee

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 April 2019 at 7:33 am

MURRAY – The Town Board approved a “confidential separation agreement” on Tuesday with a former employee, with the details of the agreement not to be made public, said Town Supervisor Robert Miller.

The Town Board went into executive session to discuss the agreement. When board members and attorney Jeff Martin came out of executive session, the board voted unanimously to have Miller sign the agreement.

Miller said the town can’t disclose who the agreement is with or for how much money.

That irked resident Kerri Neale, who told the board the public should be aware of the agreement because it involves taxpayer money.

“You are not at liberty to discuss what you’re doing with our money?” Neale asked at Tuesday’s Town Board meeting.

Miller said because it is a confidential agreement, the details can’t be shared publicly.

Neale said he believes the Town Board is doing what it believes is best for the town in resolving a conflict. However, Neale said he wouldn’t have reached such an agreement.

“When you face a bully you don’t just keep giving them your lunch money,” Neale said. “Sometimes you have to fight them.”

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DOT will start paving project on 31 in Holley next week

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 April 2019 at 5:58 pm

Photo by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – The state Department of Transportation next week will start milling and repaving Route 31 in the Village of Holley. The DOT has sign on Route 31 on the western end of the village, telling motorists the project will start on April 10 and to expect delays trying to use the road.

The DOT next year will pave Route 237 in the village.

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