Provided photos

About 25 people gathered in Holley to fire shots in protest of the NY SAFE Act on Saturday. Gun owners and gun clubs throughout New York joined for the “The Shot Heard Round New York,” an event that was timed near the one-year anniversary of the SAFE Act being approved by the State Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The Holley group met in the backyard of Jeremy and Gia Arnold, who are leaders of New York Revolution, a Second Amendment group that started after the SAFE Act was passed.

New York Revolution held about 25 events  around the state, where gun owners joined at rod and gun clubs or in back yards to fire the symbolic shot.

“At noon we shot one safe and legal round to symbolize we are still fighting and still remember,” said Gia Arnold, state coordinator of NYR.

The group would like to help unseat Cuomo in this November’s election for governor.

Here is a photo of the dogs. Gracie is the black dog. If you spot or find them, call Kathy Smith (Orleans County Animal Control) at (585) 589-5528 or Sandy at (585) 331-8215.

HOLLEY – A family lost its house to a fire late Saturday night just as the ice storm was hitting.

David and Gloria Gustke weren’t home at 2605 Monroe-Orleans Countyline Rd., when the fire broke out. Firefighters from 10 companies battled the blaze.

Mr. Gustke, on his Facebook page, thanked the community for its support after the fire.

“We are overwhelmed by everyone’s kindness, prayers, and generosity,” he wrote. “This reminds me of how much I love my family and my community. Thank you so much!”

He asked people to help locate the family’s three dogs: Gracie, Bert and Ernie. The house was located about a mile north of Route 104.

MURRAY – The driver in an accident on Friday night in Murray is in guarded condition at Strong Memorial Hospital this morning, the hospital reported.

Scott A. Kuhn, 44, of Holley was travelling east on Lynch Road at about 7 p.m. on Friday when he lost control on a slippery road.

The vehicle flipped, struck a tree and impaled itself on the shorn off pine tree, coming to rest almost perpendicular to the ground. Kuhn was trapped in the wreckage for about 2 hours and 20 minutes before being extricated by firefighters. He was then flown to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester by Mercy Flight helicopter.

It was bitterly cold on Friday night with the temperature at 15 degrees. Kuhn’s two daughters, ages 12 and 13, were also treated for minor injuries.

Kuhn wasn’t drinking alcohol, Undersheriff Steve Smith said.

“He was probably going too fast over the railroad tracks,” Smith said. “It was the slippery conditions combined with imprudent speed.”

For previous articles on the Murray accident, click here and here.

Three people were injured in crash on Lynch Road

Photo by Tom Rivers – Firefighters worked more than two hours to free the driver from this vehicle in the bitter cold tonight. This photo was taken shortly after the driver, Scott Kuhn, was extricated.

Press release
Orleans County Undersheriff Steve Smith

MURRAY – Three people are hospitalized tonight following a one-vehicle crash in the town of Murray.

The incident occurred shortly after 7 p.m. in the 16400 block of Lynch Road, just east of the Falls Railroad crossing. A 2000 GMC Suburban, operated by Scott A. Kuhn, 44, of Holley, was travelling east on Lynch Road, when Kuhn apparently lost control.

The vehicle ran off the south of the roadway down a slight embankment. The vehicle over-turned before striking and impaling itself on a tree, coming to rest almost perpendicular to the ground.

Kuhn was trapped in the wreckage for about 2 hours and 20 minutes before being extricated by firefighters from Holley, Fancher-Hulberton-Murray, Clarendon, Albion, Morton and Hamlin.  He was then flown to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester by Mercy Flight helicopter.

Two female passengers, ages 13 and 12, both of whom are Kuhn’s daughters, were able to free themselves from the wreckage and were transported to Strong by Monroe Ambulance, with injuries described as “non-life-threatening.”

Slippery road conditions and imprudent speed were contributing factors in the crash. The incident was investigated by Deputy J.J. Cole, assisted by Deputies D.S. Klips and K.J. Colonna, Lieutenant R.E. Perry and Chief Deputy T.L. Drennan. Trooper K.L. Bentley of the State Police – Albion barracks also assisted.

Photos by Tom Rivers – It took firefighters more than two hours to free a driver after his vehicle flipped and came to rest on a shorn-off tree.

MURRAY – Firefighters battled brutal cold tonight to free a man who was trapped inside his vehicle after it overturned on Lynch Road.

It took about two hours and 15 minutes to extricate the driver, who was then transported by Monroe Ambulance to the hospital.

After the vehicle overturned, it knocked down a tree. The vehicle came to rest, upside down, on the base of the tree. That stump pierced the windshield and pinned the driver inside the vehicle in 15-degree weather.

The driver was trapped inside his vehicle by the bottom of this pine tree.

Firefighters needed to build a support under the vehicle so they could get inside and cut off the steering wheel and work to remove the driver. They set up cribbing with hard blocks of wood, and used steel jack supports to stabilize the vehicle so they could remove the driver.

The mission was complicated by a ditch on the side of the road. That prevented firefighters from bringing down vehicles or equipment to help with the task.

Once the vehicle was stabilized with the cribbing and jacks, firefighters tied a chain around the vehicle and lifted it slightly so the driver could be extricated.

Firefighters take down the jacks and cribbing system after the driver was extricated tonight in Murray.

The driver, whose name hasn’t been released, was taking his two daughters to a dance at Holley. The accident happened just east of the railroad tracks, about 1.5 miles from the school.

The two girls had minor injuries and were taken by ambulance to the hospital.

The fire call went out at 7:10 p.m. The driver was removed from the vehicle at 9:24. Firefighters tried to keep the driver warm with blankets while they were working to free him from the vehicle.

It appeared that about 40 firefighters from several departments were at the scene.

(Editor’s Note: A press release from the Sheriff’s Department says the driver, Scott Kuhn of Holley, was taken by Mercy Flight. I saw him put into an ambulance. Undersheriff Steve Smith confirmed Mercy Flight was used.)

Photos by Tom Rivers

An antique and collectibles shop has a horse and Christmas lights mounted above the store’s façade in the Public Square.

One of Holley’s mainstays, Sam’s Diner, has a holiday theme in its front window.

Eastern Orleans Community Center is spruced up for the holidays. Volunteers for Community Action have been ringing the bells for the annual red kettle fund-raising drive.

Last night during a very chilly Parade of Lights two volunteers from the American Legion were trying to raise funds through the red kettle. Legion Commander Chuck Eberhardt, left, and Al Pulcino expect to put in several shifts for the red kettle this year.

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – Holley’s Parade of Lights passes through the Public Square tonight. Several local fire companies and other community organizations and businesses joined for the parade that started at the elementary school.

Santa stands at the back of a golf cart and greets people lined along the parade route, including people in front of the Community Free Library.

The crowd braves the bitter cold to watch the Parade of Lights pass through the Public Square.

Bentley Brothers in Albion and Brockport was among the local businesses that joined in the parade.

Holley’s Department of Public Works decorated its trucks for the parade.

Several nearby fire companies, including Clarendon, participated in the Parade of Lights.

Before the parade, Mayor John Kenney read names of people honored with memorial bulbs on a Christmas tree at Public Square.

Holley lighted the tree, a tradition that dates back about three decades.

Photo by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand received a warm welcome inside the Eastern Orleans Community Center in Holley on Monday.

She was there to serve food and pack Thanksgiving food boxes for local needy families.

But not everyone at the event was a Gillibrand well-wisher. A small group of protestors, holding signs about the SAFE Act, also tried to send the senator a message. They stood outside the community center near the Salisbury Fountain in the Public Square.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the State Legislature passed the gun control measure in January. That law prompted the formation of the grass-roots New York Revolution, a group determined to protect Second Amendment rights.

Before heading to a Head Start center in Wellsville, Gillibrand spoke with Gia Arnold, one of the local leaders of NY Revolution.

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – The red kettles came out in Holley today, and two members of the American Legion stood in the freezing cold, seeking donations.

Legion Commander Chuck Eberhardt, left, and Al Pulcino (top photo) were outside the Eastern Orleans Community Center in the Public Square on the first day of the fund-raising drive in Holley.

The money raised stays in Orleans County and goes to local agencies, including Community Action, which sets the schedule for the volunteers.

Community Action needs more volunteers for red kettle sites in Holley, Albion and Medina. The agency has set a $23,000 fund-raising goal for this holiday season.

To volunteer, call 589-5605 and ask for Annette Finch.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand steps outside the Eastern Orleans Community Center in Holley this afternoon after serving lunch and packing Thanksgiving food baskets. Gillibrand spotted the volunteers at the red kettle and made a donation.

“I’m very grateful that we have so many public servants and volunteers that do this work. I wanted to come help them do this work that they do everyday.”  – U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

Photos by Tom Rivers – U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, was in Holley today to help serve lunches and then to pack boxes of food for Thanksgiving. She dished out a macaroni and cheese lunch with peas, salad, a biscuit and fruit cocktail.

HOLLEY – U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand stopped by a community center in Holley today and later in Wellsville, serving food and helping to fill boxes with food to be given to needy families.

Gillibrand said she wanted to highlight soup kitchens and community centers, especially during the holiday season. The senator also wanted to pitch in and help with the tasks.

“I’m very grateful that we have so many public servants and volunteers that do this work,” she said after serving food and packing boxes in Holley. “I wanted to come help them do this work that they do everyday.”

The Eastern Orleans Community Center is run by Community Action. The site in the Public Square serves 9,400 hot meals a year from Monday through Friday. The site initially was only available to senior citizens but that changed less than a decade ago.

It is now open to the entire community, and it serves many young families, especially during the summer, said Ed Fancher, Community Action director.

“There are people who come here for lunch and it’s the only hot meal they get all day,” said Murray resident Leon Randall. “This is a very important site.”

Randall serves as the Murray representative on the Office for the Aging board. He stops at the Community Center once or twice a week for a meal and “to talk with folks.”

Gillibrand packed several boxes today, making sure to include canned fruits and vegetables.

Meals are served on one side of the building, and the other side serves as a youth center. About 50 kids a year stop by to do homework, play Fooseball and use the computers.

The center also is the base for the Thanksgiving outreach effort. Community Action is filling 135 boxes with turkeys, milk, and other food for Holley area families.

She talked with some of the residents, including a young mother. Gillibrand urged the woman to pursue a degree at Genesee Community College, perhaps in early childhood education.

Gillibrand said families need good-paying jobs to break out of poverty. She is pushing for manufacturing tax credits for companies that make products in the United States.

She also is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. A new Farm Bill, now more than a year overdue, is important for farmers. She also wants to keep food stamps in the Farm Bill. That helps farmers have more demand for their goods and increases access to fresh fruits and vegetables to needy residents, she said.

On the way out of the center today she stopped and shook hands with many Community Action staff.

“Thanks for your hard work and God bless,” she said.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

Press release, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s office

HOLLEY – As Thanksgiving approaches, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will volunteer at the Eastern Orleans Community Center on Monday at 1 p.m. She will serve lunch and help sort, pack and assemble holiday gift baskets.

Each day, more than 60 lunches are prepared and served to Holley residents, well over 9,400 this year.During the holiday season, the Eastern Orleans Community Center also distributes hundreds of holiday gift baskets to families in need.

The Eastern Orleans Community Center is part of the larger Community Action of Orleans and Genesee. Community Action is a nonprofit organization with a mission to provide services, with dignity and respect that help people become self-sufficient. For more than 40 years, the agency has served low-income and disadvantaged families across Orleans and Genesee counties with programs designed to empower as well as provide opportunity in a variety of areas like education, housing and nutrition.

The community center is located at 75 Public Square.

After spending time in Holley, Gillibrand is scheduled to be in Wellsville later in the afternoon at a Head Start site. She will work with a Teen Advisory Board to package Book, Blanket and Buddy care packages for children in need.