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Jesse Lambert

I would like to preface the remainder of this letter with a very big thank you to everyone. As Holly continues to improve and grow, it is now more important than ever for everyone to appreciate Holly for what it is, what it was, and what it will become.

Over the past few years those on board the Holly leadership boat have experienced an incredible journey, a journey that involved trust, forgiveness, adaptation and hard work. The ebb and flow of Holly’s having reached many more peaks than valleys.

A most important fact one should consider is the persistence of knowledge. A vitally important concept when one ponders how fast American society is changing.

As a leader within our community, I am proud to say that Holly now has an Oakland County-caliber reputation. Achieving many goals and objectives over the last six years, Holly has cemented its standing within the county and across southeast Michigan.

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Groveland Township Supervisor,...

As the New Year 2012 begins, the township staff thought you might like to know what your township board, fire department, and staff have done in 2011, and plans for 2012.

Growth has continued its dramatic drop. There were zero new homes built in 2011 versus a typical year of 27-32 new homes. This is the third year in a row.

Well, here it goes…

•    Continued NO-Haz days.

•    Continued financial support to Holly and Ortonville Youth Assistance (A special thanks to Diane Howell for her involvement).

•    Continued financial support to allow our residents to use Holly Library without a millage fee.

•    Continuing support to OCEF and Neighbor for Neighbor.

•    Continued financial support for senior citizen van program in Holly and Ortonville.

•    Provided free mosquito spray(s) to residents through county funding program.

•    Continued road chloride and gravel programs.

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Jesse Lambert

Some of Holly Township's assets and internal structure have undergone significant change over the past year.

Volunteers from the community and Holly Township staff continue to whip Oak Hill Cemetery into shape. A section of the drive path has received a fresh bed of limestone and a window in the mausoleum has been repaired. The edge of the cemetery continues to be battled back and after another season there are signs of major progress.

In the coming months, the township will be submitting official grant paperwork in order to line up another season of improvements along with village of Holly-administered Lakeside Cemetery. Both cemeteries are among the oldest historic sites in all of Holly.

Amidst all of the goings on within our downtown this past summer, the Township Hall managed to receive a new roof. The building at 102 Civic Drive is a registered state historic landmark and serves as Holly Township's public offices. All scheduled monthly board meetings are held upstairs which can be accessed from Saginaw Street.

The township also owns a very nice slice of waterfront property along the Shiawassee River. This property came to the township via quit claim deed several years ago. A bit of progress is made on this property each season. This past fall, a group of volunteers helped to spread a layer of woodchips atop a safety path for easier access.

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Chief Elena Danishevskaya

Dear Friends,

We are writing you this letter as an entire department to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.  This greeting card is a result of our First Annual Holiday Greeting Card Contest where 98 students from Patterson and Holly Elementary Schools participated, and our staff chose the winner.

This year, the winner is Trevor Henke from Patterson Elementary School's fifth grade class.  Trevor and a friend of his choosing will receive a trip to McDonalds, (compliments of Chief).  We hope you enjoy the card, and we thought we would also give you some updates from the police department and include some crime tips to keep you safe during this holiday season.

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Chief Elena Danishevskaya and ...

 
As your Chief of Police, I have established clear goals for our police department.  My number one goal and priority is to keep you and my staff safe and informed about what is going on in the village.  I want to ensure you know what we are doing to keep you safe and give you an opportunity to become involved!!!   

As your Police Department, we want to communicate with you in the best manner to ensure that you receive information from us which is related to emergency situations (timely information can save lives), traffic (blocked streets), events in the village, press releases, community outreach, and information which can impact the safety of you and your family.  There are several ways we are doing this.  

First, is via our website at www.hollypolice.com .   Dispatcher Freda Irish has done a wonderful job in ensuring that up-to-date information is posted there.  Second is via the Chief’s facebook (send a friend request to Elena Danishevskaya) page.  Third is through www.nixle.com.  Nixle allows you to sign up for any important safety, emergency alert/press release information which comes out from the Police Department and so that you can be up-to-date of the activities that the department is engaged in.  You may receive the information as a text message, an email or both.  We are also looking for volunteers who will help us in our reach out to the community.  This will not involve a lot of time, but we encourage anyone with a few free hours per month to contact us. Contact our Dispatch Coordinator Dawn Bott by phone or via email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Also, about four times per year, I will be posting a letter such as this one on our website.  If you would like to receive it directly from us, please send Dawn Bott an email.   

The village should be really proud of the police officers and dispatchers that we have.  They are professional, empathetic, and efficient.  We strive to ensure that our customer service is the best in Oakland County!  On a personal note, I am a hands-on Chief, so often you will see me out and about.  Many times you will see me off duty as well.  I encourage you that when you see me around the village (on duty, or off duty with my little man – my 2 year old bull dog named Six-pack) please stop and say hi.  I really enjoy speaking with our residents and business owners and learning first-hand about your concerns.       

During this holiday season, we want to ensure that you are safe and secure.  Here are some tips to keep you safer from our Investigator Julie Bemus:


-    When storing items purchased at stores in your vehicle, place them out of sight. The best place is a locked trunk. Also, do not store your purse, cellular phone or any other items of value in plain view. This can make your vehicle the target of a break-in! And most importantly of all, LOCK YOUR DOORS!

-    Carry only what you need and avoid carrying large amounts of cash.

-    Criminals may look to steal items in bags from the "fancy stores" so store expensive items in nondescript bags if possible.

-    Park in well-lit areas and be aware of your surroundings. Always have your keys ready before you walk out of a store to your vehicle.

-    Store wallets, cash, credit cards in a front pants pocket or interior coat pocket to avoid becoming the victim of a pick-pocket.

-    Keep your purse with you at all times, and don't leave it in a shopping cart, even for a moment.

-    After the holidays, don't display new purchases by placing the boxes for expensive items at the roadside for garbage pickup. Instead, break down the boxes and place them in a garbage bag for   removal.

A year ago, after being appointed to the Investigator’s position, Investigator Bemus initiated a series of monthly investigator meetings with area investigators.  As a direct result of those meetings and sharing information, several significant cases have been solved.  One of those was a Breaking and Entering ring which went from the village of Holly to Genesee and Lapeer Counties.  Two subjects are currently serving up to 45 years for their crimes.  

This summer, the village was hit hard with thieves who stole property from vehicles.  In almost all cases, those vehicles were left unlocked.  The police department responded aggressively with special details aimed at catching these thieves in action.  In many cases, citizens like you play a huge role in helping us solve crimes.  In one case, a citizen who was aware of the larcenies, called us when he observed a subject attempting to open vehicle doors in a lot.  The suspect was subsequently arrested and charged.  In another case, a parent found items which her son had that did not belong to him and called us to report it.  Many items were found and linked to larcenies in Holly and the surrounding areas.  We applaud and thank the witness and parent who called us about these crimes.

We have an outstanding Dispatch Center.  The dispatcher who coordinates all activities in the Dispatch Center is Dispatcher Bott.  We believe that our Dispatch Center is the best in the County.  We believe this because we have outstanding staff who enjoy talking with our residents and helping solve concerns. We are here for you in times of emergency, and at any other time you need us.  Some of our services include house checks for our residents who will be out of town, welfare checks on handicapped, disabled, or elderly, free lockouts, crime prevention information, free child seat inspections, salvage inspections ($100 fee), firearms registration, garage sale permits, and Operation Medicine Cabinet, a community program for the disposal of unwanted prescription medications.

Our Communication Center has four full-time and three part-time dispatchers. All of them have extensive training which exceeds the Recommended Standards for Public Safety Telecommunications in Michigan. The majority our training funding is provided by the state of Michigan through the Emergency Telephone Service Committee.

Just this month, Holly Dispatch Center underwent a site review by the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services or CAAS.  CAAS is an independent commission that established a comprehensive series of standards for the ambulance service industry.  CAAS accreditation signifies that our service has met the "gold standard" determined by the ambulance industry to be essential in a modern emergency medical services provider. These standards often exceed those established by state or local regulation. We are extremely proud of our dispatch center, as this month we expect to receive CAAS Accreditation.  Upon receiving the CAAS Accreditation it means that our Dispatch Center has exceeded the national standards. The Holly PD Dispatch Center will be the 1st Fire Department Dispatch in Michigan to receive this accreditation.   

We want to thank you for your support over the years as we ask for your feedback on ways we can improve our services and our outreach to the community.  We continually look for ways to build relationships within the village and enhance our services to you.  

Sincerely,
Chief Elena Danishevskaya
Holly Police Department