Stephentown

So let's return to Stephentown, site of the infamous party at the house owned by Brian Holloway. This is a strange saga that just keeps getting weirder.

Let's start with a few recent developments:

• On Tuesday morning, Holloway arrived at the house to find a hole burned into the floor. He declared that a teen or disgruntled worker had broken into the house to vandalize, but police said the damage was accidental. A shorted-out sander seems to be the culprit.

• Holloway, who's a wee prone to exaggeration, recently told Fox News that Capital Region teens were planning a Woodstock-style event at his property. "There were supposed to be 4,000 people up at my house," he said, without providing evidence.

• Brian Holloway Jr., 19-year-old son of the former New England Patriot, on Tuesday announced he has dropped out of college because managing the post-party flow of information is so demanding. "This has gone too big," the teen said.

That announcement, by the way, was made in a confessional-style YouTube video, his words accompanied by a piano's somber twinkling. The video mimics the style of a reality TV show — and is, I think, the latest evidence that the Holloway family intends to turn the horrible incident at their house into a long-running soap opera.

But all of that, really, is just sideshow. I'll turn now to aspects that continue to make this story newsworthy.

Notably, it's becoming clear that the number of people charged will fall short of claims that there would be "hundreds of arrests." Only seven have been charged so far, and I'm betting the Rensselaer County Sheriff's Office will ultimately charge about 75 people, most with misdemeanor trespassing.

That's still a significant number, no doubt. And it's roughly equal to the number charged after a similar party in 2010 at a vacant house in North Greenbush. That teenage bash didn't receive nearly the attention — and outrage — afforded Holloway, even though those partygoers did considerably more damage.

Holloway couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday, so I don't know if he's satisfied with the pace of arrests.

That also means I didn't get a chance to ask him about all the volunteer labor that's giving his house a top-to-bottom shine — even though most party damages were fixed long ago — or that he continues to ask for donations. It isn't clear whether the house was insured.

When I've tried to ask Holloway about those topics, he's hung up on me.

To be clear, I'm not justifying the behavior of the roughly 300 people who arrived at the house that night in August. I also would never criticize those who have helped since. The waves of volunteers who have worked on the house are displaying generosity and compassion, and they deserve nothing but praise.

I only wish the volunteers were journeying to Stephentown with a better understanding of the situation. They deserve that much.

As I've said before, the house has been empty for years and is in foreclosure. Berkshire Bank attorney Robert McCarthy told me an Oct. 29 auction of the property remains the plan.

What that means, then, is that the recent improvements to the house are likely to benefit the bank most of all.

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Holloway owes $1,006,348 to the bank and $45,131 in back property taxes. If the house sells for more than that total — an unlikely scenario, I'm told — he'd pocket the remainder, assuming there aren't additional liens. If it sells for less, the balance will be owed by Holloway, who has vowed to stave off the auction.

Now I can think of better uses for volunteer labor than the remodeling of a former football player's second home. There's no shortage of local poverty, and with another long winter looming, there are so many people who truly need help with their homes.

Still, if volunteers are aware of the foreclosure and still want to help Holloway's effort, then all power to them. Yet those I've talked to were surprised by the details and said they wouldn't have traveled to Stephentown had they known.

Like I said, this is a strange story.

Here's one more odd detail: In a recent video posted on Holloway's website, he's shown thanking a large group of teenage volunteers with a baffling offer, given both the wild party and the coming foreclosure auction.

"You can come up here anytime you want," Holloway tells teens. "Even if I'm not here, you can come and enjoy the place."

cchurchill@timesunion.com • 518-454-5700 • @chris_churchill