Weekly top reads: Auburn superintendent search update, Scipio restaurant expanding (2024)

The Finger Lakes Drive-In plans to open this summer, as soon as June, despite having its entrance blockaded by the Cayuga Nation due to a property line dispute that remains in court.

The blockade, which effectively closes the Aurelius movie theater, was also recently mentioned in a separate court proceeding that involves drive-in owner Paul Meyer and the nation's leadership council.

On Wednesday, the drive-inposted on its Facebook page: "There are definite plans to open the drive-in this season; likely in June. We have been getting things ready. We may be shifting things around."

The drive-in might have to shift things around to open because the nation claims that its entrance, as well as several of its parking spots and about a third of its movie screen, are actually located on 1044 Clark St. Road next door. The nation purchased that property, assessed at $56,000, for $720,000 in January 2023. The nation has said it intends to place the property into federal trust.

After the nation brought the dispute to Cayuga County Supreme Court in January, the drive-in responded by asking for an injunction against the blockade. Meyer argued that his access to the neighboring property was protected by a 20-year lease he signed with the previous owner. He alleged the nation knew about the lease before the purchase, but the nation called the lease "invalid and unenforceable."

The nation has been ordered to show cause why the injunction should not be granted at a June 11 hearing. The nation's leadership council did not respond to a request for comment by The Citizen.

Meyer also did not respond to a request for comment. The drive-in's Facebook post noted the dispute but said, "I try to keep it non-political so I'll leave the conversation to what's been said here."

As the property dispute plays out in state court, another proceeding involving Meyer and the nation continues in federal court.

The drive-in owner is currently arguing for access to nation financial records in the leadership council's RICO lawsuit against him and Pipekeepers Tobacco & Gas in Montezuma. Meyer is a codefendant in the lawsuit, which accuses the smoke shop of stealing $5 million in business from the nation, because he sold the7153 Route 90 property where it's located to operator Dusty Parker.

Parker and Meyer, who are being defended separately, each seek access to the financial records the nation used to calculate the $5 million figure. The nation, however, argues the records are attorney-client privileged information. Further, the nation continued, if Meyer was given access to them, he could not be trusted to "keep them locked away" from Parker due to their "ongoing relationship."

Despite Meyer's claim to the contrary, the nation said, evidence of that relationship can be seen on the video billboard in front of the drive-in, which has been running a Pipekeepers advertisem*nt.

In response, Meyer attorney David Tennant argued that Pipekeepers is one of several advertisers who use the billboard, and such use does not show "direct participation in the competing businesses of the Parker defendants." Tennant then mentioned the nation's purchase of the property next to the drive-in and blockade of the business, calling its actions "tortious."

"It is the Nation that blurs the record and makes arguments unsupported by facts or law," he said.

WEEDSPORT — Two Cayuga County sub shops have traded corporate ownership for community.

The former Jreck Subs at 251 Genesee St. in Auburn and 2700 E. Brutus St. in Weedsport are now The Sub Stop, owned by familiar faces Candy Duprey and Jeffrey Emmette. Sitting with The Citizen at their Weedsport shop, they frequently broke into the kind of dry-witted banter that develops between those who've stood shoulder to shoulder behind a sandwich counter for years.

Duprey, who is now in her 60s, started working for Jreck when she was 15. She opened her first location in Cortland in 1983, after college, the Auburn one in 1987 and the Weedsport one in 1993.

“She has done things I don’t think any other employer has done for anyone," said Emmette, who previously owned a Jreck in Greece and also worked on the corporate side of the chain.

“I want that feeling to go on to the customer, too,” Duprey added.

Now fully in control of the Auburn and Weedsport sub shops, Duprey and Emmette can do just that.

The Sub Stops aren't the only former Jreck locations in the region to reopen independently, joining Patty's Subs in Syracuse and Canastota Bagels and Subs in Madison County.

The Watertown-based chain, which peaked at around 40 locations, has been declining since former ownerChristopher Swartz pleaded guilty to defrauding investors out of more than $9 million in 2016. The federal government took Jreck over, selling it to Fresh Start Franchising, of Florida, three years later. There are now 23 locations, according to the chain's website.

Duprey and Emmette were hopeful about the new corporate ownership at first. Jreck, for all its faults, had its positives, they said.

“It was still a family. You had room to try things in your store," he said. "They worked with you, they helped you and they cared about you. That, I think, was the charm."

But when Fresh Start insisted upon renovations at the two local Jrecks that would have cost as much as $300,000 — a cost that would have been passed on to customers — that hope spoiled.

"The biggest takeaway," Emmette said, "they couldn't tell anybody what the remodels entailed."

In February, Duprey and Emmette declined to renew their partnership with Fresh Start, giving the Auburn and Weedsport sub shops one of their own.

With their newfound flexibility, the owners want to bulk up their menu, make it more customizable and offer sandwiches with more ingredients.

They've already upgraded the bread, replacing what they described as bland, rigid and small rolls required by corporate with fresh, handmade ones fromAlteri's Italian American Market in Watertown. They're similar to the rolls Jreck originally used, Duprey and Emmette said,and customers have noticed the improvement.

Painting, flooring and other renovations are planned for the Sub Stops as well, and the installation of air conditioning at the Auburn one.

A change that was made a few years ago, at the Weedsport shop, was the addition of a local arts and crafts display. Duprey and Emmette want to continue that focus on community, they said.

“I want people to come in here and have a good time," he said. "I want them to say: Hey, that’s a fun place to go. They’re having a fun time working. It’s a good vibe. I want to go back there.”

The name of the man killed in a multi-vehicle accident in the town of Aurelius last week has been released by New York State Police.

Anthony J. Carnevale, 74, was killed Friday afternoon in a crash involving a tractor-trailer and three other vehicles on Clark Street Road (Routes 5 and 20), just east of Route 90.

According to Carnevale's obituary, he was a technology teacher in the Auburn Enlarged City School District from 1972 until his retirement in 2004.

A native of Seneca Falls, Carnevale was survived by his wife, Linda, two siblings and other relatives.

"Tony enjoyed sharing his knowledge and talents with his students. Tony was the kindest, gentlest and most caring man," the obituary said.

"He was an amazing person with a talent to make beautiful things from wood. He created many pieces for the home he and his wife built together."

State police said an investigation determined that a tractor-trailer, driven by Raymond E. Swank, 59, of Union Springs, was moving westbound on Clark Street Road when it failed to slow for stopped traffic, striking a 2016 BMW X5 operated by Carnevale. That caused a secondary collision with a 2015 Honda Accord driven by Dale K. Leone, 65, of Auburn, and also occupied by Jeffery J. Leone, 62, of Auburn. Police said that collision caused another one with a 2014 Chevy Cruise operated by Isis V. Binns, 22, of Aurora.

Jeffery Leone was taken by Auburn City Ambulance to Auburn Community Hospital for minor injuries, while Binns was taken by Cayuga Ambulance to Upstate Community Hospital in Syracuse for minor injuries. Swank and Dale Leone were not injured, police said. No charges have been filed as a result of the accident.

Calling hours for Carnevale will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, May 16, at Pettigrass Funeral Home, 196 Genesee St., Auburn, with a short service to immediately follow.

It may be too late, but a nonprofit group is making its pitch in a last-ditch attempt to help Wells College in Aurora avert closure.

Dr. Jim Malatras, chief strategy officer and vice president of education for The Fedcap Group, told The Citizen that his organization contacted the college's leadership shortly after the 156-year-old Aurora institution announced it will close at the end of the spring semester.

A formal request was sent on Friday, according to Malatras. So far, the college has not responded.

The Fedcap Group is a nonprofit with links to dozens of affiliates and companies, including Apex Technical School. The organization has four practice areas: Economic development, education, health and workforce development.

What the organization has been seeking, Malatras said, is to have an association with a college through an acquisition or partnership. FedCap pursuedthe acquisition of Paul Smith's College in northern New York, but there were regulatory hurdles and the school decided to end its collaboration with the group.

Malatras thinks Fedcap's pipeline — the organization serves 230,000 people annually — could help Wells addressdeclining enrollment, which is the main cause of the college's financial woes. From the 2016 fiscal year through 2022, enrollment fell by nearly 40%. With fewer students, the college relied on other sources of funding, such as contributions and grants.

There are other resources Fedcap can offer, such as financial expertise, information technology and marketing services.

"We think we can turn it around, frankly, and we're open to turning it around because it's not just helping the college — that's good for them — but in our interest, it opens the door for so many of the people we serve and other people in the communities that we're focused on," said Malatras, who previously served as SUNY chancellor.

It's unlikely, though, the college will reverse its decision.

In the letter announcing the closure, Wells College President Jonathan Gibralter and Marie Chapman Carroll, who chairs the college's board of trustees, said the board "spent years trying to find creative solutions to raise revenues in hopes of avoiding closure." Those ideas included "conversations with other academic partners," they added.

But with revenues "not projected to be sufficient for Wells' long-term financial stability," the board voted to close the college.

Malatras acknowledges it may be too late to save Wells. The college has already notified its accreditor, Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and the state Education Department. Closure plans are being submitted and the college will lay off its workforce.

"But we think it's worthy of seeing what could possibly be done to reverse that and we would be open to that," he said.

A shelter-in-place order was issued Friday evening during a standoff at a house on South Seward Avenue that lasted almost six hours.

The Auburn Police Department told The Citizen the person, who had barricaded themselves in the house, came out and surrendered at about midnight.

No police or civilians were injured during the standoff, police added.

Saturday morning, police Chief James Slayton told The Citizen no charges have been filed against the person.

"We were able to get him from the residence and get him the help that he needs," Slayton said.

The standoff began at about 6:30 p.m., when a shelter-in-place order was issued for the area of South Seward Avenue and Frances and Augustus streets in the city.

Slayton said the order was issued because of "the unknown of what people may or may not do. We want to ensure everyone’s safety so the best way to do that is to limit people in the area."

After several hours of trying to negotiate with the person, police could be observed breaking windows in the house and shooting what Slayton called "a chemical agent" inside.

More than a dozen officers were at the scene, as well as the Auburn Fire Department, Auburn City Ambulance and NYSEG. Auburn police also used a drone during the standoff.

After five years with the same contractor repaving streets, the Auburn City Council on Thursday awarded the $1.7 million contract for this year's work to a different firm.

Northern Asphalt LLC, which is part of Riccelli-Northern based in North Syracuse, was the lowest bidder for the road program. The company bid $1,769,358 for the project.

Vitale Companies in Sennett, which had won the road program contract every year since 2019, submitted a $1,985,515 bid. According to a memo, it was recommended that the City Council award the contract to the "lowest responsible bidder."

The 2024 road program will prioritize seven streets with failing grades: Havens Avenue, from Owasco to South Seward streets; Maple Street, from East Genesee to Walnut streets; Metcalf Drive, from Lake Avenue to South Street; Pulsifer Drive, from Copley to Fleming streets; Scammel Avenue, from Frances to Walnut streets; Steel Street, from Hamilton to Swift streets; and Walnut Street, from Howard Street to South Seward Avenue.

The project will include resurfacing streets and other improvements, including repairs to manholes and corner sidewalk ramps.

Scott McIntyre, assistant civil engineer with the city of Auburn's Department of Engineering Services, said they haven't worked with Northern Asphalt, but a reference check yielded positive results.

"They are a reputable company," McIntyre said.

Auburn Mayor Jimmy Giannettino lauded Vitale Companies for their work in past years, but he criticized the process. He thinks the contractor "dragged the program out through the summer."

"I hope that this is an opportunity with this new company to get things done a little quicker, not leaving construction equipment and cones and barrels throughout the city all summer long," he said.

It's possible more streets will be repaved, depending on how much additional funding is available.

The proposed project list includes three alternate streets, all with failing grades: Standart Avenue, from North to Vista streets; Chestnut Street, from East Genesee to Walnut streets; and State Street, from Seymour to Van Anden streets.

Giannettino supports using additional funding to repave State Street in front of Auburn Correctional Facility.

"It's in pretty bad shape," he said. "I'm in favor of getting that done."

Auburn City Manager Jeff Dygert told the council there would be a staff meeting to discuss the available funding. He asked councilors to submit projects they think need attention.

The search for the Auburn Enlarged City School District's next superintendent has been narrowed down to two people.

The district board of education has selected Dr. Misty Slavic and Dr. Tanya Wilson-Thevanesan as finalists for the district's superintendent position, a news release on the Auburn website said Friday.

Jeff Pirozzolo, who has been the superintendent since 2015, is set to retire on Jan. 5, 2025.

Slavic and Wilson-Thevanesan will each spend a day in the district by the end of May for their final interviews.

According to her LinkedIn page, Slavic was superintendent of the Kiski Area School District in Pennsylvania from September 2021 to April 2024. The Valley News Dispatch reported that she resigned due to a job offer her husband received in New York. She has a doctorate in education and educational leadership from the University of Pittsburgh.

Wilson-Thevanesan is the deputy superintendent for school improvement and community engagement for the Fairport Central School District in Monroe County, according to thedistrict's website. She has been in the role since September 2021 and she has a doctorate in education and educational leadership, according to her LinkedIn page.

Nearly 20 people applied for the leadership role, the Auburn district said. Through an interview process, the school board reduced the field to five candidates. The news release said the semifinalists spent a day in the district, engaging with four stakeholder committees made up of 60 people representing the district and the community.

"The Board of Education is enthusiastic about the future, and confident that the process will yield strong leadership and vision to our district," the district said.

"We look forward to the next steps in this important process and appreciate the continued support and involvement of our community."

The 228 new state troopers who graduated from the 214th session of the New York State Police Basic School include two Cayuga County residents.

Lucas Snyder, of Auburn, andMikaela Withers, of Moravia,are among the newest state troopers. The basic school graduation was held Wednesday in Albany.

Snyder and Withers will be assigned to Troop E, which covers Cayuga, Chemung, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne and Yates counties.

With the latest basic school class, the state police has 4,977 sworn members. The new troopers will report on May 17 and participate in a 10-week field training program.

"Today's ceremony is one of our finest traditions, and introduces a new generation of highly trained men and women to the New York State Police," State Police Superintendent Steven James said. "These new troopers will serve New Yorkers with honor, integrity and bravery, and I welcome them to our ranks."

Select graduates received special honors at the ceremony. Trooper Jack Merritt, 28, of Somers, was named the student representative. The award is sponsored by the New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association and is named in honor of Trooper John J. McKenna IV, who was killed while serving as a U.S. Marine in Iraq.

The Academic Performance Award recipient is Trooper Nicholas J. Krafft, 26, of Cornwall. Krafft had an average of 95.72% during the academy training program.

Trooper Matthew Grant, 28, of Washingtonville, is the winner of the Firearms Proficiency Award. A former New York City police officer and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Grant had a perfect score — 250 out of 250 — in firearms training.

A central New Yorker won the Investigator Joseph T. Aversa Physical Fitness Award. Trooper Dominick Battaglia, 25, of Liverpool, had the highest physical agility testing score in the class.

The award is named for Aversa, a six-year veteran of the New York State Police who was killed in the line of duty in 1990.

Not long after opening Dugan's Country Grill in Scipio 14 years ago, Michael Dugan would sit in one of the booths with a window view of its rural surroundings. Then he'd count the cars that passed by.

"I remember seeing six cars in a matter of three hours," he told The Citizen while sitting in that same booth earlier this month. "I didn't know how this was going to work."

But the restaurant has endured its remote location, as well as the slowdown of COVID-19 and a December 2022 kitchen fire that ravaged the building. Now, instead of settling for a quick remodel to bring Dugan's back the way it was, owner and chef Dugan saw an opportunity to expand the restaurant with a new 3,000-square-foot event space for banquets, weddings and more.

Titled Baker Hall, the space is set to open in about two weeks. It's a big step for a restaurant that began with modest, bucolic ambitions.

"I just wanted to open up a restaurant to feed people," Dugan said.

What Dugan's feeds people, according to its tagline, is "country-style comfort food" in generous portions. Breakfast and lunch is available daily, and dinner Wednesdays through Sundays.

Joining agriculturally themed plates like the Tiller and the Dozer on the breakfast menu are a slew of omelets, burritos and quesadillas. Other dishes have more intimidating designations. The Breakfast Landfill is three eggs, hash and potatoes smothered in sausage gravy, while the Breakfast Defibrillator is three slices of French toast, three eggs, bacon, a sausage patty and American cheese.

For lunch and dinner, there are similarly hearty appetizers like loaded tots. Hot sandwiches like Reubens and melts, an array of burgers and DCG Plates — Dugan's version of garbage plates — await those who bring appetites. There is also a fish fry on Fridays, prime rib on Saturdays and another Defibrillator with two burgers, bacon, American cheese and a fried egg on grilled sourdough.

The more excessive menu items are modern elements in a space with much history. Open since the late '60s, it has been known as the Silver Dollar Saloon, the Gin Mill, the Country Gentleman and more. The Dugan's bar, which contains dollar coins from as far back as the 1890s, dates back to the saloon days. Dugan took the space over from his uncle, Brian Dugan.

A native of Webster, where he still lives, Dugan commutes the 70 miles to Scipio. He made it daily his first two years in business, and still tries to be there often. It's important for restaurant owners to be present, he said, and customers notice when they aren't. He learned that early in his career, which began with his education at the Culinary Institute of America.

Graduating from the Hyde Park institute allowed Dugan to do what he wanted: Get out of New York, travel across the United States and cook for people.

His first jobs took him to Seattle on an externship, the Ritz-Carlton in Boston, the mountains of Aspen, Colorado, and coastal California. He worked in many French-style kitchens, quiet environments overseen by European chefs where everyone focused intently on their individual roles and dressed the part in jackets, hats and scarves.

"It's a very corporate structure, and I'm not a very corporate guy," Dugan said. He donned his chef's jacket to speak to The Citizen, but took it off to reveal a black T-shirt bearing his restaurant's name.

Dugan was working for Pelican Hill Golf Club near Laguna, California, in the early 2000s when he met his future wife, Josea Walkingstick, with whom he'd have three children. The family would eventually return to Webster, where Dugan spent several years working for the Rochester Riverside Convention Center and opening restaurants like Pier 45 in Charlotte.

When the space on Route 34 in Scipio became available, Dugan saw potential despite the place needing plenty of work. The ceiling was drywall with stucco, there was an exposed heat duct, an old box air conditioner sat in a wall, and the carpet was dirtied from mud dragged in over the years. Then there was the location, a desolate stretch of Route 34B.

"We're in the middle of nowhere," Dugan said, noting his neighbors are fields and cows.

But Dugan's and its "country-style comfort food" built a following in the 14 years since. He said local farmers make up most of his customers in the winter, but in the warmer months they also come from Auburn and beyond, particularly visitors to the Inns of Aurora and Wells College. The closure of the latter could cost him some business, he said, but he'll have to wait and see.

It wouldn't be the first hardship Dugan has faced at his restaurant. The forced closure and restrictions of COVID-19 were followed by the fire in December 2022, which left the kitchen a total loss.

The renovations that followed resulted in a cleaner, modern look in the dining area. It now boasts an agricultural theme, with pictures on the walls that match the menu names. Baker Hall, meanwhile, will have a lake theme along with a new bar, a space for musicians, a large television and two new bathrooms that will be available to all restaurant customers.

"I don't want to make it a destination," Dugan said, "but these young kids don't have $20,000 for a wedding. I want to do that for half the price and give them a great experience."

Aside from weddings and other events, Dugan wants the new space to host buffets, brunches and pairing dinners celebrating Finger Lakes breweries and wineries, and their role as economic catalysts.

"We're going to do a couple of stress tests, as they say," he continued. "I'll probably fill it with friends and do a buffet. I'm open to seeing what will fail — like 'Bar Rescue' — and then reassess."

He also wants to expand online ordering and further establish his food truck, which he called the future of the industry. Among the places it can be found are Thursday summer concerts at Emerson Park.

Overall, Dugan said, there's "more depth" at Dugan's Country Grill now than when he opened it 14 years ago. He thanked the community for helping make that happen.

"It's still humbling when people come in, sit down, have coffee, eat my food and leave," he said. "It's pretty cool even after doing it for 40 years."

A Cayuga County man has been charged with two felonies for allegedly violating the terms of the state sex offender registry.

The Cayuga County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Thursday that Robert J. O’Connor, 33, of Sterling, was arrested Wednesday on a warrant for failing to verify his address every 90 days as level 3 sexual predator and failure to report a change of address/status in 10 days, both class E felonies.

The sheriff's office said O’Connor had moved from his previous address without registering his new one, as required of registered sex offenders.

He was arraigned at the centralized arraignment court and held on $10,000 bail or $20,000 bond, and is scheduled to appear in Sterling Town Court on Monday, May 20.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at (315) 253-1222 or leave a tip at cayugacounty.us/452/send-a-tip.

O'Connor was convicted in 2007 of subjecting a child under the age of 11 to sexual contact. In 2014, he was charged with violating the terms of his probation after being charged with rape.