July top reads: Auburn police at Wegmans, Auburn

The Citizen's top 10 most-read stories in July. Walking into Auburn Wegmans, shoppers are greeted by rows of carts, retail displays and, on select days of the week, a police officer. The additional

The Citizen's top 10 most-read stories in July.

Walking into Auburn Wegmans, shoppers are greeted by rows of carts, retail displays and, on select days of the week, a police officer.

The additional security was Wegmans' idea, according to Auburn Police Chief James Slayton. He told Auburnpub.com that the Rochester-based supermarket chain contacted his department about having an officer assigned to the store.

Slayton said Wegmans' initial request was for an officer to be at the store seven days a week. Both sides agreed on a four-day schedule, from 5:45 to 11:45 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.

For the officers, it's an off-duty shift. Slayton explained that the timing of the Wegmans detail coincides with the department's shifts. For example, an officer could work six hours at Wegmans and then work the midnight shift for the police department. It doesn't affect staffing for police shifts, he said.

"They sign up for this as an off-duty detail and they do it on their own time," Slayton said, adding that Wegmans is covering the costs of the detail — the company reimburses the city — and the officers are paid based on their rank and salary.

Wegmans did not answer Auburnpub.com's questions, including why an officer was requested for the Auburn store. Evelyn Ingram, a Wegmans spokesperson, said in a statement that the supermarket chain has "security coverage in all our stores and have a variety of security measures that we utilize on a daily basis."

She continued, "For security and safety purposes, we do not get into the specific tactics used at each store."

There wasn't a specific incident that led to Wegmans' outreach, according to Slayton. He said the Auburn store "had a few issues in the past," which led Wegmans to contact the police department requesting an officer.

One incident occurred in April involving a man who entered Wegmans carrying two knives. Officers responded and ordered the man to drop the knives. He complied and an interview determined he had mental health issues. He was transported to a hospital and was not charged.

Since the Wegmans detail began this summer, Slayton said he's received feedback, most of which is from people who "love seeing the officer there."

"It's just another added protection that they feel safe with coming and going out of Wegmans," he said. "As you evolve and realize some things need to change, Wegmans took it upon themselves to reach out to us and we try to accommodate as best we can based on our manpower."

The two unlicensed cannabis dispensaries in the Auburn area that were raided by authorities on Tuesday remain open, and their owner declared that he's "ready for war" with the state.

David Tulley, of Lyons, told The Citizen on Friday that his businesses — I'm Stuck at 9 E. Genesee St. in Auburn and the Weed Warehouse on Crane Brook Drive in Aurelius — continue to serve customers despite signage posted in their doors by the New York State Office of Cannabis Management saying, "this location must immediately cease the sale of unapproved and unauthorized cannabis products."

The businesses, which are advertised as "consulting and marketing firms," sell "consultations" about cannabis products while technically gifting the products themselves in order to exploit a legal loophole.

Asked directly by The Citizen whether his businesses are still selling "consultations," Tulley replied, "Our stores are still open."

Tulley, who owns another four locations of I'm Stuck in Wayne County, spoke to The Citizen by phone from Ithaca. He and several I'm Stuck employees were handing out free cannabis products to customers of William Jane, a licensed dispensary that opened in March, as a form of protest against the Office of Cannabis Management. If I'm Stuck can't do business, he said, no one should be able to.

"I am the king of New York when it comes to weed. You will open the market for everyone, not shut people out of the market. That is a socialist economy," Tulley said. "Where's the licensed dispensary in Auburn? How far do they need to drive to get their weed from licensed dispensaries? Or are you sending them back to the street corner where they really might be getting fentanyl weed?"

Tulley said he and his 40 employees were prepared for Tuesday's raids, and that a "minimal" amount of cannabis products were seized. Still, he was arrested at the I'm Stuck location in the town of Ontario on a misdemeanor charge of 2nd degree obstruction of governmental administration. According to the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, Tulley crossed police tape and entered a garage structure, locked himself inside with authorities and tried to interfere in their investigation by "yelling at them." Tulley, blaming a broken lock on the structure's door, called it a "clown show arrest."

The Office of Cannabis Management has declined comment on the raids to The Citizen, saying it has no information to share at this time.

The state has defended previous raids of unlicensed dispensaries in Ithaca and Binghamton by pointing out that their cannabis products aren't tested by the Office of Cannabis Management and therefore "can pose a threat to public health." Tulley, in response, said I'm Stuck's products are purchased from Native Americans, contain only cannabis grown in New York state and "haven't made anyone sick."

Coordinating previous raids with the Office of Cannabis Management has been the New York State Department of Taxation & Finance, as cannabis businesses can't willfully fail to collect required taxes or possess untaxed cannabis for sale. Tulley said he pays taxes on the cannabis he purchases for sale, but does not charge customers sales tax because he has no way of remitting the money to the state. There is no sales tax on cannabis purchased at licensed dispensaries, but products are subject to a 13% tax that includes 3% for the municipality and 1% for the county where the dispensary is located.

The state Department of Taxation & Finance did not respond to a request for comment by The Citizen.

Tulley said he is embracing what he believes is an effort by the state to make him a villain. He even dressed as the Joker in a video posted Wednesday on the Weed Warehouse's Facebook page. But he also believes he's taking a stand, and looks forward to the "war" over his ability to be in the cannabis business in New York. His hearing with the Office of Cannabis Management is scheduled for July 14.

"By the time I'm said and done, they won't be able to set foot in nobody's stores," he said, noting he's hired an attorney.

"I refuse to fire 40 employees and send them back to welfare. They can hit us 20 times. Take me away in cuffs, that's the only way you're going to stop me."

Unlicensed cannabis dispensaries in the Auburn area were raided by law enforcement Tuesday and ordered by the state to cease sales.

AUBURN — Mead, or honey wine, means high alcohol to most. But the flagship product of the city's first meadery is just 5.5% ABV.

That's just one example of the creative approach to the beverage taken by Elaine Ferrier, owner of Combgrown Mead, which opened Friday in Suite 4 of 26 Osborne St., across from Wegmans.

"What I love about mead is it's such a blank canvas," Ferrier told The Citizen. "There aren't a lot of expectations, so there's a lot of room to be creative and surprise people in good ways."

Combgrown is the second mead business for Ferrier and her husband, Michael Sojka, a family physician at Auburn Community Hospital. Their first began about 10 years ago in southwestern Ontario, Canada, while he was in medical school and she worked in environmental policy for the province's Ministry of Natural Resources.

A homebrewer, Sojka suggested they try fermenting honey to produce mead. Ferrier ran with the idea, he told The Citizen, making a batch in the kitchen of her family farm in Thorndale. There, they opened Tallgrass Mead, named for the area's endangered prairie and savannah ecosystems that are more rare than rainforests, she said.

New career opportunities took Ferrier and Sojka to Michigan, where they briefly commuted while continuing to run Tallgrass. When another opportunity presented itself in Auburn, they decided to take the meadery with them, expand it and rename it Combgrown. Ferrier thanked her parents for letting her use their property until the move.

On Osborne Street, Ferrier and Sojka will have 1,000 gallons of capacity to produce meads like Honey Pops, their 5.5% ABV flagship. Such "session meads" were scarce 10 years ago, she said.

"It's not often you want to sit down and have mead. It pairs well with food, but not the way wine does," she said. "So I thought there was an opportunity to create meads that are more sessionable."

Although it has less alcohol than traditional meads, Honey Pops is actually harder to make, Ferrier said. That's partly because of the time it takes to carbonate, a process that also lengthens production of Combgrown's line of mead spritzers. About 8% ABV, they include gamay noir rosé grapes with extracts of rhubarb and strawberry, and chardonnay grapes with extracts of elderflower and lemon.

A bourbon barrel-aged mead should be released next weekend, Ferrier said. Though she would like to distribute Combgrown to stores eventually, for now it will be available in cans to go or in glasses to enjoy in the meadery's tasting room. She looks forward to becoming a stop on tours as part of the busy Finger Lakes craft beverage scene.

"With all its wineries and breweries, it's nice to be able to offer something new," she said. "And Auburn has been so great. People here seem to take it seriously to support local businesses."

Ferrier will make traditional meads eventually, but for now she wants to expand people's definition of the beverage. She's also still finalizing some parts of her production, like carbonation, and experimenting with varietals of New York honey. It's one of the most expensive fermentables, she said, on par with Napa Valley wine grapes. Among her first sources was Kutik's Honey Farm in Oxford.

"It's a really unique type of ingredient," she said. "In my opinion, (mead) is a more sustainable type of craft beverage. As much as I love grape wine, there is a lot of agriculture. You have to clear the land, there's sometimes chemicals used in production and definitely a lot of fossil fuels for the equipment. It's very resource-intensive. Whereas wherever there's wildflowers, bees will make honey."

WHAT: Combgrown Mead

WHEN: Open 4 to 7 p.m. Thursdays, 4 to 8 p.m. Fridays and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays; ribbon-cutting event at 4 p.m. Friday, July 21

WHERE: 26 Osborne St., Suite 4, Auburn

INFO: Visit combgrown.square.site or facebook.com/combgrownmead, or email [email protected]

Elaine Ferrier and her husband, Michael Sojka, at Combgrown Mead in Auburn.

Honey Pops, a session mead, is available by can from Combgrown Mead in Auburn.

The tasting area at Combgrown Mead in Auburn.

Combgrown Mead in Auburn.

Dimitri's Pizzeria is still its name, but a restaurant in Elbridge is serving a lot more than slices at a new location about half a mile away.

The new Dimitri's, at 1124 Route 5, opens at 6 a.m. every day to serve a new breakfast menu. That's because owner Sam Gotsis merged the restaurant with another one of his businesses, the Port Byron Diner, which has closed after 36 years. Some of the diner's staff is now serving breakfast at Dimitri's, which seats about 50 people, or 10 times as many as the old restaurant in Elbridge Plaza.

For dinner, the restaurant has also added New York strip steak and specials like prime rib, Gotsis told The Citizen. Meanwhile, Dimitri's continues to serve the gourmet pizzas that have made it a popular destination since opening in 2018. Along with traditional styles are adventurous ones like pickle bacon ranch and the Athenian, a white pizza with feta, spinach, red onions, tomato, olives and mozzarella.

"It's a diner, restaurant and pizzeria all at once," Gotsis said.

Dimitri's is named after Gotsis' father, and his brother John owns Kosta's Bar and Grill on Grant Avenue in Auburn. The new restaurant was busy when it opened Friday morning, Gotsis said, including many regulars from the Port Byron Diner. Serving them are a staff of about 25. Along with the greatly expanded seating inside and five tables outside is a new, more homey décor.

"It's changed tremendously," Gotsis said. "It's a more country-style diner now."

WHAT: Dmitri's Pizzeria

WHEN: Open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays

WHERE: 1124 Route 5, Elbridge

INFO: Visit dmitrispizzeriany.com, call (315) 689-0172 or find the restaurant on Facebook

Jason Christopherson makes pizza at Dimitri's Pizzeria in Elbridge.

Brothers, Tommy, left, and Sam Gotsis own and operate Dimitri's Pizzeria in Elbridge.

Dimitri's Pizzeria is now serving breakfast, lunch and dinner in Elbridge.

Dimitri's Pizzeria is now serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Elbridge.

Dimitri's Pizzeria serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Elbridge.

Dimitri's Pizzeria owner Sam Gotsis works the register in Elbridge.

Dimitri's Pizzeria is now serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Elbridge.

The deputy superintendent of security at Auburn Correctional Facility was arrested by New York State Police on Friday following an alleged road rage incident in the town of Horseheads.

Gregory P. Stachowski, 40, of Big Flats, was the subject of a road rage complaint in the area of Interstate 86 and Route 13 at 6:50 that morning, state police said. A victim's cellphone was stolen as well.

An apparent video of the incident has been posted to TikTok. The video shows a man wearing a New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision uniform with the name tag "Stachowski" approaching the recorder of the video, who says, "You tried to run me off the road." The recorder then says, "You're a corrections officer, not a police officer, so why are you flashing me your badge?" The uniformed man then covers his name tag and reaches for the recorder's cellphone. After some rustling, the video ends. It has been viewed more than 16,500 times on TikTok.

Following an investigation, Stachowski was arrested on charges of fourth-degree grand larceny, a Class E felony, and official misconduct, a misdemeanor, state police said.

State police noted in a news release that Stachowski is employed by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision as deputy superintendent of the Auburn prison.

Stachowski was transported to the state police barracks in Horseheads for processing and issued an appearance ticket for town court Aug. 1.

Nucor Steel in Auburn is challenging its property assessments by the city, arguing they should be $12.7 million less and potentially lowering the amount of local taxes the company pays by millions.

Nucor filed the challenge in New York State Supreme Court in June. According to the company's petition, it believes its properties at 25 Quarry Road, 19 Quarry Road, 279-287 North St. and 33 York St. in Auburn should be assessed at a combined $2,649,600. That's $12,714,200 lower than the city's final 2023 combined assessment of $15,363,800 — a decrease of 83%.

Jason Curtis, general manager of Nucor Steel in Auburn, told The Citizen the company based its challenge on a review of comparable industrial facilities in the city by a consultant in 2021. The review led the company, which employs more than 250 people, to conclude that its assessments are "dramatically" higher than those comparable properties, Curtis said.

Though Nucor already received one reduction after challenging the city's tentative 2023 assessments, the final assessments are still "excessive" and "illegal," the company's petition said.

"Because of these errors, (Nucor) will be required to pay significantly higher taxes than it would be required to pay if the assessment(s) had been made correctly," the petition said.

Curtis said Nucor has been working with the city, provided its assessor's office information about the company's properties and the steel industry, and offered tours of the facility. The company has also discussed its assessments with representatives of Cayuga County and the Auburn Enlarged City School District, which receive tax revenue from Nucor's properties as well.

"We value our relationship with the city and being part of the local business community," Curtis said. "We are simply hoping that we can come to a fair and reasonable property value assessment."

But assessor Jeanne Hering, with the city of Auburn's Office of Real Property Assessment, told The Citizen on Thursday that she does believe Nucor's assessment is fair.

The company's assessments were based on "a lot of analysis," Hering said, including the prices of other steel mills that have recently sold in the Northeast. She also provided The Citizen a spreadsheet of 32 city properties zoned for manufacturing and processing, and how much they've been assessed per square foot. Nucor is the 12th highest, at $32.66.

The company's 2023 assessments are low historically, too. According to city records, Nucor's main 25 Quarry Road property was assessed at about $30 million until 2021, when it dropped to $15.2 million.

"They really haven't given us anything to prove that what they think their assessment should be is correct," Hering said.

If Nucor's assessment is lowered, the amount of taxes the company pays to the city, county and school district will probably lower as well. But that amount will vary over the next eight years due to Nucor's payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with the Auburn Industrial Development Authority. The 2007 agreement was extended in 2020, and continues through 2031.

The 2023-2024 tax year will see Nucor return to being taxed based on its assessed value. Under the PILOT, the company paid taxes based on a total value of $4.5 million in 2021-2022 and $5.25 million in 2022-2023. But Nucor will receive a 60% tax abatement in 2023-2024, and that figure will decrease incrementally every year until it's 10% in 2030-2031.

Nonetheless, with the city's current total tax rate at 35.4%, the amount of revenue at stake as Nucor challenges its assessment is indeed significant, said Michael Miller, executive director of the Cayuga Economic Development Agency. That's why the agency, which staffs the Auburn Industrial Development Authority, is watching the challenge closely, he told The Citizen.

Depending on how the challenge plays out, AIDA could revise its PILOT agreement with Nucor, Miller said.

"All PILOTs are here to help induce economic activity. If it's not assisting both the company and the community, then there's a disconnect," he said. "But I think Nucor has been a good employer for the city of Auburn for a long time. That's part of the reason they've had a longstanding PILOT with AIDA. I don't imagine that how this falls would be considered a contentious issue."

The Cayuga County District Attorney's Office has reduced the charge against the Auburn man who allegedly tried to stop city employees from cutting down wildflowers in front of his house last summer.

James Udall, of 106 Osborne St., pled guilty Thursday to a violation of city code (Chapter 259-40 and -41) and received an unconditional discharge with no fine or surcharge from Judge David Thurston.

Udall was previously charged with second-degree obstruction of governmental administration. He intended to plead not guilty to the misdemeanor, hoping for a jury trial, but by reducing the charge the district attorney's office removed the option of one. Udall believes that was a "strategic decision" made by the office because its case against him was "very weak," he told The Citizen on Thursday.

"I hope that by standing up to the city I was able to make my point that it has bigger problems than worrying about the height of wildflowers in front of an otherwise law-abiding citizen's home," he said.

The Cayuga County District Attorney's Office declined comment to The Citizen.

Udall was arrested weeks after receiving a letter from Auburn Code Enforcement Officer Brian Hicks asking the resident to cut down a patch of 6-foot wildflowers he planted in the city's right-of-way between the sidewalk and the lawn. The wildflowers were in "unkempt condition," encroached upon the sidewalk and obscured the line of sight of drivers at a curve on Osborne Street, Hicks told Udall.

However, Udall told city officials he wouldn't cut the wildflowers down, and would try to stop anyone who did. When crews arrived at his house the morning of Aug. 24 with string trimmers, Udall was promptly led away in handcuffs by Auburn police. His arrest followed months of acrimony between Udall and the city over its lease to O'Toole's Tavern of a small parking lot next door to his house.

Though disappointed he couldn't put his case "in the hands of the people of Auburn," Udall said Thursday he hopes to work with the city to improve the Osborne Street neighborhood.

"My aim all along has been to beautify Osborne and create a positive public image of the street," he said, "raising the bar of pride of ownership in the neighborhood."

An Auburn man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly trying to stop city employees from cutting down a patch of wildflowers he planted in front …

For a half-century, the Hannibal Fire Company trusted George Parry Jr. with its finances.

But more than a year after his death, a state comptroller's audit found that Parry, who was born in Auburn and grew up in Martville and Sterling, abused his position as the volunteer fire department's treasurer to steal more than $850,000 over an eight-year period, from 2014 to 2022.

The thefts included more than $451,000 in checks Parry wrote to himself and 794 cash advances totaling $334,900 from a company credit card. He also used the credit card for $62,302 in personal expenses, including hotel stays and rental cars.

Auditors explained that the improper payments went unnoticed because the fire department's board "did not review bills (claims) paid by the former treasurer, receive written financial reports or review bank and investment statements and canceled check images."

The board also believed that an accountant was reviewing the payments, according to the audit. However, the accountant told auditors that he trusted Parry, whom he knew for more than 30 years, and only reviewed the checkbook register and bank statements.

When Parry's misdeeds were uncovered, the comptroller's office says the fire company ended its relationship with the accountant. The audit notes, though, that if "the board reviewed and approved claims before payment and regularly reviewed written financial reports, bank and investment statements and canceled check images, it may have prevented this misappropriation of funds or detected it much sooner."

Parry served as the Hannibal Fire Company's treasurer until March 2022, when members elected a new treasurer. However, he continued to control the company's funds.

The company's president and chief met with Parry after learning he had a company credit card they did not know existed, according to the audit. He admitted that he used the credit card for personal expenses and was suspended in May 2022. The department's chief asked the state comptroller's office for an audit.

Parry died on May 26, 2022. His obituary mentions that he was a member of the Hannibal Fire Company and served more than 50 years as its treasurer.

Because of Parry's death, the comptroller's office did not refer its findings to law enforcement. Parry is not named in the audit.

The comptroller's office recommends that the fire company should try to recover the stolen funds from its insurance provider. The department should also ensure that claims are supported, audited and approved prior to payment, according to the report, and the treasurer's work should be monitored. There should also be a mandated annual audit conducted by an independent public accountant.

After reviewing a draft of the audit, the Hannibal Fire Company's leadership notified the state comptroller's office that it is "following the recommendations as detailed out in the preliminary report."

"We have put in place, with the help of the new administration, checks and balances along with numerous other procedures," said Michael Flack, president of the Hannibal Fire Company's board, and Nathan Sweeting, the board's secretary.

Fireworks and other Fourth of July celebrations will take place across the Cayuga County area over the next week.

The village of Fair Haven will begin its traditional Independence Day weekend Thursday, June 29.

There will be a chicken barbecue, beer tent and food trucks from 4 p.m. to midnight Thursday and Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Church Street pavilion; a carnival ride special from 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday on the Church Street Field; and an art and craft show from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Village Park on Main Street.

Other highlights of the village's celebration include:

• A Mile Long Parade at 7 p.m. Thursday

• Music by Shine from 8:30 p.m. to midnight Thursday

• Live music by Jess Novak from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday

• The Electric Boat Parade on the Bay at 9:30 p.m. Friday

• A 5K walk/run to benefit Hospice of the Finger Lakes at 9 a.m. Saturday

• The Bayside Cruisers Classic Car Show from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday on South Lake Street

• A children's parade at 12:30 p.m. Saturday

• Live entertainment from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday

• The Wall of Fire at 9:15 p.m. Saturday

• Fireworks at 10 p.m. Saturday

For more information on Fair Haven's Fourth of July festivities, which are organized by the Save Our Fourth Association, visit fairhavenny.org or facebook.com/fairhavensofa.

In the Auburn area, Cayuga County's traditional Independence Day celebration will take place beginning at 8 p.m. Monday, July 3, with a symphony performance by Symphoria at the Emerson Park Pavilion in Owasco. The performance will be followed by fireworks at 9:45 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public, but there will be a parking fee of $5 at the park.

Another local tradition will follow Tuesday, July 4, when the Owasco Fire Department holds its annual chicken barbecue at 10:30 a.m. and parade at 1 p.m. Dinners are $15 and must be picked up by noon; there are 1,200 dinners available. The parade, meanwhile, will start at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Letchworth Street. For more information, or to order a dinner, visit facebook.com/owascofd.

The village of Aurora will observe the holiday with its annual reading of the Declaration of Independence at 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 4, at Ledyard Town Hall, 1099 Poplar Ridge Road, Ledyard. There will be refreshments and light music, and the reading will take place rain or shine.

Owasco Lake will be alight again on the Fourth of July when Light Up Owasco Lake takes place at 9:30 p.m. The "Owasco Lake, NY Homeowners' Community" Facebook group, which organizes the display, encourages the use of LED flares due to environmental concerns about road flares. Spectators are welcome. For more information, email [email protected].

One person has been arrested and another was sent to the hospital after a stabbing early Saturday in Auburn.

According to the Auburn Police Department, officers responded at approximately 1:10 a.m. to the area of Perrine and State streets. The victim had multiple lacerations and was transported to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse.

The injuries appear to be non-life threatening, police said.

Following an investigation, authorities arrested Kenneth Byrd and charged him with second-degree assault and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, both felonies.

Anyone with information about this incident should contact Detective Adam Rivers at (315) 567-0073 or the Auburn Police Department at (315) 253-3231. Callers can remain anonymous.

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July top reads: Auburn police at Wegmans, Auburn