Top 20 most-read stories of 2016: Auburn woman dies in crash, snowfall records, Bistro Gusto opens and more
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人兽性交's top 20 most-read stories of 2016. These are the most read news articles on .
- 人兽性交 staff
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One person was killed and another was injured in a two-vehicle crash near a popular eatery in Owasco Wednesday night.听
The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office said the crash occurred at about 9:41 p.m. on East Lake Road, which is also Route 38A.听
Chloe Calhoun, 18, of Auburn was driving a 2005 Ford Escape and had just exited the Tom Thumb Drive In parking lot. Her vehicle was heading north when it was struck from behind by a 2013 Chevy Avalanche operated by Dain Schneider, 33, of Owasco.听
Calhoun, was transported to Auburn Community Hospital and then airlifted to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, where she died as a result of the injuries sustained in the crash.听
Schneider was transported to Upstate University Hospital and is being treated for non-life threatening injuries, authorities said.听
The sheriff's office said the drivers were the only occupants in their respective vehicles. Investigators said they could not immediately comment on what factors may have contributed to the crash, saying the investigation was continuing.
The speed limit along the two-lane stretch road by Tom Thumb, where vehicles frequently enter and exit the parking lot, is 55 mph.
The sheriff's office asks anyone who witnessed the crash or either vehicle prior to the accident to contact Detective Brian Schenck at (315) 253-3545.听
The stretch of road near Tom Thumb was also the site of a fatal crash on July 11, 1979. Carmela Galbato, wife of longtime drive-in owner Thomas Galbato, was struck by a drunk driver while walking from the family's nearby home to the restaurant.
Thomas Galbato has spent many years raising awareness about drunk driving dangers through an organization called
- Greg Mason
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The Auburn Police Department released an advisory Wednesday after a driver reportedly crashed into a tree while playing "Pokemon Go."
The augmented reality smartphone game calls for players to catch virtual Pokemon in real-life locations. However, a 28-year-old driver 鈥 distracted while playing "Pokemon Go" 鈥 ran his vehicle off the road and crashed into a tree Tuesday night in the area of 144 Owasco St., according to the APD.
Police said officers responded at around 10:44 p.m. and the driver admitted to actively playing the game, which distracted him as he headed northbound on Owasco Street. Auburn Police Chief Shawn Butler said the driver suffered cuts to both legs and was disoriented, but was not seriously injured. He was transported to Auburn Community Hospital via TLC Ambulance.听
"The engine was actually starting to come into the passenger compartment," Butler said. "Extremely lucky."
An investigation is ongoing. Butler said tickets will likely be issued following the investigation. The name of the driver was not available Wednesday.听
The APD advisory reminds players to use "common sense" when playing "Pokemon Go." The police department advises players to remember not to use the application while driving a motor vehicle or riding a bicycle.
The state Department of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday.
"Pokemon Go" players have also been advised of the following by APD, as per Wednesday's advisory:
鈥 Do not trespass onto private property to catch a Pokemon
鈥 Be aware of your surroundings
鈥 Use caution when sharing locations 鈥 strangers can see your location information
鈥 Travel in groups in public, well-lit areas
- Greg Mason
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SKANEATELES 鈥 An 8-year-old girl sustained serious injuries in a boating accident on Skaneateles Lake on Wednesday afternoon, according to deputies with the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office.
Emergency responders were called just before 6 p.m. to the lake's boat launch, off Route 41A. Onondaga County Sheriff Det. Jon Seeber said the girl and her father were tubing along the lake towed by a 17-foot-long vessel with four other passengers, all of whom investigators believe are from the Homer area.
Seeber said the driver of the boat made a turn, but did not compensate for the distance between the vessel and the tube resulting in a collision. A nearby boater heard "a scream," he said, and assisted the injured individuals out of the water.
The girl was transported via ambulance to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse with serious head and arm injuries. She was in surgery Wednesday evening, Seeber said, while the father, also transported to Upstate, sustained less severe injuries and was in stable condition.
The investigation is ongoing, Seeber said. Two adults, overseeing one child and one infant, were noticeably distraught at the boat launch as they were intermittently questioned by authorities for the more than two hours they were at the scene.
Deputies were seen administering a sobriety test to one individual at the boat launch more than an hour and a half after the initial response 鈥 Seeber said responders were initially focused on rescue prior to that portion of the investigation.
At this point, there is no indication if drugs or alcohol were a factor in the accident. No tickets have been issued at this time, Seeber said. He added that evidence technicians and the office's navigation unit team were at the scene Wednesday evening to process the parts of the investigation.
Deputies are looking for any witnesses of the accident to contact the sheriff's office at (315) 435-3081.
Assisting with the initial response were Skaneateles police and fire crews, Skaneateles Ambulance Volunteer Emergency Services and Marcellus Ambulance Volunteer Emergency Services. A Mercy Flight helicopter was initially called to the scene, but was cancelled during response.
- 人兽性交 staff
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AUBURN 鈥 One Auburn girl has touched hundreds of lives, and that was apparent Thursday evening as many gathered to remember Chloe Calhoun, an 18-year-old who was killed in a听
When Auburn High School softball coach Bob Lee thinks of Calhoun, he always pictures her smiling.
The 2016 Auburn graduate and star outfielder for the Maroons was always making others feel better with her upbeat attitude.
"She always brought a smile to my face because she听was always smiling," Lee said. "Everything was always positive. You couldn't ask for a better person."
Under a night sky dotted with blazing, colorful lanterns, friends and family shared memories of the girl with the bright smile, who'd call her friends, "Girly," got tough when it came to softball, and made people's bad days turn upside down.
Officer Chris Major of the Auburn Police Department is the school's resource officer. He recalled times when Calhoun would skip class to come and chat, always making him laugh. Giggles and laughs waved throughout the crowd, and candles illuminated teary smiles.
Softball teammates called Calhoun the "rock of the team," even recalling times when she had convinced some of her friends to come back to the game after they had quit.
Jeff Pirozzolo, superintendent of Auburn schools, addressed the crowd gathered at the Herman Avenue softball complex, a place Calhoun practiced often, after so many happy memories were shared.
"She has touched everybody here tonight," he said. "The joy she's brought, you can hear it."
Lee said the location of the candlelight vigil was fitting because the sport was such a big part of Calhoun's life. This past season, she was the Auburn team leader in hitting, home runs and runs batted in.
And she was a true emotional leader, Lee said: "She made everybody feel like a superstar."
Calhoun was planning to attend Utica College and play softball. She was consistently an honor roll student, according to 人兽性交's archives.听 Calhoun also was a听, a group under the Zonta International umbrella which aims to achieve gender equality and end violence against women and girls.听
In May, Calhoun was听. She was awarded a scholarship by the local NAACP chapter and received its Dr. Jerome H. "Brud" Holland Youth Leader Award for her work with the Z Club.听
As member of the Maroons softball team, she was recognized by 人兽性交 this spring as听.
In a听, Calhoun hit two home runs and had 5 RBIs in a 6-2 win. She had two hits and an RBI in听.听
- 人兽性交 staff
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A 1-month-old child died and an Auburn man has been charged after a head-on collision early Saturday in the town of Fleming.
The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office said the crash occurred at approximately 1 a.m. Raymond Campagna, 37, of 112 North St., Auburn, was driving a 2015 Honda CRV northbound on Route 34 near Willow Brook Road when his vehicle crossed into the southbound lane and struck a 2004 GMC pickup truck.
Campagna and the driver of the truck, Dakota Potter, 18, of Aurora, weren't hurt in the crash.
Two passengers in Potter's truck, Kirsten Marie Foisia-Burgman, 20, of Aurora, and 1-month-old Kasey Potter, were airlifted to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, police said.
Kasey Potter died Saturday. Foisia-Burgman was being treated Saturday for serious injuries.
A passenger in Campagna's vehicle, Amanda Vasco, 36, of Auburn, was transported to Auburn Community Hospital. She was treated and released.
After a preliminary investigation conducted by the sheriff's office, Campagna was arrested and charged with driving while ability impaired by a combination of drugs and alcohol and failure to keep right.
Detective Lt. Brian Schenck said it appears all passengers were wearing seat belts at the time of the accident and that the baby was in a car seat.
The sheriff's office said it is working with the Cayuga County District Attorney's Office as the crash investigation continues.
- Gwendolyn Craig
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A Cortland County man and his daughter involved in a serious boating accident on Skaneateles Lake Wednesday evening have been identified as 32-year-old Christopher Driscoll and 8-year-old Kaelynne Driscoll of Homer, according to a release issued Thursday afternoon by the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office.
The pair, who were inner tubing on the lake, were struck by a 17-foot Bayliner boat that was towing them after the tube struck a wake and ejected the father and daughter into the water. The operator of the boat circled back around and the boat's propeller struck them, according to the release.
A nearby boater assisted the victims, bringing them to shore at the state boat launch off of Route 41A. Both were transported to Upstate University Hospital and underwent emergency surgery Wednesday night.听
Kaelynne Driscoll is described as in critical condition. She lost both an arm and a leg, and suffered a traumatic head injury. Christopher Driscoll is in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.
The sheriff's office has not yet released the names of the boat operator and passengers on board, saying the investigation is continuing.
A for the Driscoll family has been circulating, set up July 6 by Rex Stanton of Homer, and as of about 9:40 p.m. Thursday had raised $8,075 for the family.
- Megan Blarr
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OWASCO听鈥 An Owasco man could face several more charges for his involvement in a .
According to Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann, 33-year-old Dain Schneider, of 6977 Owasco Road, has been .听
Judge Thomas Leone arraigned Schneider on those charges Friday at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse where he was being treated for injuries he sustained in the crash. After his release from the hospital, Schneider was then remanded to Cayuga County Jail with bail set at $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond.
Leone revoked Schneider's bail Monday afternoon pending further charges from the county, Budelmann said, as the district attorney's office awaits the results of blood tests and accident reconstruction.听
The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office said Schneider was driving on East Lake Road last Wednesday night when he struck another vehicle from behind. The driver of that vehicle, , died as a result of her injuries.听
Schneider has two previous DWI convictions, Budelmann said 鈥斕齩ne from 2011 in the town of Marcellus, the other from 2007 in the town of Delhi. The defendant was also arrested for DWI in Skaneateles in 2000, but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless driving.听
In addition, Schneider is facing multiple charges from separate cases, including second-degree burglary, first- and second-degree criminal contempt, criminal trespassing and endangering the welfare of a child. According to the district attorney, the county is currently working on the status of those cases.听
Schneider was originally scheduled to appear in Owasco Town Court Wednesday night. However, the case has since been transferred to Cayuga County.听
- Gwendolyn Craig
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AUBURN听鈥 The largest class ever to pass through Tyburn Academy of Mary Immaculate in Auburn graduated high school as the sun set Friday evening.
Incense filled the air as the Most Rev. Salvatore R. Matano, bishop of Rochester, celebrated a graduation Mass before the commencement ceremony.听
The 21 students are arguably the most decorated, said Joseph LoPiccolo, president of the academy's board of directors. He said the students, all combined, received over $400,000 in scholarships to continue their education.
Class salutatorian Thomas Zabriskie led the day's speeches off with a little bit of Ferris Bueller, from the movie, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
"Life moves pretty fast," Zabriskie quoted. "If you don't stop and look around for a while, you could miss it."
Students and parents laughed.听
But Zabriskie also talked about how much he would miss his friends at Tyburn.听
"All of you mean so much to me," he said. "We've all matured together, and become who we really are."
The valedictorian of the class, Carlin Ryan, highlighted specific memories at Tyburn, addressing each one of her teachers and a how they had helped her along the way.听
Timothy T. O'Donnell, president of Christendom College in Fort Royal, Virginia, gave the class commencement address. Standing at the front of the church, O'Donnell stressed that the graduates had been given a special light from Tyburn. He encouraged the students to use that light and communicate with others.
"There's massive amnesia in our culture right now," O'Donnell said. "We don't know who we are. We don't know where we're going."
He encouraged the graduates to share their faith with everyone they encounter.
"You are special," O'Donnell said. "You have a unique calling."
- Robert Harding
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The storm that moved through Cayuga County and central New York not only closed schools and created messy conditions on roadways, it set new records for snowfall.听
As of 6 a.m. Tuesday, the National Weather Service in Binghamton said 32.4 inches of snow fell in Auburn over a 72-hour period. That was the highest snowfall total in Cayuga County and the second-highest in the Binghamton office's territory, which covers a large swath of central New York and the Southern Tier.听
The highest snowfall total was 36.4 inches near Cazenovia in Madison County.听
Auburn set three new daily records for snowfall. With 18.6 inches in the 24-hour period from 6 a.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday, the city set a snowfall record for Nov. 22 and broke the single-day record for snowfall in November.听
The Nov. 22 mark stands as the fifth-snowiest day in Auburn since the National Weather Service began recording snowfall data in 1897.听
The city also set a record with 13.8 inches of snow between 6 a.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. Monday. That was the most snow recorded on Nov. 21 and the third-snowiest November day on record.听
Lake effect snow began falling Sunday and continued through Monday and early Tuesday. Once the snow started piling up and road conditions worsened, schools cancelled classes and the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office issued a travel advisory.听
Several downtown Auburn businesses and restaurants closed Monday due to the storm. Area churches and organizations cancelled events. Local governments, such as the Owasco Zoning Board of Appeals, postponed meetings.听
While Cayuga County-area schools cancelled classes Tuesday, downtown Auburn businesses reopened and the sheriff's department lifted the travel advisory.听
The good news for Auburn: At least for now, no snow is in the forecast for the remainder of the week. The National Weather Service is calling for partly sunny skies and high temperatures in the mid 30s Wednesday. For Thanksgiving, there's a chance of rain and sleet, but little or no accumulation is expected.听
- 人兽性交 staff
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AUBURN听鈥 A bicyclist was airlifted to Upstate University Hospital early Friday morning after a serious hit and run, according to Auburn Police.听
It happened around 6:30 a.m. at the corner of Genesee and N. Fulton Street when an adult male was struck by a car, which then fled the scene. Police said the they are searching for the driver of a dark or black Ford Ranger pickup.听
There is no word yet on the victim's condition.听
Anyone with information is asked to call Auburn Police at 315-253-3235.听
- Jordyn Reiland |
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AUBURN | Police are investigating a burglary at an Auburn church over the weekend.
Suspects broke into the Roosevelt Memorial Baptist Church at some point Sunday night, according to the Auburn Police Department. Officers investigated the church, at 101 Fitch Ave. on Monday afternoon.
Police said they were also investigating a break-in at the Apostolic Church of the Lord Jesus Christ across the street. The investigation is ongoing.
The Rev. Robert E. Wilson, pastor, said a member of the church's board of trustees stopped by to drop off a bank deposit receipt when he noticed a light was on in the kitchen.
The board member then went up to the finance office and saw someone tried to break open the church's safe but was unsuccessful.
After speaking with police, Wilson said he believed the perpetrators broke into the church through a side window on the lower level.
The finance office and Wilson's office sustained the most damage. Police found communion candles, office supplies, towels and remnants of feces strewn across the pastor's office. Both office doors were also cut open and kicked in.听
For Wilson, the pastor said, what was perplexing was not much of value was taken. Wilson believed the only items removed from the church were a few keys and a pair of Bluetooth speakers.听
"It pretty much tells me, 'Well we can't find what we want, so we'll just tear everything up before we leave,'" Wilson said, speaking from the church stairwell Monday.听
Wilson, a pastor for nearly 11 years, said he hasn't had any issues in the past with break-ins or thefts. He moved to Auburn from Alabama in 1960 when he was six years old, and has been involved in the church since he was eight.听
Wilson took on his current position after the former pastor and his brother-in-law, John Humphrey, died in 1995.
He said the break in is "ridiculous" given the financial state of churches around this time of year, his included.听
Wilson said he still plans to still hold a service on Sunday. He expects to have everything cleaned up over the next few days.
"I just wanted to let them know that you can tear all the doors down, kick all the windows out but God's house will be restored and things will go on," he said.
- Greg Mason
- Updated
AUBURN 鈥 After settling into a听chair听to have her head shaved bald on Sunday, Sarah Portipilo said the emotions of the moment finally caught up to her.
To that point, approximately 60 people had already had their heads shaved for Auburn's annual St. Baldrick's Day fundraising event at the Knights of Columbus on Market Street. The haircuts were gestures of support to the St. Baldrick's Foundation's mission to bolster childhood cancer research efforts.
Pacing the event, which was organized by members of听the Auburn Fire Department,听were intermittent speeches by parents and others directly affected by the disease. Auburn's fifth annual St. Baldrick's Day, by Monday, drew around 120 shavees and raised around $70,000, organizers said.
More than听$2,000听of that was collected through fundraising efforts by Portipilo, a special education teacher at Herman Avenue Elementary School.
And when Portipilo's hair was cut on Sunday, she was seated with the family of Caden Schmitt, a 8-year-old student of hers whose experience living听with听a brain tumor听moved her to "brave the shave," as the St. Baldrick's saying goes.
Schmitt, diagnosed听with medulloblastoma in听2014, is in remission after his chemotherapy treatments ended in November, according to his mother, Jaime.
Nevertheless, the young boy's plight against his condition moved several in the local community. Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central New York, the Sugarman Law Firm granted Caden Schmitt's wish and last August.
Portipilo, meanwhile, described her student as "a tough kid" in going through his treatments and hospital stays, saying she committed herself to braving the shave when she learned more about the annual St. Baldrick's Day event in Auburn.
"He'd come back (from treatments) like he never missed a beat. And then I'd go home to my family and it just really hit home," she said before adding, "When I go home to my kids, that's what it's about. And then having to see what Caden's had to endure the last couple years, that's what it's about."
Several who volunteered for haircuts donated locks of their hair to organizations like Wigs for Kids. Other 2016 shavees included Keith Batman, chair of the Cayuga County Legislature, and Jeff Pirozzolo, superintendent of the Auburn Enlarged City School District.听
New to this year's St. Baldrick's Day was an added incentive for area school teachers to raise funds. Organizers听put together a basket full of rewards collected through donations from local businesses, said firefighter Brian Bennink, event chair.
The basket, which was won by Portipilo, included around $2,000 worth of prizes including gift cards, coupons and tickets听for a day trip to New York City,听Bennink said. However, the Auburn firefighter said that none of the participating teachers he spoke with 鈥 including Portipilo, she said herself 鈥 were in it for the basket, parts of which would likely go back to the students.
"Anything that's done, this community 鈥 I would put us up against any community, per capita, in the country. We give so much," he said, noting other recent fundraising events, including Majorpalooza and the Socci Stiletto Stampede in听Skaneateles. "To think that we're going to be close to $500,000 in five years (of St. Baldrick's in Auburn) is unbelievable."
Caden Schmitt was one of the 17 children formally commemorated through the event.
Another was Carissa Mosher, a 13-year-old who died of cancer, rhabdoid sarcoma,听in May. Her mother, Tracey Mosher, told her daughter's story Sunday to a crowd that featured several that could not hold back tears.
Jaime Schmitt joined members of her family and Portipilo in shaving their heads for Caden. The Auburn mother noted that Portipilo first approached her about shaving in her son's honor, saying听she and her family will continue supporting the Auburn St. Baldrick's event "for a very long time."
"It's amazing, I knew he touched a lot of people, but this really drove home how much he has moved others in this area," Jaime Schmitt said of Portipilo's efforts.
- Gwendolyn Craig
- Updated
AUBURN听鈥 Joyce Ihrig grew up in Auburn on Bundy Avenue, Shirley Mullaly three blocks away on Evans Street. The two girls went to East High School, a year apart. They knew of each other, but weren't quite friends.
Joyce and Shirley did all of this 鈥 going to the same ice cream shop and grocery store, attending the same church and walking the same streets 鈥 not knowing that they were actually sisters.
Shirley never would know: She passed away from breast cancer in 1977.
Joyce found out in her 20s that she had a sister, but she didn't know anything more than that. It wasn't until her son, Mike Ihrig, of Chesapeake, Virginia, sent his spit in a vial for a DNA test through that Joyce's entire past began coming to light.
Early this year, Jeannie Tucker, of Auburn, got a call from Mike.
"It popped up with Jeannie as a second cousin, amongst a couple of others," Mike said. "As I reached out to them, she responded back, 'Well, I don't see any names that are matched on my list.'"
It had to be a scam, thought Jeannie, who had sent away for her own DNA test four years ago.
"The DNA test can tell you where you came from in the old-world countries," she said. "Then it starts putting you in with all the other people who have their DNA tested, and links you together. It will come back and say, '95-percent confident that these two people are second cousins.'"
Jeannie knew her mother's aunt, Germaine Lambert, had given up a daughter for adoption. Jeannie's mother had even met the little girl 鈥 who'd later be known as Shirley Mullaly.
But there couldn't possibly have been听two听little girls given up by Germaine, Jeannie thought.
Joyce didn't believe the connection, either.
"He (Mike) says, 'Mom, I think you had relatives in your hometown the whole time you lived there!'" Joyce said, recalling when the DNA results came back. "I said, 'That's impossible!'"
But Joyce's birth name confirmed it 鈥 Patricia Lambert. Another Lambert from Auburn.
"He says his mother is from Auburn, and her last name is Lambert, and she was adopted," Jeannie said about her first conversation with Mike.
So Mike and Joyce drove up to Auburn from Washington, Pennsylvania, where Joyce now lives, to meet their family for the first time May 27. Altogether, Jeannie hosted about 50 relatives that weekend.
"At 81, believe me, I never in the world expected this," Joyce said. "All the way up here I kept saying to myself, 'I don't know how this is going to turn out. I haven't the vaguest idea what to expect.'"
And although Shirley had passed away, her daughter, Diane Escobedo, was dumbfounded when she learned about Joyce.
"You know, I just couldn't believe that my mom had a sister," Diane said. "I mean, we knew who the birth family was, but she had a sister. That was a really big deal. I was really close to my mom, and I just had to meet her, and my son and my husband were right there with me."
Diane and family made the journey to Auburn from Arizona. They all met in Jeannie's house on James Street, sitting in a circle in the living room, seeing each others' faces and their resemblances, and making up for lost time.
"We all got along so well, and it kind of felt like we had known each other all of our lives," Diane said.
The following day, even more family came to see long-lost relatives. Lee Rohmer, of Texas, had been very close to Germaine, and made the trip north to see her newly found cousin for the first time.
"She stood in the doorway, and kind of evaluated me," Joyce said about meeting Lee. "And then she came across the doorway and gave me a big hug and said, 'Oh my God, you are definitely Gerrie's daughter.'"
Lee brought a few items for Joyce, including Germaine's death certificate, her eulogy, pictures from her 90th birthday and a few pieces of jewelry. One piece of jewelry, a necklace that Germaine wore in an old black-and-white photograph, was particularly special to the family because of the story behind it.
"My mother literally put the necklace on layaway, and paid 25 cents a week to pay for it," Joyce said, laughing. It's just one of the many stories shaping the mother she never knew.
"I'm just tickled to death," she said. "I can't believe any of this. And I have a granddaughter here getting married, and there's a very good possibility she'll wear the necklace."
The听family is already discussing the next time they will gather, likely in October. Jeannie said her house is open, and Diane plans to bring her older sister to meet their Aunt Joyce sometime this summer. There's also two more cousins from California, who hope to make it.
"It's still kind of just overwhelming," Jeannie said. "It's like, 'Wow, did this really happen?' It's great. I feel like I got another whole family that I never knew."
There's still some unanswered questions听鈥 like whom Joyce and Shirley's father or fathers are, and why they were adopted.听
But it's the answer to a question that had never been asked听鈥 a sister, an aunt, a niece, another family听鈥 that means the most to the group of relatives brought together by Germaine Lambert.
"I just felt like we all really knew each other, and everybody felt that way," Diane said. "It was pretty special."
- Ellen Leahy
- Updated
SKANEATELES 鈥 Right from the get go this cruise was different.
On the day before Super Bowl Sunday, Lisa and Dan Wiles 鈥斕齱ith extended family in tow 鈥斕齜oarded the Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas cruise ship in the old navy yard in Bayonne, New Jersey. This was Dan Wiles' 12th or 13th winter cruise with Royal.
If you aren't sure who Dan Wiles is, he is part of the Mid-Lakes Navigation's Wiles family. He is captain of the double-decker, the Emita II. He's the sibling who is on the Erie Canal from April to October, looking out for the safety and comfort of his passengers, entertaining them with stories about the Erie Canal, talking about its place in history, piloting the boat and directing his crew.
鈥淵es, it truly is a bus-man's holiday,鈥 Wiles said. 鈥淏ut normally on a boat, I'm making sure people are safe, happy and having a great time. On this type of vacation, I have a crew of 1,500 people looking out for me and my party.鈥
This is Wiles' story of a storm at sea, from his perspective as not only a passenger but also a ship captain. First things first, the Anthem of the Seas is a ship. Don't ever call it a boat, Wiles said.听
It was launched on Feb. 21, 2015. It's the third-biggest cruise ship in the world.
鈥淎 smart ship, state of the art, about 16 decks with all the bells and whistles,鈥 he said. "And it still had that new ship smell.鈥
He and Lisa were joined by her parents, Jack and Kathy Best, Lisa鈥檚 brother Joe Best, Uncle Bill Scanlon, and Dan's cousins Peter and Kathy Menzies.
As they were steaming out of Bayonne with 4,500 passengers, the 16-year Royal veteran captain, Claus Andersen, informed the 6,000 people aboard that there was a weather system building along the East Coast. His intention was to steam rapidly through it before it got big.
鈥淟et's see how fast we can go,鈥 Wiles recalled the captain saying. 鈥淚 thought it was great, exciting. We were flying, doing about 22 nautical knots. Ships seldom cruise over 20 knots."
Traveling from Bayonne to the Bahamas in winter, the first day is often not the best weather wise. But, Wiles likes the idea of being able to drive to the dock and not have to deal with flying and all the waiting around that entails. He wants to get out on the water and even visit New York City either on the way to or home from the cruise.
Super Bowl Sunday was the first full day of sailing, and he acknowledged to being a little disappointed that he couldn't enjoy the outside decks because of rain and wind, but people instead gathered in a glass solarium, where one could still view the vastness of the Atlantic.
It started to get really rough with high winds and big waves, 30 footers. The water actually started sloshing around in the ship's pools, too.
The captain, or sometimes the cruise director, came over the air to update passengers about听their progress. That is, until around 3 p.m., when the captain announced that everyone should go to their cabins and stay there. It had gotten more difficult to move about the boat at that time, Wiles said.
鈥淲e were on the 11th deck, which was different from passengers on the third deck who must have had water constantly sloshing over the portholes,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 was never in fear for my life. I was in fear for my comfort. Having built boats and piloted them in all kinds of weather, I was fine. And my wife and our collective family's sense of humor kept us going, but also right away the captain declared pay-per-view and the internet connections were free.鈥
Wiles said it was a good thing it was the Super Bowl, as it was the perfect distraction. So, people were in their rooms eating snacks and consuming beverages from their mini bars for dinner.
Each cabin's television has a station that broadcasts the position of the ship at all times, wind speeds and the air temperature. At one point, Wiles switched to this station and saw wind speeds of 137 knots, which is 150 mph. The forecast had been for 70 mph winds, so this was a significant difference.
The captain was riding down the coast with the wind at his back. As the winds gained force, about 125 to 150 miles off of South Carolina, the captain turned the ship around, in order to head into the wind. Wiles said when it becomes difficult to manage a ship, moving into the wind will stabilize the vessel.
But, to do this, the captain had to turn the ship around, and that proved to be the roughest part of the whole journey. The vessel did some serious rocking until it did get turned around and then stayed put 鈥斕齩r in nautical terms, holding station.
After the passengers were sent to their cabins, the captain or cruise director gave hourly updates.听
鈥淏y giving us free internet, which gave everyone access to shore and the news, and the frequent updating, the crew wasn't trying to hide the situation we were in,鈥 Wiles said. 鈥淎ll along they were alerting us to their plans and sympathizing with our discomfort.鈥
Later into the night, the captain announced that the weather system was moving away and that he wasn't going to interrupt their voyage anymore that night and encouraged people to get some sleep.
鈥淚 slept,鈥 Wiles said. 鈥淕ot up the next morning and went in search of food. The galley had taken a real beating. People were out taking pictures and lining up at this Windjammer Cafe that hadn't been able to open on schedule. Keep in mind, the crew of 1,500 went through the storm too. The event brought out the best and the worst in people.鈥
Passengers from lower cabins had grabbed blankets and come to upper deck lounges to wait out the storm. Furniture was all over the place, with rumors of up to 500 deck chairs out to sea. There was broken glass everywhere, and there were ceiling tiles down with exposed wires hanging. It was mostly cosmetic. They hadn鈥檛 been alerted to any mechanical damage, but Wiles could hear the difference in the engines.
As the day moved forward, the captain came on the horn saying something to the effect of that being the worst night of his sailing career and that there was another storm system developing off of Florida.
鈥淲e've put you through enough, so we are going to steam back to Bayonne,鈥 Wiles recalled the captain saying.
Then, he announced a one-hour open bar and that there would be a full refund for the cruise including tax, gratuities and parking costs on shore, and each guest will be given 50 percent of what they paid for the cruise toward a new cruise. In addition, any cost incurred because of having to change flights will be reimbursed.
Once the storm was over, the ship was up and running with most services and shows, except the pools and features that needed to be looked at before operating, such as the wave rider.
They were approaching Bayonne around 9 p.m. Feb. 10 when the captain announced that passengers had the choice of disembarking that night or in the morning.
鈥淚t was a beautiful night with the New York skyline sparkling across the water,鈥 Wiles said.
And then he noticed the news helicopters in the air and the press set up on the shore, where 1,500 people chose to get off the ship as fast as they could. Meanwhile, 3,000 passengers stayed on board enjoying one more night on the water.
Wiles admired the way the weather event was handled and was disappointed in the media coverage, which centered on the most anxious customers who were the first to get off the boat when it landed and were met by the waiting news crews, who in turn were anxious to turn in these firs- person accounts of the voyage.
But, what about the Titanic? Had this captain risked the possibilities of sinking the ship?
鈥淕iant cruise ships don't sink," Wiles said. "The Titanic was instead designed for transportation meant to move people from one point to another. A cruise ship is designed to entertain people on board. There is no comparison. The Titanic is Stone Age compared to the engineering from two world wars that has gone into the sea worthiness of today's cruise ships. Ship building has come a long way.鈥
By the next Saturday, Feb. 13, the Anthem of the Seas was cleared by the Coast Guard to set sail again, which it did with a full passenger load.
The Wiles fully intend to use their discount to take another cruise when their busy schedule permits. This last one wasn't the cruise Dan Wiles thought he had signed on for, but instead it was a different type of adventure on the high seas and that was all right by him.
- Megan Blarr
- Updated
AUBURN 鈥 As Gregory Bates dropped his son off at school in March, he saw his old car for the first time in years. The white 2006 BMW 750Li had been taken from him back in 2011 and, although it certainly looked different, he knew the car in the school parking lot was his. The bold black words on the bumper told him so.听
鈥淭his Vehicle Seized From a Local Drug Dealer,鈥 it read, a D.A.R.E. sticker displayed on the side. "Auburn Police."听
That local drug dealer was Bates.听
In December 2011, Bates' BMW was seized during a major drug bust in which he was one of more than two dozen people arrested for selling cocaine. According to the state Attorney General's Office, from Georgia and New York City to Syracuse and Auburn.
鈥淚 was arrested for conspiracy to sell cocaine,鈥 Bates said. 鈥淚 wasn't at the top of the chain, but I was definitely involved in distribution.鈥
Soon after his arrest, Bates pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. He spent the next four years at Cayuga Correctional Facility, where he first learned his BMW was being used by the Auburn Police Department.听
"My family let me know (about my car)," he said, recalling the photos his girlfriend sent of the BMW stamped with a D.A.R.E. emblem and large black lettering.听
At first, Bates said, he was angry and ashamed.听
"Whatever you do in the drug trade can be taken from you and anything you do in the drug trade will come back to haunt you," he said. "Every time I saw pictures or heard about (the car), I just wished I had done something different."
But he hadn't. Instead, Bates got involved with drugs at a young age, and he went to prison three times.听
At 23 years old, Bates was first arrested in 1997 in Onondaga County and convicted of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a weapon. Nine years later, he was arrested again in Onondaga County and sentenced to two to four years in prison for fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. And in 2011, he was charged with 17 felonies in connection with two drug rings in Cayuga County.听
"I plead guilty to the offer on the table," he said, accepting a plea bargain from the state. "It was like a slap on the wrist compared to what it could have been."
Then, after participating in the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision's Alcohol Substance Abuse Treatment Program and learning the fate of his BMW, Bates' attitude changed.听
"When I learned about the effects drugs have on the brain and body and that my car was being used to represent the D.A.R.E. Program, I began to understand the significance of my responsibility to educate the community about the negative effects of the drug trade," Bates said. 鈥淎lmost everyone in Auburn knows that was my car and the stigma with that is negative, but I want to turn it around and use it as a positive. I want to use it as a stepping stone to help other people and spread awareness.鈥
So he wrote a letter to the Auburn Police Department, thanking them for using his car to do just that.听
"He (told us) that he was glad that we were making good use of his vehicle," Sgt. Gregory Dann said, explaining that the 听to travel between city schools. "Hopefully it sends a message to drug dealers that we might be driving their car one day."
Now 41 years old, Bates wants to use his story to warn children about the dangers of drug abuse.听
"A lot of people turn to drugs because it's the cool thing to do and all their friends are doing it," he said, admitting peer pressure pushed him into drugs. "But if we can start young and get kids to understand that they don't have to do drugs to be accepted... they won't lose out on their life like I did."
Working at the Dollar Tree, the former truck driver is starting from scratch, looking to renew his license as he reaches out to community outreach programs in the area to volunteer.听
"I'm not turning to drugs ever again," he said. "I'm trying to do better for myself so I can actually help someone else."
- David Wilcox
- Updated
AURELIUS 鈥 One operator of a smoke shop behind the Finger Lakes Drive-In has been taken into custody as the town of Aurelius takes legal action against both the shop and the theater.
Dustin "Dusty" Parker was apprehended at Seneca County Probation Thursday evening. Parker, 29, in early August on a 1.19-acre lot that used to be part of the drive-in. Parker and Jason Silversmith, both members of the Cayuga Nation, for $0 from the drive-in's owner, Paul Meyer, .
Parker is being held without bail in the Seneca County Jail.
Parker's sister, Amber, said Friday that he was taken into custody while checking in with his Seneca County probation officer, Dan O'Neil. Dustin was determined to have violated his probation by leaving the county without notifying O'Neil, an action Amber called "odd and petty" because Dustin has been leaving the county regularly since starting a construction business about a month ago.
A message left with Seneca County Probation was not returned.
Aurelius Town Supervisor Edward Ide said听that after being taken into custody, Parker was also served with paperwork by the town of Aurelius for zoning violations.
"Hopefully we've averted any sort of confrontation,听," Ide said. "That would really be an awkward place to have something like that."
Ide deferred comment on the nature of the violations to the town's counsel,听David B. Thurston, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
Ide said the town has additionally taken legal action against Meyer.
Furthermore, the drive-in owner is "in trouble" with the DEC, the supervisor said, for clearing wetlands behind the theater and attempting to burn trees there with diesel fuel, and then burying the trees. Some of the property on which this took place, Ide said, was not Meyer's.
A message to the state DEC press office Friday was not returned. Meyer also could not be immediately reached for comment.
The drive-in's fence on the edge of Clark Street Road has recently been extended, cutting off access to its ticket window.听Silversmith, who was at the smoke shop Friday fielding customers, said Meyer merged the shop's easement driveway and the drive-in's own due to language in the land's deed.
Silversmith also called the action against Parker "petty." He added that he believes the town of Aurelius has no grounds to take action against him and Parker because, as Cayugas, their sovereignty means they answer only to the federal government.
Silversmith also said that there has been no recent communication between the two cigarette vendors and the two factions of the Cayuga Nation leadership, who last week accused Parker and Silversmith of fraudulently acquiring the property in the nation's name without official sanction.
For now, though, business has been picking up at the smoke shop, Silversmith said 鈥 and so has its customers' support.
"We're amazed at the support we're getting," he said. "The public, by and large, they support that we're here."
- Megan Blarr
- Updated
FLEMING | Fleming, Owasco and Auburn firefighters responded after a truck overturned and began leaking fluid on Route 38 in Fleming.
The accident happened around 4 p.m. in the traffic circle in front of the Sunoco gas station, where Route 38 intersects with White Bridge Road and Sand Beach Road. A shredding truck overturned, spilling scrap metal onto the side of the road.听
Stephen Donnelly, a spokesman for Upstate Shredding, said the truck's trailer was leased to an independent company and not operated by Upstate Shredding or Weitsman Recycling.听
Fleming Fire Department Assistant Chief William Breck said it appeared speed was a factor in the accident.听
About 50 gallons of hydraulic fluid also spilled when the truck overturned, but was contained and cleaned up by firefighters at the scene. Breck said no one was injured in the crash.听
- Greg Mason |
- Updated
Auburn Correctional Facility is on lockdown following two separate incidents of inmate violence last week, according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
The altercations, which occurred on Thursday and Saturday, were each stopped by the firing of a round from a state-issued rifle into a safe area of the prison yard, a DOCCS spokesperson said on Tuesday.听
In response, the prison was ordered into lockdown on Sunday for an overall frisk of the premises, according to DOCCS.
"DOCCS has absolutely zero tolerance for violence and contraband, and we will make sure that any inmate found in violation of department rules or endangering others is held accountable," a spokesperson said in a statement.
Prison officials are working with the New York State Police on the investigation of the incidents. The first occurred at around听9:30 p.m.听on Thursday.
A DOCCS spokesperson said three inmates were fighting in the prison's south yard and ignored verbal commands from a correction officer stationed on the roof. As part of prison protocol, the officer then fired a shot into the safe area as a warning, DOCCS said, which prompted the inmates to lay on the ground.
A weapon was recovered from the area, the spokesperson added, and the inmates involved are facing possible discipline.听
The DOCCS spokesperson did not release further details about the second incident.
- Greg Mason
- Updated
Auburn police officers are on the lookout for a man who robbed Jreck Subs on Genesee Street on Monday.
Authorities were dispatched at 8:56 p.m. to the sub shop at 251 Genesee St., according to the Auburn Police Department. Surveillance video from inside Jreck Subs shows a male 鈥 wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, a hat and jeans 鈥 at the front counter of the shop with a knife.
Police said the man grabbed the knife from behind the counter while the store clerk was distracted. The suspect then approached the clerk, according to APD, and demanded money.
The robber removed the money himself after the clerk gave him instructions, police said. He ultimately left the store with an undisclosed amount. No one was injured.
The man is described by police as of average height and build with a goatee. The APD is asking the public for assistance in identifying the suspect.
Anyone with additional information related to the case is advised to contact detective Meagan Kalet at (315) 255-4702 or (315) 253-3231. Callers can remain anonymous.
- Greg Mason
- Updated
AUBURN 鈥 Dario D'Angelo takes a lot of pride in his homemade Italian cuisine.
It's the staple of Bistro Gusto Italiano, Dario's new restaurant that opens Friday on Genesee Street in Auburn. Bistro Gusto is both a restaurant and a bakery that deals in authentic Italian food made from scratch.
While most restaurants order certain products already prepared for a variety of reasons, Dario听shrugs at the idea. "That's too easy," he said in his thick Italian accent.
For Bistro Gusto, Dario听said everything 鈥 from the pasta and sauce he uses for the restaurant menu to the cookies and cakes baked by his wife, Lucia 鈥 is homemade.
"We didn't want to make an American bakery. We wanted to make an Italian bakery," he said.
Bistro Gusto is the first eatery Dario听has owned in the United States. The 41-year-old was born and raised in Sicily, which is where he went to culinary school and worked as a chef. Dario听said he and his father, Vincenzo, cooked alongside each other for a period of time in their home country.
Dario's uncle, Angelo, came to the United States and opened Angelo's Pizza on Genesee Street in 1960. Dario听said his father also came to Auburn at that time to help start the pizza shop. After travelling back and forth from Sicily with his father for some time, Dario听said Vincenzo eventually suggested he move to the U.S. with his family.
At that, Dario, Lucia and their children 鈥 Ilaria, 3, Diego, 6, and Mia, 11 鈥 moved to Auburn about two years ago. For Dario, opening his own place was always something they wanted to accomplish.
"We came from Italy with the idea," he said.
They found a spot to pursue that goal at 105听Genesee St., the location of the former Bambino's Bistro. Bambino's owner Guillermo Salinas听vacated the space in听March听to make a听.
Dario said he and his family put several months of work into renovating the location with new floors, repainted walls, a new counter and more. He said the family is also helped by his father and one of the family's best friends, Giuseppe Casamassa.
Walk-in customers are immediately met by a display case filled with Lucia's confections.听Dario said his wife also bakes custom cakes upon request.听
"These cookies that you see here 鈥 you can never find them in New York state," Dario said. "They are Sicilian cookies."
Beyond the desserts, Bistro Gusto will have weekly specials. The restaurant menu includes several pasta dishes, deep-fried rice balls (arancini), seafood pizza and what Dario described as authentic Italian lasagna. Delivery, catering and takeout options are all available.
Dario and Lucia celebrated the restaurant's opening with a small party Thursday at the Genesee Street spot, enjoying the moment with family and friends a day ahead of the big opening.
"We wanted to try it with our bakery, with our pasta, with our everything," he said before adding, "I think that we can do it."
More like this...
- 人兽性交 staff
One person was killed and another was injured in a two-vehicle crash near a popular eatery in Owasco Wednesday night.听
The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office said the crash occurred at about 9:41 p.m. on East Lake Road, which is also Route 38A.听
Chloe Calhoun, 18, of Auburn was driving a 2005 Ford Escape and had just exited the Tom Thumb Drive In parking lot. Her vehicle was heading north when it was struck from behind by a 2013 Chevy Avalanche operated by Dain Schneider, 33, of Owasco.听
Calhoun, was transported to Auburn Community Hospital and then airlifted to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, where she died as a result of the injuries sustained in the crash.听
Schneider was transported to Upstate University Hospital and is being treated for non-life threatening injuries, authorities said.听
The sheriff's office said the drivers were the only occupants in their respective vehicles. Investigators said they could not immediately comment on what factors may have contributed to the crash, saying the investigation was continuing.
The speed limit along the two-lane stretch road by Tom Thumb, where vehicles frequently enter and exit the parking lot, is 55 mph.
The sheriff's office asks anyone who witnessed the crash or either vehicle prior to the accident to contact Detective Brian Schenck at (315) 253-3545.听
The stretch of road near Tom Thumb was also the site of a fatal crash on July 11, 1979. Carmela Galbato, wife of longtime drive-in owner Thomas Galbato, was struck by a drunk driver while walking from the family's nearby home to the restaurant.
Thomas Galbato has spent many years raising awareness about drunk driving dangers through an organization called
- Greg Mason
The Auburn Police Department released an advisory Wednesday after a driver reportedly crashed into a tree while playing "Pokemon Go."
The augmented reality smartphone game calls for players to catch virtual Pokemon in real-life locations. However, a 28-year-old driver 鈥 distracted while playing "Pokemon Go" 鈥 ran his vehicle off the road and crashed into a tree Tuesday night in the area of 144 Owasco St., according to the APD.
Police said officers responded at around 10:44 p.m. and the driver admitted to actively playing the game, which distracted him as he headed northbound on Owasco Street. Auburn Police Chief Shawn Butler said the driver suffered cuts to both legs and was disoriented, but was not seriously injured. He was transported to Auburn Community Hospital via TLC Ambulance.听
"The engine was actually starting to come into the passenger compartment," Butler said. "Extremely lucky."
An investigation is ongoing. Butler said tickets will likely be issued following the investigation. The name of the driver was not available Wednesday.听
The APD advisory reminds players to use "common sense" when playing "Pokemon Go." The police department advises players to remember not to use the application while driving a motor vehicle or riding a bicycle.
The state Department of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday.
"Pokemon Go" players have also been advised of the following by APD, as per Wednesday's advisory:
鈥 Do not trespass onto private property to catch a Pokemon
鈥 Be aware of your surroundings
鈥 Use caution when sharing locations 鈥 strangers can see your location information
鈥 Travel in groups in public, well-lit areas
- Greg Mason
SKANEATELES 鈥 An 8-year-old girl sustained serious injuries in a boating accident on Skaneateles Lake on Wednesday afternoon, according to deputies with the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office.
Emergency responders were called just before 6 p.m. to the lake's boat launch, off Route 41A. Onondaga County Sheriff Det. Jon Seeber said the girl and her father were tubing along the lake towed by a 17-foot-long vessel with four other passengers, all of whom investigators believe are from the Homer area.
Seeber said the driver of the boat made a turn, but did not compensate for the distance between the vessel and the tube resulting in a collision. A nearby boater heard "a scream," he said, and assisted the injured individuals out of the water.
The girl was transported via ambulance to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse with serious head and arm injuries. She was in surgery Wednesday evening, Seeber said, while the father, also transported to Upstate, sustained less severe injuries and was in stable condition.
The investigation is ongoing, Seeber said. Two adults, overseeing one child and one infant, were noticeably distraught at the boat launch as they were intermittently questioned by authorities for the more than two hours they were at the scene.
Deputies were seen administering a sobriety test to one individual at the boat launch more than an hour and a half after the initial response 鈥 Seeber said responders were initially focused on rescue prior to that portion of the investigation.
At this point, there is no indication if drugs or alcohol were a factor in the accident. No tickets have been issued at this time, Seeber said. He added that evidence technicians and the office's navigation unit team were at the scene Wednesday evening to process the parts of the investigation.
Deputies are looking for any witnesses of the accident to contact the sheriff's office at (315) 435-3081.
Assisting with the initial response were Skaneateles police and fire crews, Skaneateles Ambulance Volunteer Emergency Services and Marcellus Ambulance Volunteer Emergency Services. A Mercy Flight helicopter was initially called to the scene, but was cancelled during response.
- 人兽性交 staff
AUBURN 鈥 One Auburn girl has touched hundreds of lives, and that was apparent Thursday evening as many gathered to remember Chloe Calhoun, an 18-year-old who was killed in a听
When Auburn High School softball coach Bob Lee thinks of Calhoun, he always pictures her smiling.
The 2016 Auburn graduate and star outfielder for the Maroons was always making others feel better with her upbeat attitude.
"She always brought a smile to my face because she听was always smiling," Lee said. "Everything was always positive. You couldn't ask for a better person."
Under a night sky dotted with blazing, colorful lanterns, friends and family shared memories of the girl with the bright smile, who'd call her friends, "Girly," got tough when it came to softball, and made people's bad days turn upside down.
Officer Chris Major of the Auburn Police Department is the school's resource officer. He recalled times when Calhoun would skip class to come and chat, always making him laugh. Giggles and laughs waved throughout the crowd, and candles illuminated teary smiles.
Softball teammates called Calhoun the "rock of the team," even recalling times when she had convinced some of her friends to come back to the game after they had quit.
Jeff Pirozzolo, superintendent of Auburn schools, addressed the crowd gathered at the Herman Avenue softball complex, a place Calhoun practiced often, after so many happy memories were shared.
"She has touched everybody here tonight," he said. "The joy she's brought, you can hear it."
Lee said the location of the candlelight vigil was fitting because the sport was such a big part of Calhoun's life. This past season, she was the Auburn team leader in hitting, home runs and runs batted in.
And she was a true emotional leader, Lee said: "She made everybody feel like a superstar."
Calhoun was planning to attend Utica College and play softball. She was consistently an honor roll student, according to 人兽性交's archives.听 Calhoun also was a听, a group under the Zonta International umbrella which aims to achieve gender equality and end violence against women and girls.听
In May, Calhoun was听. She was awarded a scholarship by the local NAACP chapter and received its Dr. Jerome H. "Brud" Holland Youth Leader Award for her work with the Z Club.听
As member of the Maroons softball team, she was recognized by 人兽性交 this spring as听.
In a听, Calhoun hit two home runs and had 5 RBIs in a 6-2 win. She had two hits and an RBI in听.听
- 人兽性交 staff
A 1-month-old child died and an Auburn man has been charged after a head-on collision early Saturday in the town of Fleming.
The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office said the crash occurred at approximately 1 a.m. Raymond Campagna, 37, of 112 North St., Auburn, was driving a 2015 Honda CRV northbound on Route 34 near Willow Brook Road when his vehicle crossed into the southbound lane and struck a 2004 GMC pickup truck.
Campagna and the driver of the truck, Dakota Potter, 18, of Aurora, weren't hurt in the crash.
Two passengers in Potter's truck, Kirsten Marie Foisia-Burgman, 20, of Aurora, and 1-month-old Kasey Potter, were airlifted to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, police said.
Kasey Potter died Saturday. Foisia-Burgman was being treated Saturday for serious injuries.
A passenger in Campagna's vehicle, Amanda Vasco, 36, of Auburn, was transported to Auburn Community Hospital. She was treated and released.
After a preliminary investigation conducted by the sheriff's office, Campagna was arrested and charged with driving while ability impaired by a combination of drugs and alcohol and failure to keep right.
Detective Lt. Brian Schenck said it appears all passengers were wearing seat belts at the time of the accident and that the baby was in a car seat.
The sheriff's office said it is working with the Cayuga County District Attorney's Office as the crash investigation continues.
- Gwendolyn Craig
A Cortland County man and his daughter involved in a serious boating accident on Skaneateles Lake Wednesday evening have been identified as 32-year-old Christopher Driscoll and 8-year-old Kaelynne Driscoll of Homer, according to a release issued Thursday afternoon by the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office.
The pair, who were inner tubing on the lake, were struck by a 17-foot Bayliner boat that was towing them after the tube struck a wake and ejected the father and daughter into the water. The operator of the boat circled back around and the boat's propeller struck them, according to the release.
A nearby boater assisted the victims, bringing them to shore at the state boat launch off of Route 41A. Both were transported to Upstate University Hospital and underwent emergency surgery Wednesday night.听
Kaelynne Driscoll is described as in critical condition. She lost both an arm and a leg, and suffered a traumatic head injury. Christopher Driscoll is in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.
The sheriff's office has not yet released the names of the boat operator and passengers on board, saying the investigation is continuing.
A for the Driscoll family has been circulating, set up July 6 by Rex Stanton of Homer, and as of about 9:40 p.m. Thursday had raised $8,075 for the family.
- Megan Blarr
OWASCO听鈥 An Owasco man could face several more charges for his involvement in a .
According to Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann, 33-year-old Dain Schneider, of 6977 Owasco Road, has been .听
Judge Thomas Leone arraigned Schneider on those charges Friday at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse where he was being treated for injuries he sustained in the crash. After his release from the hospital, Schneider was then remanded to Cayuga County Jail with bail set at $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond.
Leone revoked Schneider's bail Monday afternoon pending further charges from the county, Budelmann said, as the district attorney's office awaits the results of blood tests and accident reconstruction.听
The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office said Schneider was driving on East Lake Road last Wednesday night when he struck another vehicle from behind. The driver of that vehicle, , died as a result of her injuries.听
Schneider has two previous DWI convictions, Budelmann said 鈥斕齩ne from 2011 in the town of Marcellus, the other from 2007 in the town of Delhi. The defendant was also arrested for DWI in Skaneateles in 2000, but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless driving.听
In addition, Schneider is facing multiple charges from separate cases, including second-degree burglary, first- and second-degree criminal contempt, criminal trespassing and endangering the welfare of a child. According to the district attorney, the county is currently working on the status of those cases.听
Schneider was originally scheduled to appear in Owasco Town Court Wednesday night. However, the case has since been transferred to Cayuga County.听
- Gwendolyn Craig
AUBURN听鈥 The largest class ever to pass through Tyburn Academy of Mary Immaculate in Auburn graduated high school as the sun set Friday evening.
Incense filled the air as the Most Rev. Salvatore R. Matano, bishop of Rochester, celebrated a graduation Mass before the commencement ceremony.听
The 21 students are arguably the most decorated, said Joseph LoPiccolo, president of the academy's board of directors. He said the students, all combined, received over $400,000 in scholarships to continue their education.
Class salutatorian Thomas Zabriskie led the day's speeches off with a little bit of Ferris Bueller, from the movie, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
"Life moves pretty fast," Zabriskie quoted. "If you don't stop and look around for a while, you could miss it."
Students and parents laughed.听
But Zabriskie also talked about how much he would miss his friends at Tyburn.听
"All of you mean so much to me," he said. "We've all matured together, and become who we really are."
The valedictorian of the class, Carlin Ryan, highlighted specific memories at Tyburn, addressing each one of her teachers and a how they had helped her along the way.听
Timothy T. O'Donnell, president of Christendom College in Fort Royal, Virginia, gave the class commencement address. Standing at the front of the church, O'Donnell stressed that the graduates had been given a special light from Tyburn. He encouraged the students to use that light and communicate with others.
"There's massive amnesia in our culture right now," O'Donnell said. "We don't know who we are. We don't know where we're going."
He encouraged the graduates to share their faith with everyone they encounter.
"You are special," O'Donnell said. "You have a unique calling."
- Robert Harding
The storm that moved through Cayuga County and central New York not only closed schools and created messy conditions on roadways, it set new records for snowfall.听
As of 6 a.m. Tuesday, the National Weather Service in Binghamton said 32.4 inches of snow fell in Auburn over a 72-hour period. That was the highest snowfall total in Cayuga County and the second-highest in the Binghamton office's territory, which covers a large swath of central New York and the Southern Tier.听
The highest snowfall total was 36.4 inches near Cazenovia in Madison County.听
Auburn set three new daily records for snowfall. With 18.6 inches in the 24-hour period from 6 a.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday, the city set a snowfall record for Nov. 22 and broke the single-day record for snowfall in November.听
The Nov. 22 mark stands as the fifth-snowiest day in Auburn since the National Weather Service began recording snowfall data in 1897.听
The city also set a record with 13.8 inches of snow between 6 a.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. Monday. That was the most snow recorded on Nov. 21 and the third-snowiest November day on record.听
Lake effect snow began falling Sunday and continued through Monday and early Tuesday. Once the snow started piling up and road conditions worsened, schools cancelled classes and the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office issued a travel advisory.听
Several downtown Auburn businesses and restaurants closed Monday due to the storm. Area churches and organizations cancelled events. Local governments, such as the Owasco Zoning Board of Appeals, postponed meetings.听
While Cayuga County-area schools cancelled classes Tuesday, downtown Auburn businesses reopened and the sheriff's department lifted the travel advisory.听
The good news for Auburn: At least for now, no snow is in the forecast for the remainder of the week. The National Weather Service is calling for partly sunny skies and high temperatures in the mid 30s Wednesday. For Thanksgiving, there's a chance of rain and sleet, but little or no accumulation is expected.听
- 人兽性交 staff
AUBURN听鈥 A bicyclist was airlifted to Upstate University Hospital early Friday morning after a serious hit and run, according to Auburn Police.听
It happened around 6:30 a.m. at the corner of Genesee and N. Fulton Street when an adult male was struck by a car, which then fled the scene. Police said the they are searching for the driver of a dark or black Ford Ranger pickup.听
There is no word yet on the victim's condition.听
Anyone with information is asked to call Auburn Police at 315-253-3235.听
- Jordyn Reiland |
AUBURN | Police are investigating a burglary at an Auburn church over the weekend.
Suspects broke into the Roosevelt Memorial Baptist Church at some point Sunday night, according to the Auburn Police Department. Officers investigated the church, at 101 Fitch Ave. on Monday afternoon.
Police said they were also investigating a break-in at the Apostolic Church of the Lord Jesus Christ across the street. The investigation is ongoing.
The Rev. Robert E. Wilson, pastor, said a member of the church's board of trustees stopped by to drop off a bank deposit receipt when he noticed a light was on in the kitchen.
The board member then went up to the finance office and saw someone tried to break open the church's safe but was unsuccessful.
After speaking with police, Wilson said he believed the perpetrators broke into the church through a side window on the lower level.
The finance office and Wilson's office sustained the most damage. Police found communion candles, office supplies, towels and remnants of feces strewn across the pastor's office. Both office doors were also cut open and kicked in.听
For Wilson, the pastor said, what was perplexing was not much of value was taken. Wilson believed the only items removed from the church were a few keys and a pair of Bluetooth speakers.听
"It pretty much tells me, 'Well we can't find what we want, so we'll just tear everything up before we leave,'" Wilson said, speaking from the church stairwell Monday.听
Wilson, a pastor for nearly 11 years, said he hasn't had any issues in the past with break-ins or thefts. He moved to Auburn from Alabama in 1960 when he was six years old, and has been involved in the church since he was eight.听
Wilson took on his current position after the former pastor and his brother-in-law, John Humphrey, died in 1995.
He said the break in is "ridiculous" given the financial state of churches around this time of year, his included.听
Wilson said he still plans to still hold a service on Sunday. He expects to have everything cleaned up over the next few days.
"I just wanted to let them know that you can tear all the doors down, kick all the windows out but God's house will be restored and things will go on," he said.
- Greg Mason
AUBURN 鈥 After settling into a听chair听to have her head shaved bald on Sunday, Sarah Portipilo said the emotions of the moment finally caught up to her.
To that point, approximately 60 people had already had their heads shaved for Auburn's annual St. Baldrick's Day fundraising event at the Knights of Columbus on Market Street. The haircuts were gestures of support to the St. Baldrick's Foundation's mission to bolster childhood cancer research efforts.
Pacing the event, which was organized by members of听the Auburn Fire Department,听were intermittent speeches by parents and others directly affected by the disease. Auburn's fifth annual St. Baldrick's Day, by Monday, drew around 120 shavees and raised around $70,000, organizers said.
More than听$2,000听of that was collected through fundraising efforts by Portipilo, a special education teacher at Herman Avenue Elementary School.
And when Portipilo's hair was cut on Sunday, she was seated with the family of Caden Schmitt, a 8-year-old student of hers whose experience living听with听a brain tumor听moved her to "brave the shave," as the St. Baldrick's saying goes.
Schmitt, diagnosed听with medulloblastoma in听2014, is in remission after his chemotherapy treatments ended in November, according to his mother, Jaime.
Nevertheless, the young boy's plight against his condition moved several in the local community. Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central New York, the Sugarman Law Firm granted Caden Schmitt's wish and last August.
Portipilo, meanwhile, described her student as "a tough kid" in going through his treatments and hospital stays, saying she committed herself to braving the shave when she learned more about the annual St. Baldrick's Day event in Auburn.
"He'd come back (from treatments) like he never missed a beat. And then I'd go home to my family and it just really hit home," she said before adding, "When I go home to my kids, that's what it's about. And then having to see what Caden's had to endure the last couple years, that's what it's about."
Several who volunteered for haircuts donated locks of their hair to organizations like Wigs for Kids. Other 2016 shavees included Keith Batman, chair of the Cayuga County Legislature, and Jeff Pirozzolo, superintendent of the Auburn Enlarged City School District.听
New to this year's St. Baldrick's Day was an added incentive for area school teachers to raise funds. Organizers听put together a basket full of rewards collected through donations from local businesses, said firefighter Brian Bennink, event chair.
The basket, which was won by Portipilo, included around $2,000 worth of prizes including gift cards, coupons and tickets听for a day trip to New York City,听Bennink said. However, the Auburn firefighter said that none of the participating teachers he spoke with 鈥 including Portipilo, she said herself 鈥 were in it for the basket, parts of which would likely go back to the students.
"Anything that's done, this community 鈥 I would put us up against any community, per capita, in the country. We give so much," he said, noting other recent fundraising events, including Majorpalooza and the Socci Stiletto Stampede in听Skaneateles. "To think that we're going to be close to $500,000 in five years (of St. Baldrick's in Auburn) is unbelievable."
Caden Schmitt was one of the 17 children formally commemorated through the event.
Another was Carissa Mosher, a 13-year-old who died of cancer, rhabdoid sarcoma,听in May. Her mother, Tracey Mosher, told her daughter's story Sunday to a crowd that featured several that could not hold back tears.
Jaime Schmitt joined members of her family and Portipilo in shaving their heads for Caden. The Auburn mother noted that Portipilo first approached her about shaving in her son's honor, saying听she and her family will continue supporting the Auburn St. Baldrick's event "for a very long time."
"It's amazing, I knew he touched a lot of people, but this really drove home how much he has moved others in this area," Jaime Schmitt said of Portipilo's efforts.
- Gwendolyn Craig
AUBURN听鈥 Joyce Ihrig grew up in Auburn on Bundy Avenue, Shirley Mullaly three blocks away on Evans Street. The two girls went to East High School, a year apart. They knew of each other, but weren't quite friends.
Joyce and Shirley did all of this 鈥 going to the same ice cream shop and grocery store, attending the same church and walking the same streets 鈥 not knowing that they were actually sisters.
Shirley never would know: She passed away from breast cancer in 1977.
Joyce found out in her 20s that she had a sister, but she didn't know anything more than that. It wasn't until her son, Mike Ihrig, of Chesapeake, Virginia, sent his spit in a vial for a DNA test through that Joyce's entire past began coming to light.
Early this year, Jeannie Tucker, of Auburn, got a call from Mike.
"It popped up with Jeannie as a second cousin, amongst a couple of others," Mike said. "As I reached out to them, she responded back, 'Well, I don't see any names that are matched on my list.'"
It had to be a scam, thought Jeannie, who had sent away for her own DNA test four years ago.
"The DNA test can tell you where you came from in the old-world countries," she said. "Then it starts putting you in with all the other people who have their DNA tested, and links you together. It will come back and say, '95-percent confident that these two people are second cousins.'"
Jeannie knew her mother's aunt, Germaine Lambert, had given up a daughter for adoption. Jeannie's mother had even met the little girl 鈥 who'd later be known as Shirley Mullaly.
But there couldn't possibly have been听two听little girls given up by Germaine, Jeannie thought.
Joyce didn't believe the connection, either.
"He (Mike) says, 'Mom, I think you had relatives in your hometown the whole time you lived there!'" Joyce said, recalling when the DNA results came back. "I said, 'That's impossible!'"
But Joyce's birth name confirmed it 鈥 Patricia Lambert. Another Lambert from Auburn.
"He says his mother is from Auburn, and her last name is Lambert, and she was adopted," Jeannie said about her first conversation with Mike.
So Mike and Joyce drove up to Auburn from Washington, Pennsylvania, where Joyce now lives, to meet their family for the first time May 27. Altogether, Jeannie hosted about 50 relatives that weekend.
"At 81, believe me, I never in the world expected this," Joyce said. "All the way up here I kept saying to myself, 'I don't know how this is going to turn out. I haven't the vaguest idea what to expect.'"
And although Shirley had passed away, her daughter, Diane Escobedo, was dumbfounded when she learned about Joyce.
"You know, I just couldn't believe that my mom had a sister," Diane said. "I mean, we knew who the birth family was, but she had a sister. That was a really big deal. I was really close to my mom, and I just had to meet her, and my son and my husband were right there with me."
Diane and family made the journey to Auburn from Arizona. They all met in Jeannie's house on James Street, sitting in a circle in the living room, seeing each others' faces and their resemblances, and making up for lost time.
"We all got along so well, and it kind of felt like we had known each other all of our lives," Diane said.
The following day, even more family came to see long-lost relatives. Lee Rohmer, of Texas, had been very close to Germaine, and made the trip north to see her newly found cousin for the first time.
"She stood in the doorway, and kind of evaluated me," Joyce said about meeting Lee. "And then she came across the doorway and gave me a big hug and said, 'Oh my God, you are definitely Gerrie's daughter.'"
Lee brought a few items for Joyce, including Germaine's death certificate, her eulogy, pictures from her 90th birthday and a few pieces of jewelry. One piece of jewelry, a necklace that Germaine wore in an old black-and-white photograph, was particularly special to the family because of the story behind it.
"My mother literally put the necklace on layaway, and paid 25 cents a week to pay for it," Joyce said, laughing. It's just one of the many stories shaping the mother she never knew.
"I'm just tickled to death," she said. "I can't believe any of this. And I have a granddaughter here getting married, and there's a very good possibility she'll wear the necklace."
The听family is already discussing the next time they will gather, likely in October. Jeannie said her house is open, and Diane plans to bring her older sister to meet their Aunt Joyce sometime this summer. There's also two more cousins from California, who hope to make it.
"It's still kind of just overwhelming," Jeannie said. "It's like, 'Wow, did this really happen?' It's great. I feel like I got another whole family that I never knew."
There's still some unanswered questions听鈥 like whom Joyce and Shirley's father or fathers are, and why they were adopted.听
But it's the answer to a question that had never been asked听鈥 a sister, an aunt, a niece, another family听鈥 that means the most to the group of relatives brought together by Germaine Lambert.
"I just felt like we all really knew each other, and everybody felt that way," Diane said. "It was pretty special."
- Ellen Leahy
SKANEATELES 鈥 Right from the get go this cruise was different.
On the day before Super Bowl Sunday, Lisa and Dan Wiles 鈥斕齱ith extended family in tow 鈥斕齜oarded the Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas cruise ship in the old navy yard in Bayonne, New Jersey. This was Dan Wiles' 12th or 13th winter cruise with Royal.
If you aren't sure who Dan Wiles is, he is part of the Mid-Lakes Navigation's Wiles family. He is captain of the double-decker, the Emita II. He's the sibling who is on the Erie Canal from April to October, looking out for the safety and comfort of his passengers, entertaining them with stories about the Erie Canal, talking about its place in history, piloting the boat and directing his crew.
鈥淵es, it truly is a bus-man's holiday,鈥 Wiles said. 鈥淏ut normally on a boat, I'm making sure people are safe, happy and having a great time. On this type of vacation, I have a crew of 1,500 people looking out for me and my party.鈥
This is Wiles' story of a storm at sea, from his perspective as not only a passenger but also a ship captain. First things first, the Anthem of the Seas is a ship. Don't ever call it a boat, Wiles said.听
It was launched on Feb. 21, 2015. It's the third-biggest cruise ship in the world.
鈥淎 smart ship, state of the art, about 16 decks with all the bells and whistles,鈥 he said. "And it still had that new ship smell.鈥
He and Lisa were joined by her parents, Jack and Kathy Best, Lisa鈥檚 brother Joe Best, Uncle Bill Scanlon, and Dan's cousins Peter and Kathy Menzies.
As they were steaming out of Bayonne with 4,500 passengers, the 16-year Royal veteran captain, Claus Andersen, informed the 6,000 people aboard that there was a weather system building along the East Coast. His intention was to steam rapidly through it before it got big.
鈥淟et's see how fast we can go,鈥 Wiles recalled the captain saying. 鈥淚 thought it was great, exciting. We were flying, doing about 22 nautical knots. Ships seldom cruise over 20 knots."
Traveling from Bayonne to the Bahamas in winter, the first day is often not the best weather wise. But, Wiles likes the idea of being able to drive to the dock and not have to deal with flying and all the waiting around that entails. He wants to get out on the water and even visit New York City either on the way to or home from the cruise.
Super Bowl Sunday was the first full day of sailing, and he acknowledged to being a little disappointed that he couldn't enjoy the outside decks because of rain and wind, but people instead gathered in a glass solarium, where one could still view the vastness of the Atlantic.
It started to get really rough with high winds and big waves, 30 footers. The water actually started sloshing around in the ship's pools, too.
The captain, or sometimes the cruise director, came over the air to update passengers about听their progress. That is, until around 3 p.m., when the captain announced that everyone should go to their cabins and stay there. It had gotten more difficult to move about the boat at that time, Wiles said.
鈥淲e were on the 11th deck, which was different from passengers on the third deck who must have had water constantly sloshing over the portholes,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 was never in fear for my life. I was in fear for my comfort. Having built boats and piloted them in all kinds of weather, I was fine. And my wife and our collective family's sense of humor kept us going, but also right away the captain declared pay-per-view and the internet connections were free.鈥
Wiles said it was a good thing it was the Super Bowl, as it was the perfect distraction. So, people were in their rooms eating snacks and consuming beverages from their mini bars for dinner.
Each cabin's television has a station that broadcasts the position of the ship at all times, wind speeds and the air temperature. At one point, Wiles switched to this station and saw wind speeds of 137 knots, which is 150 mph. The forecast had been for 70 mph winds, so this was a significant difference.
The captain was riding down the coast with the wind at his back. As the winds gained force, about 125 to 150 miles off of South Carolina, the captain turned the ship around, in order to head into the wind. Wiles said when it becomes difficult to manage a ship, moving into the wind will stabilize the vessel.
But, to do this, the captain had to turn the ship around, and that proved to be the roughest part of the whole journey. The vessel did some serious rocking until it did get turned around and then stayed put 鈥斕齩r in nautical terms, holding station.
After the passengers were sent to their cabins, the captain or cruise director gave hourly updates.听
鈥淏y giving us free internet, which gave everyone access to shore and the news, and the frequent updating, the crew wasn't trying to hide the situation we were in,鈥 Wiles said. 鈥淎ll along they were alerting us to their plans and sympathizing with our discomfort.鈥
Later into the night, the captain announced that the weather system was moving away and that he wasn't going to interrupt their voyage anymore that night and encouraged people to get some sleep.
鈥淚 slept,鈥 Wiles said. 鈥淕ot up the next morning and went in search of food. The galley had taken a real beating. People were out taking pictures and lining up at this Windjammer Cafe that hadn't been able to open on schedule. Keep in mind, the crew of 1,500 went through the storm too. The event brought out the best and the worst in people.鈥
Passengers from lower cabins had grabbed blankets and come to upper deck lounges to wait out the storm. Furniture was all over the place, with rumors of up to 500 deck chairs out to sea. There was broken glass everywhere, and there were ceiling tiles down with exposed wires hanging. It was mostly cosmetic. They hadn鈥檛 been alerted to any mechanical damage, but Wiles could hear the difference in the engines.
As the day moved forward, the captain came on the horn saying something to the effect of that being the worst night of his sailing career and that there was another storm system developing off of Florida.
鈥淲e've put you through enough, so we are going to steam back to Bayonne,鈥 Wiles recalled the captain saying.
Then, he announced a one-hour open bar and that there would be a full refund for the cruise including tax, gratuities and parking costs on shore, and each guest will be given 50 percent of what they paid for the cruise toward a new cruise. In addition, any cost incurred because of having to change flights will be reimbursed.
Once the storm was over, the ship was up and running with most services and shows, except the pools and features that needed to be looked at before operating, such as the wave rider.
They were approaching Bayonne around 9 p.m. Feb. 10 when the captain announced that passengers had the choice of disembarking that night or in the morning.
鈥淚t was a beautiful night with the New York skyline sparkling across the water,鈥 Wiles said.
And then he noticed the news helicopters in the air and the press set up on the shore, where 1,500 people chose to get off the ship as fast as they could. Meanwhile, 3,000 passengers stayed on board enjoying one more night on the water.
Wiles admired the way the weather event was handled and was disappointed in the media coverage, which centered on the most anxious customers who were the first to get off the boat when it landed and were met by the waiting news crews, who in turn were anxious to turn in these firs- person accounts of the voyage.
But, what about the Titanic? Had this captain risked the possibilities of sinking the ship?
鈥淕iant cruise ships don't sink," Wiles said. "The Titanic was instead designed for transportation meant to move people from one point to another. A cruise ship is designed to entertain people on board. There is no comparison. The Titanic is Stone Age compared to the engineering from two world wars that has gone into the sea worthiness of today's cruise ships. Ship building has come a long way.鈥
By the next Saturday, Feb. 13, the Anthem of the Seas was cleared by the Coast Guard to set sail again, which it did with a full passenger load.
The Wiles fully intend to use their discount to take another cruise when their busy schedule permits. This last one wasn't the cruise Dan Wiles thought he had signed on for, but instead it was a different type of adventure on the high seas and that was all right by him.
- Megan Blarr
AUBURN 鈥 As Gregory Bates dropped his son off at school in March, he saw his old car for the first time in years. The white 2006 BMW 750Li had been taken from him back in 2011 and, although it certainly looked different, he knew the car in the school parking lot was his. The bold black words on the bumper told him so.听
鈥淭his Vehicle Seized From a Local Drug Dealer,鈥 it read, a D.A.R.E. sticker displayed on the side. "Auburn Police."听
That local drug dealer was Bates.听
In December 2011, Bates' BMW was seized during a major drug bust in which he was one of more than two dozen people arrested for selling cocaine. According to the state Attorney General's Office, from Georgia and New York City to Syracuse and Auburn.
鈥淚 was arrested for conspiracy to sell cocaine,鈥 Bates said. 鈥淚 wasn't at the top of the chain, but I was definitely involved in distribution.鈥
Soon after his arrest, Bates pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. He spent the next four years at Cayuga Correctional Facility, where he first learned his BMW was being used by the Auburn Police Department.听
"My family let me know (about my car)," he said, recalling the photos his girlfriend sent of the BMW stamped with a D.A.R.E. emblem and large black lettering.听
At first, Bates said, he was angry and ashamed.听
"Whatever you do in the drug trade can be taken from you and anything you do in the drug trade will come back to haunt you," he said. "Every time I saw pictures or heard about (the car), I just wished I had done something different."
But he hadn't. Instead, Bates got involved with drugs at a young age, and he went to prison three times.听
At 23 years old, Bates was first arrested in 1997 in Onondaga County and convicted of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a weapon. Nine years later, he was arrested again in Onondaga County and sentenced to two to four years in prison for fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. And in 2011, he was charged with 17 felonies in connection with two drug rings in Cayuga County.听
"I plead guilty to the offer on the table," he said, accepting a plea bargain from the state. "It was like a slap on the wrist compared to what it could have been."
Then, after participating in the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision's Alcohol Substance Abuse Treatment Program and learning the fate of his BMW, Bates' attitude changed.听
"When I learned about the effects drugs have on the brain and body and that my car was being used to represent the D.A.R.E. Program, I began to understand the significance of my responsibility to educate the community about the negative effects of the drug trade," Bates said. 鈥淎lmost everyone in Auburn knows that was my car and the stigma with that is negative, but I want to turn it around and use it as a positive. I want to use it as a stepping stone to help other people and spread awareness.鈥
So he wrote a letter to the Auburn Police Department, thanking them for using his car to do just that.听
"He (told us) that he was glad that we were making good use of his vehicle," Sgt. Gregory Dann said, explaining that the 听to travel between city schools. "Hopefully it sends a message to drug dealers that we might be driving their car one day."
Now 41 years old, Bates wants to use his story to warn children about the dangers of drug abuse.听
"A lot of people turn to drugs because it's the cool thing to do and all their friends are doing it," he said, admitting peer pressure pushed him into drugs. "But if we can start young and get kids to understand that they don't have to do drugs to be accepted... they won't lose out on their life like I did."
Working at the Dollar Tree, the former truck driver is starting from scratch, looking to renew his license as he reaches out to community outreach programs in the area to volunteer.听
"I'm not turning to drugs ever again," he said. "I'm trying to do better for myself so I can actually help someone else."
- David Wilcox
AURELIUS 鈥 One operator of a smoke shop behind the Finger Lakes Drive-In has been taken into custody as the town of Aurelius takes legal action against both the shop and the theater.
Dustin "Dusty" Parker was apprehended at Seneca County Probation Thursday evening. Parker, 29, in early August on a 1.19-acre lot that used to be part of the drive-in. Parker and Jason Silversmith, both members of the Cayuga Nation, for $0 from the drive-in's owner, Paul Meyer, .
Parker is being held without bail in the Seneca County Jail.
Parker's sister, Amber, said Friday that he was taken into custody while checking in with his Seneca County probation officer, Dan O'Neil. Dustin was determined to have violated his probation by leaving the county without notifying O'Neil, an action Amber called "odd and petty" because Dustin has been leaving the county regularly since starting a construction business about a month ago.
A message left with Seneca County Probation was not returned.
Aurelius Town Supervisor Edward Ide said听that after being taken into custody, Parker was also served with paperwork by the town of Aurelius for zoning violations.
"Hopefully we've averted any sort of confrontation,听," Ide said. "That would really be an awkward place to have something like that."
Ide deferred comment on the nature of the violations to the town's counsel,听David B. Thurston, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
Ide said the town has additionally taken legal action against Meyer.
Furthermore, the drive-in owner is "in trouble" with the DEC, the supervisor said, for clearing wetlands behind the theater and attempting to burn trees there with diesel fuel, and then burying the trees. Some of the property on which this took place, Ide said, was not Meyer's.
A message to the state DEC press office Friday was not returned. Meyer also could not be immediately reached for comment.
The drive-in's fence on the edge of Clark Street Road has recently been extended, cutting off access to its ticket window.听Silversmith, who was at the smoke shop Friday fielding customers, said Meyer merged the shop's easement driveway and the drive-in's own due to language in the land's deed.
Silversmith also called the action against Parker "petty." He added that he believes the town of Aurelius has no grounds to take action against him and Parker because, as Cayugas, their sovereignty means they answer only to the federal government.
Silversmith also said that there has been no recent communication between the two cigarette vendors and the two factions of the Cayuga Nation leadership, who last week accused Parker and Silversmith of fraudulently acquiring the property in the nation's name without official sanction.
For now, though, business has been picking up at the smoke shop, Silversmith said 鈥 and so has its customers' support.
"We're amazed at the support we're getting," he said. "The public, by and large, they support that we're here."
- Megan Blarr
FLEMING | Fleming, Owasco and Auburn firefighters responded after a truck overturned and began leaking fluid on Route 38 in Fleming.
The accident happened around 4 p.m. in the traffic circle in front of the Sunoco gas station, where Route 38 intersects with White Bridge Road and Sand Beach Road. A shredding truck overturned, spilling scrap metal onto the side of the road.听
Stephen Donnelly, a spokesman for Upstate Shredding, said the truck's trailer was leased to an independent company and not operated by Upstate Shredding or Weitsman Recycling.听
Fleming Fire Department Assistant Chief William Breck said it appeared speed was a factor in the accident.听
About 50 gallons of hydraulic fluid also spilled when the truck overturned, but was contained and cleaned up by firefighters at the scene. Breck said no one was injured in the crash.听
- Greg Mason |
Auburn Correctional Facility is on lockdown following two separate incidents of inmate violence last week, according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
The altercations, which occurred on Thursday and Saturday, were each stopped by the firing of a round from a state-issued rifle into a safe area of the prison yard, a DOCCS spokesperson said on Tuesday.听
In response, the prison was ordered into lockdown on Sunday for an overall frisk of the premises, according to DOCCS.
"DOCCS has absolutely zero tolerance for violence and contraband, and we will make sure that any inmate found in violation of department rules or endangering others is held accountable," a spokesperson said in a statement.
Prison officials are working with the New York State Police on the investigation of the incidents. The first occurred at around听9:30 p.m.听on Thursday.
A DOCCS spokesperson said three inmates were fighting in the prison's south yard and ignored verbal commands from a correction officer stationed on the roof. As part of prison protocol, the officer then fired a shot into the safe area as a warning, DOCCS said, which prompted the inmates to lay on the ground.
A weapon was recovered from the area, the spokesperson added, and the inmates involved are facing possible discipline.听
The DOCCS spokesperson did not release further details about the second incident.
- Greg Mason
Auburn police officers are on the lookout for a man who robbed Jreck Subs on Genesee Street on Monday.
Authorities were dispatched at 8:56 p.m. to the sub shop at 251 Genesee St., according to the Auburn Police Department. Surveillance video from inside Jreck Subs shows a male 鈥 wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, a hat and jeans 鈥 at the front counter of the shop with a knife.
Police said the man grabbed the knife from behind the counter while the store clerk was distracted. The suspect then approached the clerk, according to APD, and demanded money.
The robber removed the money himself after the clerk gave him instructions, police said. He ultimately left the store with an undisclosed amount. No one was injured.
The man is described by police as of average height and build with a goatee. The APD is asking the public for assistance in identifying the suspect.
Anyone with additional information related to the case is advised to contact detective Meagan Kalet at (315) 255-4702 or (315) 253-3231. Callers can remain anonymous.
- Greg Mason
AUBURN 鈥 Dario D'Angelo takes a lot of pride in his homemade Italian cuisine.
It's the staple of Bistro Gusto Italiano, Dario's new restaurant that opens Friday on Genesee Street in Auburn. Bistro Gusto is both a restaurant and a bakery that deals in authentic Italian food made from scratch.
While most restaurants order certain products already prepared for a variety of reasons, Dario听shrugs at the idea. "That's too easy," he said in his thick Italian accent.
For Bistro Gusto, Dario听said everything 鈥 from the pasta and sauce he uses for the restaurant menu to the cookies and cakes baked by his wife, Lucia 鈥 is homemade.
"We didn't want to make an American bakery. We wanted to make an Italian bakery," he said.
Bistro Gusto is the first eatery Dario听has owned in the United States. The 41-year-old was born and raised in Sicily, which is where he went to culinary school and worked as a chef. Dario听said he and his father, Vincenzo, cooked alongside each other for a period of time in their home country.
Dario's uncle, Angelo, came to the United States and opened Angelo's Pizza on Genesee Street in 1960. Dario听said his father also came to Auburn at that time to help start the pizza shop. After travelling back and forth from Sicily with his father for some time, Dario听said Vincenzo eventually suggested he move to the U.S. with his family.
At that, Dario, Lucia and their children 鈥 Ilaria, 3, Diego, 6, and Mia, 11 鈥 moved to Auburn about two years ago. For Dario, opening his own place was always something they wanted to accomplish.
"We came from Italy with the idea," he said.
They found a spot to pursue that goal at 105听Genesee St., the location of the former Bambino's Bistro. Bambino's owner Guillermo Salinas听vacated the space in听March听to make a听.
Dario said he and his family put several months of work into renovating the location with new floors, repainted walls, a new counter and more. He said the family is also helped by his father and one of the family's best friends, Giuseppe Casamassa.
Walk-in customers are immediately met by a display case filled with Lucia's confections.听Dario said his wife also bakes custom cakes upon request.听
"These cookies that you see here 鈥 you can never find them in New York state," Dario said. "They are Sicilian cookies."
Beyond the desserts, Bistro Gusto will have weekly specials. The restaurant menu includes several pasta dishes, deep-fried rice balls (arancini), seafood pizza and what Dario described as authentic Italian lasagna. Delivery, catering and takeout options are all available.
Dario and Lucia celebrated the restaurant's opening with a small party Thursday at the Genesee Street spot, enjoying the moment with family and friends a day ahead of the big opening.
"We wanted to try it with our bakery, with our pasta, with our everything," he said before adding, "I think that we can do it."
