Ë®¹ûÅÉAV

Many of the names that graced the bar's corner entrance in years past — Whiskey Boots, the Rockin' Robin, Copper John's — were painted like passport stamps into a collage on a wall. Clarke installed it to pay tribute to those businesses, she told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV. Almost every trace of them was removed as she stripped the bar to its studs, revealing a brick firewall and chimney she had never seen before. 

The collage, like many visuals inside Britches', was influenced by content Clarke saw on TikTok and Instagram. In turn, she said, those visuals should make frequent backdrops for selfies and stories.

"I wanted it to be social-media worthy," she said. "When you take a picture in front of it, people know where you are."

The brick revealed during the renovation was a surprise even to Clarke, who has wanted to open a bar since she was 18. She's been interested in doing so at the 192 State St. building for years, she said, and during that time learned it has a rarely seen second floor. The floor, once used as apartments, is now the site of a VIP area that can be booked for private functions, as well as a kissing booth.

Before purchasing the building, Clarke worked as a crane operator at Nucor Steel for a decade. She also posts makeup tutorials on YouTube, where she greets viewers with the word that would become the name of her bar. Coined by her mother, it combines Clarke's nickname, Brit, with her affectionately profane term for her closest friends. The word's cursive logo, designed by A&M Graphics in Auburn, is the core of the bar's décor, Clarke said, including a large "Britches'" sign over the dance floor made of mirror shards with help from Jesse Kline of the Auburn Downtown Business Improvement District.

Amid the bar's glitter and neon, however, are blank white walls. That way, Clarke said, they capture the tints and strobes of the bar's lighting system, an effect she compared to that of a chameleon. Britches' is similar to a club, she continued, but the atmosphere is "very approachable" to people who don't like clubs. For all the lights, they'll still be able to tell what's happening around them.

"I wanted something totally different for Auburn," Clarke said. "Auburn's never seen anything quite like this."

Clarke realized how much she wanted to provide that welcoming atmosphere while at her previous job. She's a people person, she said, which is also why people at Britches' should expect to see her there, working to entertain them. She spent three years getting to that point, through COVID-19 and its many delays, and she'll make sure she stays there with a wide array of events she has planned. They include live music, beginning with Between Covers at 8 tonight and Chasing Neon July 9, as well as drag shows, karaoke Thursdays with DJ Bryan Throw, and themed events like adult proms.

The beverage menu consists of a broad selection of domestic, craft and foreign beers, alcoholic seltzers, wines and mixed drinks that will be introduced regularly. On draft is a signature beer made by Homer Hops Brewing, called Britches' Brew, which Clarke said tastes like a cross between a traditional light lager and a fruity India pale ale. That and other drafts are filled using a bottoms-up system.

To protect their beverages, people at Britches' will be able to use something else Clarke saw on social media: the Nightcap, a cover for cups that doubles as a scrunchie and contains a straw hole. It's part of a broader effort by Clarke and her staff of 13 to ensure people at her bar feel safe, she said. Entry will require showing identification, having bags checked and scanning with a metal detector wand. 

"I want this to be a place for everybody," she said. "We're all here to have a good time. This is a place I want people to feel safe, like they can be themselves and like they can have a good time."

Cayuga County Sheriff's Office Lt. Glen Dudley said in an email that the agency responded to the incident shortly after 8 a.m., and said one vehicle "was found to have run a stop sign."

Agencies present at the scene included fire departments with Sennett, Owasco, Mottville and Skaneateles plus the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office and the New York State Police.

Cameron and Olivia Daddabbo

´¡²µ±ð:Ìý18

What's next after graduation?: We will both be going off to college. Cameron is going to the University of Rochester to study biology. Olivia will be going to SUNY Brockport to study psychology.

What's the best part of being a twin?: Never being alone. Always having a friend to go to.

What's the worst part of being a twin?: Always having to share everything from birthdays to celebrations.

Who is the oldest?: Olivia

By how many minutes?: Three minutes

Isabella and Peter Dilallo

´¡²µ±ð:Ìý17

What's next after graduation?: We both plan to further our education at Cayuga Community College. 

What's the best part of being a twin?: Always having someone in the same grade who takes the same classes, to get help on homework.

What's the worst part of being a twin?: Having to share everything

Who is the oldest?: Izzy.

By how many minutes?: Three minutes.

Kevin and Maggie Dolan

Age: 18

What's next after graduation?: Kevin = SUNY Brockport, baseball/exercise science. Maggie = SUNY Geneseo, elementary education.

What's the best part of being a twin?: Always sharing friends.

What's the worst part of being a twin?: The question being asked, "Who's older?" all the time.

Who is the oldest?: ²Ñ²¹²µ²µ¾±±ðÌý

By how many minutes?: Two minutes.

Brianna and Richter Hill

´¡²µ±ð:Ìý 17

What's next after graduation?: Brianna — Cayuga Community College part-time studying sociology and anthropology. Richter — Cayuga Community College studying business.

What's the best part of being a twin?: When you think of a song and the twin starts humming it for you — Brianna.  Always having a friend the same age as you — Richter.

What's the worst part of being a twin?: Having to share our puppies — Brianna. Having to wait for my sister in the morning - Richter.

Who is the oldest?: Brianna.

By how many minutes?: Forty seconds.

Jarid and James Wilkes

Age: 18

What's next after graduation?: Work. Eventually leaving New York to work.

What's the best part of being a twin?: Having an extra body in any physical altercations.

What's the worst part of being a twin?: Easily getting called the wrong name about 15 times a day.

Who is the oldest?: Jarid.

By how many minutes?: Three minutes.

Maurissa, Savannah and Vernon Symes

Age: 17

What's next after graduation?: Work force.

What's the best part of being a triplet?: Never alone.

What's the worst part of being a triplet?: Never have time to yourself.

Who is the oldest?: Vernon

By how many minutes?: One minute.

Faced with remote learning, the loss of extracurricular activities and other challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in their sophomore year, those students could have "thrown in the towel," Morgan said. They could have waited until college to start their academic careers over, and it would have been understandable had they done so. But they didn't.

"It's not how well you start that's important, but rather how well you finish," Morgan said. "You deserve all of the great things that lie ahead." 

In spite of those challenges, or perhaps because of them, this year's seniors grew close, class president Ida Kavanagh said during her remarks at the graduation ceremony. She came to Auburn High from a Catholic school, but was welcomed with open arms by her classmates. Much of her speech was spent sharing memories with them, congratulating them and wishing them luck.

"This class is like a family," she said. "I never felt out of place in my class. There was always a familiar face and someone I could talk to."

Auburn Enlarged City School District Superintendent Jeffrey Pirozzolo, after thanking the district's board of education, continued praising the seniors for the way they endured the pandemic. In the process, he said, they learned skills others lack. He wished the class well applying those skills to college or the workforce, and asked they someday bring them back to Auburn.

"You've done something none of us sitting here has ever done," he said. "But that first year you're away to college, you're going to really appreciate what you've had for the last 13 years of education."

Salutatorian Morgan Cook elaborated on one of those skills during her remarks to the class.

Recalling the work it took to reach her academic standing, Cook frequently mentioned the 11:59 p.m. deadlines that became standard during the pandemic. 

"As we get ready for sophomore year, COVID-19 hits. A time of confusion, disparity, anguish for everyone," she said. "Caring for pets or younger siblings, not being able to eat because you have one Zoom call after another, assignments being posted at different times of the day, trying to get everything done by 11:59 p.m. every night. The list goes on."

Cook then used the metaphor of a jigsaw puzzle to chronicle the class's journey. Kindergarten saw the border form, she said, and the rest slowly began to fill in through elementary and middle school. 

"Certain pieces might not exactly fit in certain spaces or times in our lives, so they are left aside for another time when we find that perfect fit," she said. "Life is truly what you make of it, and you create your own puzzle along the way with the decisions you make. ... Whatever path you follow on your journey through life, make that puzzle huge and full of all of your experiences."

Concluding the remarks was the class of 2022's valedictorian, Jack Kennedy. After thanking the district's teachers for their efforts through the pandemic, he shared a story from his senior prom. Toward the end of that night, he asked the DJ to play a slow song for him to dance to with his date. The scene evoked a song by Japanese singer Joji, whom Kennedy quoted with his final words.

"Forget about what it is that others expect of you," he said. "The only expectations that we have to break are our own."

Witmer said the market had considerable difficulty finding and retaining staff.

"We enjoyed it while we did it, but it got a little too wearisome all the time looking for help and the change in help and all of that, so we decided to close," he said.

In 2013, the Witmer family bought the former Waffleworks building with plans to turn it into Witmer's Country Market. The business sold fresh produce, baked goods, artisan cheeses, homemade preserves, gourmet pizzas, pickled items and more, and featured a deli counter that served sub sandwiches.

Witmer said Tuesday he isn't sure what he will do with the building now.

Traffic cones blocking off entrances to the market's parking area could be seen late Tuesday afternoon. A large yellow-and-black sign that said "CLOSING" was by the building. A sign on the door said "Last day 35% off."

Walter and Patti tried everything to save her, Walter told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV, tallying several thousand dollars in treatments at an emergency veterinary clinic in Rochester.

Luckily, they got financial help from their parents to pay for the treatments. But as they reflected on losing Milly, they wondered how they would have reacted if they didn't have that help.

"What do people do when they're offered, 'We can try this for $10,000, or we can put your dog down for $300?'" Walter said.

That reflection led Walter and Patti to start Milly's Mission, a fund for dog owners facing the high costs of emergency treatments without the help they had. Started through the nonprofit Rochester Hope for Pets, the fund has already provided help for two dogs, Walter said. One needed a cesarean section, and the other, a 9-week-old Auburn dog named Cutie, needed surgery for a heart defect.

When starting the fund, Walter and her fiancé were asked by Rochester Hope for Pets whether they want to help dogs that have a low probability of surviving. "Absolutely," they responded.

"Milly wouldn't have qualified. But we wanted to try everything to help her, and have that peace of mind that we did," Walter said.

"That's really what we want to do for others. We want to give them the same opportunity to have that peace of mind."

The Milly's Mission fund grew through support from friends and family, Walter said. It will also be supported by an event later this summer, Trucks for Pups Truck Show on Saturday, Aug. 27, at Fingerlakes Mall in Aurelius. Along with trucks, the event will feature live music by Perform 4 Purpose, The Healers and Major Keys, 50/50 raffles, face painting and chicken by Mooney's BBQ.

Walter and Patti, who owns Pine Ridge Trucking, hope to make the event annual. It will become a main source of support for Milly's Mission, Walter said, which has been receiving multiple applications every day. The couple doesn't want to have to turn anyone down, and deny them the help that's been crucial to Walter and Patti as they cope with the loss of Milly.

"We're much better about it now because of Milly's Mission. That's why it means so much to us," she said. "It helps when you feel like you're helping others."

An employee of the establishment, a woman in her 20s who was not involved in the fighting that led to the shooting, was found just outside the Lavish Lounge entrance and taken to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse with two gunshot wounds in the torso.

Auburn police said their investigation has determined that at least two groups were fighting when two Black men began shooting at each other and the employee was struck. Police believe one of the shooters may have also been injured.

Police described one of the shooters as a light-skin Black male with short dreadlocks and a full beard. He was wearing a black hat with a Chicago White Sox logo, a black hoodie with a Chicago logo, black jeans and white sneakers.

Police said they believe the suspects are from the Geneva/Waterloo area.

As of around 9:45 a.m., the victim was in critical but stable condition after emergency surgery.

Auburn police are asking anyone with additional information about the incident to contact them, especially anyone who was at Lavish Lounge during the incident.

Tips can be made by contacting Investigator Charles Augello at (315) 258-9880 or crauguello@auburnny.gov, calling the department's main phone line at (315) 253-3231 or emailing communitywatch@auburnny.gov. Callers can be anonymous.

The shooting was the second outside an Auburn bar in about three months.

John Wesley Smith III, 37, of Syracuse, was discovered dead of a gunshot wound in front of Swifty's Tavern on Perrine Street around 1:40 a.m. March 15. Shameek M. Copes, 28, of 1 Jefferson St., Apt. 1, Auburn, who had been identified as the suspect in Smith's death, pleaded not guilty to counts of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon during arraignment at Cayuga County Court May 27.

"Pride House is something that we want to do to help people, mostly my age, to help them see that they shouldn't have to feel different. They aren't different. I mean, they're human beings. We're all human," Jaden said. "Being you isn't something you should have to hide. Love who you are, love who you want to love. I think that loving who you want to love is something that you should embrace."

Prior to introducing Jaden, Christopher Patch, parent of an LGBTQ youth and coordinator for Pride House, referenced the U.S Supreme Court overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision on Friday. The overturning has prompted concern from LGBTQ advocates worried that Friday's announcement could give way to a rollback of legal protections such as allowing same-sex couples to marry. 

"What Pride House is today is not what it could, or should, be tomorrow, next week or next year because the country we live in changes daily. We saw that yesterday," he said. "There are social, religious and political agendas at work that seek to take away the fundamental rights of women, minorities and the LGBTQ community, and we must be ready to recognize those agendas and defend those rights."

The Rev. Ben Fitzergerald-Fye, a member of the LGBTQ community of the Scipioville Presbyterian Church, said he had a message for anti-LGBTQ proponents.

"You will not legislate us away. You will not adjudicate us away, and you sure as Hell will not pray us away, as long as there's breath in my body," Fitzgerald-Fye said, his speech drawing applause at different points. "And to these kids at Pride House and to kids everywhere else who are living in fear, a fear that we have not seen in a really long time, I want you to know that this pastor will spend every breath I have left to make sure you know that God loves you, that God created you, that God made you who you are and what you are and that God will never, never condemn you for expressing your truth in the world." 

He concluded with a hopeful note.

"I want our rainbow children to know that I pray for you every day. I pray that God will protect you from the forces of evil trying to hurt you. I pray every day that in your own mind and in your own heart, you will understand that the world is a better place because you're in it. Take it from an old, gay man, it does get better. You all get to make it better," he said.

Other speakers included Auburn Mayor Mike Quill and Linda Webster, mother of a transgender son, artist Blake Chamberlain.

Following the speeches, the band Honky Tonk Hindooz performed as people, some of whom donned multi-colored capes, darted around talking to others. Two of the attendees, with capes in tow, were Eden Gadsby and Soot Hempel. Gadsby came to the event to support Pride House and "support pride."

"Personally, I am gay, and I feel like the youth of the LGBTQIA+ community need to show themselves so we can be strong together," Gadsby said.

State police said Felix, who owns Felix's Gutter and Improvement, is accused of accepting $3,000 from a homeowner in Skaneateles to take on roofing and gutter work and then not buying job materials or completing any home repairs.

"Following numerous attempts by the complainant to obtain a start date for the work, Mr. Felix would not return to do the work," police said.

Felix was given an appearance ticket and is currently set to appear in the Skaneateles Justice Court at 7 p.m. July 13.

Homeowners are reminded to use caution when hiring a home improvement contractor, especially following a major storm, flood, or another weather event when many homeowners are trying to repair their homes, police said. "Con artists will take homeowners’ money and deliver (or not deliver) less than quality work."

State police said people should be aware of "red flags" and refuse cash-only deals, high-pressure sales tactics, handshake deals without a contract, high upfront payments and on-site inspections. They also recommend asking for references and looking into them, saying bad contractors will be reluctant to give out such information "and scammers won’t wait for you to do your homework."

But it was not a holiday for Cayuga County employees. In an email obtained by Ë®¹ûÅÉAV, Sheila Smith, the clerk of the Legislature, reminded all employees that Juneteenth is not a county holiday and they should report to work as scheduled. 

The city of Auburn, Harriet Tubman's final resting place, observed the holiday. Neighboring counties, including Onondaga and Seneca, have designated Juneteenth as a county holiday. 

Cayuga County Legislature Chairman David Gould told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV on Friday that he supports establishing Juneteenth as a county holiday. The decision not to do it this year is more about timing.

The contracts with four different public employee unions are up this year and negotiations will likely begin this summer, he said. He anticipates that adding Juneteenth as a holiday for county employees will be addressed in those talks. 

"Because it's a contract negotiation year, (the Legislature) decided to wait and we'll negotiate it with the unions through the contract," Gould said, adding that if the Legislature "made it a holiday last year, I'm sure it would've stayed that way this year."

Gould's predecessor, Legislator Aileen McNabb-Coleman, was the chair from 2020 through 2021. Even though then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo had signed an executive order making Juneteenth a state holiday in October 2020, she said the county did not receive notification about the holiday until a few days before the Juneteenth anniversary. 

She blamed the late notice as the reason why the county did not observe the holiday. 

"Admittedly, there was a lack of time for planning," McNabb-Coleman said. "From reopening from COVID, the (county Department of Motor Vehicles) was on different hours. All these departments were on different hours. We decided that on short notice, it was too much to handle and figure out." 

During McNabb-Coleman's tenure, the county issued a proclamation recognizing Juneteenth. Gould presented a proclamation at Juneteenth festivities over the weekend. 

Legislator Brian Muldrow, the county's first Black lawmaker, told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV that he has partnered with three other legislators — Gould, Christina Calarco and Chris Petrus — to introduce a resolution that encourages the public employee unions to recognize the holiday. The goal of the resolution is to ensure that Juneteenth is added as a holiday in the final contracts. 

He said the Legislature will vote on the resolution at its full meeting on Tuesday. 

"This, recognizing (Juneteenth) as a holiday in our county allows the Black and Brown people, as well as everybody, to know that the county actually is going to recognize this day as they should and the country should," he said.