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The arts and crafts chain will open in the 24,000-square-foot space vacated by Bed Bath & Beyond in February after 18 years there.

Wachs told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV renovation of the space will begin as soon as next week so Michaels can open by the end of the summer.

"It's another incredibly exciting addition," he said. "It will be a really great day for Auburn and for Cayuga County."

Headquartered in Texas, Michaels has about 1,250 stores in America and Canada. That includes several former A.C. Moore stores that were closed by the fellow arts and crafts chain in early 2020 and acquired by Michaels. The A.C. Moore store in Auburn Plaza was not one of them, which left the area without a major arts and crafts retailer. Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft in Fingerlakes Mall closed in 2015.

Wachs believes Michaels was aware of that opportunity in the market when the chain approached Auburn Associates about opening in the plaza.

"They've been eager to enter for a bit," he said. "A lot of retailers are very hot and aggressive toward the Auburn marketplace."

Wachs also believes it was "a blessing in disguise" that Michaels didn't acquire the A.C. Moore store in the plaza. That allowed supermarket chain Aldi to move there from Aurelius in February 2021.

With the addition of Michaels, Auburn Plaza will be back to about 99% occupancy, Wachs said. Spectrum opened a store there in July 2020, and the LZ Army Navy Store reopened last summer after a 2019 fire at its previous location. The plaza has also added retail chains Five Below and Harbor Freight in recent years.

"We're very excited about the long-term vision for the plaza," Wachs said. "Michaels certainly adds to that."

The letter began circulating on social media prior to April Fool's Day. It said a new law, taking effect April 15, would require pets in Auburn to wear pants so as not to expose their genitals. The law was prompted by complaints from a citizen, the letter continued, and was created to "protect (pets) from the elements and to deter unwanted mating," among other reasons.

"It is an uncomfortable and difficult situation for a parent, grandparent or guardian to have to explain to their ward when they are questioned about canine and feline genitals," the letter said.

The letter included a forgery of Quill's signature, and was printed on the city's official letterhead.

"The city of Auburn would like to remind the public that the use of the city seal is exclusively used for official city of Auburn business only," Mason said in a statement to Ë®¹ûÅÉAV.

"Also, forgery of the signature of an elected official is an illegal act and simply should not be done."

It does not appear the letter was physically mailed to anyone in Auburn. The only trace of it is one picture shared on social media, with blue markup over the recipient's address.

Regardless, the apparent April Fool's prank made news across central New York, and even from fact-checking website Snopes.

Mason told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV that some people contacted the city about the letter, but many of them with the understanding that it was probably fake.

AECOM, the contractor leading the reconstruction of the service areas, acknowledged in a statement that it has faced "unforeseen issues" in the early stages of the $450 million project to upgrade the Thruway service areas. Those issues, according to AECOM, include "challenges presented by geopolitical issues, COVID-19 and impacts created by the national and global supply chains." 

The Thruway Authority closed 10 service areas — Chittenango, Clarence, Clifton Springs, Indian Castle, Iroquois, Junius Ponds and Pembroke along Interstate 90, and Ardsley, New Baltimore and Plattekill on I-87 — in July 2021. AECOM said the delays affect three of the service areas (Chittenango, Indian Castle and Junius Ponds) that were among the first scheduled to reopen this year. Construction continues at the other service areas, the firm said. 

The delays will likely affect the schedule for the remaining phases of the project because of how the Thruway Authority structured the temporary closures. To minimize the inconvenience for motorists, the authority did not close consecutive service areas. For example, Junius Ponds is closed but the nearest service areas on the westbound side of the Thruway — Warners near Syracuse and Seneca near Rochester — remain open. Those service areas will be reconstructed or upgraded in future phases of the project.

Empire State Thruway Partners, which is operated by Applegreen, an Ireland-based company with service areas in the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland, was awarded a 33-year contract that includes the $450 million plan to rebuild or upgrade the service areas. Private funds, not state tax dollars or Thruway toll revenue, will be used to finance the project. 

The terms of the contract require Empire State Thruway Partners to operate the rest areas' restaurants and other services and pay 0.84% of gross sales to rent the facilities. The Thruway Authority projects it will receive $85.3 million in rent payments during the contract period. 

Paula Chirhart, a spokesperson for Empire State Thruway Partners, told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV that AECOM has notified the group about the delays. 

"We are working with AECOM to help them find ways to deliver the developments as soon as possible," Chirhart said. 

Once the service plazas are reconstructed, they will feature new restaurants and other amenities. Each area will have an Applegreen convenience store, additional outdoor seating, children's play spaces, Taste NY farm markets, picnic tables and pet-friendly spots. For truckers, there will be fitness centers, laundry facilities and showers. 

The food options will include some big-name restaurants, including Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Popeyes and Shake Shack. The projected restaurants at Junius Ponds include Shake Shack and Starbucks, which will have a drive-thru. The Thruway Authority said the restaurants were selected based on a 2018 survey. 

Prior to the delays, the plan was to rebuild or upgrade the service areas over a three-year period. The Thruway Authority had said that six service areas — Oneida, Pattersonville, Scottsville and Seneca on I-90 and Sloatsburg and Ulster along I-87 — would close this year for reconstruction or improvements. The remaining 11 rest stops, including Port Byron in Cayuga County, would close for upgrades in 2023. 

In a statement, the Thruway Authority said Empire State Thruway Partners has committed to working with AECOM to "mitigate delays and meet their contractual obligations in this public-private partnership." 

"We will continue to monitor their progress and update our customers as we get closer to opening dates," the Thruway added. 

"I was blanking, I was just in shock. He started tearing up a little bit and I didn't want to start crying," she said.

The competition showcases the efforts of the country's top young artists and writers. Scholz's piece, "Sunday Tradition," placed in the top 1% of finalists out of over 350,000 submissions. The piece originally garnered a gold key, or first place, at the 2022 Central New York Scholastic Art Awards earlier this year, and advanced to the national level.

The silver medal is the latest in a series of accolades Scholz has racked up in recent years. She won a gold key in the central New York contest in 2019 and 2020, and a silver key in 2021. Also last year, a charcoal portrait of her sister scored Scholz the victory in the Congressional Art Competition in U.S. Rep. John Katko's district, and the piece was displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year.

"Sunday Tradition," which Scholz drew in the fall, was inspired by sights she regularly sees in her family's household. Describing her clan as "very Italian," she said her mother, Jacqueline, makes meatballs "every Sunday, pretty much," so she wanted to capture that atmosphere. The idea came about after she and Charles talked about her family and Italian culture.

"We just wanted to encapsulate the idea of Italian culture, what it's like for my family on Sundays, in a picture," Scholz said.

After she graduates high school, Scholz plans to go to college and obtain a doctorate in physical therapy. Since she is also an athlete, she said art provides her an opportunity to get away from the rigors of competitive sports, allowing her to "clear my mind, hold a pencil and just draw."

Hand-drawn art is her preferred medium, she said. She is "not a very abstract person," as she enjoys capturing something as she sees it.

Art has been an interest of Scholz's since she was younger, as she would sketch images of characters from TV shows and comic books. Taking art classes with Charles helped her reach a different level, she said, assisting her in learning how to draw the proportions of human anatomy and other artistic skills. She praised Charles' proficiency as an instructor.

"He would never admit how good of a teacher he is," Scholz said. "He could teach anyone how to draw, and I feel like he could at least be a college professor. He just does so much for me, not just as a teacher, but as a person."

Charles, who has taught art at Union Springs for over two decades, said that after teaching students for years, he comes to think of them as "like my kids." Scholz is no exception, as Charles said he views her as "a daughter of mine that I do not have." When Charles found out Scholz won the silver medal, he was just as excited as her mother was, he said.

"She's a very hard worker. She comes into class every day willing to learn, she's very receptive to learning. And really, she just wants to get better. She also has a little bit of a competitive edge," he said. "Her being also an athlete, because she just doesn't do art ... I can tell all of those things came together, and that's what ultimately got her to win this big award."

As a part of his guilty plea, Nau admitted filming and photographing himself having sex with two minors using his cell phone. He also admitted that after recording the sex acts, he used a social media messaging application to distribute the child pornography to other people over the internet.

Nau is facing at least 15 years and up to 100 years in prison. A news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office said Nau will be required to register as a sex offender as a result of this conviction. He will stay detained pending sentencing scheduled for Aug. 11.

Homeland Security Investigations, investigators with the Computer Crimes Unit of the New York State Police, the Auburn Police Department and the Cayuga County District Attorney’s Office investigated Nau's case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey J.L. Brown as part of Project Safe Childhood.