Ë®¹ûÅÉAV's top 5 most-read stories of the work week.Â
Skaneateles Suites purchased by developer of future area hotel
About two years before it will open an 88-room hotel in the town of Skaneateles, a Syracuse developer has purchased two more lodging options in the area.
Woodbine Hospitality Group has purchased the bungalows and boutique hotel of Skaneateles Suites, according to the developer's chief operating officer, Tom Fernandez. The 12 bungalows sit on East Genesee Street Road (Route 20) in Sennett with a cottage house and office that were also part of the purchase. The six-room boutique hotel is located on Fennell Street in the village of Skaneateles.
According to Cayuga and Onondaga county property records, Woodbine purchased the bungalows for $981,500 and the boutique hotel for $348,400 from the Feldmann family, who opened Skaneateles Suites in 2000 after purchasing and renovating the rundown Anchor Motel. The 2020 full market value of the bungalows is $946,200 and that of the boutique hotel is $390,000.
Fernandez told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV that Woodbine will retain the staff of both the bungalows and the boutique hotel, as well as the "Skaneateles Suites" name. The developer will make some minor upgrades to the properties, but currently has no plans for any major renovations. Fernandez said people who stay at either site will probably not even notice the change in ownership.Â
Woodbine made the purchase as it moves forward on plans to build an 88-room lodge across from Hill-Rom (formerly Welch Allyn) on State Street Road in the town of Skaneateles. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, its opening has been delayed at least a year from the developer's original plan of spring 2022. Fernandez said Woodbine hopes to begin site work later this year.
The bungalows and boutique hotel will complement Woodbine's new lodge because each will attract different customers, Fernandez continued. The bungalows will attract drive-up travelers, and the touchless experience it offers will be especially appealing as the pandemic continues. But as events like weddings come back, he sees the more conventional hotel experience doing the same.
Whether it's travelers who want a nice night in the village or friends and family who want a floor at the lodge for a wedding, Woodbine plans to offer every kind of stay in Skaneateles.
"We like this market," Fernandez said. "So this one really fit the mold for us to dip our toe into the market prior to building the lodge."
Gallery: Plans for Woodbine Hospitality Group's Skaneateles hotel
Gallery: Proposed Skaneateles hotel
Woodbine 1
Architectural drawings of the hotel being proposed by Woodbine Hospitality Group, of Syracuse. The developer plans to build the 88-room hotel across from Hill-Rom, formerly Welch Allyn, in the town of Skaneateles.
Provided
Woodbine 2
Architectural drawings of the hotel being proposed by Woodbine Hospitality Group, of Syracuse. The developer plans to build the 88-room hotel across from Hill-Rom, formerly Welch Allyn, in the town of Skaneateles.
Provided
Woodbine 3
Architectural drawings of the hotel being proposed by Woodbine Hospitality Group, of Syracuse. The developer plans to build the 88-room hotel across from Hill-Rom, formerly Welch Allyn, in the town of Skaneateles.
Provided
Woodbine 4
Architectural drawings of the hotel being proposed by Woodbine Hospitality Group, of Syracuse. The developer plans to build the 88-room hotel across from Hill-Rom, formerly Welch Allyn, in the town of Skaneateles.
Provided
Woodbine 5
Architectural drawings of the hotel being proposed by Woodbine Hospitality Group, of Syracuse. The developer plans to build the 88-room hotel across from Hill-Rom, formerly Welch Allyn, in the town of Skaneateles.
Provided
Auburn police investigate two incidents involving shots fired
The Auburn Police Department is asking for the public's help as it investigates a pair of incidents involving gunfire on Sunday night.
Police said there are no known injuries from either incident. The first occurred at about 9:24 p.m. in the area of Wall Street and Derby Avenue. The second took place at roughly 10:59 p.m. in the area of Frazee Street and Canoga Road. In the later incident, the outside of a residence was struck multiple times by the shots.
APD asks anyone with information to contact Detective A. Rivers at (315) 567-0073 or arivers@auburnny.gov.
The department specifically requested that anyone with video security camera footage in the reported areas to contact them. All tips can remain anonymous.
Moravia school principal says he doesn't know why he was put on leave
Last month, Moravia Central School District Superintendent John Birmingham said in a community letter that the sixth- through 12th-grade principal was put on administrative leave, but said he couldn't comment further, citing personnel privacy concerns. Bruce MacBain, the person in that role, has been a principal in Moravia since 2000. Birmingham is currently acting as the interim principal in place of MacBain.
After initially declining to comment on the matter last month, MacBain addressed the situation in a , saying he found out March 11 that he was on leave pending the outcome of an investigation.
"There was no warning or hint that this was happening," he wrote. "I walked into a meeting that was scheduled to be a negotiations meeting and instead it was an ambush."
MacBain said he was told there had been numerous complaints about him.
"When I asked what the charges were, the District said they couldn't say until they had investigated them, and that the investigation would 'take a while,'" he wrote. "I was denied any opportunity to resolve any issue that may have arisen. I was told to get my things and leave the building. I was told I could not talk to anyone at school about the investigation."
Birmingham said Tuesday that he was aware of MacBain's Facebook post but said he couldn't comment on personnel matters. He added that he has been advised by the school's lawyers to not speak about the matter.
MacBain, who declined to comment beyond what he posted to his Facebook page, wrote in the post that the school resource officer was in the hallway as he was leaving that March 11 meeting and his union president escorted him to his car.
While saying he doesn't know what the particular allegations against him are, MacBain wrote. "I can assure you I have done nothing immoral."
"I do push people to be their best, and not everyone likes being pushed," he wrote. "I ask questions and I'll tell you when I disagree, but I always present alternative ideas to consider and I'm always looking for the 'best idea in the room'. I am willing to bruise others' egos if it is in the best interests of the Moravia program."
MacBain also referenced the Cayuga County Board of Health voting last month to allow students to be 3 feet apart in classrooms amid the COVID-19 pandemic as long as they wear face masks, starting April 19. He said he was thrilled about that news but noted his second thought at the time was that he may not be there once students return, since there is no timetable for the administrative leave.
"There is so much work to do with bringing back students. It's more than just the welcoming — we need to plan for how to close the gaps that have occurred the past year, balance that with social-emotional learning, and move forward at the same time. The Pandemic has created issues in education that will affect us for years," he wrote. "That will be challenging, but I never back down from a challenge! Although I have not been allowed in the building since 3/11, I have been ready to work every day, and I remain focused on the work ahead. I only hope I get that chance."
MacBain noted in the post that he started with the district in 1990 as a high school social studies teacher become becoming the Moravia Middle School principal in 2000. He said that he was approached last spring about becoming the sixth- through 12th-grade principal. He said he was given a raise and continued tenure, and he "took that to mean that they were happy with the job I was doing." MacBain, who was named the New York State Middle School Principal of the Year in 2012, also said he never received any disciplinary action. "My evaluations have been superlative," he said, "and I have been encouraged to 'keep doing what you're doing.'"
Cayuga County holding single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine clinic Saturday
The Cayuga County Health Department is holding a single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccination clinic from 1:20 to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 10, at Fingerlakes Mall 1579, Clark St. Road, Aurelius.
People 18 and older are eligible to receive this vaccine. Attendees must bring photo ID that shows proof of age.
Appointments are required to receive a vaccine at this clinic. To register for an appointment, visit and click on the COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics button.
This clinic is only accessible through the exterior entrance on the backside of the mall between the movie theater entrance and the RV store. Access to the clinic from the inside of the mall will not be permitted.
The Fingerlakes Mall will be a main site for much of the Cayuga County Health Department's vaccine clinic work going forward. A clinic for people receiving second doses of the Moderna vaccine took place there Thursday.
Gallery: Cayuga County Health Department's vaccine clinic finds a home at the Fingerlakes Mall
Rose Heffernan closes her eyes while receiving her second COVID-19 shot at the Cayuga County Health Department vaccine clinic at the Fingerlakes Mall Thursday.
Kevin Rivoli, Ë®¹ûÅÉAV
Auburn firefighter Craig Berg draws a syringe with Moderna COVID-19 vaccine while working at the Cayuga County Health Department vaccine clinic at the Fingerlakes Mall.
Kevin Rivoli, Ë®¹ûÅÉAV
Auburn firefighter Craig Berg taps a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine vial with a syringe while working at a Cayuga County Health Department vaccine clinic at Fingerlakes Mall.
Kevin Rivoli, Ë®¹ûÅÉAV
Auburn firefighter Jeffrey Salvage administers a COVID-19 vaccine while working at the Cayuga County Health Department vaccine clinic March 11 at the Fingerlakes Mall.
Kevin Rivoli, Ë®¹ûÅÉAV
New York State Trooper Barry Chase receives his second dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the Cayuga County Health Department vaccine clinic at the Fingerlakes Mall.
Kevin Rivoli, Ë®¹ûÅÉAV
People receive their second dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine during the Cayuga County Health Department vaccine clinic at the Fingerlakes Mall.
Kevin Rivoli, Ë®¹ûÅÉAV
People wait after receiving their second COVID-19 vaccine for possible reactions during the Cayuga County Health Department vaccine clinic last week at the Fingerlakes Mall.
Kevin Rivoli, Ë®¹ûÅÉAV
Weedsport woman charged with neglecting more than 15 dogs
A Weedsport woman is facing 35 criminal charges for allegedly failing to provide adequate food and shelter for multiple dogs.
New York State Police said calls came in a couple months ago about dogs at a residence not receiving proper shelter, food or water. State police said they worked with Tom Adessa, the animal cruelty investigator for the Finger Lakes SPCA of Central New York, on the case, and that more than 15 dogs were found to be in extremely poor condition.
Nycole M. Rosetti, 45, was charged April 2 with 18 counts of torturing, injuring or not feeding an animal and 17 counts of neglect of an impounded animal, all misdemeanors. State police said the arrest of another person is pending.
"We received complaints about the animals at that address being neglected, lack of food or water, proper sustenance being one issue, lack of shelter being the other," Adessa said.
