Weekly top reads: Auburn prison guard admits planting weapon, new downtown massage business
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Ë®¹ûÅÉAV's weekly top reads featured the 10 most-read stories of the week on .
- Megan Blarr
- Updated
AUBURN — Two criminal convictions were vacated in Cayuga County Court Tuesday after a corrections officer admitted planting a weapon on an inmate at Auburn Correctional Facility.
Last month, Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann confirmed that a corrections officer from ACF admitted he "put a weapon on an inmate" in order to break up a prison gang. As a result, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision launched an investigation into the matter, suspending the officer, Matthew Cornell, without pay and placing two others on administrative leave.
Now, Budelmann said his office has reached out to nine defendants charged in cases involving Cornell, six of whom will have their cases dismissed or convictions vacated due to Cornell's involvement.
“We had sent out letters on six cases that were in various stages of prosecution here that we consented to dismiss or vacate," Budelmann said. "There were three other cases that we had notified but did not consent to vacate because the officer was minimally involved
On Tuesday, Judge Mark Fandrich vacated the convictions and sentences of 27-year-old Naythen Aubain and 48-year-old Donnesia Brown. Both Aubain and Brown had been sentenced to two to four years in prison late last year after pleading guilty to first-degree promoting prison contraband.
Budelmann said there is no evidence of wrongdoing in either case, and he pointed out the defendants' original guilty pleas. But his office decided that the convictions should nonetheless be vacated in the interest of justice.
"We no longer had confidence in a conviction," Budelmann said in court, noting that the prosecution had relied almost entirely on Cornell's testimony in those cases.
Aubain and Brown were both serving Fandrich's contraband sentences at different correctional facilities — Aubain at Attica and Brown at Five Points — after having maxed out on their previous sentences at Auburn prison. In Aubain's case, the defendant had requested a transfer to another facility after having "fears of retaliation" at Auburn Correctional Facility.
In addition to Aubain and Brown, a third defendant, 22-year-old Jaquan Cobb, requested his charge of promoting prison contraband be dismissed Tuesday. However, the district attorney's office did not agree to his request, saying the officer in question was not involved in Cobb's case.
Still, Cobb's defense attorney, Joseph Sapio, said his client "maintains he did not commit this crime" and claims Cornell was present at the time the weapon was found. Cobb is scheduled to go to trial Feb. 21.
According to a spokesperson from DOCCS, Cornell had been employed at Auburn Correctional Facility since July 2008, but remains suspended without pay.
"DOCCS is working with outside law enforcement as part of an ongoing investigation into an incident at the Auburn Correctional Facility," a spokesperson said Tuesday in an email to Ë®¹ûÅÉAV. "Due to the investigation the Department cannot comment further."
- Ë®¹ûÅÉAV staff
- Updated
An Auburn man is facing charges following a stabbing on Barber Street Sunday afternoon.Â
The Auburn Police Department was called after a 44-year-old man arrived at Auburn Community Hospital with a stab wound to his abdomen, according to a news release. The victim told police he was at 11 Barber St. in the city when a dispute allegedly occurred involving the man and a neighbor.Â
The two men went outside. A short time later, the victim returned to 11 Barber St. with a stab wound.Â
After being dispatched to the hospital, officers responded to Barber Street and spoke with several individuals who were present for the altercation. A suspect, Sammy L. Sheffield, was identified and taken to the police department to be interviewed. He was later charged with second-degree assault and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.Â
The victim, who wasn't identified by police, was transported to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse. He's scheduled to have surgery for his injury, according to police.Â
He was in stable condition as of 9 a.m. Monday.Â
The weapon used in the stabbing hasn't been recovered, police said. The investigation is ongoing.Â
Anyone with information about this case should contact Detective Christopher Coopper at (315) 255-4706. Callers may remain anonymous.Â
- Ë®¹ûÅÉAV staff
- Updated
A Moravia man was arrested after choking a medical technician on the way to the hospital for injuries he suffered at a bar early Sunday morning, the New York State Police reported Tuesday.
Troopers charged 48-year-old Christopher J. Davis with second-degree assault, a felony, and criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, a misdemeanor.
The investigation has been handled by state troopers stationed in Homer. Authorities said troopers were called to Cortland Regional Medical Center on a report that an emergency medical technician from Moravia was attacked.
Investigators said that the EMT was on an ambulance called at around 1 a.m. Sunday to the Betty Blue in Moravia to respond to a customer, Davis, who suffered a head injury while at the bar. Troopers could not say how he was injured.
Troopers said Davis became combative in the town of Homer en route to Cortland Regional Medical Center, choking the EMT.
The EMT was treated for throat injuries at the Cortland medical center and was released. Davis, meanwhile, was arrested upon his own release from the hospital several hours later, according to state police.
Davis, arraigned in Town of Homer Court, was remanded to Cortland County Jail in lieu of $2,500 cash bail, $5,000 bond.
- Megan Blarr
- Updated
AUBURN — Three more criminal cases were dismissed and another postponed in Cayuga County Court Thursday in light of an ongoing investigation at Auburn Correctional Facility.Â
Late last month, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision launched an investigation at the prison after Corrections Officer Matthew Cornell admitted planting a weapon on an inmate.Â
Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann said Cornell admitted to the action in order to break up a dangerous prison gang by having the inmate shipped to another facility. Cornell has been suspended from his job amid a state corrections investigation, and that inmate was never criminally charged for possessing the weapon. Budelmann has said there is no evidence implicating any other corrections officers.
But as a result of the admission by Cornell, the district attorney reached out last month to nine defendants who had recently been charged in cases involving Cornell. Budelmann said he agreed to dismiss or vacate six of those cases "in the interest of justice," saying there was no evidence of officer wrongdoing, but he did not consent to dropping the other three as the officer was only minimally involved.Â
On Thursday, Judge Thomas Leone vacated the convictions and sentences of two defendants — 26-year-old Jose Muniz and 28-year-old Thomas Ozzborn — and dismissed the ongoing case of 32-year-old Tyrell Ingram.
Leone's rulings, which were agreed to by the district attorney's office and defense attorneys, came two days after .
Muniz had pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree promoting prison contraband in October 2014 and was sentenced to serve 1 1/2 to three years in prison in May 2015. He will be returned to Great Meadow Correctional Facility to finish serving a separate sentence for three prior convictions, including a 2012 conviction for attempted-third degree burglary.Â
Meanwhile, both Ozzborn and Ingram will now be released from prison.
In Ozzborn's case, the defendant had been serving a five-year sentence at ACF for drug-trafficking and illegal weapons possession when he was charged with first-degree promoting prison contraband. According to Ozzborn's defense attorney Rome Canzano, Ozzborn was accused of possessing a sharp metal weapon — an "easily-concealable tweezer" — in May 2015, just days before he was set to be released from prison.Â
"The Corrections officer who allegedly collected the contraband was corrections officer, Matthew Cornell," Canzano wrote in an affidavit to the court. "The evidence against Mr. Ozzborn consisted nearly exclusively of the testimony of Officer Cornell."Â
Canzano said Ozzborn chose to plead guilty in June "in lieu of facing the risk of losing at trial and a lengthy prison stay." He was sentenced to two to four years in prison, which he began serving at Great Meadow Correctional Facility. However, since his prior prison term has expired, Ozzborn will be released upon the vacation of his contraband conviction.Â
Similarly, Ingram had also maxed out on a previous sentence for criminal possession of a weapon when he was charged with first-degree promoting prison contraband last year. He was arraigned on the charge in December — pleading not guilty — and was being held at ACF while his case was pending.
"Tyrell Ingram fits the same pattern as the others," Ingram's defense attorney, Simon Moody, said. "He was set to complete his incarceration and then he was indicted and charged with promoting prison contraband. ... And the only complaining witness was corrections officer Cornell."Â
Budelmann agreed to dismiss Ingram's indictment, saying in court Thursday that his office was "not inclined to continue this prosecution" but that "there has been no showing of wrongdoing in this case by anybody."
After the Muniz, Ozzborn and Ingram dismissals, there was an additional case that raised concerns in court.Â
In November 2016, 25-year-old Jkendric Agee was convicted of first-degree promoting prison contraband after a jury found him guilty of possessing a weapon at ACF. Agee was scheduled to be sentenced on his conviction Thursday before Judge Leone, but his attorney Ryan Muldoon asked to postpone the matter.Â
Although Muldoon said Cornell was not involved in Agee's case, he was still concerned as DOCCS has placed two other ACF officers on administrative leave.Â
"Mr. Agee has continued to maintain that the weapon was planted on him," Muldoon said, noting that without the names of the other officers, he can't be sure they weren't involved in any wrongdoing in his client's case.Â
Cayuga County Assistant District Attorney Brian Leeds objected, saying the matter was "pure speculation." However, Leone agreed to adjourn Agee's sentencing for two weeks to provide Muldoon an opportunity to explore the investigation at the prison.Â
While his office has agreed to dismiss the cases involving Cornell, Budelmann has also emphasized that the vacated convictions do not mean the defendants are innocent.Â
"These defendants voluntarily and knowingly pleaded guilty with the assistance of counsel. They admitted their guilt ... and we have found nothing saying they did not do it," Budelmann said in an email to Ë®¹ûÅÉAV earlier this week.
He reiterated that point in an email Thursday. "To err on the side of caution, this office and the County Court Judges agreed to the vacatur and dismissal of any case where that CO (Cornell) was the primary witness. There is no evidence whatsoever of any wrongdoing or misconduct relating to any of these criminal cases," Budelmann said.
Still, multiple defense attorneys do not agree.
"I have no belief that this is contained to one singular corrections officer," Canzano said in a phone interview with Ë®¹ûÅÉAV. "In fact, I think that's impossible. I've represented and continue to represent a number of people in Department of Corrections who complain that there is significantly more than what is being described by this local prosecutor."Â
"As it turns out, the least 'credible' people in our society were telling the truth while trusted officials fabricated evidence," Muniz's attorney Adam Van Buskirk added. "I hope this will be a lesson to those within the system and within society who assume all defendants to be guilty."Â
Budelmann in response said, "As a prosecutor, I work with facts and evidence. If Mr. Canzano has any reliable proof that there was more than this one corrections officer who planted a weapon on an inmate, he should report that evidence to the department to investigate instead of needlessly tarnishing the reputation of corrections officers."
- David Wilcox
- Updated
- 5 min to read
After a stagnant 2016, the Cayuga County Arts Council has taken steps early in 2017 to reinvigorate its long-running .
The seven-member council board completed a work session Jan. 7 with former Auburn Mayor Melina Carnicelli, according to a recent news release. The board emerged from the three-hour session, held at Beardsley Architects & Engineers in Auburn, with new mission and vision statements. The former declares the council's commitment to restoring the 1938 art deco theater "by engaging community partners"; the latter describes the council as "a sustainable downtown business located in the historic Schines Theatre that promotes, educates and supports the expression of talent."
The council, the release continues, will reach out to community members this year to fill various committee positions. In a Friday phone interview, council Vice Chair Dia Carabajal said the areas in which it could most use that community assistance are fundraising and communications, as well as the council's already existing building committee. That committee's chair of almost two years, , left the council at the end of his term in December because he could no longer make the time commitment the project requires, he said Friday.
The council board now consists of Chair/Treasurer Jim Loperfido, Vice Chair Dia Carabajal, Secretary Vera Carabajal, new building committee Chair Charles Taylor, Beardsley Project Manager Ed Onori, and new members Michelle Prego-Milewski and Ken Tanner.
More than anything, Carabajal said, the new members bring "fresh energy" to the council's almost 20-year mission to restore the Schine, a John Eberson-designed movie theater that screened its last film in 1978.
"It's a daunting task," she said of the Schine project. "We suffer from a little burnout."
Further, Carabajal said, the council gains organizational and social media skills by adding Prego-Milewski, an administrative specialist for Cayuga Centers. In Tanner, a Beardsley employee and for the city of Auburn, the council gains building know-how and grant-writing experience, she said.
However, Loperfido's continuation as board chair and Carabajal's change from member at large to vice chair seemingly contrast  he made to Ë®¹ûÅÉAV that the council would elect new officers in spring 2016. Loperfido, the chair since 2010, is now serving a third three-year term. He was also a member of the council in the mid-90s as it circled buying the Schine, which had been optioned for purchase — and, probably, demolition — by Wegmans. Carabajal, meanwhile, has been on the board since the early 2000s, serving as its chair from 2004 to 2010.
Friday, Carabajal said she and Loperfido have retained their leadership roles because no one else on the board has expressed an interest in assuming them. She added that since the council no longer has a membership — which it suspended years ago as the Schine increasingly consumed its attention — it is "absolutely kosher" for Loperfido to remain chair, and her to become vice chair.
"It's such a big, complex project that the longevity Jim and I have adds to that understanding," she said. "Jim and I are not opposed to anyone else wanting to step up and take that role."
Carabajal also rejected the notion that her role as vice chair creates a conflict of interest given her position as an . The role entails no more responsibility than being a member at large, she said. Auburn corporation counsel OK'd her holding both positions since she filed a disclosure with the city after her January 2016 swearing-in, she continued, and she abstains from city council votes directly related to the Schine. She also had no input into the theater project's inclusion in the city's application to the 2016 grant program, she said.
Since to receive that program's $10 million prize, the Cayuga County Arts Council returned to square one in 2016 when it comes to fundraising. Carabajal said it applied for a Technical Assistance Grant of $3,500 to advance repair of the Schine's marquee — deteriorated from years of South Street 18-wheelers grazing it — but was denied. Otherwise, she continued, no new money came into the project in 2016 aside from the parking revenue the council earns from renting the area behind the building off Lincoln Street.
Though the marquee is the most public component of the Schine project, Carabajal said, it's not the most urgent. That would be the theater's . The carcinogenic mineral must be removed from the building before any interior restoration work can proceed, and is therefore the primary focus of the arts council's fundraising.
As of early 2016, the council's estimated price tag for asbestos remediation was $625,000. Council board member Onori said that phase of restoration may itself need to be broken into phases due to the extent of remediation required. As a Brownfields site, the project was eligible for a , but denied because the proper site study wasn't conducted at the time of the Schine's purchase in 1998. That hurdle, Onori said, has since been resolved, and the council will apply in May for more grants to fund the remediation.
Another hurdle to the council's fundraising efforts, Carabajal said, has been criticism of the Cayuga County Arts Council's handling of the Schine project. Many grant applications ask for letters of community support, she continued, and such criticism leaves would-be writers reluctant to give that support to the council.
"We've suffered from half-truths, misinformation, conspiracy theories, perhaps even urban legends," Carabajal said. "In a lot of ways, we haven't done a good job as the Cayuga County Arts Council of countering some of that negative echo chamber that seems to happen around this project."
Todd Gaglianese, a former arts council member active at the time of the Schine's purchase, and later its building manager, said community outreach is but one step the current council must take to restore public faith in the project. He said Carabajal — whom he's  of hijacking the arts council in the mid-2000s — and Loperfido should hand the building over to a new entity altogether.
"The same people are still driving the bus," Gaglianese said. "It has to be all new faces and people competent about doing this."
Carabajal doesn't accept the premise that public faith in the Schine project needs to be restored. She acknowledged that people are frustrated about the project, which the council has previously projected could be completed by and, most recently, .
But cause for optimism is literally all around the theater, Carabajal said: The incoming and down South Street, as well as the and  on Genesee. Those and other projects fuel downtown Auburn's revitalization, Carabajal said, and the community — and the arts council — are feeling the spark.
The council vice chair placed less stock in the Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival's recent disclosure that, after almost 10 years, it will its plan to build a downtown theater.
Since the plan's announcement, it has coexisted with the Schine project somewhat uneasily. The council and Schine supporters the festival in 2010 to use the theater as its downtown seat, but the festival the former movie theater did not meet its production needs. Last year, a proposal interpretable as a downtown performing arts center the Schine proposal on the city's Downtown Revitalization Initiative application. Losing that putative rival, however, is a small part of the Schine's renewed promise on the downtown Auburn landscape, Carabajal said.
Those forces without, she said, will be matched by the Cayuga County Arts Council's efforts to further the Schine's restoration from within.
"We're taking a good, hard look at what our needs are," she said. "There's still work to do."
- Ë®¹ûÅÉAV staff
- Updated
An Auburn man was arrested after allegedly trying to run a person over with his car.
Auburn police said Levert A.E. Williams Sr., of 65 Wall St., got in a fight with a family member on Saturday. The 28-year-old got in his gray Dodge Magnum, police said, and drove into his front yard directly at the family member. The person was able to get out of the way and did not sustain any injuries.
Williams was charged with second-degree assault, a class D felony, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor. He was arraigned Tuesday in Auburn City Court and remanded to Cayuga County Jail. Bail was set at $500 cash or $1,000 bond. Williams is expected to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.
- Robert Harding
- Updated
As the Feb. 1 opening day nears, a vast majority of the available positions at del Lago Resort & Casino have been filled.Â
Jeff Babinski, executive vice president and general manager at del Lago, said Monday that nearly 1,400 employees have been hired. This includes table game dealers, cleaners, food service workers and administrative positions.Â
The casino will have just under 1,500 employees when the hiring process is complete, Babinski said. An additional 300 employees will be hired to work in the 205-room hotel, which is scheduled to open this summer.Â
"We're looking good," Babinski said. "There's just a few here and there that we need to fill."Â
Del Lago recently launched a third dealer school session for those who will staff the table games at the casino. Some of the participants have already advanced through the audition phase and offered positions, Babinski said.Â
There were 111 people who successfully completed the first dealer school session. More than 130 people completed the second session.Â
With over 240 dealer school graduates, Babinski said del Lago reached its target — and more.Â
"Our goal initially was to get 200 trained and we exceeded that," he said. "So it was a great from the table games department's standpoint and I was very excited to see the interest from everybody within the region and the county who were interested in joining our team and learning how to deal the games."
ENTERTAINMENT
Babinski took to Facebook Live Monday and announced the latest concert at The Vine, del Lago's 2,400-seat entertainment venue.Â
Dustin Lynch, a country music singer, will . Tickets start at $50.Â
Del Lago will launch a new promotion Tuesday for another show that will be announced next Monday, Babinski said.Â
With the Lynch announcement, The Vine now has seven concerts or comedy shows scheduled over the next three months. Babinski said there isn't a specific number they're aiming for. Instead, they're more focused on the quality of the programming.Â
"Mainly, from my standpoint, it has to be the right entertainer, the right show, the right feel, the right mix for what I think is going to work in the area," he said. "I'm not going to sacrifice and just put somebody in there to put in there. I want to make sure that it's somebody people are going to be like, 'Yeah, I've gotta go see that one.'"Â
GAMING
The casino's 2,000 slot machines are nearly all installed. Babinski said all but a few have power and the necessary data.Â
There's a checklist the slot machine technicians are going through to ensure the equipment is functioning properly. The state requires certain tests, which the technicians have been working to complete.Â
"They've been knocking those out," Babinski said. "We'll probably be completed with all the mandatory checks and testing by the end of this week."Â
The table games are in place except for the poker room, Babinski said. Crews are painting the poker room. Once that is complete, the tables will be installed.Â
FOOD
Babinski said the restaurants inside the casino are progressing and will be ready for opening day. He singled out one venue in his assessment of the dining establishments.Â
"(The Farmer's Market Buffet), quite honestly, looks amazing," he said. "Out of all the buffets I've seen or worked at, this is truly an amazing venue."Â
The del Lago team visits the buffet daily to taste the food being prepared by the chefs. The chefs are in the process of fine tuning their recipes, Babinski said.Â
- Ë®¹ûÅÉAV staff
- Updated
An Auburn man is facing felony charges after three domestic incidents with a woman including one where he threatened her with a machete.
The Auburn Police Department said 22-year-old Luke I. Morrow, of 88 Clark St. Apt. C, was picked up on an arrest warrant Monday night and charged with 11 offenses including four felonies and and four misdemeanors. The charges stem from three incidents in December and involve a woman Morrow shares a 1-year-old child with.
Police said the first incident occurred on Dec. 23, where Morrow entered the woman's apartment and smacked her face. He choked her hard enough so that she could not breath. Morrow left the building before officers got there, and a warrant was filed for his arrest.
On Christmas Eve, police said Morrow returned to the apartment and was home alone with the child. When the woman arrived, he slapped her face again. This time, Morrow allegedly threatened her with a machete, which police said was similar to a collector's item that included a sheath.Â
The final incident occurred on Dec. 26 where police said Morrow came back to the woman's apartment, grabbed her by the hair and threw her off her couch and onto the floor. She sustained bruising to her lower back.
Morrow was charged with three counts of first-degree criminal contempt, class E felonies, and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a class D felony. He was also charged with second-degree menacing, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and obstruction of breath, all misdemeanors. Morrow is also facing three counts of second-degree harassment, all violations.
Morrow was arraigned in Auburn City Court and remanded to the Cayuga County Jail with bail set at $3,000 cash or $6,000 bond. He's expected in court for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 20.
- Megan Blarr
- Updated
AUBURN — A Level 2 sex offender has denied having oral sex with a 13-year-old in Cayuga County.Â
In November 2016, 38-year-old Keith A. Hilliard, of 4258 Route 38A, Skaneateles, was arrested and . At the time, the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office said Hilliard had oral sex with a child under the age of 15 and used a social media site he had not reported to the Department of Criminal Justice Services.Â
However, earlier this month, a grand jury indicted Hilliard on additional charges, including another felony count of second-degree criminal sex act and endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor.
Hilliard was arraigned on all charges Thursday in Cayuga County Court before Judge Thomas Leone. His defense attorney, Rome Canzano, entered a plea of not guilty to all counts.Â
When asked for bail recommendation, Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann cited Hilliard's criminal record, noting the defendant had been convicted of two prior sex offenses. In June of 2003, Hilliard was convicted of third-degree rape for having sex with a 13-year-old girl and sentenced to one year in jail. He was then convicted of failure to register as a sex offender in 2010.Â
Leone set bail at $50,000 cash, $100,000 bond. Hilliard is due back in court March 23.Â
Also in court:Â
• A man has admitted to possessing child pornography in the town of Ira.Â
Danial Dollinger, 21, of 2794 Wise Road, pleaded guilty Thursday to one felony count of possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child.Â
During his plea, Dollinger said he downloaded images of an 8- to 10-year-old boy being abused by an adult male.Â
While Dollinger could face a maximum of 1 1/3 to four years in prison, Leone agreed to sentence him to no less than six months in jail plus 10 years probation and no worse than one to three years in prison.Â
Dollinger is scheduled to be sentenced March 23.Â
• An Elbridge woman has admitted her involvement in a string of burglaries in Cayuga County.Â
Laura Young, of 101 Meadow Rd., pleaded guilty Thursday to three counts of second-degree burglary, a class C felony. The 35-year-old told Leone she helped her co-defendants, Steven Clark and Ashley Tremaine, burglarize several homes last June, including one in the town of Sennett and two in Cato.Â
Young could face up to 15 years in prison on each count. However, as a condition of her pleas of guilty, Leone has agreed to sentence her to five years in prison plus 2 1/2 years post-release supervision.Â
Young will be sentenced April 20.Â
- Gwendolyn Craig
- Updated
The start of 2017 made Rachel LaMay feel like a little kid getting her own room for the first time. A massage therapist, esthetician and cosmetologist, LaMay has opened her own practice in downtown Auburn, taking her 16 years of experience and finally making it her own.
"It's nice to be able to offer things that I offer, and have my own space," LaMay said. "It's quiet and people are comfortable, and I have more control over things. It takes some confidence to open up your own space and business, so I just had to get that."
Called Massage by Rachel, the studio is located on the lower level of 130 Genesee St. She had a soft opening Jan. 2, but a more formal one Jan. 13 with an open house so potential clients could see the new digs. LaMay has an entryway complete with an area for manicures, pedicures and cosmetology appointments. A second room opens up to a massage table, where candles line the room with a soft glow.
LaMay said she's known for her deep-tissue massages, but she offers a wide variety that also includes hot stone, Himalayan salt stone, Thai, Swedish and even barefoot massages. Barefoot massages she calls Ahhhshiatsu, and instead of using her hands, LaMay uses her feet to give the client a broader, deeper massage.
LaMay is also offering something she calls Massage Bootcamp. Clients will come in once a week for four weeks so, she said, they can train their bodies to feel how they want them to feel. Once the bootcamp is over, clients typically come once a month afterward, she said. Even LaMay gets a massage once a month, and it's something she's done for the last decade.
"The No. 1 killer out there is stress, and massage is stress-relieving and lifesaving," she said. "It improves your health. It improves your workout. It improves your outlook on life."
LaMay enjoys helping people de-stress, too. Massage is something she discovered she was good at in high school, when she found herself giving massages to classmates at parties. After graduating high school, LaMay was one of the first students to train in the new massage program at the New York College for Health Professionals in Syosset in Long Island, she said.
From there, LaMay moved to the Auburn area, where she worked at Mirbeau Inn & Spa in Skaneateles for about eight years. She continued her schooling, getting a degree in professional business management. She's offered her services in other spaces, and besides her studio in Auburn, she will continue to work at Innovation Day Spa in Liverpool.
Besides massages, pedicures and manicures, LaMay will also be offering things like facials, full body waxing and makeup application. Outside of her studio, LaMay has also done spa parties and makeup for bridal parties. She said she has a good group of other professionals she can call on for help if needed.
But, LaMay said, she feels lucky to have found her passion so quickly out of high school. And with the support of her husband and two children, she's built up the confidence and experience to be able to hold her own.
"It's just always been my passion," she said. "It's always been the base of everything I've done. Even the aesthetics of makeup and what I've done, there's always massage in it. It's my passion, and I'm just lucky to have found it young."
More like this...
- Megan Blarr
AUBURN — Two criminal convictions were vacated in Cayuga County Court Tuesday after a corrections officer admitted planting a weapon on an inmate at Auburn Correctional Facility.
Last month, Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann confirmed that a corrections officer from ACF admitted he "put a weapon on an inmate" in order to break up a prison gang. As a result, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision launched an investigation into the matter, suspending the officer, Matthew Cornell, without pay and placing two others on administrative leave.
Now, Budelmann said his office has reached out to nine defendants charged in cases involving Cornell, six of whom will have their cases dismissed or convictions vacated due to Cornell's involvement.
“We had sent out letters on six cases that were in various stages of prosecution here that we consented to dismiss or vacate," Budelmann said. "There were three other cases that we had notified but did not consent to vacate because the officer was minimally involved
On Tuesday, Judge Mark Fandrich vacated the convictions and sentences of 27-year-old Naythen Aubain and 48-year-old Donnesia Brown. Both Aubain and Brown had been sentenced to two to four years in prison late last year after pleading guilty to first-degree promoting prison contraband.
Budelmann said there is no evidence of wrongdoing in either case, and he pointed out the defendants' original guilty pleas. But his office decided that the convictions should nonetheless be vacated in the interest of justice.
"We no longer had confidence in a conviction," Budelmann said in court, noting that the prosecution had relied almost entirely on Cornell's testimony in those cases.
Aubain and Brown were both serving Fandrich's contraband sentences at different correctional facilities — Aubain at Attica and Brown at Five Points — after having maxed out on their previous sentences at Auburn prison. In Aubain's case, the defendant had requested a transfer to another facility after having "fears of retaliation" at Auburn Correctional Facility.
In addition to Aubain and Brown, a third defendant, 22-year-old Jaquan Cobb, requested his charge of promoting prison contraband be dismissed Tuesday. However, the district attorney's office did not agree to his request, saying the officer in question was not involved in Cobb's case.
Still, Cobb's defense attorney, Joseph Sapio, said his client "maintains he did not commit this crime" and claims Cornell was present at the time the weapon was found. Cobb is scheduled to go to trial Feb. 21.
According to a spokesperson from DOCCS, Cornell had been employed at Auburn Correctional Facility since July 2008, but remains suspended without pay.
"DOCCS is working with outside law enforcement as part of an ongoing investigation into an incident at the Auburn Correctional Facility," a spokesperson said Tuesday in an email to Ë®¹ûÅÉAV. "Due to the investigation the Department cannot comment further."
- Ë®¹ûÅÉAV staff
An Auburn man is facing charges following a stabbing on Barber Street Sunday afternoon.Â
The Auburn Police Department was called after a 44-year-old man arrived at Auburn Community Hospital with a stab wound to his abdomen, according to a news release. The victim told police he was at 11 Barber St. in the city when a dispute allegedly occurred involving the man and a neighbor.Â
The two men went outside. A short time later, the victim returned to 11 Barber St. with a stab wound.Â
After being dispatched to the hospital, officers responded to Barber Street and spoke with several individuals who were present for the altercation. A suspect, Sammy L. Sheffield, was identified and taken to the police department to be interviewed. He was later charged with second-degree assault and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.Â
The victim, who wasn't identified by police, was transported to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse. He's scheduled to have surgery for his injury, according to police.Â
He was in stable condition as of 9 a.m. Monday.Â
The weapon used in the stabbing hasn't been recovered, police said. The investigation is ongoing.Â
Anyone with information about this case should contact Detective Christopher Coopper at (315) 255-4706. Callers may remain anonymous.Â
- Ë®¹ûÅÉAV staff
A Moravia man was arrested after choking a medical technician on the way to the hospital for injuries he suffered at a bar early Sunday morning, the New York State Police reported Tuesday.
Troopers charged 48-year-old Christopher J. Davis with second-degree assault, a felony, and criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, a misdemeanor.
The investigation has been handled by state troopers stationed in Homer. Authorities said troopers were called to Cortland Regional Medical Center on a report that an emergency medical technician from Moravia was attacked.
Investigators said that the EMT was on an ambulance called at around 1 a.m. Sunday to the Betty Blue in Moravia to respond to a customer, Davis, who suffered a head injury while at the bar. Troopers could not say how he was injured.
Troopers said Davis became combative in the town of Homer en route to Cortland Regional Medical Center, choking the EMT.
The EMT was treated for throat injuries at the Cortland medical center and was released. Davis, meanwhile, was arrested upon his own release from the hospital several hours later, according to state police.
Davis, arraigned in Town of Homer Court, was remanded to Cortland County Jail in lieu of $2,500 cash bail, $5,000 bond.
- Megan Blarr
AUBURN — Three more criminal cases were dismissed and another postponed in Cayuga County Court Thursday in light of an ongoing investigation at Auburn Correctional Facility.Â
Late last month, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision launched an investigation at the prison after Corrections Officer Matthew Cornell admitted planting a weapon on an inmate.Â
Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann said Cornell admitted to the action in order to break up a dangerous prison gang by having the inmate shipped to another facility. Cornell has been suspended from his job amid a state corrections investigation, and that inmate was never criminally charged for possessing the weapon. Budelmann has said there is no evidence implicating any other corrections officers.
But as a result of the admission by Cornell, the district attorney reached out last month to nine defendants who had recently been charged in cases involving Cornell. Budelmann said he agreed to dismiss or vacate six of those cases "in the interest of justice," saying there was no evidence of officer wrongdoing, but he did not consent to dropping the other three as the officer was only minimally involved.Â
On Thursday, Judge Thomas Leone vacated the convictions and sentences of two defendants — 26-year-old Jose Muniz and 28-year-old Thomas Ozzborn — and dismissed the ongoing case of 32-year-old Tyrell Ingram.
Leone's rulings, which were agreed to by the district attorney's office and defense attorneys, came two days after .
Muniz had pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree promoting prison contraband in October 2014 and was sentenced to serve 1 1/2 to three years in prison in May 2015. He will be returned to Great Meadow Correctional Facility to finish serving a separate sentence for three prior convictions, including a 2012 conviction for attempted-third degree burglary.Â
Meanwhile, both Ozzborn and Ingram will now be released from prison.
In Ozzborn's case, the defendant had been serving a five-year sentence at ACF for drug-trafficking and illegal weapons possession when he was charged with first-degree promoting prison contraband. According to Ozzborn's defense attorney Rome Canzano, Ozzborn was accused of possessing a sharp metal weapon — an "easily-concealable tweezer" — in May 2015, just days before he was set to be released from prison.Â
"The Corrections officer who allegedly collected the contraband was corrections officer, Matthew Cornell," Canzano wrote in an affidavit to the court. "The evidence against Mr. Ozzborn consisted nearly exclusively of the testimony of Officer Cornell."Â
Canzano said Ozzborn chose to plead guilty in June "in lieu of facing the risk of losing at trial and a lengthy prison stay." He was sentenced to two to four years in prison, which he began serving at Great Meadow Correctional Facility. However, since his prior prison term has expired, Ozzborn will be released upon the vacation of his contraband conviction.Â
Similarly, Ingram had also maxed out on a previous sentence for criminal possession of a weapon when he was charged with first-degree promoting prison contraband last year. He was arraigned on the charge in December — pleading not guilty — and was being held at ACF while his case was pending.
"Tyrell Ingram fits the same pattern as the others," Ingram's defense attorney, Simon Moody, said. "He was set to complete his incarceration and then he was indicted and charged with promoting prison contraband. ... And the only complaining witness was corrections officer Cornell."Â
Budelmann agreed to dismiss Ingram's indictment, saying in court Thursday that his office was "not inclined to continue this prosecution" but that "there has been no showing of wrongdoing in this case by anybody."
After the Muniz, Ozzborn and Ingram dismissals, there was an additional case that raised concerns in court.Â
In November 2016, 25-year-old Jkendric Agee was convicted of first-degree promoting prison contraband after a jury found him guilty of possessing a weapon at ACF. Agee was scheduled to be sentenced on his conviction Thursday before Judge Leone, but his attorney Ryan Muldoon asked to postpone the matter.Â
Although Muldoon said Cornell was not involved in Agee's case, he was still concerned as DOCCS has placed two other ACF officers on administrative leave.Â
"Mr. Agee has continued to maintain that the weapon was planted on him," Muldoon said, noting that without the names of the other officers, he can't be sure they weren't involved in any wrongdoing in his client's case.Â
Cayuga County Assistant District Attorney Brian Leeds objected, saying the matter was "pure speculation." However, Leone agreed to adjourn Agee's sentencing for two weeks to provide Muldoon an opportunity to explore the investigation at the prison.Â
While his office has agreed to dismiss the cases involving Cornell, Budelmann has also emphasized that the vacated convictions do not mean the defendants are innocent.Â
"These defendants voluntarily and knowingly pleaded guilty with the assistance of counsel. They admitted their guilt ... and we have found nothing saying they did not do it," Budelmann said in an email to Ë®¹ûÅÉAV earlier this week.
He reiterated that point in an email Thursday. "To err on the side of caution, this office and the County Court Judges agreed to the vacatur and dismissal of any case where that CO (Cornell) was the primary witness. There is no evidence whatsoever of any wrongdoing or misconduct relating to any of these criminal cases," Budelmann said.
Still, multiple defense attorneys do not agree.
"I have no belief that this is contained to one singular corrections officer," Canzano said in a phone interview with Ë®¹ûÅÉAV. "In fact, I think that's impossible. I've represented and continue to represent a number of people in Department of Corrections who complain that there is significantly more than what is being described by this local prosecutor."Â
"As it turns out, the least 'credible' people in our society were telling the truth while trusted officials fabricated evidence," Muniz's attorney Adam Van Buskirk added. "I hope this will be a lesson to those within the system and within society who assume all defendants to be guilty."Â
Budelmann in response said, "As a prosecutor, I work with facts and evidence. If Mr. Canzano has any reliable proof that there was more than this one corrections officer who planted a weapon on an inmate, he should report that evidence to the department to investigate instead of needlessly tarnishing the reputation of corrections officers."
- David Wilcox
- 5 min to read
After a stagnant 2016, the Cayuga County Arts Council has taken steps early in 2017 to reinvigorate its long-running .
The seven-member council board completed a work session Jan. 7 with former Auburn Mayor Melina Carnicelli, according to a recent news release. The board emerged from the three-hour session, held at Beardsley Architects & Engineers in Auburn, with new mission and vision statements. The former declares the council's commitment to restoring the 1938 art deco theater "by engaging community partners"; the latter describes the council as "a sustainable downtown business located in the historic Schines Theatre that promotes, educates and supports the expression of talent."
The council, the release continues, will reach out to community members this year to fill various committee positions. In a Friday phone interview, council Vice Chair Dia Carabajal said the areas in which it could most use that community assistance are fundraising and communications, as well as the council's already existing building committee. That committee's chair of almost two years, , left the council at the end of his term in December because he could no longer make the time commitment the project requires, he said Friday.
The council board now consists of Chair/Treasurer Jim Loperfido, Vice Chair Dia Carabajal, Secretary Vera Carabajal, new building committee Chair Charles Taylor, Beardsley Project Manager Ed Onori, and new members Michelle Prego-Milewski and Ken Tanner.
More than anything, Carabajal said, the new members bring "fresh energy" to the council's almost 20-year mission to restore the Schine, a John Eberson-designed movie theater that screened its last film in 1978.
"It's a daunting task," she said of the Schine project. "We suffer from a little burnout."
Further, Carabajal said, the council gains organizational and social media skills by adding Prego-Milewski, an administrative specialist for Cayuga Centers. In Tanner, a Beardsley employee and for the city of Auburn, the council gains building know-how and grant-writing experience, she said.
However, Loperfido's continuation as board chair and Carabajal's change from member at large to vice chair seemingly contrast  he made to Ë®¹ûÅÉAV that the council would elect new officers in spring 2016. Loperfido, the chair since 2010, is now serving a third three-year term. He was also a member of the council in the mid-90s as it circled buying the Schine, which had been optioned for purchase — and, probably, demolition — by Wegmans. Carabajal, meanwhile, has been on the board since the early 2000s, serving as its chair from 2004 to 2010.
Friday, Carabajal said she and Loperfido have retained their leadership roles because no one else on the board has expressed an interest in assuming them. She added that since the council no longer has a membership — which it suspended years ago as the Schine increasingly consumed its attention — it is "absolutely kosher" for Loperfido to remain chair, and her to become vice chair.
"It's such a big, complex project that the longevity Jim and I have adds to that understanding," she said. "Jim and I are not opposed to anyone else wanting to step up and take that role."
Carabajal also rejected the notion that her role as vice chair creates a conflict of interest given her position as an . The role entails no more responsibility than being a member at large, she said. Auburn corporation counsel OK'd her holding both positions since she filed a disclosure with the city after her January 2016 swearing-in, she continued, and she abstains from city council votes directly related to the Schine. She also had no input into the theater project's inclusion in the city's application to the 2016 grant program, she said.
Since to receive that program's $10 million prize, the Cayuga County Arts Council returned to square one in 2016 when it comes to fundraising. Carabajal said it applied for a Technical Assistance Grant of $3,500 to advance repair of the Schine's marquee — deteriorated from years of South Street 18-wheelers grazing it — but was denied. Otherwise, she continued, no new money came into the project in 2016 aside from the parking revenue the council earns from renting the area behind the building off Lincoln Street.
Though the marquee is the most public component of the Schine project, Carabajal said, it's not the most urgent. That would be the theater's . The carcinogenic mineral must be removed from the building before any interior restoration work can proceed, and is therefore the primary focus of the arts council's fundraising.
As of early 2016, the council's estimated price tag for asbestos remediation was $625,000. Council board member Onori said that phase of restoration may itself need to be broken into phases due to the extent of remediation required. As a Brownfields site, the project was eligible for a , but denied because the proper site study wasn't conducted at the time of the Schine's purchase in 1998. That hurdle, Onori said, has since been resolved, and the council will apply in May for more grants to fund the remediation.
Another hurdle to the council's fundraising efforts, Carabajal said, has been criticism of the Cayuga County Arts Council's handling of the Schine project. Many grant applications ask for letters of community support, she continued, and such criticism leaves would-be writers reluctant to give that support to the council.
"We've suffered from half-truths, misinformation, conspiracy theories, perhaps even urban legends," Carabajal said. "In a lot of ways, we haven't done a good job as the Cayuga County Arts Council of countering some of that negative echo chamber that seems to happen around this project."
Todd Gaglianese, a former arts council member active at the time of the Schine's purchase, and later its building manager, said community outreach is but one step the current council must take to restore public faith in the project. He said Carabajal — whom he's  of hijacking the arts council in the mid-2000s — and Loperfido should hand the building over to a new entity altogether.
"The same people are still driving the bus," Gaglianese said. "It has to be all new faces and people competent about doing this."
Carabajal doesn't accept the premise that public faith in the Schine project needs to be restored. She acknowledged that people are frustrated about the project, which the council has previously projected could be completed by and, most recently, .
But cause for optimism is literally all around the theater, Carabajal said: The incoming and down South Street, as well as the and  on Genesee. Those and other projects fuel downtown Auburn's revitalization, Carabajal said, and the community — and the arts council — are feeling the spark.
The council vice chair placed less stock in the Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival's recent disclosure that, after almost 10 years, it will its plan to build a downtown theater.
Since the plan's announcement, it has coexisted with the Schine project somewhat uneasily. The council and Schine supporters the festival in 2010 to use the theater as its downtown seat, but the festival the former movie theater did not meet its production needs. Last year, a proposal interpretable as a downtown performing arts center the Schine proposal on the city's Downtown Revitalization Initiative application. Losing that putative rival, however, is a small part of the Schine's renewed promise on the downtown Auburn landscape, Carabajal said.
Those forces without, she said, will be matched by the Cayuga County Arts Council's efforts to further the Schine's restoration from within.
"We're taking a good, hard look at what our needs are," she said. "There's still work to do."
- Ë®¹ûÅÉAV staff
An Auburn man was arrested after allegedly trying to run a person over with his car.
Auburn police said Levert A.E. Williams Sr., of 65 Wall St., got in a fight with a family member on Saturday. The 28-year-old got in his gray Dodge Magnum, police said, and drove into his front yard directly at the family member. The person was able to get out of the way and did not sustain any injuries.
Williams was charged with second-degree assault, a class D felony, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor. He was arraigned Tuesday in Auburn City Court and remanded to Cayuga County Jail. Bail was set at $500 cash or $1,000 bond. Williams is expected to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.
- Robert Harding
As the Feb. 1 opening day nears, a vast majority of the available positions at del Lago Resort & Casino have been filled.Â
Jeff Babinski, executive vice president and general manager at del Lago, said Monday that nearly 1,400 employees have been hired. This includes table game dealers, cleaners, food service workers and administrative positions.Â
The casino will have just under 1,500 employees when the hiring process is complete, Babinski said. An additional 300 employees will be hired to work in the 205-room hotel, which is scheduled to open this summer.Â
"We're looking good," Babinski said. "There's just a few here and there that we need to fill."Â
Del Lago recently launched a third dealer school session for those who will staff the table games at the casino. Some of the participants have already advanced through the audition phase and offered positions, Babinski said.Â
There were 111 people who successfully completed the first dealer school session. More than 130 people completed the second session.Â
With over 240 dealer school graduates, Babinski said del Lago reached its target — and more.Â
"Our goal initially was to get 200 trained and we exceeded that," he said. "So it was a great from the table games department's standpoint and I was very excited to see the interest from everybody within the region and the county who were interested in joining our team and learning how to deal the games."
ENTERTAINMENT
Babinski took to Facebook Live Monday and announced the latest concert at The Vine, del Lago's 2,400-seat entertainment venue.Â
Dustin Lynch, a country music singer, will . Tickets start at $50.Â
Del Lago will launch a new promotion Tuesday for another show that will be announced next Monday, Babinski said.Â
With the Lynch announcement, The Vine now has seven concerts or comedy shows scheduled over the next three months. Babinski said there isn't a specific number they're aiming for. Instead, they're more focused on the quality of the programming.Â
"Mainly, from my standpoint, it has to be the right entertainer, the right show, the right feel, the right mix for what I think is going to work in the area," he said. "I'm not going to sacrifice and just put somebody in there to put in there. I want to make sure that it's somebody people are going to be like, 'Yeah, I've gotta go see that one.'"Â
GAMING
The casino's 2,000 slot machines are nearly all installed. Babinski said all but a few have power and the necessary data.Â
There's a checklist the slot machine technicians are going through to ensure the equipment is functioning properly. The state requires certain tests, which the technicians have been working to complete.Â
"They've been knocking those out," Babinski said. "We'll probably be completed with all the mandatory checks and testing by the end of this week."Â
The table games are in place except for the poker room, Babinski said. Crews are painting the poker room. Once that is complete, the tables will be installed.Â
FOOD
Babinski said the restaurants inside the casino are progressing and will be ready for opening day. He singled out one venue in his assessment of the dining establishments.Â
"(The Farmer's Market Buffet), quite honestly, looks amazing," he said. "Out of all the buffets I've seen or worked at, this is truly an amazing venue."Â
The del Lago team visits the buffet daily to taste the food being prepared by the chefs. The chefs are in the process of fine tuning their recipes, Babinski said.Â
- Ë®¹ûÅÉAV staff
An Auburn man is facing felony charges after three domestic incidents with a woman including one where he threatened her with a machete.
The Auburn Police Department said 22-year-old Luke I. Morrow, of 88 Clark St. Apt. C, was picked up on an arrest warrant Monday night and charged with 11 offenses including four felonies and and four misdemeanors. The charges stem from three incidents in December and involve a woman Morrow shares a 1-year-old child with.
Police said the first incident occurred on Dec. 23, where Morrow entered the woman's apartment and smacked her face. He choked her hard enough so that she could not breath. Morrow left the building before officers got there, and a warrant was filed for his arrest.
On Christmas Eve, police said Morrow returned to the apartment and was home alone with the child. When the woman arrived, he slapped her face again. This time, Morrow allegedly threatened her with a machete, which police said was similar to a collector's item that included a sheath.Â
The final incident occurred on Dec. 26 where police said Morrow came back to the woman's apartment, grabbed her by the hair and threw her off her couch and onto the floor. She sustained bruising to her lower back.
Morrow was charged with three counts of first-degree criminal contempt, class E felonies, and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a class D felony. He was also charged with second-degree menacing, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and obstruction of breath, all misdemeanors. Morrow is also facing three counts of second-degree harassment, all violations.
Morrow was arraigned in Auburn City Court and remanded to the Cayuga County Jail with bail set at $3,000 cash or $6,000 bond. He's expected in court for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 20.
- Megan Blarr
AUBURN — A Level 2 sex offender has denied having oral sex with a 13-year-old in Cayuga County.Â
In November 2016, 38-year-old Keith A. Hilliard, of 4258 Route 38A, Skaneateles, was arrested and . At the time, the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office said Hilliard had oral sex with a child under the age of 15 and used a social media site he had not reported to the Department of Criminal Justice Services.Â
However, earlier this month, a grand jury indicted Hilliard on additional charges, including another felony count of second-degree criminal sex act and endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor.
Hilliard was arraigned on all charges Thursday in Cayuga County Court before Judge Thomas Leone. His defense attorney, Rome Canzano, entered a plea of not guilty to all counts.Â
When asked for bail recommendation, Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann cited Hilliard's criminal record, noting the defendant had been convicted of two prior sex offenses. In June of 2003, Hilliard was convicted of third-degree rape for having sex with a 13-year-old girl and sentenced to one year in jail. He was then convicted of failure to register as a sex offender in 2010.Â
Leone set bail at $50,000 cash, $100,000 bond. Hilliard is due back in court March 23.Â
Also in court:Â
• A man has admitted to possessing child pornography in the town of Ira.Â
Danial Dollinger, 21, of 2794 Wise Road, pleaded guilty Thursday to one felony count of possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child.Â
During his plea, Dollinger said he downloaded images of an 8- to 10-year-old boy being abused by an adult male.Â
While Dollinger could face a maximum of 1 1/3 to four years in prison, Leone agreed to sentence him to no less than six months in jail plus 10 years probation and no worse than one to three years in prison.Â
Dollinger is scheduled to be sentenced March 23.Â
• An Elbridge woman has admitted her involvement in a string of burglaries in Cayuga County.Â
Laura Young, of 101 Meadow Rd., pleaded guilty Thursday to three counts of second-degree burglary, a class C felony. The 35-year-old told Leone she helped her co-defendants, Steven Clark and Ashley Tremaine, burglarize several homes last June, including one in the town of Sennett and two in Cato.Â
Young could face up to 15 years in prison on each count. However, as a condition of her pleas of guilty, Leone has agreed to sentence her to five years in prison plus 2 1/2 years post-release supervision.Â
Young will be sentenced April 20.Â
- Gwendolyn Craig
The start of 2017 made Rachel LaMay feel like a little kid getting her own room for the first time. A massage therapist, esthetician and cosmetologist, LaMay has opened her own practice in downtown Auburn, taking her 16 years of experience and finally making it her own.
"It's nice to be able to offer things that I offer, and have my own space," LaMay said. "It's quiet and people are comfortable, and I have more control over things. It takes some confidence to open up your own space and business, so I just had to get that."
Called Massage by Rachel, the studio is located on the lower level of 130 Genesee St. She had a soft opening Jan. 2, but a more formal one Jan. 13 with an open house so potential clients could see the new digs. LaMay has an entryway complete with an area for manicures, pedicures and cosmetology appointments. A second room opens up to a massage table, where candles line the room with a soft glow.
LaMay said she's known for her deep-tissue massages, but she offers a wide variety that also includes hot stone, Himalayan salt stone, Thai, Swedish and even barefoot massages. Barefoot massages she calls Ahhhshiatsu, and instead of using her hands, LaMay uses her feet to give the client a broader, deeper massage.
LaMay is also offering something she calls Massage Bootcamp. Clients will come in once a week for four weeks so, she said, they can train their bodies to feel how they want them to feel. Once the bootcamp is over, clients typically come once a month afterward, she said. Even LaMay gets a massage once a month, and it's something she's done for the last decade.
"The No. 1 killer out there is stress, and massage is stress-relieving and lifesaving," she said. "It improves your health. It improves your workout. It improves your outlook on life."
LaMay enjoys helping people de-stress, too. Massage is something she discovered she was good at in high school, when she found herself giving massages to classmates at parties. After graduating high school, LaMay was one of the first students to train in the new massage program at the New York College for Health Professionals in Syosset in Long Island, she said.
From there, LaMay moved to the Auburn area, where she worked at Mirbeau Inn & Spa in Skaneateles for about eight years. She continued her schooling, getting a degree in professional business management. She's offered her services in other spaces, and besides her studio in Auburn, she will continue to work at Innovation Day Spa in Liverpool.
Besides massages, pedicures and manicures, LaMay will also be offering things like facials, full body waxing and makeup application. Outside of her studio, LaMay has also done spa parties and makeup for bridal parties. She said she has a good group of other professionals she can call on for help if needed.
But, LaMay said, she feels lucky to have found her passion so quickly out of high school. And with the support of her husband and two children, she's built up the confidence and experience to be able to hold her own.
"It's just always been my passion," she said. "It's always been the base of everything I've done. Even the aesthetics of makeup and what I've done, there's always massage in it. It's my passion, and I'm just lucky to have found it young."
