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The steeple's removal was the first major step in the emergency demolition of the 71 Wall St. church, which the city began last month out of concern the building could soon collapse into nearby homes, business Mr. Pizza or Auburn Correctional Facility. The city applied for a non-emergency permit to demolish the church earlier this year, but encountered court delays due to COVID-19.

Owned by the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the building hasn't been used since the early 2000s. It would have cost more than $30,000 to stabilize, according to a 2014 estimate.

Among those watching the steeple come down Tuesday were Jeremy Darren, of Barber Street. 

"It's sad to see it go, but at the same time, if they would have kept it like this, somebody would've gotten hurt," he said of the church. "It's just a shame no one took the initiative to restore or rebuild it."

Darren said he'd like to see another church built on the property. He believes more housing would have a negative effect on the area, and businesses like pharmacies or restaurants aren't needed there.

However, neighbor Iska Weigand, of Mundt Avenue, said she would like to see an apartment complex or other housing replace the church. The building's demolition is particularly sad for Weigand, she continued, because it comes so soon after the demolition of the First Love Ministries food pantry, where she volunteered, a few blocks down Wall Street last year.

Darren, Weigand and others returned to the area Wednesday to watch the demolition of the building continue.

The church's bell, which was trucked away that morning, will remain in the possession of the city of Auburn, City Manager Jeff Dygert told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV. The city does not yet have any plans for the hefty brass instrument, but one possibility is installing it on the property with a historic marker. The church's windows, meanwhile, were removed by contractor O'Connell Excavation because of asbestos in the sealant around the stained glass. The hazardous material will be remediated and the windows will be salvaged, Dygert said, but the city does not yet have any plans for them either.

Artifacts that won't be salvaged include the church's pews and 1904 pipe organ built by W.J. Staub & Co., of Syracuse. Both were significantly damaged by pigeon droppings and weather due to the holes in the church's roof, Dygert said. The city consulted with a pipe organ company about the instrument, but it would have cost $52,700 to remove and $589,000 to restore. The investment probably wouldn't have been worth it, Dygert continued, as the pipe organ market is currently "flooded." The company told the city the instrument wouldn't have sold for more than $500.

The city hoped selling the organ would help offset the cost of demolishing the church, which Dygert estimated to be $150,000. The city has tried to communicate with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church about the building, but had little success. Dygert said the church's financial position makes transferring the property to the city "a ways away." If the property isn't transferred, the city could acquire it through tax foreclosure since it has returned to the rolls after years of nonuse. Either way, the city manager said the financial burden of bringing down the historic building will fall to taxpayers.

"No matter what it's very likely the city's going to end up on the hook for the cost of taking that building down," he said.

Police said one man had already fled the scene by the time officers arrived while the second person remained and turned over a handgun over to police.

Auburn police said that Gabriel Charette, of 43 Frazee St, Lower Apt, went to 86 Wall St. to confront the victim about a prior matter and they began to argue. The two parties then engaged in a physical fight when Charette allegedly pulled out a handgun and threatened the victim.

The victim and Charette then fought over control of the handgun, with the victim ultimately gaining control, police said. Charette then fled the scene.

At approximately 2 p.m. Sunday, Charette was located at his Frazee Street residence. He was detained and transported to Auburn police headquarters for further questioning.

With the assistance of the Finger Lakes Drug Task Force, a search warrant was conducted at Charette's residence. During the search, multiple items were discovered, including multiple handgun magazines, ammunition, body armor, a shotgun, a semi-automatic rifle, a large amount of drugs, drug related items, and evidence of drug sales, police said.

Police said they also learned that the handgun recovered at 86 Wall St. that was allegedly used by Charette was unregistered with no serial numbers.

In regard to the incident at 86 Wall St., Charette faces a pair of charges: second-degree possession of a weapon, a class C felony, and second degree menacing, a misdemeanor.

For the items discovered at 43 Frazee St., Charette is also facing charges of second degree possession of a controlled substance, a class A felony; third-degree possession of a controlled substance, a class B felony; and two counts of second-degree use of drug paraphernalia.

As of early Tuesday evening, Charette was being held in Cayuga County Jail on $5,000 bail or $10,000 bond.

Perched on Rockefeller Road, with a picturesque view of the lake valley, the 2-barrel farm brewery will open for outdoor seating not long after Memorial Day, Langtry told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV. The barn that houses the taproom should follow soon, as the brewery just needs its certificate of occupancy from the town of Moravia. Additional plans for the space include live music and barbecue chicken.

Langtry wants families to feel welcome at his brewery, he said. With its tap list of basic styles like brown and blonde ales, he wants all types of beer fans to feel welcome, too. But he and brewing partner Doug Nelson also want the humble red barn to become a destination for the most diehard of those fans, particularly the ones seeking hazy, New England-style India pale ales.

"We want to push the boundaries on everything," Langtry said. "Beer is evolving so fast that when new things come around, we don't want to be scared to try them."

"We don't want to stop tweaking our beer," Nelson added. "As soon as you say, 'This is it,' you're falling behind."

If history is any indication, Langtry won't be saying that for awhile. He bought his first brewing kit in high school, after learning about fermentation in an elective science class. By the time he graduated from Moravia in 2011, he was telling friends he wanted to open his own brewery. Playing football and baseball ahead of his age level gave him several older friends, so he tested his beers on them.

"The beer was terrible," he said with a hearty laugh. "But I had so much fun doing it — the whole process, the anticipation."

Shortly after Langtry graduated, Cayuga County's craft beer scene began to take shape. He contacted Dawn Schulz of Prison City Brewing in Auburn, Sallee Ten Eyck of Summerhill Brewing and Mark Grimaldi and Joe Shelton of Aurora Brewing Co., among others, in hopes of finding his way into the business locally. He even offered to babysit Ten Eyck's children, he joked.

Unsuccessful, Langtry moved to Colorado. But his efforts didn't get any easier. Competing with people who had much more brewing experience, he was limited to bussing tables at a few places.

When Langtry moved back to Moravia around 2017, he applied to Good Nature Brewing in Hamilton. He detailed the system he used to brew in his application, as well as his passion for the business. Finally, he found his way in. Over the next few years, Langtry went from handling kegs to head brewer. Longtime friend Nelson joined him when an assistant brewer position opened.

"I learned so much (at Good Nature). A lot of what to do, a lot of what not to do. It was exactly what I needed to put me on track to this," Langtry said, gesturing at his new brewery.

Langtry didn't just open his brewery in his hometown, though: He opened in his home. He's lived on the Rockefeller Road farm since he was 2, growing up amid the horses and cows there. Likewise, Owasco Lake Brewing is a family affair. Helping Langtry are his father, Rick; mother, Judi Nelson; stepfather, Stann Nelson; and girlfriend, Amanda Horton. Stann and Doug are cousins, too.

Doug helps Langtry brew on a 2-barrel system he bought from Aurora Brewing. It's much smaller than the system Langtry used at Good Nature, which was comparable to Prison City's new 20-barrel one. But it's his system, so he and Doug aren't limited by anything but the farm brewery license requirement that 60% of their ingredients come from New York state. As much as they like supporting local agriculture, they may apply for a second, regular brewery license so they can also make beers that don't meet that requirement, such as hazy IPAs with New Zealand hops like Galaxy.

"The biggest compliment I get is when somebody who's a light beer drinker tells you, 'Those hazy IPAs are pretty good,'" Langtry said. "They're not like your grandpa's IPA where they're super sharp."

If Langtry wants a bigger system, he has plenty of room for it. His family owns 45 acres on the brewery's side of the road, and another 60 acres on the other side. He hopes to eventually build a pole barn taproom on the other side, which offers a better view of the lake. But that's a couple summers away, he said. This one will be spent building the name of Owasco Lake Brewing instead.

The brewery has opened for limited hours a few times, including a weekend last fall that saw about 150 people pack the outdoor seating area. Langtry has sold kegs of his beer to restaurants like 10-10 BBQ in Moravia and Gilda's in Skaneateles as well. But there are better margins selling beer by the glass, and with eight taps pouring at all times, he's excited to be in business.

Langtry's not the only one who's excited: Neighbors often stop by to see if the brewery is open yet. That's partly why he named the brewery after the lake, he said. It's his home in more ways than one.

"The lake people have been so supportive. Anybody on a fire lane comes up for something to do," he said, then added with a laugh, "Not that they need anything to do, they live on a lake."

The Auburn Fire Department and TLC Ambulance were called to assist with what Auburn police believed was a medical distress call. Officers started to force entry into the residence to assist the subject in distress. Upon entry, they discovered it was a domestic incident, the victim exited the house saying they had been held against their will for three days.

The suspect, Mark A. Stopyra, ran to the back of the house where he barricaded himself in the back bedroom. The Crisis Negotiation and Emergency Response teams were called to the scene to assist. Stopyra was taken into custody shortly after.

Stopyra was arrested and charged with first-degree unlawful imprisonment, a Class E felony. He was processed and held pending his arraignment at the Centralized Arraignment Court. 

As a precaution, the surrounding schools in that area where put into a lock out for the safety of the students and staff during the incident. The lock out was lifted after the suspect was taken into custody before normal dismissal time.

The investigation is ongoing and any further information can be sent to Det. Sean DeRosa at (315) 255-4706 or sderosa@aubunrnny.gov.

When officers arrived, one of the subjects — Victor S. Houston, 32, of 5 Bellevue Place, Auburn — attempted to flee on foot. He was detained by the officers. 

During an investigation, police found that Houston allegedly had an assault rifle with a defaced serial number. 

Houston has been charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was processed and is being held pending his arraignment, police said. 

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information can contact Detective Sean DeRosa at (315) 255-4706 or sderosa@auburnny.gov.