Cazenovia police help investigate antisemitic propaganda

By kate Hill Staff Writer

The Village of Cazenovia Police Department is currently helping to investigate a recent wave of antisemitic incidents within the local community and nearby municipalities.

On the night of Friday, April 21, Nazi and white supremacist recruitment propaganda with antisemitic and racist messages and symbols were distributed onto the lawns of about 75 properties within the Village of Cazenovia.

“The officers gathered them all up,” said Cazenovia Chief of Police Michael Hayes. “Saturday, my day shift did a neighborhood canvas trying to obtain video and whatever else we could. We’ve gotten statements from people that witnessed the vehicle — no license plate or anything.”

According to Hayes, the antisemitic messages, which were distributed in plastic bags with cat litter, included “a version of a swas- tika and Nazi paraphernalia” attributed to the National Socialist Movement, a far-right, NeoNazi, white supremacist organization based in the US.

Similar messages were discovered in Chittenango, Canastota, Fenner, and Nelson.

The information gathered by the Cazenovia Police has been handed over to the New York State Police, which Hayes explained is acting as the lead agency on the investigation because the incidents have occurred in both Madison and Onondaga Counties.

“We will just continue to gather information and turn it over to the state police because they have been on this for about a month,” said Hayes. “We are just assisting them as much as possible. . . the New York State Intelligence Center is also part of the state police investigation, trying to coordinate all the events in the area.”

On April 23, Village of Cazenovia Mayor Kurt Wheeler remarked that the distribution of hateful propaganda that occurred Friday night was a clear violation of the community’s beliefs and values.

“I am grateful that the Cazenovia Police Department is working closely with the state police and agencies in other communities that were impacted to bring the perpetrator(s) to justice,” he said.

Friday’s incidents occurred in the wake of similar events earlier this month.

During the week of April 10, two Cazenovia residents reported finding on their properties plastic sandwich bags filled with stones and hate speech including antisemitic language, racist propaganda, Nazi symbols (swastika and flag), and recruitment messages from an organization that the Anti-Defamation League identifies as a “longstanding neo-Nazi group,” according to local officials.

Neither incident occurred within the village, so they were not within the Cazenovia Police Department’s jurisdiction to investigate.

Empire Tractor to close Route 20 location

By kate Hill Staff Writer

On April 28, Empire Tractor Inc. will close its Route 20 location, which was operated by the Lucas family as J.C. Lucas and Sons for more than a hundred years before merging with the company in 2001. Empire Tractor, which also has stores in Waterloo, Atlanta, Batavia, Cortland, Watertown, and Canton, is a full-service agricultural equipment dealer offering products from New Holland, Kubota, Kioti, Landoll, Kinze, Oxbo, SIP, Pik-Rite, Great Plains, Unverferth, EZ Trail, Woods, LandPride, Dixie Chopper, STIHL, and more.

Although Empire Tractor refers to its Route 20 branch as “Empire Tractor Cazenovia,” the dealership is actu- ally in the neighboring Town of Nelson.

“Any time a business closes in a surrounding town it’s not good for the community,” said Cazenovia Town Supervisor Bill Zupan. “It’s been a multi-generational business, so it’s very sad to see it close.”

According to Empire Tractor President Tim Call, the decision to close the branch — which he said usually employs around 10 people — stemmed from supply chain issues, lack of inventory, the loss of Case IH tractors and equipment, and difficulty hiring and retaining employees, especially service technicians.

“Closing a store is never easy,” said Call. “After carefully analyzing the current circumstances of the dairy economy and the prediction of a recession in the farm economy, we couldn’t get the sales and profits we needed to sustain the business. We will continue to cover that area out of the Cortland location.”

According to the Empire Tractor website, J.C. Lucas and Sons traces its roots back to William F. Lucas, who arrived in the Cazenovia area in the mid-1800s and, according to records, was selling farm equipment by 1891.

“Family story is my greatgrandfather W.F. Lucas sold a mower to the Marshall family two days after my grandfather J.C. Lucas was born in 1891,” said Jim Lucas, one of the store’s former owners/managers. “So, we say 1891, but it goes back [to even] before 1891. We have not researched it.”

The equipment dealership was passed down in the family through multiple generations and was taken over by Jim and his brother, Bob, in 1979.

In 1980, after outgrowing its location on Maple Road, the business relocated to its present site, and in 1984, the Lucases opened a second store in Cortland.

“Bob and I acquired the International Harvester dealership in Cortland in 1984,” said Jim. “In 2001, our Cazenovia and Cortland stores were merged into Empire Tractor along with a New Holland store [Empire Tractor] acquired in Cortland.”

Jim said that in 2019, as he and Bob planned for retirement, they stepped down as owners of Empire Tractor to become employees.

Marty Carpenter, a longtime employee of Lucas Cortland and Empire Tractor, has managed the Route 20 store for the last year. He also manages the Cortland location.

On April 13, the Cazenovia Town Board and Village of Cazenovia Board of Trustees responded to the reports with a joint letter to the editor of the Cazenovia Republican.

In the letter, the municipalities explained that similar incidents have occurred across the United States over the past few years and that while the distributed objects themselves are not a crime, their messages are threatening to whole groups of people and are intended as a recruitment tool.

The letter goes on to state that the town and village have each adopted similar anti-bias and anti-racist language into legislation through resolution, and that while words in a legislative document may not always reach those community members who feel at risk, Cazenovia’s elected officials are committed to acting against hate and providing support for vulnerable residents.

Also included in the letter is a protocol for Police l Page 2

Kate hill Empire Tractor on Route 20 in the Town of Nelson is scheduled to close on April 28, 2023.

“[We have] enjoyed the past 50 years plus of [our] lives serving the ag, lawn, and garden customers in the community,” said Jim. “With this closing comes the end of an era of 132 years of the Lucas family business in our community. We look forward to the next venture at our Route 20 facility, hoping that another business will soon come in and provide jobs and a viable service. We are very thankful for the support that our customers have given our family over the years.”

Nelson Supervisor Jim Cunningham said the news of the loss of one of Nelson’s longstanding communityminded businesses was sad and unfortunate.

“They have been a good partner and such a great business within our town for as long as I can remember,” he said. “. . . It really takes the wind out of my sails as I have personally purchased equipment and parts for many years there, and I have always been

Empire Tractor l Page 3