8-K

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                            _________________________


                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT
                     PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE
                         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934


      Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): September 13, 2000


                           COMMUNITY BANK SYSTEM, INC.
                        --------------------------------
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


   Delaware                            0-11716                   16-1213679
- ---------------                 ----------------------        ----------------
(State or Other Jurisdiction   (Commission File Number)      (I.R.S. Employer
of Incorporation)                                            Identification No.)


   5790 Widewaters Parkway, DeWitt, New York                        13214
- --------------------------------------------------              ---------------
       (Address of Principal Executive Offices)                   (Zip code)



          (Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)




Item 5.   Other Events.

     On September 13, 2000,  Community Bank,  N.A. (the "Bank"),  a wholly-owned
subsidiary bank of Community Bank System,  Inc., and The Citizens  National Bank
of Malone  ("Citizens") issued a joint press release announcing the execution of
a letter of intent which  provides for the merger of Citizens  with and into the
Bank.  The press release is filed as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form
8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.


Item 7.  Financial Statements, Pro Forma Financial Information and Exhibits.

(c)     Exhibits.

               Exhibit No.                              Description
               -----------                              -----------

                 99.1                    Press Release, dated September 13, 2000




                                   SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the  requirements  of the  Securities  Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended,  the  Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


                                  COMMUNITY BANK SYSTEM, INC.

                                  By: /s/ Sanford A. Belden
                                  -------------------------
                                    Name: Sanford A. Belden
                                    Title: President and Chief Executive Officer

EX-99.1

                                                                    Exhibit 99.1

                                                    David G. Wallace, S.V.P. and
                                                         Chief Financial Officer
                                                          Office: (315) 445-7310
                                                             Fax: (315) 445-2997

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



                      CITIZENS NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY BANK
                            ANNOUNCE INTENT TO MERGE


     Syracuse,  New York,  and  Malone,  New York,  September  13,  2000-----The
Citizens National Bank of Malone and Community Bank, N.A. jointly announced that
they have signed a letter of intent  providing  for the merger of Citizens  Bank
into Community Bank.  Pursuant to the proposed merger,  stockholders of Citizens
Bank will receive  1.70 shares of  registered  common  stock of  Community  Bank
System, Inc., the holding company of Community Bank. Community Bank System, Inc.
(NYSE:  CBU) is a registered  bank holding  company with $1.9 billion in assets,
based in DeWitt, New York.

     Paul  M.  Cantwell,   Jr.,  President  of  Citizens  Bank,   stated,   "Our
stockholders,  customers,  employees and the communities we serve,  all stand to
benefit from this  combination  of two  well-respected  banking  companies.  Our
stockholders will benefit by becoming  shareholders in a New York Stock Exchange
listed  company.  All our customers  will now have access to an extensive set of
banking  services  including  Internet  banking,  secondary  mortgage  products,
indirect lending, floor plan lending,  agricultural lending and cash management.
They will also be able to utilize financial  services such as trust,  insurance,
benefit plan  administration  and investment  management.  Community  Bank, N.A.
shares  our  rich  heritage  of  involvement  in and  dedicated  service  to the
communities  where we live and do business.  Citizens'  Board of Directors  will
continue to serve as members of an Advisory  Council.  Our  employees  will have
access to a much broader range of banking  positions and  opportunities  through
Community Bank's network of 70 branches and operations/administrative centers."

     Sanford A. Belden, President and Chief Executive Officer of Community Bank,
stated,  "Citizens'  five branches,  with their $100 million in deposits and $60
million in loans, will be merged into Community Bank, N.A., extending our strong
market  presence in Northern  New York, a region where we have been banking very
profitably  since 1866.  Their strong retail  deposit base will  strengthen  our
funding  sources,  and their loyal  customer base  represents an  opportunity to
cross sell our more  extensive  set of  financial  products  and  services.  The
proximity of these  branches to our main  operations  and  management  center in
Canton will enable us to operate the five  branches very  efficiently.  Based on
the  proposed  merger  terms  and our due  diligence  to  date,  we  expect  the
transaction to be slightly dilutive to earnings per share in 2001."

     The  proposed  merger is  conditioned  upon  negotiation  and approval of a
definitive merger agreement and approval by the Board of Directors of both banks
and the  shareholders of Citizens Bank, as well as other  regulatory  approvals.
Further  details of the  proposed  transaction  are not  available at this time.
Citizens Bank has agreed not to solicit or pursue other  transactions and to pay
a termination  fee under certain  circumstances.  The transaction is expected to
close in the fourth  quarter  of 2000,  subject to  completion  of a  definitive
agreement and satisfaction of other contingencies.

     This   document   contains   comments  or   information   that   constitute
"forward-looking  statements"  within  the  meaning  of the  Private  Securities
Litigation  Reform Act of 1995. Such statements  involve risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ  materially from the results discussed
in the  forward-looking  statements.  These risks are detailed in the  Company's
Annual Report and Form 10-K to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

     The Citizens National Bank of Malone is an eighty-year-old  commercial bank
with $118  million  in assets as of  year-end  1999.  It has two  offices  and a
drive-up facility located in Malone,  Franklin County, New York; two branches in
Brushton and Chateaugay in Franklin  County;  and one in Hermon in St.  Lawrence
County. It operates four ATM's.

     Community Bank System,  Inc.  (CBSI) is a registered  bank holding  company
based in DeWitt, New York. Its wholly-owned banking subsidiary,  Community Bank,
N.A.  (http://www.communitybankna.com),  is the fifth largest commercial banking
       ------------------------------
franchise  headquartered in Upstate New York, having 67 customer  facilities and
50 ATM's  stretching  diagonally from Northern New York to the Southern Tier and
west to Lake Erie.  Other  subsidiaries  within the CBSI  family are Elias Asset
Management,  Inc.,  an  investment  management  firm  with  $700  million  under
management,  based in  Williamsville,  New York;  Benefit  Plans  Administrative
Services,  Inc. (BPA), a pension  administration  and consulting firm located in
Utica, New York,  serving  sponsors of defined benefit and defined  contribution
plans;  Community Investment Services,  Inc. (CISI), a broker/dealer  delivering
financial products from selected locations within Community Bank's branch system
and from an office in  Lockport,  NY; and  Community  Financial  Services,  Inc.
(CFSI), an insurance agency based in Olean, NY, specializing in long-term health
care and other selected products.

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