Filed by Community Bank System, Inc. pursuant to
                                      Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933.
                                       Subject Company: First Liberty Bank Corp.
                                               Registration No.: 333-55016

                                             For further information
                                             please contact:

                                             Sanford A. Belden, President & CEO
                              David G. Wallace, EVP and Chief Financial Officer
                                                    Community Bank System, Inc.
                                                    Office: (315) 445-2282
For Immediate Release                               Fax:    (315) 445-7347
- ---------------------

              FIRST LIBERTY BANK AND TRUST ANNOUNCES RESTRUCTURING

          Jermyn, Pennsylvania and DeWitt, New York March 13, 2001-----First
Liberty Bank Corp. (NASDAQ-OTC: FLIB) of Jermyn, Pennsylvania announced today
that it will reduce its work force by   64 employees as part of the
restructuring associated with its announced merger with Community Bank System,
Inc. (NYSE: CBU) of DeWitt, New York.

          The announcement is consistent with the Company's merger strategy to
streamline operations to maximize back office efficiency, while maintaining a
focus on high-quality customer service and offering additional products to
customers.  All thirteen First Liberty Bank and Trust branches will remain open
and staffed by First Liberty employees.

          William M. Davis, First Liberty President and CEO, stated: "We have
worked hard to minimize the impact of the merger on our employees.  Our
overriding goal has been to be fair and responsible while actively seeking to
increase operational efficiency and avoid duplication in positions in the back
office operations of our two organizations.  All the affected employees are
being provided a sixty-day advance notice, a fair severance package based on
service with the Bank, and out-placement guidance and assistance."

          Sanford A. Belden, President and CEO of Community Bank System, Inc.,
stated:  "While we recognize the hardship this will place on the 64 affected
individuals, assistance is being provided to them.  Everyone should understand
that we are fully committed to maintaining and improving quality service to
customers.  When visiting First Liberty branch locations, customers will
continue to see familiar faces."

          Belden went on to say, "The financial impact of this reduction in
force represents a large share of the cost savings goal anticipated when the
merger is completed.  Work proceeds toward achieving that goal, which we
continue to believe is realistic."




                                                     COMMUNITY BANK SYSTEM, INC.
                                                                  NEWS RELEASE
                                                                  MARCH 13, 2001
                                                                  PAGE 2 OF 2


          First Liberty Bank and Trust will continue to operate under its
present name as a division of Community Bank, N.A. after the merger of First
Liberty Bank Corp. and Community Bank System, Inc.  The merger is scheduled to
be completed in the second quarter of this year, subject to shareholder and
regulatory approval.

          First Liberty Bank Corp. (NASDAQ-OTC: FLIB) is a registered bank
holding company based in Jermyn, Pennsylvania with $633 million in assets as of
December 31, 2000. With predecessor banks dating back to the early 1900s, the
holding company was organized in 1984 as The First Jermyn Corp. It completed the
acquisition of the $271 million asset Upper Valley Bancorp. Inc. in 1998, and
concurrently adopted its present name. In July 2000, the Bank acquired three
offices of Mellon Bank, N.A. with approximately $39 million in deposits. It
presently operates thirteen branch offices in Lackawanna (11) and Luzerne (2)
counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and has 16 ATMs. In addition to a full
range of banking products, it offers personal trust and employee benefit trust
services with approximately $300 million in assets under management.

          CBSI is a registered bank holding company based in DeWitt, N.Y. 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 72 customer facilities and
54 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 over $600 million under
management, based in Williamsville, N.Y.; Benefit Plans Administrative Services,
Inc. (BPA), a pension administration and consulting firm located in Utica, N.Y.
which serves 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
offices in Jamestown and Lockport, N.Y.; and Community Financial Services, Inc.
(CFSI), an insurance agency based in Olean, N.Y., specializing in long-term
health care and other selected products.


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