Williston Observer

Oct. 29, 2009

By Tim Simard

Observer staff

This past Columbus Day was the beginning of a “new world,” said salon owners Heather Ingham and Veronica Platt. Their company, Studio Ten, opened that day and became the first business to occupy the brand new Sola Salon.

Located at 2141 Essex Road between Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel and Taft Corners Shopping Center, Sola Salon is the first business to open in the renovated building.

Massage Envy, a national franchise launching its first Vermont location, will open next month.

The Williston location of Sola Salon, which has franchises in 16 states, offers 16 studios for salon professionals to rent and open their own business. For Ingham and Platt, it was an opportunity to realize a dream of owning an establishment.

“We wanted a change and this just popped up at the right time,” said Platt, who, along with Ingham, worked as a salon professional at Richmond’s Bridge Street Hair.

Sola Salon’s franchise co-owner Phil Tonks said he hopes to attract upstarts like Studio Ten to his business. He’s looking for hair professionals and stylists tired of working at someone else’s salon or renting a chair at a professional space.

“This is exactly like opening your own business,” Tonks said. “You are in charge. You can decide how often you want to work. You can decide what kind of hours you want.”

The 16 salon spaces, both large and small, come with sinks, chairs, space for extra equipment and places to sell hair and beauty products. Two larger spaces, including the one occupied by Studio Ten, have two stylist stations.

Tonks said he’s looking for stylists who have experience and a solid client list.

Ingham said the key to Studio Ten’s opening in Williston was the 200 to 300 clients she and Platt hope to attract.

“If you don’t have a client base, you’re not going to make it here,” Ingham said.

Tonks owns Sola Salon along with his wife Julie Tonks. They also own Grand View Winery in East Calais.

Phil Tonks said opening the Williston franchise was something he couldn’t pass up. His son-in-law owns four successful Sola Salons in and around Las Vegas. Despite the differences between Nevada and Vermont, Phil Tonks believes the Sola Salon idea can work anywhere.

Tonks is also looking to expand into the Boston area, where he has franchise rights.

Massage Envy

Opening in the same building in the second week of November is Massage Envy, a national franchise chain with more than 600 locations in 42 states. Owner Amy Johnston said she wanted to open a Massage Envy after her friend inquired why there wasn’t a location in Vermont. After visiting one, Johnston became convinced the Burlington area would be a perfect fit.

Massage Envy will have 13 massage rooms and, to start, 10 to 12 massage therapists. Johnston is in the process of hiring therapists from Vermont’s large pool of applicants.

“All massage therapists we hire need to  be able to do Swedish and deep tissue (massages), because that’s what’s most requested,” Johnston said.

She’s also looking for therapists who have experience in specialty massages.

Clients can expect to pay an introductory fee of $39 for their first massage; subsequent massages would cost twice as much. If interested, however, customers can become members for $59 a month, which includes one 50-minute massage. Subsequent massages and spa treatments for members will cost $39, Johnston said.

“It’s a great deal if you become a regular visitor,” she said.

For more information about Massage Envy, call 879-0888. For information about Sola Salons, call 878-9906. To reach Studio Ten, call Heather Ingham at 363-1583 or Veronica Platt at 598-9729.

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Oct. 29, 2009

Beware the ghosts, ghouls and goblins this Halloween — and try to capture them with a camera, because the Observer is hosting a Halloween photo contest.

Submissions will be accepted until noon on Monday, Nov. 2. Entries should be saved as JPEG files and e-mailed to [email protected] Include your name, address, phone number and time and place the photo was taken.

Entries are limited to three photos per household.

Observer staff will judge photos based on clarity, color, composition and ability to portray the Halloween season.

The contest is being sponsored by Ramunto’s Brick Oven Pizza in Williston. In addition to having the winning photo printed in the Observer on Nov. 5, winners will receive a gift certificate to Ramunto’s: $50 for first place, $25 for second place and $10 for third place.

The top 10 finalists will appear online at www.willistonobserver.com.

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Emily Young places second, qualifies for sectional

Oct. 29, 2009

By Greg Elias

Observer staff

Emily Young glided to a second-place finish in a competition featuring the region’s best figure skaters, a successful first step in her quest to reach the national championships.

Young, 18, from Williston, competed in the senior ladies division of the New England Regional Figure Skating Championships held Oct. 21-25 at Leddy Park Arena in Burlington.

Young said her performance in the short program on Saturday was far from flawless. Still, it was good enough for third place leading up to the free skate the next day.

Young went last in the free skate, watching 18 other competitors perform before she stepped on the ice. She said the long wait jangled her nerves.

She fell on her first triple jump. But Young said she hit the rest of her jumps, saving some shaky landings. She finished behind only Alexandra Volpicelli from the Skating Club of Boston.

“In the end I fought hard in my free skate and put together a better program,” Young said.

The top four skaters in each division move on to the eastern sectionals, to be held next month in Delaware. The best four finishers in that competition qualify for the U.S. Championships in Spokane, Wash. in January and could earn a place on the U.S. Olympic Team.

Young, who grew up in Williston, has lived a nomadic existence the past few years to work with the best coaches and compete against top skaters. She currently lives in the Boston area.

Young said before the regional that she was thrilled to return home to perform in front of family and friends. Her parents, Todd and Elizabeth, and younger sister, Andrea, still live in Williston.

This season marks Young’s second run at the national championship. Young placed first in the novice division in the regional competition two years ago, then placed fourth in the sectionals. That qualified her for the nationals, where she finished eighth.

Injuries hobbled her last year. But Young has done well in 2009, winning a competition in Dallas as well before the runner-up finish in last weekend’s regionals.

Earlier this month, Young said  her goal was to return to the national championship. This season could be her last chance to devote so much time to skating because she plans to attend college next year.

Young said she is thinking about participating in skating shows and competing at the collegiate level. But she hinted that her plans could change if she skates exceptionally well over the next couple of months.

“It depends on how I to do in the sectionals,” she said. “If I keep going after that, who knows?”

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Oct. 29, 2009

By Tim Simard

Observer staff

With two months left on its lease at Maple Tree Place, the Williston Community Food Shelf is looking at all options in case it needs a new home.

Food Shelf President Deb Beckett said she’s had conversations with representatives of Inland U.S. Management, which owns Maple Tree Place. She said the Food Shelf should know by Monday how it will proceed. A lease can be extended for another six months from the end of December, or a new home needs to be found.

“I think we’ll be able to sign another lease for six months, but we’ll know more soon,” Beckett said Tuesday.

Earlier in the morning, Beckett gave a tour of the Food Shelf to Maple Tree Place’s new general manager, Karen Sidney-Plummer. Beckett said Sidney-Plummer was impressed with the operation and discussed the Food Shelf’s future.

Sidney-Plummer started work two weeks ago, replacing former Maple Tree Place property manager Richard Golder. She worked for seven years at the Burlington Town Center on Church Street and helped the mall through its major renovation, she told the Observer.

Sidney-Plummer could not comment on ongoing lease negotiations with the Food Shelf.

The Food Shelf opened on Connor Way in Maple Tree Place last November. Originally, the nonprofit group did not have to pay for rent or utilities. When the six-month lease ended in May, the Food Shelf signed another lease, which runs through December. There is still no charge for rent, but the organization does pay utility costs.

Beckett hopes negotiations with Inland will allow the Food Shelf to establish a permanent location.

“It would be nice to be able to stay settled,” Beckett said.

If not, the Food Shelf’s Board of Directors is looking at other options, including a different space at Maple Tree Place or somewhere at a different site. Whatever happens, Beckett said Inland has been great in its support.

“I think Inland has been absolutely fantastic by allowing us the space for this year,” Beckett said. “It’s very generous for them as a corporation.”

School groups and organizations around town have also been generous with donations. Last month, the Williston Historical Society donated $506 collected during the July 4 Ice Cream Social. Students from Williston Central School donated a large amount of non-perishable items from a recent food drive.

Furthermore, the Observer’s Plant a Row for the Hungry Program, which provided fresh produce to the Williston Food Shelf and other nearby food pantries, recently reached its goal of collecting 1,500 pounds of food.

“It’s going to be getting a lot busier, but so far donations have been picking up, too,” Beckett said.

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Oct. 29, 2009

Developer Jeff Atwood appeared Tuesday at a Development Review Board meeting to hear an appeal against a fence he wants to build.

Ron and Maureen Caruso, whose property on Lefebvre Lane abuts land where Atwood plans to build an eight-unit subdivision, appealed a town permit granting Atwood permission to build a fence between the properties.

The Carusos called the barrier a “spite fence” that will block their views.

“Instead of looking out and seeing green, we’re going to look out and see a stockade fence,” Ron Caruso said.

Furthermore, the Carusos said the property where the fence is to be built belongs to them, since they have used it for more than 25 years. They told the board they’re working with the state to claim a section of the land through adverse possession, which can occur when someone proves he’s continuously used land longer than the disputed land’s current owner.

Atwood refuted the claim, saying, “I certainly pay taxes on it.”

Planning and Zoning Director Ken Belliveau said adverse possession is a civil matter.

Though  Atwood said he would not build the fence until he and the Carusos could reach an agreement, the Review Board ultimately rejected the permit upon learning that Atwood had supplied an incorrect address for the fence site. 

— Tim Simard, Observer staff

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