Williston Observer

By Luke Baynes

Observer correspondent

 

Attention bargain hunters and garage sale buffs: get ready to break open your piggy banks because Saturday is going to be a big one.

Oneida Acres is hosting a community garage sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The community, whose streets form a rough circle, is accessible from Sharon Drive off Vermont 2A or Gail Terrace off Industrial Avenue.

Proceeds from the sale will benefit Stephen St. Peter, the 49-year-old son of Oneida Acres residents Paul and Evelyn St. Peter, who was paralyzed from the shoulders down following a swimming accident last summer.

“They’ve always been the type of neighbors that are there for everybody,” Fran Henning said of the reason why the community decided to band together to help the St. Peters. “They’re just beautiful people.”

So far, 14 families have indicated that they will participate in the sale, which will include furniture, sports memorabilia, toys and tools. It will be left to each family’s discretion how much of the individual proceeds they will donate to the St. Peter family.

“I tend to like to do garage sales as a hobby on Saturday mornings,” said neighborhood resident Anne Robillard, who will be donating all of her sales proceeds to the St. Peters. “I went to several in the Williston area and I mentioned that we were going to do this Williston benefit and asked if they would donate their leftovers to us, so I have a garage full of leftovers now to be able to sell at the garage sale.”

The sale is timely, coming a day before the one-year anniversary of Stephen St. Peter’s tragic accident. Evelyn St. Peter, who has lived in Oneida Acres since 1965, noted that while her son is coping surprisingly well with the adversity of being a quadriplegic, the sale will provide much needed financial relief.

“The first year or two you’re just bombarded with expenses that insurance doesn’t cover,” she said. “We have a really nice neighborhood over here. They are very, very nice people. I am so glad I live in this neighborhood.”

Unbeknownst to Henning when she set the date for the sale, July 23 will mark the 56^th wedding anniversary of Paul and Evelyn St. Peter. The couple can’t think of a better way to spend their special day.

“Usually we spend the day and go somewhere,” said Evelyn St. Peter of her wedding anniversary. “But we’re more than happy to stay home.”

 

Those who wish to make a contribution to the trust fund established for Stephen St. Peter can send a check to Paul and Evelyn St. Peter at 72 Gail Terrace, Williston, Vt. 05495. Checks should be made payable to “Stephen St. Peter” and indicate “For deposit only” on the back of the check.

July 21, 2011

Courtesy photos by Joel Dube and Gino Johnson

After emerging from last week’s pool play as the only undefeated team, the Williston 9- and 10-year-old Little League All-Stars came one win shy of the District I title. The Williston squad lost the championship game to South Burlington, 6-5, on July 20.

July 21, 2011

CSSU Consolidation Study Committee Releases Status Report

The Chittenden South Supervisory Union’s seven Boards of School Directors (Charlotte, Champlain Valley Union, Hinesburg, Shelburne, St. George, Williston, and CSSU) individually voted to establish a Study Committee in accordance with state law and recently enacted Act 153 legislation.

According to the CSSU’s July 1 status report, the study committee’s charge is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of a potential merger of the school districts into a Regional Education District, possibly resulting in a single governing board to oversee pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Chittenden South joins 19 other supervisory unions across the state in considering the possibility of establishing a RED.

Comprised of twelve community members with representation from each of the member towns and CSSU administrative staff, the study committee began its work in March and intends to conclude with a report and recommendation this fall, according to the report.

The report further notes that as of July 1, the committee has focused on two primary areas: organizational efficiency and student benefit. With cost savings as a goal, the committee acknowledges sensible consolidating of operational and educational program services has been a deliberate focus among CSSU school boards and administrative leadership for the past decade. Further operational areas for collaboration, coordination, and consolidation are minimal and the cost savings generated by the creation of a RED are currently viewed as insignificant.

The current focus of the committee’s work is how the creation of a RED could have a positive impact on learning opportunities and student achievement for the 4,300 pupils.

In the report, the committee states that it recognizes the issue of local control could be a concern for many community members and it has established a sub-group to further explore this specific topic. Members continue to measure discussions within a framework of local and regional decision-making, and the implications for each community and its student population.

To date, the committee has met six times. It will continue to update the public in its progress and intends to provide opportunities for public input prior to issuing a final report to the State Board of Education in the fall.

Hydrant flushing continues

Annual hydrant flushing by The Town of Williston will continue until the end of August. Water customers may experience some low water pressure during this time. For questions or concerns call 878-1239.

Alzheimer’s Association holding awareness night at Lake Monsters game

Amanda Wilson, chair of the St. Albans Walk to End Alzheimer’s, has organized Alzheimer’s Awareness Night at the Lake Monsters’ game against Brooklyn at Centennial Field (6:05 p.m.) on July 30.

Tickets cost $6. Half of the proceeds will benefit the Alzheimer’s Association, based in Williston. A 50/50 raffle will be held at the end of the game to raise funds toward the 2011 Walk to End Alzheimer’s. For tickets or more information, contact Wilson at 802-524-6534, 802-238-6883, or [email protected]

July 21, 2011

Editor’s Note: A new feature of The Hub, “Following The Leaders” will profile a different Williston business owner each month in a Q&A format.

By Steven Frank

Observer staff

Chef Jozef Harrewyn has cooked up something new.

But this time, the result doesn’t come in the form of a tasty pastry or sandwich. After 15 years of exclusivity in Williston, the 59-year-old native of Belgium has expanded his Chef’s Corner café and bakery to a second location in Burlington’s south end.

Appropriately called “Chef’s Corner — South End,” the café opened last week in the FlynnDog Gallery on Flynn Avenue. The facility houses several businesses and approximately 300 employees. Jozef’s wife, Pam Harrewyn, decorated the 800-square-foot space that she described as “cozy.” She and Scott Sorrell, a former culinary student of Jozef Harrewyn who is now co-owner, run the Burlington operation. Jozef Harrewyn will continue to run the daily operation in Williston.

Next week, he embarks on a seven-day journey to South Africa with his two adult sons. Harrewyn, a member of the 1984 South African Junior Olympic Culinary team, will reunite with family and teammates.

In between the opening of his newest café and cross-global trip, Harrewyn sat down with the Williston Observer to discuss the local tradition Chef’s Corner has established and what patrons can expect in Burlington.

Williston Observer: Tell me a little bit about the new location.

Jozef Harrewyn: To be honest, when we first looked at it, we didn’t know what we were going to do with it. It’s an open space. The landlords — the Farrington family — were really keen on having us in there. We finally decided to do it. With the Farrington’s construction and architectural knowledge, they took us by the hand and helped us. That, along with my wife’s interior designing skills, they were able to transform it into a really nice place. We’ve kept it very local. All the woodwork is Vermont recycled barn wood. The guy who made our tables (Roger Adkins) does it from the wood on his land (in East Fairfield). It’s like a rustic bistro.

WO: The owners are the same and the name is almost the same. In terms of offerings, is the one in Burlington like the one in Williston?

JH: The food is the same, except it’s a reduced version. We can’t use any open flame (in Burlington). That restricts us. The menu has been devised around that and it’s been really nice. The pastries we have are smaller but people can still order cakes and have them delivered. Other bakery items that aren’t (in Burlington) can also be ordered. One of the things we have (in Burlington) that we don’t have (in Williston) is a breakfast buffet. It’s a six-foot refrigerated case that will have granola, yogurt, pineapple and fresh strawberries. It’ll be sold by weight. Then, for lunch, we have a salad bar. Every item we have there is $8 and under.

WO: I know it’s early but are you happy with how things are going so far?

JH: Extremely. I think because of the teamwork of the Farrington family, it’s turned out to be an incredible space. Then, from there, the Chef’s Corner team has taken over with the knowledge of the food. In our industry, the first thing you need is knowledge. The second thing you need is experience. The third thing you need is the right employees. Then, you need hard work. We currently have the best team we’ve had in 15 years.

WO: During those 15 years, Chef’s Corner has become very well known. How did you get to this point?

JH: Hard work, hard work, hard work. Scott, my wife and I work an average of 70 hours a week. It’s part of the formula. We love what we’re doing. Everyone needs to get credit. It’s not just me. Scott came on board four years ago. He is 34-years-old and brings a young energy. He is amazing. I would not have opened the new place without him. My wife has also been terrific.

WO: Tell me a little about your culinary background.

JH: I have been doing it all my life. My father was a chef. I was born in Belgium and immigrated to South Africa when I was 8-years-old. I’m a pastry chef and a baker by trade but I cooked during my younger days when I apprenticed with my dad (at his restaurant in South Africa) … When I was in Chicago working for Four Seasons (Hotels and Resorts), I was offered the chance to teach at the New England Culinary Institute. That’s what brought me to Vermont. This happened 19 years ago. I’ve now lived longer in America than anywhere else (24 years).

WO: Do you like Williston?

JH: I love it. I just love Vermont. My wife and my sons, who are 27 and 29, and I, we all feel very privileged to be living here.

WO: I understand you will soon be returning to South Africa. What does that trip entail?

JH: In 1984, I was on the South African national chef team to go to the World Olympics in Munich, Germany, which is every four years — like the Olympics for sports. The first team was in 1980 and there was another one in 1988. What they’re doing is a reunion and an award dinner for those three teams. It’s also a part-fundraiser for the Junior Chefs of South Africa. We’re actually going to cook what we cooked for the World Olympics … But I’m not going for the award. I’m going for the experience, to see my teammates, and spend time with my sons. They are so psyched.

 

Yardscapes offer new dimension to homeownership

July 21, 2011

By Adam White

Observer staff

The smell of a roasting chicken wafts from the oven. A piano concerto twinkles from the stereo speakers. An open bottle of vintage Bordeaux is left to breathe on the coffee table in front of the plush, overstuffed sofa — both of which sit upon a floor of richly colored stone.

The best part? The 360-degree, panoramic view of the surrounding natural world — with no walls in the way.

Thanks to the expanding possibilities of outdoor yardscapes, more people than ever are replicating the comforts of their favorite room outside the confines of their typical, four-walled world.

“Over the last few years, I’ve seen a real focus on exterior space, on this idea of creating another room outside,” said Ashley Robinson, who operates a namesake landscape design business in Charlotte. “I think people are realizing the benefit of what it can do for their living space to add an outdoor dimension to it.”

From creative landscaping with flowering plants and trees to patios to structural additions such as decks, pergolas and outbuildings, the possibilities for yardscapes are almost endless. Robinson thinks that having such a wide array of possibilities benefits those on both sides of a project.

“It’s so individual,” she said. “There’s a lot of variance, and that allows local craftspeople to really do what they do well.”

Ground-floor opportunity

Nowhere is that expansive palette more prevalent than in the patio industry. David Pariser, owner of Vermont Stone LLC in Williston, said that patios run the gamut from traditional red brick to more naturalistic bluestone and far more exotic materials, with design touches only limited by the imagination.

“You can start mixing materials, and incorporating things like patterns, circles and borders,” Pariser said. “People get really fancy. I’ve seen names and family crests used in patios; if you’re a boater, you might want something like an anchor imbedded in the design.”

Pariser said that a project’s price tag typically grows along with its complexity, but customers with deep enough pockets could end up with their very own yellow brick road.

“I’ll lay a patio of gold bullion if someone wants it,” he said with a laugh.

More realistically, a customer will want a functional and aesthetically pleasing space that meshes with the existing characteristics of their home and property. The initial step toward that is assessing the “envelope” that the new patio will fit into.

“The first things we look at are the gradation of the yard — hills, drop-off, pitch — and how we’re going to handle water,” Pariser said. “Another factor is proximity to the home; if people have a favorite tree in their yard, they might want a patio next to it that connects to the home with a path.”

Pariser said that while concrete patio stones are gaining in appeal due to their vast array of shapes, colors and textures, stone remains one of the most popular choices for homeowners. It doesn’t degrade or rot over time, and it can boost the resale appeal of a property down the road.

“A stone patio is a permanent addition that definitely adds value to a home,” Pariser said.

Playing with a full deck

Another way to use yardscapes to bolster a real estate investment is to add a deck or porch onto a home. According to owner David Cone of DC Construction in Burlington, homeowners often start with something modest — he cited a simple, 10-foot-square deck as an example — and graduate to larger and more elaborate projects in the future.

“We’ve been doing this for 23 years, and we’ve had a lot of our former customers come back and tell us that a porch or deck we built helped them sell their house,” Cone said.

Cone said while family size helps determine the right size deck for a customer, budget is the single biggest factor. Once the potential cost is ironed out, Cone’s next challenge is to help develop a design that works with the existing structure.

“The most important thing is to make it look like it belongs,” Cone said. “People will fall in love with a design that looks great in a magazine, but just wouldn’t work on their house.”

Once the deck is built, Vermont’s severe winters can pose some issues. Cone said the Green Mountain State’s 100-degree annual temperature change can “wreak havoc on wood,” making synthetic decking materials a wise choice. His company also uses tapered footings beneath the deck’s supports, to combat problems with ground frost.

A new set of walls

Homeowners sometimes want to add an entire additional structure to their yardscape. Andre Plouffe’s family business in Colchester, Little House By Andre, has spent the past three decades building and selling gazebos, pergolas and other outdoor structures to enhance people’s property.

Plouffe thinks that the economy has played a role in the proliferation of the yardscape industry.

“Everybody’s staying home these days, so they want to turn their back yard into a resort,” he said.

Little House By Andre sells all manner of outbuildings, and not just for human enjoyment; the company’s website touts a “K9 Castle” that provides the best in combined indoor/outdoor living for the family pet. But Plouffe said that his top-selling structure remains the “classic, screened-in gazebo,” especially with advancements such as composite floors and other synthetic materials.

“When it gets dirty, you basically just hose it off,” Plouffe said. “Other than that, it’s more or less maintenance-free; people joke that their gazebo is going to last longer than they are.”

Little House By Andre also builds playhouses for children. Plouffe pointed out that these structures serve multiple purposes for grandparents, as they can be used as extra storage space once the children head back home from a visit.

The joy of ‘eating out’

While an additional closet or attic might be useful, the room that many homeowners want duplicated outside is the kitchen. Great-outdoors gourmets have long existed in places like the American southwest, but advancements in outdoor appliance technology and more creativity from forward-thinking designers and contractors have helped bring that trend to New England, too.

“When you get an experienced builder who knows what they are doing, and it’s done right, you can create a pretty nice outdoor kitchen in Vermont,” said Sloane Carbonel of Cocoplum Appliance in Essex Junction. “But the weather here is definitely a factor in how you’re going to design it.”

Carbonel said that the outdoor versions of high-end kitchen appliances typically eschew plastic and painted metal surfaces in favor of stainless steel, which stands up better to the rigors of the changing seasons. He said that outdoor kitchen configurations tend to involve as much under-counter placement of appliances as possible, to afford them additional protection from the elements.

“You see a lot of stone being used, because it stands up to rain and snow well,” Carbonel said.

Geography also plays a role in how the outdoor kitchen as a whole is shielded from Mother Nature. While the very concept is to keep the cooking process outside the confinements of an indoor setting, there is a fine line between aesthetics and practicality.

“If you live in a place like Arizona where it never rains, why would you want to put a roof over your outdoor kitchen?” Carbonel said. “But if you like to barbecue in the wintertime here in Vermont, you might leave (the kitchen) open — but you’ll need to have a roof over it.”

Even with a roof overhead, homeowners in the Green Mountain State are discovering a whole new dimension of living through yardscapes. The only pity is how quickly Mother Nature has a tendency to drive them back inside.

“I think outdoor living is popular because people want to enjoy the nice weather — especially with the short summers we have in Vermont,” Cone said.