ECRWSS PRSRT STD US Postage
PAID
Permit #15 Williston,VT 05495 POSTAL CUSTOMER
MAY 9, 2019
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
Compost center poised for growth
WILLISTONOBSERVER.COM
Brownies go green
Green Mountain Compost plans shift from retail to wholesale By Jason Starr Observer staff
Expansion plans at the Chittenden Solid Waste District on Redmond Road received a financial jolt last week when the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation pledged a half-million dollars toward the project. The grant is earmarked for increasing the district’s composting capacity as the state prepares for full implementation of Act 148, a recycling law passed in 2012. The law will ban food scraps from trash beginning next July. The district’s compost operation, known as Green Mountain Compost, has already seen a steady increase of incoming food scraps as restaurants, schools and hospitals have come into compliance with the law over the past few years. “A lot of people are diverting food scraps, and that’s wonderful. It means we are challenged to stay on top of the movement of materials on our
Observer courtesy photo
Williston’s Brownie troop 58807 stands with its Green Up Day haul: 10 bags of trash and a bumper from the Lake Iroquois boat launch, beach and access road. Members of the community hit the streets for Saturday’s Green Up Day. See page 2 for more.
see COMPOST page 3
Mix master Morton resurrects prohibition-era spirits By Jason Starr Observer staff
Observer courtesy photo
Emily Morton creates cocktails at Deli 126 in Burlington. A native of Williston, she was recently named Vermont Bartender of the Year.
Who is the best bartender in all of Vermont? Sounds like the makings of a spirited bar argument. But as far as the U.S. Bartenders Guild Ver mont Chapter is concerned, the question is settled. Your 2019 Vermont Bartender of the Year is Emily Morton, daughter of local fire chief Ken Morton and Community Food Shelf president Ginger Morton, a Williston native who cut her teeth serving at the former Maple Tree Place haunt,
Mexicali. It’s a three-step process to win Bartender of the Year. Professionals from across the state first must make the top-12 cut in an online test of their general bartending knowledge. Morton did that in February to move on to the competition’s two live tests. The first was an evaluation of cocktail creation skills with a focus on use of Vermont-made ingredients. Next was a test of guest service with a panel of out-of-state judges in a Ludlow bar. Morton
won both, and in March was bestowed the title. Morton will share her expertise at a cocktail-making seminar this Saturday at the Vermont Cocktail Festival (see related story, page 5) at the Hilton Lake Champlain in Burlington. Morton’s state championship coincided with the one-year anniversary of the opening of the downtown bar and eatery, Deli 126. There, she has conjured a 1920s, jazz vibe featuring the brandy, gin see MORTON page 5
NOW OPEN! LUNCH, DINNER & TAKE OUT BURGERS, BOWLS, SALADS, SHAKES
www.getblissbee.com ~ #getblissbee
MAPLE TREE PLACE • WILLISTON