Company News: September 2015
Pamela Ashton, a licensed clinical addictions therapist and alcohol and drug counselor, has opened Better Mind Solutions LLC, a private practice for substance abuse counseling, at 35 Bank St. in Bradford, Vt. Ashton holds a master’s degree in counseling from Florida Atlantic University and has completed 6,000 hours of professional supervision working with chronic mental illness and substance abuse. She has held the licensed alcohol and drug counselor credential in Vermont since 2009 and has more than 12 years of experience at many levels, including case management for the chronically mentally ill, inpatient rehabilitation and medicated assisted therapy clinical case management. She specializes in opiate addiction as well as assessment, relapse prevention, skill building and cognitive behavioral therapy. For more information, call 802-449-3123 or email ashtonp15@yahoo.com.
The National Institute of Modern Martial Arts dojo has moved into a new and larger location at 140 North St. in Claremont. The dojo was founded in 1989 by seven martial arts masters, offering courses and training in a variety of styles. The new location has allowed for the addition of a yoga studio and a day care facility. “Our commitment to better serve area communities with outstanding martial arts education was the primary motivation for moving,” Brendan Donahue, a longtime member of the dojo, said in a news release. “The addition of a yoga studio and day care will also make the new space more enjoyable for the whole family.” For more information, visit nimmadojo.com or email nimmakarate@gmail.com.
The Hitchin Post restaurant in Claremont, which has been in the Sprague family since the 1970s, was sold last month to a Charlestown couple, Matthew and Jennilyn Barney. “It is something we been thinking about for a long time,” Jennilynn Barney said recently at the Maple Avenue eatery. “I used to come here with my grandparents. Good food and a lot of good memories.” The Barneys said they may add a few things to the menu but plan to keep the fare the same as it has been for years. Frank Sprague, who along with his wife, Heidi, are working with the Barneys during a transition period, said the building once was a private home and began as a restaurant in the 1960s. He bought it in 1977 and ran it for 10 years. His mother and sister operated it for another 10 years until 1997. His wife operated it for two years and Sprague’s brother, Daniel, ran it until 2009, when Frank and Heidi took it over again. In 1989, Frank Sprague entered the education field and retired as Stevens High School principal in 2014.
Townline Equipment, a family owned business founded by the Marrazzo family in Plainfield, has acquired the Kubota dealership Giddings Manufacturing in Pittsford, Vt., 5 miles north of Rutland on U.S. Route 7. Giddings was one of the original 25 Kubota dealerships in the U.S. and has been a dealer for Kubota tractors, equipment, parts and service for more than 45 years. Townline Equipment also is one of the oldest Kubota dealerships in the country, and has served the equipment, parts and service needs of Kubota customers in New Hampshire and eastern New England since 1972. Its new Pittsford location expands the company’s reach in central and southern Vermont and eastern New York. Co-owners Matt and Drew Marrazzo are the second generation to operate the family business, taking over from their father, Bob Marrazzo, in 2011.
Items of interest to the local business community are published in the Business & Money section of the Sunday Valley News, and also are collected on the Company News page of Enterprise. Email submissions to: biznotes@vnews.com. All items are subject to editing.
