OCR Text |
Show i WASATCH COUNTY COURIER A9 ie be ee NOVEMBER 22, 2000 ihild and Side Trading Baltic Stone Brings High End Rock Work to Heber what refine an ordinary gobble of ele- They also take up trades that could be ments into a smooth rock that has stood the test of time. It is no wonder that some Lithuanian refugees have brought their skill at rock work to the Heber beneficial. He took up rock work and a ticket to America. | : However, things became more difficult. Being the rock star that he was, Valley, bringing a successful _ business and a spirit that came to be Stone, .who marble and her in the valley three years ago. “I stick with this other it right, there is. no in country with. determination and a dream. A _ political escapee from the old Soviet Union, Ziemelis, sought asylum in a pilgrim-. and that brought ers . from their cus- —_—ihas tomers. work Their with countér tops, guitar for a popular band called Tiger Year, Ziemelis can say he has _performed to a crowd of over a quarter of a million people in a festival in Estonia. Sharing a bill with 80s mainstays Big Country and Johnny Rotten, formerly of the Sex Pistols, Ziemelis seemed to have the rock world at his fingertips. sounds has in some of the highest respect in his native Lithuania. Playing lead that Shibonis have formed a partnership actually worked with rock for a long time, was a rock star Music to for the last four. years, Ziemelis for the 9 busi- >” Married Madeline Promise of a new. oy satisfaction doing ness. age to America, leaving behind the ideals of his broken Ziemelis the i said Ziemelis. “If you don’t do cation, came to this CE for artistic quality,” kinds of slab fabri- homeland partner and co-founder of Baltic Stone. After spending nine years honing his craft in Los Angeles, where he worked for the likes of Bob Hope, Tom Arnold and Jamie Lee Curtis, and having his work showcased in a 1992 Digest, Ziemelis finally settled cus- - granite, country on Halloween of 1989. He knew only one person in the U.S., John Shibonis, who had come here a year earlier and who later became Ziemelis’ Architectural. through time and pressure. | Aras _ Ziemelis, owner of Baltic tomizes who had been a oer Year groupie, behind, Ziemelis finally arrived in this ee hey say the study of geology is understanding pressure and time. Those two elements are refugees were Bete kept in camps after refusing Soviet citizenship. There he and many others were sponsored by the Tolstoy Foundation, a group that helps refugees get through camps, and given money to live off of. now EDITOR iw MANAGING STOTT eye (eae LAMOREAUX similar to Led Zeppelin and Van Halen could have been his ticket to the big time. But who was also leaving, were rejected._ ‘They were sure we were users,” said Ziemelis. “We ines did not understand all the political maneuvering it takes. We didn’t know we would be more successful if we looked different.” Ziemelis had a supporter in Spices Lozoritis, a counselor for Free Lithuania at the Consulate in Rome, -.,Lozoritis encouraged authorities to give Ziemelis another chance and he ‘managed to pass the second time. Leaving his girlfriend Madeline, and custom tile work is some of the acti in the business, certainly in this area, and the trade has brought them even closer to the Jand and people. they ran towards jn the late 80s. “TI was always a haridyman,” said Shibonis. “I was running a software company in Provo, but I wanted to do ‘this instead. You can’t waste your life doing something you aren’t proud of.” Now, with the help of workers | Thowiae McPhee, Andrew Parker, and Don Craig, businessi is booming, as is _the reputation. “We do the best ‘ob? said Shibonis. “When people want it done right, uy know to come to us.” a ey Th ne I it eile ere then everything changed. It was time to get out of what he knew and hope for the best. In an effort to leave his land, he headed to Italy where many other his appearance was that of a longhaired stoner. The look did notimpress the board and he and his bandmate, np yi Ceri . | | Gary Cofemen |