Archive for May, 2014
Chester Select Board agenda for June 4, 2014
The Chester Select Board will hold its next meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 4 at Town Hall, 556 Elm St. in Chester. Below is its agenda. Approve Minutes from May 7, 2014 and May 21, 2014 Select Board Meetings & May 21, 2014 Executive Session May 19, 2014 Town Solar Farm Site Visit May […]
Gas spill forces garage teardown as soil, water cleanup continues
By Shawn Cunningham Homeowner Joel Brookes watches each day as trucks haul away more and more contaminated soil from his land following the May 16 tanker accident that spilled 2,500 gallons of gasoline into his garden. At first, the cleanup was a small affair, but as gasoline reached the Williams River on May 21, the […]
Select board hears from residents for, against transitional housing
By Shawn Cunningham A small number of Chester residents turned out at the Wednesday, May 21, Select Board meeting to voice concern over a proposal by the Justice Center of Springfield to buy or rent a four-bedroom house in Chester to serve as transitional housing for inmates being released from the prison in Springfield. Justice […]
Pilates studio opens in Chester; Employer Appreciation Breakfast held
New Pilates studio opens Patty Nader, a certified personal trainer and Pilates teacher, has opened a Pilates studio in Chester. Made to Move Pilates is located at 34 School St. Pilates, pronounced pu-lah-teez, is a practice of physical and mental conditioning developed by Joseph Pilates more than 100 years ago and involves over 500 exercises. […]
Simply the best: Old-fashioned aromatic cheese biscuits
By Jim Bailey theyankeechef.blogspot.com This recipe came to me when I was wicked pressed for time this past week. So instead of rolling these babies out, I decided to simply plunk them down onto a baking sheet and bake them while cleaning up the rest of the mess from supper preparation. With no rolling pin […]
Chester’s Maci Prescott places 1st in vault at nationals
By Greg Hart Maci Prescott of Chester, age 15, won the vault event at the 2014 U.S. Gymnastics Level Nine Eastern Nationals held in Bradenton, Fla., in early May. She is the first Vermonter in more than 18 years to even make it into the event, and now she has reached the top tier of […]
Despite objections, Select Board votes Chester officer 3 months insurance after resignation
By Shawn Cunningham and Cynthia Prairie Over the protests of a number of town residents, the Chester Select Board Friday night voted to extend three months of town employee health insurance and to pay accrued vacation time to Paul Larochelle as a condition of his resignation from the Chester Police Department. The agreement was negotiated […]
Chester Select Board calls special meeting Friday, May 23, 2014
The Chester Select Board has called a special meeting for Friday, May 23 at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held at Town Hall, 556 Elm St. in Chester. Below is its agenda. 1. LaRochelle Resignation 2. Adjourn
Chester officer resigns after six-month administrative leave
By Cynthia Prairie Chester Police officer Paul Larochelle has sent a letter of resignation to the Town of Chester, in effect ending an administrative leave that began Nov. 18, 2013 following an undisclosed complaint. Local police would not reveal the details of the complaint or the reasons behind the administrative leave. In the meantime, the […]
‘The fuel has made the water’ – Fire Chief Matt Wilson
On Wednesday morning — May 21 — Joel Brookes was walking his dog Buddy near the Williams River behind his home on Route 11 near Goldthwaite Road. He smelled gasoline and looked down to see – clearly through the polarized lenses of his sunglasses – the sheen of gas pouring out of the bank below […]
Planning board makes a few changes to Chester zoning regs
By Cynthia Prairie There were few but nonetheless vocal members of the public at Monday evening’s Planning Commission 90-minute hearing to garner feedback on its proposals that, when approved, will create Chester’s first Unified Development Bylaws. Those bylaws revise and combine zoning regulations, subdivision regulations and flood hazard standards. Following Monday’s meeting, the five-member commission […]
Route 11 followups: Cleanup underway at gas tanker accident site; fire probe continues
9 .m. Wednesday, May 21: Gasoline from the accident has begun to reach the Williams River. Chester Fire and Police departments and the Springfield Fire department were on the scene putting down booms, as was homeowner Joel Brookes. The Agency of Natural Resources has been called to the scene. Read the update here. By Shawn […]
Kaiman honored for farm activism; Weston Playhouse names new managing director
Chester farmer Lisa Kaiman, owner of Jersey Girls Dairy and Jersey Girls Farm Cafe and Market in Gassetts, was honored last week by Rural Vermont, a education and advocacy organization that lobbies for family farming and local consumer interests. The honors were bestowed upon Kaiman at the annual Rural Vermont meeting, this year held at […]
Developers outline new plan for Chester town solar farm
By Shawn Cunningham A new plan for the Chester town solar farm was unveiled Monday morning, as the Chester Select Board and about 10 residents gathered at the Jeffrey well site on Route 103 North to look at plans for the 500 mega kilowatt solar farm that will be built there – possibly as […]
Easy pretzel hot dog buns will become a family favorite
By Jim Bailey theyankeechef.blogspot.com Now that I have started making these hot dog buns for my children, they will not eat any other hot dog roll. I didn’t add the extra coarse salt on top (purely for health reasons) but by all means sprinkle some pretzel or coarse-grained salt over the top of the beaten […]
An Epic prom 2014 for Green Mountain students
The theme for this year’s Green Mountain Union High School prom was Rustic Romance, and while everyone in attendance on Saturday night at the Epic restaurant at Okemo Mountain certainly dressed for a romantic mood, nary a one of the 70 or so students in attendance donned much that could be described as rustic. […]
Windsor artists highlighted at Open Studio weekend
Vermont Crafts Council Spring Open Studio offers the Chester Art Loop in Southern Windsor County again this Memorial Day Weekend. Working together to present its varied and talented group of painters and artisans, the 20-mile gang create a beacon to visit Chester and its surrounding towns of Andover, Weston and Ludlow. The studios will be […]
To the editor: Thanks to volunteers, donors for successful CAES Staff Appreciation Week
The week of May 5 through 9 was Staff Appreciation Week at Chester-Andover Elementary School. On Monday, each staff member received a little box of treats in his or her mailbox. On Wednesday the PTG sponsored a luncheon for all the staff to enjoy. We would like to thank Chef Michael Kennedy, the parents and […]
AGENDA CHANGE – Chester Select Board meeting for Wednesday, May 21, 2014
The Chester Select Board will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, for its bimonthly public meeting. The meeting will take place at Town Hall, 556 Elm St. Below is its agenda. Agenda for the Chester Select Board 1. Citizen Comments 2. Old Business 3. Adopt Emergency Operations Plan 4. AT&T Lease: Paul Debole 5. […]
A Photo Gallery: Crews work to right tractor-trailer in turnover
All photos by Shawn Cunningham. On the Cover: Damage is evident after the tractor-trailer was righted Friday evening. Here’s the link to the full story. We’ve updated the gallery with photos of crews righting the tractor-trailer Friday evening. Click a photo to launch gallery.
