Archive for February, 2019
To the editor: Candidate Dakin outlines focus
To start the conversation as a write-in candidate for a one-year term on the Chester Select Board, let me confirm that our goal as Chester residents and elected officials is to maintain Chester as a livable town, affordable and attractive to all. To do that, we need to focus on the following: Highways and infrastructure. […]
GM ‘better board’ training heavy on limitations Board association recommends 'hands off' posture toward administration
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC The main event at last night’s Green Mountain Unified School District Board meeting was a training session for the board on being a board. Board chair Marilyn Mahusky told the meeting that she and Superintendent Meg Powden felt there was value in “bringing somebody in to help […]
Chester updated on Depot St. sidewalk project
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC The main event at Wednesday’s Chester Select Board meeting – a public hearing on the federally funded sidewalk project along Depot Street – almost didn’t happen when the presenters were unable to make their PowerPoint presentation work. But when the situation seemed darkest, outgoing board member Dan […]
To the editor: Chester needs to educate itself before March vote
I am writing to the voting and non-voting landowners in the Town of Chester to share a few commendations, observations and concerns as we approach the Annual Town Meeting on Monday March 4 and voting on Tuesday March 5, 2019. Firstly, thank you Dan Cote for your three years of service on the Select Board. […]
1 incumbent, 2 write-ins vie for Chester seats Whelan hopes to retain Select Board post as Dakin, Blair seek victory as write-ins
Over the last four years, Chester’s races for Select Board have gotten a bit more competitive than in years past, bringing in contenders for the open seats as more voters seek to get involved in government. But when Ben Whalen petitioned to be on the March 5 ballot to seek a fourth one-year seat on […]
Ben Whalen: Chester needs to be good for people and business
By Shawn Cunningham ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Ben Whalen is seeking a fourth one-year term on the Chester Select Board after having won low-key campaigns in contested elections in 2016 and 2017 and an uncontested one in 2018. This year, Whalen’s name stands alone on the ballot for two one-year terms after incumbent Lee Gustafson […]
Scott Blair: Chester is a family town, not just a historic place
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Scott Blair sees Chester as a family town that attracts tourists, but he does not see tourism as the town’s primary economic driver. Instead, he says, that economic driver is small business and he believes the town needs to do a better job encouraging them. “The town […]
Leigh Dakin: Role of Select Board in economic development should be high
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Leigh Dakin is ready to get back into the game. In the 1980s, she served nine years on the Chester Select Board and, more recently, six as a state representative in Montpelier. With her new grandson, she’s been enjoying a retirement from a long career in nursing. But […]
Pisha rebukes Grafton board on Rt. 35 facts Grafton Administrator Kearns seeks 'date certain' on repairs
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC In a forceful letter, Chester Town Manager David Pisha has rebuked the Grafton Select Board for discussing Chester’s plans regarding repairs to Route 35 without calling the town first “to find out the facts.” “That is not how I would expect neighbors to behave,” he wrote in a […]
Celebration of Life for ‘Butch’ Gordon March 15
A Celebration of Life for Vincent “Butch” Gordon will be held beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday March 15, 2019 at the Chester American Legion, 635 Route 103 S., with live Irish music by Gyspy Reel. Mr. Gordon passed away in May 2018 at the age of 73 in Homosassa, Fla. He was raised in […]
Massive ice sculpture crowns Popple Dungeon
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC In the late fall of each year, Peter Delaney erects a tall wooden framework for mounting a hose that’s fed by a spring up in the hills along Popple Dungeon Road in Chester. He caps the hose and then drills five small holes in the cap to […]
Community & Arts Events: March 1 to March 5
For a full listing of upcoming events, click here for The Chester Telegraph Calendar. To find out how to become a Calendar Partner, email or call Cynthia Prairie at cprairie@chestertelegraph.org or 802-875-2703. To be included in events briefs, email Susan Lampe-Wilson at calendar@chestertelegraph.org. Photos welcome. No PDFs, please. Notices must be received by noon on […]
Op-ed: GMP herbicide application not a green way to go
By Beverly Lauren Beginning in the spring, Green Mountain Power will be applying herbicides under power lines and distribution lines in our area. Notification was sent out to GMP customers in previous billings. However, some may have missed the importance of the notification and tossed it in the wastebasket instead. There will be public notification […]
Chester Chatter: Friends help cure Cabin Fever
By Ruthie Douglas ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC The time is upon us: the time of the year known as Cabin Fever. We natives have come up with ways to keep us happy and cheerful, mostly it depends on your age though. This year is very different for me as I have been in rehab for […]
Filling a niche: Try making Italian meringue
By Jim Bailey theyankeechef.blogspot.com Italian meringue is my favorite. French and Swiss meringues are good, but Italian meringue holds up better. It is smoother and far superior for spreading on layer cakes, piping decoratively in a parfait glass, topped with berries or fruit and enjoyed. I even use it instead of unsweetened meringue on top […]
Chester man cited for child cruelty during I-91 accident probe
© 2019 Telegraph Publishing, LLC A Chester man was cited for child cruelty this afternoon when he refused to remove a child from an accident scene involving his company’s truck on I-91 northbound. According to a Vermont State Police press release, early in the investigation of the crash, Jason Carrara, 36, of Chester, arrived on […]
Andover Select Board agenda for Feb. 25
The town of Andover Select Board will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 25 at Town Offices, 953 Andover Road. Below is its agenda. 1. Call Select Board meeting to order. 2. Act on Agenda. 3. Act on Minutes: Act on minutes from February 11th meeting. 4. Public Comment (Time allowance: Five minutes per […]
Henry Homeyer: ‘Around the World in 80 Trees’
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC I love trees, and find them endlessly fascinating. Each is unique, much as we are. One winter I attempted (and failed) to read all of Michael Dirr’s authoritative Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs – all 950 pages of it. I only read about trees that are hearty […]
Weston Liquor Control, Select Board agendas for Feb. 27
The Town of Weston’s Liquor Control Board and Select Board will meet on Wednesday, Feb. 27, beginning with the Liquor Control Board at 7:15 p.m. The meetings will be held at the Town Office, 12 Lawrence Hill Road. Below are the agendas of both. Liquor Control Board 1. Second Class Liquor License: Weston Village Store […]
Grafton board chair ‘as private citizen’ starts drive to force Chester to repair Route 35
By Cynthia Prairie and Shawn Cunningham ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Members of the Grafton Select Board are hoping to push the Chester Select Board to expedite repairs to Route 35 from the Williams River bridge to the Grafton line, after its chairman, Joe Pollio, mounted a petition drive that could possibly lead to court action. […]
