Author Archive for Bruce Frauman
Local charitable organizations get creative with fund-raising during Covid-19
By Bruce Frauman and Cynthia Prairie ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Some of the high notes of the year for many communities are the events held by charitable and nonprofit organizations that attract hundreds — sometimes thousands — of attendees and help support everything from food and heating programs to college scholarships to medical needs. But […]
T&G school reopening plans taking shape
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Taconic and Green Regional School District Board, which includes Londonderry’s Flood Brook School, heard on Aug. 11 that planning for the opening of its five schools is still a work in progress. Bennington-Rutland Supervisory District Supervisor Randi Lowe, in her first appearance in that role before […]
Derry offers drive through voting option, Fire Co. signs up for state mask program
By Bruce Frauman © 2020 Telegraph Publishing, LLC Emergency Management Director Kevin Beattie told the Londonderry Select Board at its Monday, Aug. 3 meeting that Champion #5 Fire Company in South Londonderry has signed up for the state program Operation Cloth Face-Covering for Everyone, which should make available 400 masks locally. Board member Tom Cavanagh […]
Weston Board OKs homestead rate of $2.1879
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Weston Select Board on Tuesday, July 28 voted to approve a homestead tax rate of $2.1879 per $100 of assessed property value and $2.2135 for non-homestead property. To arrive at that rate, Town Treasurer Kim Seymour removed the $250,000 spending item to replace a culvert on Trout […]
Derry board sets tax rates, ratifies mask order
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Londonderry Select Board on Monday, July 20 voted to set a municipal property tax rate of $0.40401 per $100 of assessed value and to accept the state homestead rate of $1.6130 and the non-homestead rate of $1.6380. The municipal tax rate funds the operation of town government. […]
Weston board sets homestead rate at $2.17 Citing enforcement issues, questions about authority, votes down mask mandate
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Town Treasurer Kim Seymour at the Weston Select Board meeting on Tuesday, July 14 said the combined homestead tax rate will be $2.17 cents per $100 of property valuation and $2.19 cents for non-residents. Seymour said this is down from last year. According to the minutes for last […]
Derry board chair condemns graffiti; town moves forward on fiber optic
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC In response to the discovery of anti-Black Lives Matter graffiti painted on Route 100 in South Londonderry and in Jamaica, Londonderry Select Board chair George Mora on Monday, July 6, said “racist intimidation has no place in Londonderry” or elsewhere in the United States. The lack of a […]
Dr. Barbeau, founder of Neighborhood Connections, honored with car parade
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC .Nicole Wengerd, the new executive director of Neighborhood Connections in Londonderry, introduced founding member Delores Barbeau by saying doctors told Barbeau that she should not be alive. Barbeau has Stage 4 cancer and was not expected to live beyond May. Wengerd then joked, “What do doctors know?” The […]
Area restaurants adopt new formats, menus under Covid-19 Owners hope state reopens slowly to prevent second wave
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Restaurant owners say they are finding ways to keep their businesses alive as the Covid-19 pandemic continues into its fifth month. With curbside delivery in place, outdoor seating and limited indoor dining allowed, business has picked up somewhat. Some owners have secured federal Payroll Protection Plan loans and […]
Derry ponders burn ordinance; pushes racial justice resolution to Town Meeting
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC In a meeting with plenty of discussion but little action, on Monday, June 15, Town Administrator Shane O’Keefe told the Londonderry Select Board that he will continue to work on a draft of a town ordinance to ban the burning of trash. He said he will base Londonderry’s […]
Weston board OKs extending Lawrence Hill paving near Post Office loading dock
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Weston Select Board during its Zoom meeting on Tuesday, June 9 agreed in a 3-1 vote to pave near the loading dock of the Post Office building at Main Street and Lawrence Hill Road, where a puddle forms as deep as 6 inches forms and can turn […]
Fed compliance to state Covid-19 regs at issue in Derry
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Emergency Management Director Kevin Beattie told the Londonderry Select Board at its June 1 meeting that he has asked the manager of the Winhall Brook Campground to ask campers to bring their own food and supplies so they can stay there once they arrive in accordance with state […]
Despite objection over small no-bid project, Weston board OKs large payout
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Weston Select Board on Tuesday, May 26 voted 3-2 to pay out $964,922.90, with the bulk — $938,716.74 — going to the Vermont Education Fund. The education payout, however, was not an issue. Instead, chair Denis Benson questioned a $10,000 downpayment to Ron Prouty for building a […]
Derry board adopts resolution asking shoppers to wear masks VTrans explains Route 11 repaving project, process
By Bruce Frauman 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC After considerable discussion, the Londonderry Select Board on May 18, approved a resolution that requests that people shopping at Londonderry businesses wear a mask as the town attempts to protect workers and residents from the continuing threat of the Covid-19 virus. Board chair George Mora will work […]
Weston Board OKs industrial generator for Town Office, Little School
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Weston Select Board on May 12 voted to purchase a new industrial grade generator to provide electricity during blackouts to the Town Office building and the Annex building next door, which houses the Little School. Board member Jim Linville estimated a cost of $15,000 to $20,000, with […]
Beattie: Food shortages, large gatherings of concern in Derry
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Londonderry Emergency Management Director Kevin Beattie updated the Select Board via Zoom on Monday, May 4 about Covid-19 conditions in the state and the local response, opening a meeting that lasted more than 2½ hours. Beattie said his biggest concern is that people are getting short of money […]
Weston Board to seek bridge loan; to seek electric speed signs for Route 100
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Town Clerk/Treasurer Kim Seymour told the Weston Select Board at its Tuesday, April 28 meeting on Zoom that the town needs to borrow $632,500 through a Tax Anticipation Note, with $119,000 coming from a town special fund. The loan would be a “bridge loan” to cover town expenses, […]
Weston board OK’s paving bid for Lawrence Hill, Chester Mountain roads
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Weston Select Board on Tuesday, April 14 approved a bid of $290,539 from Fuller Sand and Gravel of Danby pending review and approval of Road Foreman Almon Crandall. The bid is almost $50,000 under the next lowest bid, according to board member Jim Linville. The bid is […]
Derry Emergency Management chief outlines actions during Covid-19 crisis
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Londonderry Select Board met for two hours and 40 minutes on April 20 in a Zoom session mostly to hear about what work Emergency Management Director Kevin Beattie was doing to protect the community during the Covid-19 crisis. Beattie said a virtual Emergency Operations Center to respond […]
During Covid-19 crisis, market-delis struggle with changing consumer demands
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing While grocery stores such as the Londonderry Village Market and Lisai’s Chester Market continue to do steady business during the Covid-19 stay home orders, many of the smaller markets that offer not only specialty foods but meals as well have seen their sales take a dive as they work […]
