Author Archive for Cherise Madigan
Journalist and photographer Cherise Madigan specializes in writing about outdoor recreation, the environment and travel. She has roots in Manchester and a history of reporting throughout Southern Vermont. Madigan is a graduate of Nazareth College of Rochester, earning her degree in Political Science summa cum laude in 2015.
Santa – and a new tree – greet celebrants in Londonderry
©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC As the sun finally set on Friday, Dec. 11, Santa arrived at the Mountain Marketplace in Londonderry to welcome families to the annual tree lighting. Santa greeted families and was available for photos as families drove by from a safe distance and the children handed in their Christmas lists. Organizer Suzy […]
Weston board focuses on Town Meeting plans, possible 9% education tax hike
By Cherise Madigan 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Town Meeting was the focus of the Weston Select Board’s Dec. 8 meeting, echoing similar discussions this week in Chester and Londonderry as 2021 looms large. Typically, the town hosts its annual meeting at the Weston Playhouse — a plan that Board Chair Denis Benson suggests continuing with […]
Pandemic casts shadow on Derry board decisions Town Meeting plans discussed; board cautious on spending
By Cherise Forbes ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC At the Dec. 7 meeting of the Londonderry Select Board, Kelly Pajala, who is Town Clerk and a state representative for Windham-Bennington-Windsor, told the board that legislators are working to get a bill to Gov. Phil Scott by mid-January to expand options for how and when towns may […]
Local hemp producers, sellers eye budding ‘Vermont brand’ recreational cannabis market
By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Although Vermont’s recreational cannabis market will not open until 2022, the budding CBD industry may be poised to pave the way for new and expanding businesses in the region. While questions remain as to the size of Vermont’s future cannabis industry and the scope of its economic impact, […]
X-country ski centers hopeful for coming season Viking, Wild Wings, Grafton expect more locals, fewer from away
By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Despite restrictions on travel and recreation, local cross country ski centers are anticipating a strong season ahead — one that could possibly even surpass past winters. Following an uptick in outdoor recreation this summer, businesses like Londonderry’s Viking Nordic Center, Wild Wings Ski & Yoga in Peru, and […]
40,000 Meals & Counting $315,000 grant gives Chester Helping Hands-Springfield Family Center partnership the boost to feed more
By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC During the bone chilling months of last March, when the Covid-19 pandemic was beginning it race across the country, Chester residents Chris Meyer and Jason Tostrup asked themselves a question: Will our neighbors be going hungry? As Vermont residents became confined to their homes, and unemployment spiked, the […]
Community Nurse Project presents to Weston board in preparation for Town Meeting
By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Public health discussions dominated the Weston Select Board’s pre-Thanksgiving meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 24, with the town’s Emergency Management director, Michael Smilovich, encouraging unity in the face of an uptick in Covid-19 cases and resulting regulations. “With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it’s imperative that we heed the […]
State audit offers Derry road speed suggestions
By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC A recently completed Road Safety Audit from the Vermont Agency of Transportation has provided new data and recommendations regarding traffic speeds along Route 11 and into the North Village of Londonderry. According to Select Board Chair George Mora, traffic speeds and safety present an “ongoing problem” with residents […]
Covid frustrations spill over at Derry board ahead of holidays; Town hires assessor
By Cherise Madigan © 2020 Telegraph Publishing, LLC The Londonderry Select Board is not immune to the frustration that many are feeling around the Covid-19 pandemic and state mandated restrictions, especially as the holidays approach. Following Emergency Management Director Kevin Beattie’s update on the pandemic, Select Board member Vincent Annunziata voiced resistance to Gov. Phil […]
Weston board rehashes land survey decision, no change
By Cherise Madigan 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Weston Select Board celebrated the delivery of a generator donated to The Little School at its Nov. 10 meeting, while continuing debate over a survey of the town-owned property on which the school and Weston Town Offices are located. While the board voted to proceed with the […]
Derry Board plans for new town assessor Listers chair to retire in 2022; roads crew post still unfilled
By Cherise Madigan Telegraph Publishing LLC Employment considerations dominated the election-eve meeting of the Londonderry Select Board on Monday. Following an impassioned recommendation from the chair of Londonderry’s Board of Listers, the Select Board established the part-time position of town assessor pending its approval of a job description and related budget adjustments. Additionally, town officials […]
Weston resident donates 20kw generator for Little School, town office
By Cherise Madigan © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Weston resident Gary Bettman has donated a 20 kilowatt generator to The Little School, temporarily resolving the Select Board’s months long deliberations on the subject and prompted the board to approve a future survey of the surrounding town property at its Oct. 27 meeting. Last December, the […]
The emerald ash borer: What we know, what’s being done, what we can do, what we can expect
By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last October, a Londonderry landowner found a green beetle with a red abdomen lodged in his door. Inspection from a forester and entomologist confirmed that the insect was the invasive emerald ash borer that — though first found in Vermont in 2018 — was not expected in the region […]
Broadband plan outlined to bring fiber to Weston, Derry, 14 other towns in Deerfield Valley CUD
By Cherise Madigan © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Deerfield Valley Communications Union District — of which Londonderry and now Weston are members — presented its business plan earlier this month, following months of surveys and studies into the region’s connectivity and potential. Officially formed this April, the 16-member town CUD aims to provide equitable, […]
Derry board revisits future of Williams Dam
By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Londonderry Select Board revisited the Williams Dam at its Monday, Oct. 19 meeting, continuing a discussion that has played out for years without resolution. Now, new safety classifications expected from the Vermont Department of Dam Safety in the near future poses a question for the Town of […]
Weston firefighters seek new building; board appoints rep for Communications Union District
By Cherise Madigan © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Weston Volunteer Fire Department may be getting a new home following a preliminary presentation by Fire Chief Ryan Hart and Firefighter Jake Hart at the Oct. 13 meeting of the Weston Select Board. In their appeal, presented by Jake Hart, the fire company requested that, as […]
From virtual contests to drive thru trunk or treat, communities push for ‘normal’ Halloween
By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Countless holidays and traditions are being re-configured in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, and Halloween has not been spared. While traditional trick-or-treating practices have come into question due to social distancing requirements, many community groups have modified their annual events so that the holiday can still be […]
Beattie named Vermont Emergency Management Director of Year
By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Londonderry’s own Kevin Beattie has been recognized as Vermont’s Emergency Management Director of the Year for 2020, a year in which emergency management is anything but “business-as-usual.” “Kevin Beattie has all the characteristics that make an exemplary EMD,” said Mark Bosma, public information officer for the state Department […]
Derry Transfer Station food-scrap intake doubles
By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Recycling Coordinator Esther Fishman told the Londonderry Select Board at its Monday, Oct. 5 meeting that the amount of food scraps being brought to the Transfer Station has increased by nearly 10,000 pounds per month since a state composting mandate went into effect this summer. Food scraps totaled […]
As autumn descends, eateries cautious, optimistic
By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Vermont’s fall foliage season typically rakes in revenue totaling $280 million throughout the month of October, according to the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing, and leaf peepers have already begun to descend on the Green Mountains as they burst into a blaze of color. While the foliage […]
