Author Archive for Cynthia Prairie
Cynthia Prairie has been a newspaper editor more than 40 years. Cynthia has worked at such publications as the Raleigh Times, the Baltimore News American, the Buffalo Courier Express, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Patuxent Publishing chain of community newspapers in Maryland, and has won numerous state awards for her reporting. As an editor, she has overseen her staffs to win many awards for indepth coverage. She and her family moved to Chester, Vermont in 2004.
In an agreeable meeting, Grafton board sets election date, foregoes bid process on winter sand
By Cynthia Prairie ©Telegraph Publishing LLC Monday’s Grafton Select Board meeting was a quiet and quick affair. With only three of four board members present — chair Al Sands was away — vice chair Skip Lisle moved through the long agenda relatively quickly. It would likely have been a longer meeting if, as suggested by […]
Sands may have violated Grafton Code of Conduct in meeting Iberdrola
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Grafton Select Board chair Al Sands may have violated the town’s two-year-old Code of Ethics by meeting with representatives of international wind industry company Iberdrola Renewables. That possibility was brought up on Thursday, May 26, at Town Hall, during a special Select Board meeting held for the purpose […]
Improper warning forces rescheduling of Grafton special meeting; Sands questioned on meeting with Iberdrola
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC What was supposed to be a special meeting of the Grafton Select Board to begin — and maybe even fill — the vacancy left when Gus Plummer resigned exactly one week previous turned into an informal session in which new Town Administrator Emily Huff plead mea culpa for […]
Attorney lays out blueprint for Grafton in wind project talks
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC ON THE COVER: Attorney Richard Saudek, center, speaks as he is flanked by Select Board members, from left, Skip Lisle, Cynthia Gibbs, Al Sands and Ron Pilette. After a rocky start that began with the announced resignation and departure of Select Board chair Gus Plummer, the Grafton Select […]
After threat, Grafton S.B. chair to resign over safety concern
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC ON THE COVER: Gus Plummer is flanked by fellow board members Cynthia Gibbs, left, and Alan Sands. Through a quavering voice, Grafton Select Board chair Gus Plummer told an audience of 60 Monday night that he had received a note that so upset him – especially when it […]
SAPA-TV airs new shows, seeks community participation;
Chester hosts July events during 250th celebration;
Prevention Partners targets parents for prom season safety;
Hearing Loss organization sets up website for Vermonters
SAPA-TV urges community to participate in two new shows SAPA TV, the Springfield area’s public access TV station, invites the community to join in on its two new regular programs, “Tuesday Talk of the Town” and “Ask Nymar the Uncharitable.” “Tuesday Talk of the Town” is a half-hour live talk show that runs each Tuesday […]
Workshop addresses childhood trauma’s impact on work;
Yarn shop holds moving sale, invites all to sell;
Businesses participate in Sticker Shock program;
New Chester brochure available
Free program looks at childhood trauma-worklife issues The River Valley Workforce Investment Board and Springfield Regional Development Corp. are co-sponsoring an informational workshop from 8 to 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 25 at the Holiday Inn Express in Springfield. The topic will be Adverse Childhood Experiences and the impact on the workforce for businesses in […]
AN EDUCATION: How trans kids, allies triggered policy change
By Cynthia Prairie 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC ON THE COVER: GMUHS Principal Tom Ferenc holds one of the ‘Gender-Neutral’ signs replaced by ‘Restroom.’ The issue was resolved almost as quickly as it arose, when Two Rivers Supervisory Union Superintendent Bruce Williams announced at the Green Mountain Union High School board meeting Thursday night that “any […]
HIGH IN FIBER: Six Loose Ladies yarn shop to move to Chester
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC By July 1, Six Loose Ladies, the Proctorsville yarn shop with the unusual name, should be settled into its new home in Chester, at 287 Main St., between the Southern Pie Co. and Country Treasures quilting shop. The peach-colored building — which might not stay that color for […]
Chester Police log for May: April 9 to May 3, 2016
© 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Editor’s Note: The Chester Telegraph Police Log is a sampling of incidents directly from Chester Police reports. In general, we do not identify individual victims of crimes nor those who have been arrested. Saturday, April 9, 10:28 a.m. A resident of Popple Dungeon Road called to complain that her ex-husband […]
Grafton board opts to make all VLCT correspondence public
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC In what may have been a most surprising and quick boost to transparency in local government, a three-person quorum of the Grafton Select Board on Monday night unanimously agreed that correspondence between board members and the Vermont League of Cities and Towns be open to public inspection. The […]
Webster’s House manager charged with animal cruelty
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Mary Donaldson and Jessica “Remy” Fecteau have been ordered to appear in Windsor Superior Court on Tuesday, May 24 following a three-month investigation into their practices and treatment of animals at Webster House’s cat shelter in Chester, according to a press release from the Chester Police Department. Donaldson […]
Citing high fire danger, Chester bans open burns
©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester Fire Warden Jeff Holden has issued an open burn ban beginning tonight — Friday, April 22 — within the town of Chester. Open burning includes burning a pile on the ground, using a burn barrel and burning in any open topped container. The ban will be in effect until at […]
Agenda item sent back for rewarning in another contentious Grafton board meeting
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Even before the Grafton Select Board could begin revisiting whether it should formally sanction a committee to address possible financial benefits from a proposed wind project, Board member Ron Pilette stopped the meeting cold. The Monday night meeting, attended by more than 40 residents, many to hear this […]
Have Lab, Will Tinker: Portable lab to bring joys of tinkering to TRSU schools
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Come Sept. 1, Venissa White hopes to be ready to travel around the elementary schools of the Two Rivers Supervisory Union with her portable Tinker Lab, introducing kids to the thrill that discovery, exploration and working with your hands can bring. Tinker Lab is a relatively recent movement […]
Fund-raiser pulls in $5,200 for new CAES playground, fire equipment
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester-Andover Elementary School Parent-Teacher Group raised more than $5,200 on Saturday night during its free community supper and silent auction event held at the school. Of the total, $3,700 becomes the fundraising base for a new playground and $1,500 will go to the Chester Fire Department for […]
Chester Police Log for April: Feb. 5-April 1, 2016
© 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Editor’s Note: The Chester Telegraph Police Log is a sampling of incidents directly from Chester Police reports. In general, we do not identify individual victims of crimes nor those who have been arrested. Friday, Feb. 5 at 8:09 a.m. Police responded to a two-vehicle accident on Route 10 and Clemons […]
Volunteer who found dead cat last year, veterinarian who saw it Friday dispute ‘bucket of water’ claim
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC A volunteer at Webster’s House and the veterinarian who was on scene Friday are independently disputing a weekend news report that a dead cat found on the site that afternoon was “wrapped in a plastic bag, floating in a bucket of water in back of the building.” And […]
Webster’s House animal shelter to close; State’s Attorney’s office considers cruelty complaint
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Webster’s House animal shelter, the 16-year-old Chester organization that specialized in rescuing cats, has been asked by its longtime landlord to vacate its home at 1758 Route 103 South by July 1, according to shelter manager Mary Donaldson. In preparation for the closing, Webster’s House, formerly known at […]
Ducks line up for Windham Foundation to take over Turner site
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Grafton Select Board Monday night gave its blessing to the Agency of Natural Resources to turn over the historic Daisy Turner property to the Windham Foundation as part of an agreement with Preservation Trust Vermont to restore the remaining cabin and build a kiosk and access road […]
