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.
Flood cleanup estimates over $1.5 million; FEMA tours damage
By Cynthia Prairie ©The Chester Telegraph – 2014 Preliminary figures indicate that the Chester-Andover-Windham area suffered between $1.5 million and $1.8 million in damage from the torrential rain storm and subsequent flooding of Monday, July 28. These figures also include $100,000 in damage to both Reading and Weathersfield. On Tuesday morning, Aug. 5, representatives from […]
Editorial: Bringing business to businesses on Chester’s Green
Last week, The Chester Telegraph ran a series about Chester’s Green, what makes it different from other Vermont greens — it’s characterized by its businesses — and what can be done to ensure the success of businesses along The Green and in Chester as a whole. Over the years, The Green has faced its share […]
Part III: Dining out on the lure of a restaurant
By Cynthia Prairie ©The Chester Telegraph – 2014 T he Chester Green not only has two new antique stores – the Bargain Corner, just east of the Moon Dog Cafe, and VintageVermont, opened by a Bartonsville family in the Spater Building. But its new restaurant – in the Victorian house at 90 The Common that […]
Part II: It’s not easy being The Green; Defining a unique space
By Cynthia Prairie © The Chester Telegraph – 2014 When Vermonters talk about their town’s “Green,” they are speaking of a gathering place, one that likely sports a large bandstand on an expansive lawn — more square than long and narrow. Typically, public buildings or churches and some homes surround these greens, while the town’s […]
Part I: Chester’s Green a window on the health of local economy
By Cynthia Prairie © The Chester Telegraph – 2014 With three new businesses opening this summer along Chester’s Green in what had been empty storefronts, many merchants in and outside the immediate downtown area are sighing with relief. It’s not that businesses along The Green are any more important than those, say, along the Route […]
GMUHS graduates 58 under summer-eve skies
By Cynthia Prairie Fifty-eight students graduated from Green Mountain Union High School on Friday, June 20, under dazzling summer-eve skies. Most are headed to college, while several already have full-time jobs and careers lined up. (Photo gallery is below) Salutatorian Rachel Martel urged her fellow grads to pursue the unknown. “In this new beginning,” she […]
Justice Center to ‘move forward’ on transitional housing in Chester
ONE THE COVER:Chester residents packed a meeting of the board of the Springfield Restorative Justice Center. From left, Chester Select Board member Bill Lindsay, Chester resident Tom Hildreth, third from left, and standing, Select Board member Derek Suursoo, Chester resident Ron Patch and Chester Select Board member John DeBenedetti. By Cynthia Prairie At 6 p.m., […]
Sale of Armory in Chester stirs some interest
By Cynthia Prairie Gary Puryear takes a guest through the empty Chester Armory like an architect proud of his work. As environmental base transition coordinator for the federal Base Realignment and Closure program, he has overseen the cleanup and spruce-up of the 14,000-square-foot cinder block building. He seems to know every nook and cranny of […]
Beautification committee plants sunshine around Chester
By Cynthia Prairie It was a blooming beautiful Thursday morning, May 29, when members of the recently formed Chester Beautification Committee gathered at Sunshine Acres garden center on Route 11 north to fill 34 large planters with soil and flowering plants — such as petunias, salvia and sun patiens. The containers were then set out […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
Editorial: Targeting cultural and economic growth
By Cynthia Prairie Two weeks ago, I wrote about the desire of many area residents and interested parties to see a concerted push for economic vitality in the town of Chester, whether it is for a fairgrounds and kiosk, an observatory or a new business. We’ve read it many times in The Telegraph Polls, […]
Chester Police Log for Jan. 21-April 26, 2014
Editor’s Note: The Chester Telegraph Police Log is a sampling of incidents directly from Chester Police reports. We do not identify individual victims of crimes nor those who have been arrested. Tuesday, Jan. 21, 12:15 p.m. Police assisted the Fire Department in a call for a chimney fire on Popple Dungeon Road that started when […]
GM Honor Society inducts 10 new members
The Flamstead Chapter of the National Honor Society inducted 10 new members in a ceremony and celebration on Thursday, April 24 at Green Mountain Union High School in Chester. The 93-year-old National Honor Society, with chapters in all 50 states, honors students who have “demonstrated excellence in the areas of Scholarship, Leadership, Service and Character,” […]
Editorial: Chester, start your economic engine
When The Chester Telegraph started producing its Telegraph Polls shortly after its own launch back in January of 2012, we thought it would be a great way to continue conversations and register opinions that until then were only rarely conducted in public. The results have been heartening and enlightening. I bring the Telegraph Poll up […]
Construction of Chester town solar farm expected to begin by fall
By Cynthia Prairie Construction of a 500-kilowatt solar farm on Chester town land should begin by this fall, according Luke Shullenberger of Green Lantern Capital of Waterbury, the developer of the project, with completion in eight to 10 weeks from start. The project, slated for a 5-acre Jeffrey Well parcel at Route 103 North and […]
Ladd Scholarship fund-raising pulls in more than $17,000
By Cynthia Prairie M ore than 100 people turned out Saturday night at the Fullerton Inn to celebrate the legacy of learning created by the late Andy and Heidi Ladd and to raise money for scholarships for graduates of Green Mountain Union High School who are seeking a college degree. The total raised […]
Donors rock the Heath Gordon Scholarship fundraiser
By Cynthia Prairie Sam Gordon is a happy man. On Friday evening, as the Chester American Legion began buzzing with activity, Gordon said he hoped the Heath Gordon Scholarship Fundraiser that was just kicking off would raise $2,000 to add to the college fund that he and a group of friends set up to […]
$6,400 raised during crowded event for Brian Waldo
More than 300 well-wishers attended Saturday night’s fund-raiser for Chester resident Brian Waldo, who has been hospitalized for several months with health issues related to spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spine that he developed over the last several years. According to Pat Budnick, as of Monday morning, $6,400 had been raised with […]
