Author Archive for Shawn Cunningham
Kelley gives up sabbatical; GM board votes no raises next year
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC At the Green Mountain Unified School District Board meeting on Thursday, May 21, Chester-Andover Elementary teacher Frank Kelley asked that his request for a one-year sabbatical be rescinded and he be re-instated for the 2020/21 school year. Approved at the Oct. 17 meeting, Kelley’s paid leave was […]
Chester OKs picnic tables on the Green as restaurants begin to reopen Board reviews landscaping plan for public safety building
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC After a discussion about several aspects of their request, the Chester Select Board on Wednesday, May 20, gave Scott Blair of Southern Pie Cafe and Jason Tostrup of the Free Range Restaurant permission to put five 6-foot picnic tables on the east end of the Green for […]
West River Farmers Market opens Saturday under new restrictions
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The West River Farmers Market will begin its 26th season on Saturday in a totally new format – just like everything else these days. The market must adhere to state guidelines to address the Covid-19 pandemic, which means that the music and social aspects of the market […]
Statewide school budget re-vote garners little support Politics in Covid response, says teachers' union
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Facing an enormous shortfall in the state education fund that needs to be addressed, the Scott administration put a suggestion on the table last Thursday that seemed to be a non-starter with members of the House Ways and Means committee, some of whom said it would lead […]
Troopers look for suspect in mask-related assault
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing, LLC An altercation over wearing masks has resulted in the Vermont State Police searching for a man accused of assault. According to a VSP press release, on Sunday just after 2 p.m., Police were notified of a fight in progress at the Jiffy Mart at 301 Vermont Route […]
TRSU boards search for savings amid Covid crisis Telegraph: School boards again violate Open Meeting Law
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC In an effort to keep teacher salary negotiations a secret, the Two Rivers Supervisory Union board and its two constituent school district boards decided to hold a joint executive session on the topic last Thursday. But the closed door confab went for naught as one member spilled […]
Hance seeks savings in Chester budget
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC In a review of Chester’s financial picture, Town Manager Julie Hance told the Select Board that the town is holding off spending as much as possible so that it would not have to draw on its tax anticipation note or TAN. The note is like a line […]
Scott: Mask compliance through education, not mandate Visitors still must self-isolate for 14 days
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC While Gov. Phil Scott often says that his administration’s Covid-19 related decisions are “data driven and based on the best science,” when it comes to compliance with its public health directives (including the use of masks and the self-quarantining of people coming from out of state) it […]
Sam Lloyd Jr. dies at 56: Weston native, GM grad and actor/musician remembered for uplifting spirit
© 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Sam Lloyd Jr., an actor and musician who moved easily between comedy and drama, stage and screen and Hollywood and his hometown of Weston, Vermont, died on Thursday, April 30 at a respiratory care facility in Los Angeles with his wife Vanessa by his side and his sister Laurel Facetiming […]
State relying on ‘education’ for worker compliance to ‘restart’ directives
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Noting that social distancing and the wearing of face masks are “here to stay,” Vermont’s Health Commissioner, Dr. Mark Levine, said that people could expect them to be “part of the Vermont scene even as we reopen Vermont.” At the state’s regular Covid-19 press conference on Monday, […]
News Analysis: Bottom falls out of state education fund, massive tax increases loom
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC School district boards across the state will have some urgent thinking to do as the depth of the education funding crisis they face begins to be expressed in dollars of shortfall and cents in tax increases in the near future. At its meeting on April 16, members […]
Andover man dies in early morning fire
© 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC An Andover man died in a house fire early Friday morning, according to the Vermont State Police. Just after 6 a.m., a caller to the 911 center said that there was smoke coming from the roof of the house at 3047 Simonsville Road in Andover. Firefighters from Chester, Proctorsville and […]
Infection curve continues to flatten; Covid-19 numbers are moving target
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC During Gov. Phil Scott’s Monday press conference in Montpelier, state Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine noted that the slope of the Covid-19 infection curve “has clearly changed toward more of a plateau.” Using three charts, Levine pointed to the how the number of new infections changed with […]
State asks Chester, other towns for economic development funds
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC With a request from Vermont to dedicate a portion of the Chester Development Fund to a state-run loan program, the Chester Select Board on Wednesday night turned to Bob Flint of the Springfield Regional Development Corp. to help explain what’s happening. Flint said that the legislature has […]
Ripley named GM interim principal as Fierman prepares to take helm at TRSU GM board calls for action to meet 'dire' shortfalls, SU floats administration raises
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Green Mountain Unified School District board on Thursday approved a proposal by incoming Superintendent Lauren Fierman to reorganize the administration of Green Mountain High School with Associate Principal Michael Ripley taking on the role of interim principal. When the board came out of the executive session […]
S. Vt. gets one out of 19 members on economic recovery panel Local lawmakers: Our communities should have bigger voice
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing A 19-member “task force” to restart the state’s economy after the peak of the coronavirus pandemic has only one member who lives in southern Vermont and the group’s meetings will not be subject to Vermont’s Open Meetings Law, Gov. Phil Scott said at a press conference Wednesday. On […]
Scott extends ‘stay home’ order, hints at opening businesses
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Saying that Vermonters are saving lives by staying home, Gov. Phil Scott announced Friday that he is extending to May 15 the state of emergency including the Stay Home Stay Safe order in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. “I know how disappointing this to many,” said Scott, […]
No Covid-19 in water: Chester among 690 Vermont systems ordered to chlorinate water State director says mandate aids vulnerable population
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Under state orders, Chester has begun adding chlorine to its town water supply, something that it had previously only done as a precaution after a water main break or when bacteria is detected during routine weekly testing. The state mandate, Bryan Redmond, director of the Drinking Water […]
Telegraph Pandemic Digest for April 10
© 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Feds OK Vermont request for disaster funds President Donald Trump has approved Gov. Phil Scott’s request for federal disaster funds to assist the state of Vermont in its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The funds can reimburse up to 75 percent of the costs incurred by the state and towns […]
Funding at heart of startup Ludlow private school
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC A new private, independent high school in Ludlow will be pushing hard to raise the funding it needs to open in the coming school year, according to its board chair Sean Williams. The task is made doubly difficult by the effect of a global pandemic on the […]
