Author Archive for Shawn Cunningham
GM board gives 3 principals 2-year contracts coming out of questionable executive session Board member says SU 'ignored' audit committee's request
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC If the Green Mountain Unified School District board didn’t break Vermont’s Open Meeting Law last Thursday evening, they took it to the breaking point. The board entered the first of three executive sessions during the meeting using the exemption for “labor relations agreements with employees,” to discuss […]
Understanding ownership split for Springfield Hospital, clinics 'Working relationship' between the two to continue, CEO says
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The interim CEO of Springfield Hospital says that that organization is not cutting its ties with the network of area clinics, as has been previously reported. Michael Halstead told The Telegraph in an interview last week that the changes that will occur when Springfield Hospital comes out […]
Search begins for new Two Rivers schools superintendent
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC With less than five months before Two Rivers Supervisory Union Superintendent Meg Powden is scheduled to step down, the TRSU board began discussing how it would conduct its search for her replacement. Powden resigned her position on Jan. 13, just seven months into the first year of […]
Showers of flowers and a flurry of snow-filled fun
© 2020 Telegraph Publishing With Valentine’s Day and the Winter Carnival falling around the same time this year, it was a busy weekend in Chester. With the help of veteran florist Cheryl LeClair, the new Flower Shop at Chester Hardware, which was opened this past summer by store owners Julie and Bob Pollard, experienced a […]
TRSU staff negotiations may bust legal budgets again
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Despite requests from members of the Green Mountain Unified School District board to see how legal costs could be contained, the teacher bargaining council for the Two Rivers Supervisory Union continues to have a Burlington attorney attend every negotiating meeting at a cost of more than $1,100 […]
Cavendish selects ponder meeting conduct code Tierney Road quarry foes to continue fight
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Stemming from some heated exchanges in regard to the Tierney Road quarry dispute, the Cavendish Select Board on Monday night took up a proposal by member Sandra Russo to institute a code of conduct for the board’s meetings. Russo’s code was less to promote civility and seemed […]
Smoke scare at Rowell’s Inn days before opening
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday Chester firefighters were called out for a smoke alarm at Rowell’s Inn in Andover, just days before its scheduled opening as a restaurant, bakery and bed and breakfast. “The owners were lighting a woodstove when a back-draft blew smoke into the building,” […]
VSP seeks owners of apparently stolen property
© 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC During 2016 and 2017, Vermont State Police investigated a number of thefts and burglaries in Windham County and southern Windsor County. As these cases were concluded, there were items that police recovered that they believe had been stolen. However, the owners remain unknown. These include assorted small and large tools, […]
MacLaomainn’s in Chester not closing or sold Name confusion may be behind rumor
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Neeps and Tatties fans do not despair. Rumors of the closing of MacLaomainn’s Scottish Pub in Chester are false. According to owners Deb and Alan Brown, they recently received a phone call from their trash hauler asking when they wanted to have their dumpster picked up. The […]
CANCELED: Chester Select Board agenda for Feb. 5, 2020
The Feb. 5 Chester Select Board meeting has been canceled. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 19. The Chester Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday Feb. 5 at the Chester Town Hall, 556 Elm St. in Chester. Below is the agenda. 1. Approve Minutes from the […]
Who’s on the March 3 ballot for town offices in Andover, Cavendish, Chester & Grafton?
© 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Monday, Jan. 27 was the deadline for candidate petitions to be turned in at Town Clerks’ offices all over Vermont. Here are the candidates for offices in our area who will be voted on by Australian ballot on Tuesday, March 3. Those running for offices in Weston and Londonderry will […]
GM school board: Good budget despite hikes Directors vow to start early, keep working on budget process
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC In a little over a month, voters in Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester will be asked to approve a school budget of $14,108,968, which represents an increase of more than 9 percent. During that time, the members of the Green Mountain Unified School District board representing those […]
Two Rivers school districts, admin budgets OK’d In flurry of meetings, boards send proposals for March vote
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last week, in a flurry of meetings, the boards of the Two Rivers Supervisory Union and its two school districts adopted difficult budgets with large increases and some important details still unresolved. Now their task is to convince the voters of Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish, Chester, Ludlow and […]
TRSU postpones budget while districts continue work on theirs
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC While the surprise resignation of Superintendent Meg Powden took center stage at Monday’s meeting of the Two Rivers Supervisory Union, the work of finalizing the SU’s budget went on. At its meeting of Jan. 2, the board had rejected a 9.54 percent increase and asked the administration […]
Chester board nears final budget version
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last Wednesday, the Chester Select Board took its next-to-last look at its 2020 budget with the goal of limiting an increase in the tax rate. At the time of the meeting it appeared that that the budget was $241,565 greater than last year — equivalent to 6 […]
Chester Planning Commission agenda for Jan. 20, 2020
The Chester Planning commission will hold a regular meeting from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday Jan. 20, 2020 at the Chester Town Hall, 556 Elm St., Chester. Below is its agenda. 1. Review minutes from the Jan. 6, 2019 meeting 2. Citizens Comments 3. Go over map changes with Gabe Ladd 4. Discuss […]
Powden resigns as TRSU superintendent effective June 30
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing, LLC Meg Powden, superintendent of the Two Rivers Supervisory Union, resigned her position on Monday, Jan. 13 effective June 30 — the end of the 2019/2020 school year. She will have served four years, overseeing the operations of two school districts — Green Mountain Unified and Ludlow-Mt. Holly […]
GM board restores priorities, bets on programs to attract more students At least two board members will not run for re-election
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Presented with a 2020-21 budget that stripped out all of the educational priorities it adopted in mid-2019, the finance committee of the Green Mountain Unified School District on Monday pushed back to restore programs, teacher positions and supplies while taking a gamble that offering more would make […]
TRSU board mulls budget increases, LMH may lose transportation
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC While school officials asserted that an overall budget increase of 9.54 percent at the Two Rivers Supervisory Union level was necessary and that new special education programs are saving money, board members asked for details to show their school boards and the communities they represent. The board […]
TRSU proposes cutting GM educational priorities
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Three weeks after the Finance Committee of the Green Mountain Unified School District asked the Two Rivers Supervisory Union to come back with a budget that would include several of its education priorities while trying to keep the per pupil cost as low as possible, members received […]
