Author Archive for Shawn Cunningham
Weston voters OK paving, dam removal funds
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC The 2019 Weston Town Meeting got it just about right. The town business was taken care of quickly and efficiently, there were a couple of opportunities for community celebration and just enough political wrangling to keep everyone’s interest. In the end, all the articles passed and the […]
Cavendish voters OK tax exemption for Fletcher Farm, Black River Health Center
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Every town meeting is different and it can be hard to predict which articles will sail past and which will spark debate. But more often than not, the time spent on one or two articles is out of proportion with the amount they will cost. True to […]
Dakin, Whalen, Gustafson take Chester Select Board seats; road bond issue passes in Chester
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Veteran office holder Leigh Dakin cruised to a write-in victory over political newcomer Scott Blair, co-owner of the Southern Pie Company and the Main Street Coffee & Scoop Shoppe, on Tuesday evening making the composition of the Chester Select Board 40 percent female for the first time. […]
GM School District budget OK’d by 70 votes CAES assistant principal funded in $13 million spending plan
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing, LLC The Green Mountain Unified School District budget was approved by the voters of Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester in Australian balloting on Tuesday. The count was 423 to 353 with a margin of victory of 70 votes or 9 percent. The budget gives Chester-Andover Elementary an assistant […]
After rocky process, GM school budget goes to voters Assistant Principal for CAES was bone of contention
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Tuesday, March 5, residents in Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester will go to the polls to vote on the Green Mountain Unified School District budget for the 2019/2020 school year. The $12,937,250 spending plan represents an increase of more than $405,000, or 3.23 percent over the […]
Cold Spring group seeks Weston funds for lower dam removal
By Shawn Cunningham ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC With more than 30 people jammed into the Weston Playhouse living room, members of the Weston Community Association and the Conservation Committee explained how they came to the conclusion that the lower dam along Lawrence Hill Road should be removed and the stream bed restored. They are asking […]
Sunday morning fire destroys Stratton guest house
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing, LLC A morning blaze destroyed a guest house in the Snowy Pond Estate compound off Mountain Road in Stratton on Sunday. The Stratton Volunteer Fire Company responded to the automatic fire alarm at 802 Mountain Road – near the Town Garage – just before 10 a.m. and found […]
GM ‘better board’ training heavy on limitations Board association recommends 'hands off' posture toward administration
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC The main event at last night’s Green Mountain Unified School District Board meeting was a training session for the board on being a board. Board chair Marilyn Mahusky told the meeting that she and Superintendent Meg Powden felt there was value in “bringing somebody in to help […]
Chester updated on Depot St. sidewalk project
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC The main event at Wednesday’s Chester Select Board meeting – a public hearing on the federally funded sidewalk project along Depot Street – almost didn’t happen when the presenters were unable to make their PowerPoint presentation work. But when the situation seemed darkest, outgoing board member Dan […]
Ben Whalen: Chester needs to be good for people and business
By Shawn Cunningham ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Ben Whalen is seeking a fourth one-year term on the Chester Select Board after having won low-key campaigns in contested elections in 2016 and 2017 and an uncontested one in 2018. This year, Whalen’s name stands alone on the ballot for two one-year terms after incumbent Lee Gustafson […]
Scott Blair: Chester is a family town, not just a historic place
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Scott Blair sees Chester as a family town that attracts tourists, but he does not see tourism as the town’s primary economic driver. Instead, he says, that economic driver is small business and he believes the town needs to do a better job encouraging them. “The town […]
Massive ice sculpture crowns Popple Dungeon
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC In the late fall of each year, Peter Delaney erects a tall wooden framework for mounting a hose that’s fed by a spring up in the hills along Popple Dungeon Road in Chester. He caps the hose and then drills five small holes in the cap to […]
Chester man cited for child cruelty during I-91 accident probe
© 2019 Telegraph Publishing, LLC A Chester man was cited for child cruelty this afternoon when he refused to remove a child from an accident scene involving his company’s truck on I-91 northbound. According to a Vermont State Police press release, early in the investigation of the crash, Jason Carrara, 36, of Chester, arrived on […]
Chester board picks ‘design/build’ for emergency services building Reviews no bid contract with Russell Construction in executive session
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board voted to go with a “design-build” process rather than traditional bidding for the proposed emergency services building, but not without objections by one member. “I believe in process and I don’t think we did our due diligence here,” said board member Heather Chase, […]
Fine winter weather for Chester Winter Carnival
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC After some years of either bitter or balmy temperatures, the Chester Winter Carnival went off this weekend under sunny skies and with comfortably cold thermometer readings. The ice rink was frozen solid as several of those playing broom hockey found when they fell. And there was even […]
Depot St. bridge construction set to begin Cold River Bridges signed to rebuild Cavendish span
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC The long awaited work on the Depot Street bridge in Cavendish is right around the corner according to Town Manager Brendan McNamara, and the town is looking down the road at minimizing some of the problems it sees with having the span open again. McNamara told the […]
To the editor: Re-elect Joan Dayton for Delinquent Tax Collector
I am pleased to say that I will be running for Delinquent Tax Collector for the Town of Londonderry for 2019. In a brief background, I have lived and worked in Londonderry for over 20 years, I was born and educated in Vermont. I have a degree in Business Administration and have taken courses at […]
Michigan authorities arrest man in GM threat
© 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC A 23-year-old Michigan man was arrested yesterday in connection with an online threat made against a Green Mountain High School student and against the school on Monday, according to Vermont State Police. Police have said that the threat made on Monday, Feb. 4 was traced to a person “in the […]
GM High in lockdown; students moved to Legion
Here are links to the latest stories on the school lockdown. – When a child’s text message of love is ominous – Chief Cloud confirms two GM threats are related Green Mountain High School received a call this morning, Thursday, Feb. 7, that prompted school officials to call police. The Telegraph could not determine the […]
TRSU floats policies to govern its boards Move comes in the wake of questions by board members
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC In the wake of a number of recent meetings in which Two Rivers Supervisory Union and Green Mountain Unified School District board members have been skeptical and even critical of the decisions and priorities of administrators, the “senior management” of the supervisory union is proposing policies defining […]
