Author Archive for Shawn Cunningham
104th ANG fighter pilots spar high above Green Mountains
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC BARNES AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, WESTFIELD, MASS. Some morning in the near future you’ll hear that rumble, the one that scared your cat and made you search the skies last week. And as that rumble becomes a roar, echoing off the Green Mountains of southern Vermont, you […]
To the editor: Champion Fire Co. thanks others who helped during storm
I would like to take a moment and thank all of the mutual aid fire companies that came to our aid in the storm on May 18. Our dispatch system was completely overwhelmed and we were left on our own. The incident on Spring Hill took a long time to control, there were five homes […]
NEWS ANALYSIS: How an Act 46 merger became a separation
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC In two weeks, the voters of Ludlow and Mount Holly will go to the polls to decide whether to close Black River High School and become part of the Mill River Unified Union School District in Clarendon. This was the direction chosen by representatives of those towns […]
Drug task force arrests 16 in Springfield area sweep
Sixteen area residents, including two from Chester, were arrested last week and two more are being sought by police in a drug sweep by the Vermont Drug Task Force. According to a Vermont State Police press release today, the arrests came after several months of investigation into the sale of heroin and cocaine in the […]
Ludlow group plans ‘life beyond a no vote’ on Mill River merger
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing, LLC About 20 members of the loosely organized group that wants to keep Black River High School open met at the Ludlow Community Center on Thursday evening to plan for how children could be educated if the town rejects the proposed merger of the Ludlow and Mount Holly […]
‘Worst of the worst’ on Route 11 budgeted for summer temp fix
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Complaints by local officials about the poor condition of Route 11 between Londonderry and Chester appear to have gained some traction of late as VTrans has offered an interim step in repairing the road. And one Londonderry ambulance service member says improvements can’t come soon enough since […]
Chester board OKs Red Nose Day; 3 sites to get radar signs
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC For the second year in a row, Chester resident Townsend Gilbert appeared before the Select Board wearing a large red clown nose. This time, the board knew what was coming – Red Nose Day – an international day for raising money for kids in need that was […]
UPDATE: I-91 Rockingham Bridge construction schedule
© 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Vermont Agency of Transportation has begun replacing the bridges on I-91 over the Williams River in Rockingham. The projected completion date is May 18, 2020. Here is the anticipated construction schedule for the week of May 8, 2017. Monday through Friday: Road improvement work to being at the intersection […]
Four towns OK Green Mountain RED merger; voter turnout low
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Although turnout numbers were low, voters in Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester today, approved an Act 46 merger of the six districts that comprise their school system into the Green Mountain Unified School District. The new district will operate Chester-Andover Elementary School, Cavendish Town Elementary and Green […]
Ludlow area residents plan for merger ‘No’ vote and its aftermath
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC More than 40 people got together Thursday night to plan their opposition to the closing of Black River High School and the merger of the Ludlow and Mount Holly schools with the Mill River Unified Union School District in Clarendon. They also worked on ideas for what […]
Pre-vote Act 46 discussion hits lots of topics at Andover meeting
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Just three days ahead of a vote on forming a Regional Education District — or RED — several members of the Andover community attending an information meeting at Andover Town Hall were more focused on Act 60 – the school funding statute – than on Act 46 […]
Questions abound at Act 46 merger meeting in Cavendish
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing, LLC About 40 community members gathered in the cafeteria of Cavendish Town Elementary on Tuesday night to hear a presentation on the proposed Act 46 merger of Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester to create a Green Mountain Unified School District. They also asked questions of members of the […]
‘Whole lot of luck’ spares Chester home from afternoon fire
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Events could have worked out very differently this afternoon on Orcutt Drive in Chester. But when the wire from a Green Mountain Power pole to Kyle and Becky Martens’ house began arcing and caught fire, everything fell into place to keep what could have been a major […]
Man arrested in VSP barracks break-in attempt, more charges
A Ludlow man faces arraignment today on a number of charges including burglary, possession of stolen property, obstruction of justice and unlawful mischief, according to Vermont State Police. Justin Clouart, whose residence is listed by police alternately as Ludlow and Putney, is accused in two separate incidents one of which included a break-in at the […]
Small crowd for Mill River merger meeting in Ludlow
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Considering the emotion that has swirled around the question of what should happen to Black River High School in the Act 46 school consolidation, a surprisingly small crowd turned out on Monday night to hear about and ask questions on the plan. Subtracting board members, Two Rivers […]
Chester board discusses emergency preparedness, new fire station
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board had a light agenda so it could move onto executive session to interview Planning Commission candidates, but took time to discuss emergency preparedness and the status of an emergency services building at its April 19 meeting. The question about emergency preparedness arose when […]
Act 46 RED goes to voters: What will merger mean?
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Next Tuesday, May 2, the voters of Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester will decide whether they will join their existing school districts into a new, unified one to fulfill the requirements of the state’s school consolidation law. The Regional Education District — or RED — that will […]
Between school mergers and splits: How did we get here?
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Enacted by the Vermont legislature in the spring of 2015, Act 46 was designed to improve education opportunities for Vermont students while lowering the cost of providing those opportunities through mergers that would scale up the state’s schools and help create efficiencies. And that’s more than just […]
Robbers caught on camera in two convenience store robberies
© 2017-Telegraph Publishing LLC Vermont State Police are looking for three men involved in two robberies last night. In the first robbery, two men entered the Sunoco station on Route 5 at I-91 Exit 4 in Dummerston at around 9:15 p.m. According to a VSP press release, one man distracted the store clerk while the […]
Chester board talks economic growth; sets Planning interviews
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC With a smaller crowd in attendance than at most of its recent meetings, the Chester Select Board on Wednesday, April 5 signed the Unified Development Bylaws that have been a bone of contention for months. In a related action, the board discussed the questions and timetable for […]
