Author Archive for Shawn Cunningham
Chester voters hear from candidates in contested races
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC About 35 Chester voters turned out on Friday night to hear candidates running for contested seats on the Select Board, school district board and Trustees of Public funds address issues and why they want to serve. Moderator Bill Dakin introduced the candidates and asked each group some […]
Chester Police arrest armed road rage suspect Two songs and a cellphone picture aid in the arrest
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC In a case that a Chester officer described as an example of how technology can help in crime investigations, police arrested a 19-year-old Bellows Falls man who allegedly brandished a gun in a road rage incident on Route 11 on Thursday. Around 3 p.m. Thursday, 911 dispatchers […]
Chester quarry appeal set for April 1; Julian brother behind bars in Connecticut
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC The earliest date that Chester Development Review Board members and lawyers for both the complainants and the Julian Materials company could synchronize their calendars to meet over the appeal of the notice of violation by the company is Monday, April 1. Considering the length of the issue […]
Julians appeal Chester’s notice of violation
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Friday brought the latest twist in the ongoing saga of the Julian quarries in Gassetts as Julian attorney Mark Hall submitted an appeal to the Town of Chester’s notice of violation in which he said the entire operation would be shut down for 2 to 3 weeks […]
Despite objection, Chester board refuses to remove road from list Community coalition hopes to build 'safe space' for youth in Chester
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Signing the annual certification of road mileage is usually a low-key, pro forma task in a select board’s first February agenda, but last Wednesday night a land owner who objects to the classification of an old road became increasingly agitated, raising his voice and insisting the board […]
TRSU board picks OSSD Super Millington as new superintendent
By Shawn Cunningham © Telegraph Publishing LLC After interviewing two candidates and after nearly 90 minutes of deliberation, the Two Rivers Supervisory Union Board voted 4-2 on Thursday night to offer the job of superintendent to Layne Millington, who currently is superintendent with the Orange Southwest Supervisory District, based in the town of Randolph. He […]
Julians are back with a new gambit and engineer
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Seven days after Chester Zoning Administrator Preston Bristow sent a Notice of Violation to the Julian companies,which operates quarries in Gassetts, he received an answer. The notice had given the Julians the choice of correcting five violations or appealing the notice to Chester’s DRB. The Julians chose […]
Local drone club scores in Vermont’s first aerial competition
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Riverside Middle School’s Dressel Gym was buzzing on Saturday with the sounds of competition as teams from Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts competed in Vermont’s first Aerial Drone Competition. The competition is sponsored by The Robotics Education & Competition Foundation. Fifteen teams – including four from the […]
Just a Bill: Legislating on the edge of transparency guarantees
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Any long time reader of The Telegraph will know that we take Vermont’s Open Meeting Law and Public Records Act seriously. These are the statutes meant to preserve and defend the public’s right to know what government is doing in their name, in your name and with […]
Chester cites Julians for quarry violations
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC After years of complaints and a recent conditional use application that dragged on but eventually went nowhere, the Town of Chester has cited the operator of three quarries for five violations and is demanding that a number of steps be taken immediately. On Jan. 17, Julian Materials […]
Chester board hones STR regulations, focusing on unhosted rental limits and raising annual fee
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC After several months of discussions, the Chester Select Board, on Wednesday, Jan. 17, closed in on several additions that would tighten the town’s short term rental ordinance, especially with regard to unhosted rentals. Back in early September of last year, after many months of discussions of additional […]
UPDATE: Julians pull out of zoning application; Will DRB proceedings go on?
UPDATE- DRB accepts Julian withdrawal, Town to file notice of violation On Monday night, Chester’s Development Review Board issued an order accepting Julian Materials’ withdrawal of its zoning application for three quarries in the Gassetts area. And in answer to neighbors asking “where do we go from here” Zoning Administrator Preston Bristow said would “file […]
‘Just a Bill,’ give or take several hundred A quick look at what's up with proposed laws in Montpelier
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Covering each year’s legislative session is nearly impossible for a small, local newspaper. To begin with, hundreds of bills are introduced even in a small state like Vermont. In the first three days of this year’s session, 203 would-be laws began a journey that most will never […]
Chester snowmobilers: Class 4 road change could ‘cripple’ club Smokeshire land owners say road no longer belongs to town
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC The discussion of a Class 4 road generally won’t fill the benches at Chester Town Hall, but last Wednesday more than 20 people turned out in person, with more attending via Zoom for a request to make a town road private. Paul Bidgood, who owns land in […]
Chester man released on $20,000 bail after agreeing to plead guilty to child sex charges
By Shawn Cunningham © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC Jason Carrara, the Chester man who was arrested on two child sex charges on Sept. 24 and held without bail, has been released on a bond of $20,000, part of a deal with the office of the Windsor County State’s Attorney’s office that included a guilty plea […]
GMUSD board votes 6-3 to drop Chieftain name Board chair Deb Brown resigns amid medical concerns
By Shawn Cunningham © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC Signalling that the board of the Green Mountain Unified School District would be holding another one of its unusual meetings on Thursday night, board Vice Chair Adrienne Williams announced that board Chair Deb Brown has resigned, citing medical issues from a concussion she suffered weeks ago. The […]
Jason Julian pleads guilty to ‘environmental crime’ in Connecticut Co-owner of quarrying firm under dispute in Chester
By Shawn Cunningham © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC Jason Julian, whose firm Julian Materials operates three quarries in Chester that have been the subject of many complaints, pleaded guilty on Friday to six misdemeanor charges in a Connecticut court. The charges, brought by the State of Connecticut, say that Julian illegally disposed of fill containing […]
DRB hearing turns rancorous as Julian Materials changes quarry application New plans include moving stone cutting outside Chester
By Shawn Cunningham © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC Years of quarry noise and months of zoning hearings boiled over at Monday night’s meeting of the Chester Development Review Board as Julian Materials proposed a heavily amended version of its conditional use application, while neighbors demanded to know when there would be enforcement of the current […]
GM board members spar over misconduct allegations
By Shawn Cunningham © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC What was ostensibly a review of the board’s ethics code and behavioral norms following complaints about the actions of at least two members of the Green Mountain Unified School District board turned into a tense discussion of a single member’s creation of images that he emailed to […]
Andover Select Board agenda for Dec. 11
The Andover Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday Dec. 11 in the Andover Town Office, 953 Weston Andover Road. Below is the board’s agenda. 1. Call Meeting to Order. 2. Act on Agenda. 3. Act on Minutes of November 27th meeting. 4. Public Comment (Time allowance: Five minutes per […]
