Author Archive for Shawn Cunningham
New crop of canines arrives at Springfield Humane Society
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Twenty dogs from Virginia and North Carolina arrived in snowy Springfield on Tuesday night in search of new homes. The dogs — puppies and adults, males and females — come from shelters that are overflowing, says Springfield Humane Society Executive Director Anne Eddy. “We always take local […]
Chester’s rookie K-9 captures a lot of attention
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Police Department has a new officer, and he’s just a year old. Dutch, a Dutch shepherd belonging to Chester Police Chief Rick Cloud, has been learning on the job, but his formal, 6-week training begins on March 6. According to Cloud, Dutch will be trained […]
Green Mountain RED merger moves forward; Ludlow, Mt. Holly reject plan
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Monday night, school merger study committee representatives from Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester who are working to form a Regional Education District heard from Mount Holly and Ludlow reps that those towns will not participate in the RED – even as a fallback position in their […]
Ludlow, Mt. Holly schools close door on RED; 3 options remain
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Thursday night, Feb. 9, the Act 46 sub-committee for Mount Holly and Ludlow voted unanimously to tell the four towns working to form a Regional Education District that they would not participate in that effort – even as a backup in case other options don’t work […]
Chester board hears comment on zoning regs; will interview appointments in public
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Wednesday, Feb. 1, the Chester Select Board opened what could be a long series of hearings on proposed changes to the Unified Development Bylaws, with more than 40 residents in attendance. The bylaws are the combination of zoning regulations, flood hazard regulations and subdivision standards. They […]
Four TRSU schools move forward on RED, old options crop up
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC While the purpose of last Tuesday’s Act 46 sub-committee meeting was to pull together a proposal to form a Regional Education District — or RED — among the towns of Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester, the question of what happens to Ludlow and Mount Holly followed the […]
Ludlow-Mt. Holly Act 46 subcommittee explores options without GMUHS
By Shawn Cunningham ©2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC As they negotiated the fate of their beloved Black River High School, the crowd at Ludlow Elementary on Tuesday night seemed to be navigating the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. A week earlier, after more than a year of fact finding and negotiation, […]
Clarification: Chester files motion but, not an appeal in water system Act 250 decision.
© 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Tuesday The Telegraph reported that the Town of Chester would appeal conditions of the Act 250 permit it received from the District #2 Environmental Commission on Dec. 30, 2016. This was based on what was said at two select board meetings and an interview with Town Manager David Pisha. […]
Chester board cancels planning, zoning interviews; appeals Act 250 decision
By Shawn Cunningham and Cynthia Prairie © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board last Wednesday, Jan. 18, decided to cancel scheduled interviews with four candidates for the Chester Development Review Board and the Planning Commission until its members can agree on a process for interviewing them and all future candidates for such positions. […]
Four TRSU towns look to merge; Ludlow, Mt. Holly seek ‘Plan B’
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC After presentations on the scenario recommended by its superintendent and often emotional but inconclusive discussions of the plan, the Two Rivers Supervisory Union Act 46 Study Committee voted to allow Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester to study forming a Regional Education District (RED) within TRSU. That subcommittee […]
Caretakers save animals during fire at Springfield vet clinic
Photos and videos by Shawn Cunningham By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC A fire damaged the Springfield Animal Hospital tonight, Thursday, Jan. 19, but quick action by employees saved all of the animals who were staying at the facility and firefighters were able to knock down the fire quickly. Just before 8:30 p.m., […]
Act 46 panel reverses course, looks at ‘scenarios’ to save BRHS, meets in Chester tonight
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last month, the Two Rivers Supervisory Union’s Act 46 Merger Study Committee voted to set aside all but one of the options it had considered and move forward on consolidating into a single district. But by its next meeting – on Jan. 11 – “a cluster” of […]
ANALYSIS: Inconsistency hangs over Chester appointments process
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Several potential members of two Chester town planning and zoning panels have been waiting for months for the Select Board to make appointments and, at its Wednesday, Jan. 18 meeting, the board will be discussing how it will approach the task deciding who will serve. The methods […]
Milk truck-minivan crash tells cautionary tale
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC At about 1:45 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 9, a milk truck carrying 39,000 pounds of milk and a minivan driven by an area resident crashed on Green Mountain Turnpike. The truck was on its way to the nearby Rohman-Wei farm to pick up milk. Called to the […]
Chester board approves budget, considers Act 250 appeal
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC After a relatively uneventful budgeting season, the Chester Select Board approved the 2017 financial plan and voted to send an article to town meeting to raise $2.9 million in taxes, but not before one resident questioned the large surpluses from 2016 and expressed concern that several new […]
Petitions due Jan. 30 for open offices in Chester
© 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Town of Chester will elect officers by Australian ballot on Tuesday, March 7, 2017. These are the offices that will be up for election at that time. Chester Town School District Moderator – 1 one-year term Town Moderator – 1 one-year term Town Clerk – 1 three-year term Town […]
Act 250 permit for Chester water tank restricts gravel extraction plan
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Friday, the District #2 Environmental Commission issued a permit to allow Chester to build a water tank and transmission line on 139 acres of land east of Green Mountain Union High School. But the Act 250 permit seems likely to make further development on the site […]
Magic Mountain named ‘Best in Snow’ by Liftopia
© 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Liftopia, a ski and snowboard ticketing portal, has named Magic Mountain in Londonderry No. 1 among its Top 10 Best in Snow winners for 2016-17, according to a press release issued last week. Liftopia takes reviews from thousands of skiers who use its services to see which resorts are best […]
State: Chester must reappraise, future ed tax hikes likely
By Shawn Cunningham © 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Perhaps one of the driest items on the Chester Select Board agenda last Wednesday could have the greatest impact in the future, while the town officer who understands the system it is a part of will be leaving before the work will begin. Lister Wanda Purdy told […]
Chester planners send bylaw revisions for approval over some objections
By Shawn Cunningham © 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC After nearly two years of work, the Chester Planning Commission voted – at the end of Tuesday night’s public hearing – to send its revisions of the Unified Development Bylaws to the Chester Select Board for review. A number of residents and business owners spoke in favor […]
