Author Archive for Shawn Cunningham
Sparse but enthusiastic group turns out for Chester planning forum
By Shawn Cunningham © 2016 Telegraph Publishing, LLC If Harry Truman was right and “decisions are made by those who show up,” then on Saturday, around 50 people began charting the course for Chester’s downtown for years to come. Despite efforts by town government to bring people out to express their opinions on issues facing […]
UPDATE: One man dead, one in custody in Wardsboro shooting
UPDATE: Wednesday Oct. 19, 6:39 a.m. Vermont State Police have released the names of those involved in yesterday’s homicide in Wardsboro. Kirby Staib, 42, of Wardsboro was killed in the incident and Kevin Parker, 57, also of Wardsboro was identified as the alleged shooter. Police said in a statement this morning that the circumstances surrounding […]
Black River Produce sold to midwest food giant
By Shawn Cunningham and Cynthia Prairie © 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Reinhart Foodservice, the nation’s fifth largest distributor of food to restaurants and institutions with 29 warehouses in the east, midwest and south, announced Friday that it has agreed to buy the brand names and distribution business of Springfield based Black River Produce. Some aspects […]
Jiffy Mart closes, Jiffy Mart opens
© 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC With the clock ticking up toward a 2 p.m. closing time yesterday, employees at the Jiffy Mart at Main and Depot streets in Chester were telling each customer that the store would be locking its doors for good shortly, but the new store at Main and Pleasant streets would be […]
Chester Master Plan steering committee expands to 10; other appointments on hold
By Shawn Cunningham © 2016 Telegraph Publishing, LLC The long awaited master planning process for downtown Chester is about to begin its year-long run and at its Oct. 5 meeting, the town’s Select Board was slated to appoint its steering committee, but there was a twist. As late as Wednesday morning at the Chester Economic […]
Fighter jets train over southern Vermont
By Shawn Cunningham © 2016 Telegraph Publishing, LLC Been wondering what’s up with the sounds of high-performance jet aircraft in the sky the past few days? We called around and found that it’s the 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. According their media advisory, the Guard is conducting routine training over Southern […]
Chester board hears about affordable housing, public trees and historic buildings
By Shawn Cunningham © 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board did a lot of listening at its Sept. 21 meeting, with presentations on affordable housing and public trees as well as monthly financial updates and more than half an hour of public comments. Wendy Harrison, director of Development and Community Relations for the […]
Chester’s hearse moves to new, old home
By Shawn Cunningham © 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Promptly at 7 this morning, a Chester Public Works crew removed the town’s late-Victorian hearse from the small building at the Adams Funeral Home, where it has been stored and on display for many years. They then carefully pushed it down Depot Street to Main, then west […]
Chester board considers sex offender ordinance
By Shawn Cunningham © 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Two items on the agenda for Sept. 7 meeting of the Chester Select Board brought out interested residents: a proposed ordinance to limit where sex offenders could live in Chester and a discussion of whether 19 roads that are plowed and maintained by the town are in […]
Jack Coleman, force behind Chester’s Players Guild, Overture to Christmas, dies at 95
By Shawn Cunningham © 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC To the wider world, John Royston Coleman was the accomplished economist, college president, central banker, foundation executive and author who took off for the hills of Vermont to run a country inn. But to people in Chester — where he settled to run The Inn at Long […]
Vermont State Police Incident Log for Aug. 1 through Aug. 29
© 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Editor’s Note: The Vermont State Police incident report is a sampling of incidents directly from the Vermont State Police. We do not identify individual victims of crimes nor those who have been arrested. Monday, Aug. 1, Rockingham – State Police received a report of a forced entry into a garage […]
Burning tractor trailer cab closes Route 5 in Westminster
By Shawn Cunningham © 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC A smoky tractor trailer fire at the junction of Routes 123 and 5 in Westminster closed both of those roads this afternoon. According to Vermont State Police, at around 12:10, Joseph Walkins Jr., 35, of Miramar, Fla., was attempting cross over into New Hampshire with a tractor […]
Fallen tree on power lines shuts down Route 11
By Shawn Cunningham © Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Fire Department was called out at about 7 a.m. this morning for a tree that had fallen from the hillside on Route 11 just west of Adams Road. According to Fire Department Capt. Ben Whalen, the tree was laying on the power lines, which were arcing. […]
Lucky 13? Ski mountain investors say they believe in Magic
By Shawn Cunningham © 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Thirteen investors – many of whom are longtime Magic Mountain skiers – have concluded an agreement to buy the Londonderry resort from Magic Mountain Management for an undisclosed price. Formed as SKI MAGIC LLC, the group expects to close on the property in late September or early […]
Open meeting training session in Chester
© 2016 Telegraph Publishing, LLC The Chester Select Board will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 24 at 6:30 p.m. at which Garrett Baxter of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns will give a presentation on Vermont’s Open Meetings Law. The law is a meant to guarantee that the public’s business is done […]
Another water rate hike on tap in Chester; Select Board ethics policy debate continues
By Shawn Cunningham © 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board, at its Wednesday, Aug. 3 meeting, decided not to act on a recommendation from Town Manager David Pisha to approve a water rate increase. Instead, the five-member panel will warn the rate increase for the next meeting — Aug. 17 — and make […]
Ground breaks, curtain rises on next act for Weston Playhouse
By Shawn Cunningham © 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Years of planning and designing came to a close Sunday as the Weston Playhouse Theatre Company officially broke ground for its new arts center on the corner of Route 100 and the Andover Weston Road. What will not come to an end however is fund raising for […]
14 in Chester honored for 20-plus years of service
By Shawn Cunningham © 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Before getting down to a regular agenda on Wednesday, Aug. 3, the Chester Select Board took a few minutes to recognize 14 people who have served the town of Chester for as many as 35 years. The Vermont Public Service Award is given every five years by […]
Unpermitted ‘superload’ trucks ‘grounded’ in Rockingham
By Shawn Cunningham © 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Two tractor-trailers carrying oversized loads that tore down wires and broke utility poles in Chester last night will spend the weekend and at least part of next week at a reststop in Rockingham while Vermont authorities engineer a way for them to safely exit the state on […]
House explodes in Guilford
UPDATE: July 28 – The Vermont State Police are advising that it appears the explosion may have been caused due to a ruptured propane gas line inside the basement of the house, but they still don’t know what caused rupture in the line or what ignited the leaked propane vapor. Detectives are still examining […]
