Author Archive for Shawn Cunningham
Appraisal of Route 103 solar farm kicks off Chester negotiations for purchase
By Shawn Cunningham © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC In a meeting that took just 30 minutes to complete, the Chester Select Board learned that an appraisal of the Route 103 solar farm has been completed and that the town is now in a position to begin negotiations to buy it from its owner, Greenbacker Renewable […]
New Chester Police Chief outlines approach, goals
By Shawn Cunningham © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC As Chester’s new police chief, Tom Williams says he wants to bring the department closer to the community and he’s started with his office. Williams, who as a lieutenant in the department, could have continued working out of that office, but decided to move into the office […]
Chester board finalizes budget; cannabis retailer on the horizon; citizen police panel discussed Town meeting vote could end election of clerk, treasurer
By Shawn Cunningham © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC While issues like a report from the town’s Cannabis Control Commission, thoughts on a police citizen advisory board and the approval of the warning for Town Meeting were on the Chester Select Board’s Jan. 18 agenda, one line on the proposed 2023 budget took up a significant […]
Derry board considers stricter short-term rental ordinance
By Shawn Cunningham © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC At its Monday Jan. 23 meeting, the Londonderry Select Board took up a draft ordinance to regulate short-term rentals. The draft that was posted on the town’s website as part of the board packet was basically the ordinance adopted by the Chester Select Board back in December. […]
GMUSD board agrees to ‘retire’ Chieftain name 'Indian head' image was dropped two years ago
By Shawn Cunningham © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC In a move that was a surprise to at least one board member, the Green Mountain Unified School District board voted tonight, Thursday, Jan. 19, to discontinue the use of the Chieftain name. The district had voted to stop using the image of a Native American in […]
Chester Board dips into ‘Public Funds’ to pay for cemetery work Community garden license, STR regs, solar farm purchase inch forward
By Shawn Cunningham © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC With a quorum of just three members attending — including Leigh Dakin on Zoom — the Chester Select Board worked through a fairly light agenda on Jan. 4, from looking to bequeathed funds for money to offset a deficit in last year’s budget to sending a proposed […]
Jackknifed tractor trailer closes slushy Grafton Road
By Shawn Cunningham © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC The driver of a northbound tractor trailer lost control of his truck in slushy conditions on Route 35 in Chester on Friday, Jan. 6 and jackknifed winding up pointing in the opposite direction in a ditch. The mishap closed the Grafton Road from around 11:30 a.m. until […]
Two select boards push back on their planning commissions Short-term rentals, energy chapter at issue as ARPA fund uses discussed
By Shawn Cunningham © 2023 Telegraph Publishing, LLC At their last regular meetings of 2022 the Select Boards of Andover and Cavendish took issue with the work of their towns’ Planning Commission and, in one instance, broached the idea of removing members to get its way. On Dec. 27 in Andover, the board took up […]
Rt. 121 closure in Saxtons River postponed til next week
By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Due to last week’s snowstorm, the scheduled closure of Rt. 121 in Saxtons River has been postponed to Jan. 3. The closure is part of the repair of bridges on I-91 and involves the placement of a crane on the roadway below the bridges. It is expected […]
Inclusion declaration divides Chester board Measure passes on 3-2 vote after testy discussions
By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Despite statements that all five members of the Chester Select Board supported a “declaration of inclusion” adopted by other Vermont towns and proposed by members of the Chester community, the measure only passed by a bare majority of three votes to two last Wednesday night. The discussion […]
Judge defers decision on Merrill plea agreement
By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester resident and former middle school teacher Norman Merrill, charged with three felony counts related to creating and possessing child pornography, changed his not guilty plea on the count carrying the least penalty Tuesday morning, to guilty under an agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. However, U.S. […]
GMUSD Board agenda for Dec. 15
The Green Mountain Unified School District Board will hold its regular meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday Dec. 15, 2022 at the Green Mountain High School library and via Zoom. To join the meeting remotely go to https://trsu.zoom.us/j/85863233984 Below is the board’s agenda. I. CALL TO ORDER (2 min): A. Roll call II. Approval of […]
Chester board adopts short-term rental ordinance
By Shawn Cunningham © Telegraph Publishing LLC Beginning in April of next year, property owners who offer dwellings in Chester for short-term rental will have to register with the town by paying a fee and abiding by a set of health and safety regulations that are already in state law but sparsely enforced. The unanimous […]
Judge rejects Piri’s defense subpoena in Rt. 103 murder case
By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC BRATTLEBORO Last Wednesday’s hearing in the second-degree murder case of Jozsef Piri focussed on a head-scratching situation for not only the Windham County State’s Attorney but the judge as well when defense attorney Adam Hescock sought information using a subpoena instead of accepted avenues for gaining information […]
Hearing scheduled for Merrill plea change
By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Seven months after his arrest on charges of producing child pornography in his Chester home, Norman Merrill is scheduled enter a change of plea in a hearing before U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss on Dec. 20. On May 23, Merrill pled not guilty to a three-count indictment […]
Second meeting of TRSU’s ‘Portrait of a Graduate’ set for Dec. 5
By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC About 25 community members gathered in the library at Green Mountain High School on Monday Nov. 14 to participate as a “design team” in the first of four meetings aimed at answering the question “what should a graduate from a Two Rivers Supervisory Union school – elementary, […]
Chester Fire Department Christmas trees go on sale
By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC The spirit of the season arrived in Chester on Friday, with the delivery of 500 Christmas trees for the Chester Fire Department’s annual sale. Firefighters and other volunteers – including a number of children – gathered at Rt. 103 south across from Marshall Road – to unload […]
Chester board hears from attorney about STR ordinance
By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester’s Select Board continued deliberating on an ordinance that would require registration of short term rentals — like Airbnb and VRBO — to gather information about the effects of such rentals on the town and to ensure that fire and safety regulations are observed. Back in August, […]
Andover Select Board agenda for Nov. 28
The Andover Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday Nov. 28 at the Town Office, 953 Andover Weston Road and via Zoom. To join the meeting go to: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8690215007 The meeting ID is 869 021 5007 and the passcode is 146374 Below is the board’s agenda: 1. Call Meeting to […]
Blaze destroys Chester home, displacing family of eight Firefighters work amid bitter temperatures
By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Firefighters from more than a dozen departments responded to Chester for a fire that destroyed a home that housed eight on Route 103 north near Wymans Falls Road and closed the highway for several hours on Sunday night as temperatures dropped into the low teens. According to […]
