All Entries in the "Commentary" Category
To the editor: Thank you GMUHS community
Thank you for supporting the Class of 2013 at its graduation ceremony on June 21, 2013. The Green Mountain Union High School campus was beautifully prepared and the ceremony went very well. Speeches by the valedictorian, Jess Ralston, and the salutatorian, Katie McNally, were heartfelt and delivered with passion. The graduation was well-attended and the […]
To the editor: Addiction recovery is possible
Lives will be saved by last week’s drug arrests by our public safety officers, and the community should be grateful for this intervention. Addiction is a progressive, life-threatening, often fatal disease. However, treatment is available. There is no cure, but long-lasting recovery is possible for all addicts. Many people first come to understand that they suffer from addiction when a major arrest occurs, as easy access to the addictive drug is interrupted. Symptoms of acute […]
To the editor: Good Neighbors thanks all who gave during food drive
The staff, volunteers and clients of the Black River Good Neighbor Services’ food shelf extend their thanks to all who participated in the U.S. Post Office’s 2013 Stamp Out Hunger National Food Drive – the largest one-day food drive in the nation and probably in the world. Mail carriers for each of the towns and […]
To the editor: With a lot of volunteer help, Music in Meadow turns 11, raising $28,000 for Komen
When my husband and I moved to Chester in March 2001 on a very snowy day it was impossible to really appreciate the meadow we had acquired. By the middle of April, we were able to walk the property. As we were coming back to the house I mentioned to him what a great place […]
To the editor: VT lawmakers should not pass physician assisted suicide
Editor’s note: Here’s a link to the latest story on this issue from VTDigger.com. Passing S77, physician assisted suicide (misnamed “Patient Choice”) and calling suicide a legal medical treatment takes away patient choice from far many more Vermonters than it gives to those few who want to require others to bless and participate in the […]
Telegraph Poll: The Astronomical Observatory for Chester?
B ackground: The Southern Vermont Astronomy Group, also known as SoVerA, proposed to donate an observatory building and telescope to Chester for use by the public. SoVerA would maintain and staff the observatory while the town would put in-kind services and $7,000 toward installation. In the end, the Select Board determined that it could not […]
To the editor: Solar farm aesthetics leave much to be desired
Regarding the solar farm — those of us in Chester need to better understand the benefits the town would accrue from this. Would the financial benefits be shared with the taxpayers? Another concern is the aesthetic look of solar farms. It’s like those wind farms that do not fit with the character of Vermont. If […]
Rep. Dakin seeks your input on end of life, GMOs, early education and child-care issues
Clearly, End of Life Care legislation — where terminally ill patients with less than six months to live can request a prescription for drugs that they can self-administer to end their lives — will be a major issue in the State House in the final eight weeks of the session. I’d like your opinion: Do […]
To the Editor: Vote yes for kids
The Green Mountain Union High School Board respectfully requests your support of the FY 2013-14 budget on Town Meeting Day. The budget proposal to be voted on Town Meeting Day represents a decrease in the amount to be raised by taxes of 1.73%, largely due to revenues that will offset increased expenditures. Our estimated education […]
Time to vote
The Norman Rockwell image is that Vermont governments are supremely open and Vermonters ensure that openness through hearty civic participation through institutions like Monday’s annual Town Meeting and Tuesday’s Election Day. That belief is reinforced each March by national media reports that tell of the quaintness and fervor of Vermont’s Town Meeting day. So, it’s […]
To the editor: No to assisted suicide
An amended version of S-77 has passed the Vermont Senate and will be read in the Vermont House sometime soon. As a Vermont resident, I ask that all our representatives vote no on assisted suicide. If assistance to die becomes a medical procedure, then what will stop my insurance company or whomever the hospital requires […]
State should adopt more transparency for law enforcement
This commentary by Bill Schubart was written for Vermont Public Radio and aired Monday, Feb. 4, 2013. Audio is available on line at VPR.net. By Bill Schubart By way of full disclosure, I’m Chair of the VT Journalism Trust, doing business as VTDigger.org, serve on the Board of the VT ACLU, and am a former […]
From the editor: Thank you for an exciting 1st year
One year ago, if you were interested in news about Chester, you might find the occasional story – fire, crime, accident or town government issue – in the Southern Vermont sections of the Rutland Herald or the Eagle Times. Or chances are, you turned to the blog at Chestervermont.org. But for the past year, The […]
Health care, job creation top Rep. Dakin’s legislative priorities
We have hit the ground running after our swearing in on Wednesday Jan. 9 and the inauguration of Gov. Peter Shumlin on Thursday Jan. 10. I have the privilege of continuing as a member of the House Committee on Health Care, where for the past two years we have been working on legislation that hopefully […]
To the editor: What you can do now that flu is widespread in Vermont
Influenza is currently widespread in Vermont and cases of influenza-like illness are higher than in recent years. Last week, designated general practitioners in Vermont reported that 7 percent of their visits were due to patients with influenza-like illness, a measure that typically peaks between 3 percent and 4 percent in non-pandemic years. Emergency room visits […]
To the editor: Many to thank for making Overture to Christmas a success!
I would like to thank everyone involved in helping to make this year’s Overture to Christmas the best yet. Let me start by saying that the level of participation in the planning and execution was so large, it is inevitable that I will overlook someone in this thank you. For this, I apologize. Thanks to […]
To the editor: Help keep Whiting Library healthy, growing
On any given day, more than 100 patrons visit Chester’s Whiting Library to borrow books, periodicals and audio-visual materials, to use the reading room, the computers and the research facilities. And now, Vermont’s first telescope lending program at the Whiting Library lets you view the night sky up close and personal. Although all these services […]
To the editor: Family center thanks all for donations of time and goods
On Monday, Nov. 5, a caravan of pick-ups with open trailers loaded with racks of clothes headed to the new home of the Chester-Andover Family Center, thanks to Les Hale and John Hennessey. The center’s volunteer angels were out in full force getting the job done and the CAFC Board would like to give a […]
To the editor: Charlie Macko Racing thanks local sponsors
Three years ago, our family formed a kart racing team, Charlie Macko Racing. Charlie was 5 years old, and had began kart racing at Twinstate Speedway in Claremont, NH. At that time, we asked two local businesses if they would like to sponsor Charlie in his racing efforts. The Killarney and the Verespy family of […]
