All Entries in the "Latest News" Category
Chester Select Board agenda for Feb. 4
The Chester Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday Feb. 4 at Town Hall, 556 Elm St., and remotely via zoom Below is the board’s agenda 1. Approval of Minutes of the Jan. 21, 2026 Select Board meeting and Jan. 28, 2026 Special Select Board meeting 2. Citizen’s Comments 3. […]
Chester board approves budget and Town Meeting warning Hance explains response to questions of deficits
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC At last Wednesday’s meeting, the Chester Select Board finalized the March Town Meeting warning and the budget it will put before the voters on Monday, March 2. The board also heard from Town Manager Julie Hance regarding the question of budget deficits for the years 2024 and […]
Who’s on the March 3 ballot for offices in Andover, Cavendish and Chester?
By Shawn Cunningham ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Monday, Jan. 26 at 5 p.m. was the deadline for candidate petitions to be turned in at Town Clerks’ offices all over Vermont. While some area towns — like Andover, Weston and Londonderry — nominate and vote town offices from the floor of their Town Meeting, others will […]
Small Chester group gathers in vigil for 2nd Minnesota killing Alex Pretti, 37, was shot by Border Patrol, echoing Renee Good's death
By Cynthia Prairie ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC He lived and died 1,300 miles to the west, in a climate familiar to all, in cold and snowy Minneapolis, Minn. No one at Monday night’s vigil on Chester’s Green knew him. But the 17 people who showed up in 19-degree weather during a late afternoon snow squall […]
Peru Fair ends but warm memories will live on Started in 1978, it grew to be a major southern Vermont attraction
By Shawn Cunningham and Cynthia Prairie* © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC After more than 40 years in, the annual Peru Fair’s 2025 edition was its last, organizers recently announced, much to the surprise of many vendors and fairgoers. The fair began as a tag sale in 1978 according to the organization’s website. In a Jan. […]
Financial probe leads to Windsor County Sheriff’s arrest on multiple sexual misconduct charges
© 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer, 39, of Windsor was arrested on Tuesday and charged him with multiple counts related to sexual misconduct as a result of a seven-month investigation by Vermont State Police. According to a VSP press release, beginning in July 2025, police received numerous anonymous tips alleging possible […]
Gravity + water + frigid temps = winter art
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC One of the joys of driving on Popple Dungeon Road every day in the winter is watching the evolution of self-creating ice sculpture at Peter Delaney’s place, where the blacktop ends and the gravel road begins. Each fall, Delaney brings out a wooden structure he’s created that […]
Andover Select Board agenda for Jan. 26
The Andover Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, January 26, 2026 at 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 January 12th meeting. 4. Public Comment (Time allowance: Five minutes per […]
Local Trump supporters mark anniversary of inauguration
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC As the sun was setting and the temperature was dropping below the mid-teens, a group of stalwart supporters of President Trump gathered on Chester’s Green late Tuesday afternoon to mark the one- year anniversary of his taking office for the second time. “We’re here in support of […]
Cavendish board budget eliminates recreation director, to move funds to sheriff services Decision made in early January draws public comment at Select Board meeting
By Lorien Strange ©2026 Telegraph Publishing Cavendish’s Jan. 12 Select Board meeting drew a small crowd, which bundled into the small entrance hall of the Town Office on Monday evening as the Board of Tax Abatement concluded its session later than scheduled. It was likely the biggest gathering Cavendish will see for a government meeting […]
Chester Select Board, Water Commission agendas for Jan. 21
The Chester Select Board will hold a meeting as the Water and Sewer Commission at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday Jan. 21 at Town Hall, 556 Elm Street and remotely via Zoom. The Select Board will hold a meeting directly after the Water and Sewer meeting. Below are the meeting agendas. Water and Sewer Commission 1. […]
Chester Board adds vote on local option tax to Town Meeting warning
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC More than a year after it was originally brought up and after several months of discussion with the public, the Chester Select Board decided at its Jan. 7 meeting to put the question of adding 1 percent to the current sales tax on rooms, meals and alcohol […]
Smoke detectors save family from blaze in Proctorsville
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Fire and police officials are crediting a smoke alarm with alerting a Proctorsville father and two young children in time for them to escape their burning home early Monday morning. According to a Vermont State Police press release and a Facebook post by the Proctorsville Fire Department, […]
Body of man believed to be Phineas Tillman, 24, of Grafton recovered
The body of a man, believed to be 24-year-old Phineas Tillman of Grafton, was found in the Connecticut River around 1 p.m. Monday by search teams in Walpole, N.H. Vermont State Police had begun searching for Tillman on Sunday evening when they received a call that Tillman had departed his Grafton home and the caller […]
Candlelight vigils held in Chester for Minnesota ICE shooting victim
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Over the weekend, about 150 people gathered on Chester’s Green to hold two candlelight vigils for Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old Minneapolis mother of three who was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent last Thursday morning. Both vigils started at 5 p.m. and […]
Andover Select Board agenda for Jan. 12
The Andover Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday Jan. 12 at 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 December 22nd meeting. 4. Public Comment (Time allowance: Five minutes per visitor, […]
Locals protest U.S. action in Venezuela
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Hours after President Trump announced the military raid on Venezuela and the seizure of that country’s president, Nicholas Maduro, on a U.S. federal indictment, protesters gathered in cities and towns across this country – including Chester. On a sunny but frigid afternoon with a brisk wind, a […]
Chester Select Board agenda for Jan. 7
The Chester Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday Jan. 7, 2026 at Town Hall, 556 Elm St. and online via Zoom. Below is the board’s agenda. 1. Zoning Bylaw Amendment re: Signs; Public Hearing 2. Approval of Minutes from the Select Board Meeting dated Dec. 17, 2025 3. Citizen’s […]
Afternoon fire destroys garage on Cummings Rd. No one injured in two-alarm blaze
UPDATE: At 4:41 a.m. on Monday, firefighters from Chester, Proctorsville and Weathersfield were called back to the scene for the reported re-ignition of the remains of the building. By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Seven area fire companies with 35 firefighters responded to Cummings Road in Chester Sunday afternoon to quell a fire […]
VSP identifies Ludlow officer, resident in New Year’s Day shooting
© 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Late this afternoon, Friday, Jan. 2, Vermont State Police identified the man who was shot in Ludlow on New Year’s Day as well as the Ludlow Police officer who shot him. According to the Vermont State Police, Jaime Gomez, 18, who lives in a room at the Fox Run Inn […]