All Entries in the "Latest News" Category
Chester Select Board agenda for April 1
The Chester Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday April 1 at Town Hall, 556 Elm Street and remotely via Zoom. Below is the board’s agenda: 1. Approval of Minutes of March 18, 2026 Select Board Meeting 2. Citizen’s Comments 3. Old Business 4. Sharon Baker; Permission to Use Green […]
GMUSD Board special meeting agenda on March 26
The Green Mountain Unified School District Board will hold a special meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday March 26 at Green Mountain High School, 716 Route 103 and remotely via Zoom. Below is the board’s agenda: I. Call to Order 6 p.m. a. Roll Call – Confirming a Quorum II. Tonight’s Agenda a. Additions and/or deletions […]
Chester board names paper of record despite chair’s complaints about Telegraph
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board agenda for March 18 promised a low-key meeting with mostly routine appointments, liquor license and entertainment permit approvals and review and adoption of some policies. The most contentious item – given recent dustups over school board appointments – seemed to be whether to […]
Rep. Burrows announces run for Clarkson’s Senate seat
State Rep. Elizabeth Burrows has announced her candidacy to be the next sate senator from Windsor County. Burrows is a three-term member of the Vermont House of Representatives, serving Hartland, West Windsor and Windsor (Windsor-1) since 2021. Burrows would replace retiring Sen. Alison Clarkson of Woodstock and is seeking the Democratic and Progressive party nominations. […]
First hearing in MacGinnis v Chester perplexes judge
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC WOODSTOCK For most of the status conference in the lawsuit that Kirk and Michelle MacGinnis have brought against the Town of Chester, Superior Court Judge Kerry Ann McDonald-Cady struggled to understand what the plaintiffs wanted and whether the type of action they brought was the right one. Kirk […]
Chester’s Chase announces run for Democratic nomination for state Senate’s Windsor District Jonathan Gleason of Ludlow seeks Republican nomination
Heather Chase, a business owner who has served on the Chester Select Board and in the Vermont House of Representatives, announces her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the Vermont Senate from the Windsor District on Saturday, March 14, 2026. Despite the cold temperatures and blowing slow, more than 40 people turned out on […]
Chester Select Board agenda for March 18
The Chester Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday March 18 at Town Hall, 556 Elm Street and remotely via Zoom. Belwo is the board’s agenda: 1. Approval of Minutes of March 4, 2026 Select board Meeting 2. Citizen’s Comments 3. Old Business 4. Sharon Baker; Permission to Use Green […]
Chester board adopts policy on public records requests
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The first Select Board meeting after the town’s annual meeting is usually a light one and last Wednesday’s Chester Select Board confab was even lighter than its agenda promised. Sharon Baker was expected to present a request to use the Chester Green for a Vermont Food Festival […]
GMUSD Board agenda for March 19
The Green Mountain Unified School District Board will hold its regular meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday March 17 at the Green Mountain High School Library, 716 Rt. 103 South and remotely via Zoom. Below is the board’s agenda: I. Call to Order 6 p.m. a. Roll Call – Confirming a Quorum II. Approval of […]
Whisper, internet campaigns fail as Jonynas, Roper, Fierman, Bailey win their Chester races Benelli, Ucci take school board seats, 18-year veteran Hance comes up short; school budget rejected
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC With an unusually large number of contested races and two instances of controversial election shenanigans, Chester’s results for Select Board and school board campaigns have been highly anticipated. In the end, Democrats had a blowout night with all of their candidates victorious and most by substantial margins. […]
Chester Select Board agenda for March 4
The Chester Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday March 4, 2026 at Town Hall, 556 Elm Street and via Zoom. Below is its agenda 1. Reorganization of the Board 2. Approval of Minutes of February 18, 2026 Select board Meeting and February 18, 2026 Special Select board Meeting 3. […]
Election results for Andover and Weston
©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC At Andover’s Monday night Town Meeting, voters elected incumbent Melissa Gates Perry to another three-year term and incumbents Susan Leader and Chris Walker to one-year terms on the five member board. Voters also gave Jeanette Hazeltine another municipal hat-trick electing her as Town Clerk, Treasurer and Collector of Delinquent Taxes. Bill […]
Chester votes down 1% Local Option Tax; Frank Kelley steps up as Town Moderator
By Cynthia Prairie and Shawn Cunningham ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The proposed 1 percent Local Option Tax on meals, rooms and consumed alcoholic beverages that would have brought an estimated $60,000 annually into the Chester Housing Commission’s Housing Reserve Fund went down in defeat on Monday night by a vote of 59 to 76. In […]
Bailey drops out of school board race amid ‘worry for my wife’s safety’
By Cynthia Prairie © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Jesse Bailey has decided to drop out of the race for the board of the Green Mountain Unified School District. His decision comes after two days of facing outrage, criticism, but also support, when a right-wing troll from Brattleboro found, repackaged and distributed a video of he […]
GMUSD candidate Jesse Bailey in hot water over OnlyFans video with wife But Bailey says he is concerned about the safety of his wife
By Cynthia Prairie ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Jesse Bailey, a first-time candidate for the Green Mountain Unified School District Board, is taking a lot of heat over a sex video of himself and his wife and photos of her from her private OnlyFans site that were made public this morning. But while he’s in the […]
What’s on Chester’s March 2 and March 3 ballots Infrastructure projects fall in the shadow of contested elections
By Shawn Cunningham and Cynthia Prairie © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Tuesday, March 3 Australian ballot will contain more than just the contested races for Chester’s Select Board and for Chester seats on the Green Mountain School District Board. And on Monday, March 2, the Town Meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. will offer […]
Q&A: Ucci challenging incumbent Jonynas for three-year Select Board seat
The Chester Select Board is made up of five members voted at large — three are three-year terms, which are elected on a staggered, and two are one-year terms, which are, of course, voted on every year. This year, incumbent Arne Jonynas, who holds a three-year term, is being challenged by Jerry Ucci. You’ll find […]
Q&A: Spaulding, Roper, Mancuso and Fierman compete for two Select Board seats
The Chester Select Board is made up of five members voted at large — three are three-year terms, which are elected on a staggered, and two are one-year terms, which are, of course, voted on every year. Those two one-year seats are currently held by Tim Roper, who is seeking reelection and Ariana Knapp, who […]
League of Women Voters lecture series on voting rights continues March 11 VT Secretary of State Sarah Copeland-Hanzas to speak
The League of Women Voters of Vermont, in partnership with Kellogg-Hubbard Library, presents the next installment of its 2025-2026 lecture series on Voting Rights and Access to the Ballot at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11. Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland-Hanzas will discuss two bills now before Congress: the SAVE Act and the John […]
Q&A: Miles & Bailey face off for an unexpired term on the Green Mountain district board
From left, Randy Miles and Jesse Bailey The Green Mountain Unified School District Board has 11 members; six of whom represent Chester, the largest town by population within the school district. In addition to Chester, there are three representatives from Cavendish and one each from Baltimore and Andover. Two Chester residents are vying for one […]