All Entries in the "Letters to the Editor" Category
To the editor: Community responds to Whiting Library visioning efforts
On Sept. 7 and Oct. 5, 2021, residents of Chester and Andover gathered at the Chester Town Hall to talk about shared aspirations for the community and to envision the future of Whiting Library. Professional library consultant, Amy Howlett, facilitated these conversations with the assistance of Library Director Deirdre Doran. The goal of the meetings […]
To the editor: Family Center seeks donations for Thanksgiving meals
The Chester-Andover Family Center Food Shelf needs your help. We are busy preparing to provide Food Shelf participants with food for their Thanksgiving dinners. As Vermont Food bank partners, we can purchase turkeys and shelf stable items at very low cost. We also partner with local grocery outlets and farmers to purchase fresh produce and […]
To the editor: Townscape celebrates fall season with new plantings
Many changes let residents and visitors know that Chester is geared up for the fall season. Most of summer’s prominent bridge boxes and pots and barrels of cascading flowers have been replaced with decorations that proclaim a new season with a different abundance. Chester Townscape thanks all those volunteers who planted, watered, and cared for […]
To the editor: People should not be used as mascots
Mascots are symbolic figures adopted by a group to bring them good luck, to promote a sense of teamwork and unity, and to symbolize the attributes that the group aspires to. A stereotype is an oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. I believe that, when an image is based […]
To the editor: Roper’s letter incorrect, misleading
In his Aug. 17, 2021 letter to the editor Tim Roper stated the following: “Imagine you’re someone who wants a permit to use your property in some way that’s different from how it’s used now. That could be opening a business, or building a new shed, barn, garage, or accessory dwelling unit. Or maybe you […]
To the editor: Greenhouse project thanks Chester residents for feedback
I would like to thank the people of Chester who came to the public forum at the July 21 Select Board meeting to support, give opinions, and find out more about the Chester Community Greenhouse & Gardens. Everyone overwhelmingly voiced their support of the project as a whole. It was the third public informative presentation, […]
To the editor: In zoning laws, do words confuse or clarify?
Does adding more words to Chester’s Development Bylaws bring onerous regulation to our citizens and business owners? No, it doesn’t. But how can that be? If the document is longer, doesn’t it include more regulations? I’m sure we’ve all heard the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. Since there are no pictures […]
To the editor: Do more words make Chester’s proposed zoning bylaw stricter?
You may have heard at the Chester Planning Commission meetings that the length of the document means there is no more regulations than before. The current bylaw is 142 pages and the proposed bylaw is 245 pages in a smaller font. The difference is about 100 pages. Let’s look at a use in the current […]
To the editor: Whole new festival this year in Chester
Get ready for a whole new festival this year! For more than 40 years, the annual Chester Fall Festival — now called The Chester Festival on the Green — has been held as a hallmark kickoff to the beginning of fall foliage season here in Chester, where hundreds of people converge on our historic Green […]
To the editor: Restrict recreational trapping
Wildlife advocates recently presented four petitions at the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board meeting, including a petition to restrict recreational trapping. Despite the fact that the petitions were submitted to Fish & Wildlife in February, the petitioners were contacted only one week prior to the June board meeting and were told that we had to […]
To the editor: Vermont’s shifting population means public input on redistricting more crucial
The 2020 Census numbers for Vermont indicate that our little state grew by about 20,000 people over the past decade, or +2.8 percent. We also know that within Vermont our overall population has been migrating toward the northwest region of the state (Chittenden, Franklin and Lamoille counties), and away from the south and east. Moreover, […]
To the editor: Whiting Library reopens fully after pandemic year
Whiting Library is once again open to the public without an appointment. I would like to express my appreciation to library Director Deirdre Doran, Youth Services Librarian Carrie King and Assistant Librarian Will Wilcox, who have done extraordinary work navigating a very difficult year while developing and implementing innovative ways to keep our library relevant […]
To the editor: Take a Mountain Garden Walk
In New England, the winters are long and spring seems impossibly late and muddy. Although the summers are all too short, our gardeners create extraordinary landscapes to revel in nature’s wonderful colors and textures while they can. After winters of white and steel blue gray, the brilliant yellows of the earliest daffodils pop us out […]
To the editor: Plastics recycling proves to be a boondoggle
I am writing to discuss the failures of recycling and why we can no longer rely on it to reverse the effects of the climate crisis. As the fossil fuel industry diminishes slightly each year, Big Oil now has its eye on something else: plastic. The issue with this is that it can take up […]
To the editor: Flood Brook School thanks Stratton Foundation, Manchester Food Cupboard
Stratton Foundation and Manchester Food Cupboard are supporting students at Flood Brook School, and Flood Brook School would like to thank both. The Stratton Foundation has donated a variety of snacks to our students and the Manchester Food Cupboard has for for and delivered these snacks. The Flood Brook School is a K-8, 300-capacity school […]
To the editor: Flood Brook School students, staff embrace the art of tea
At Flood Brook School a Tea Party is nothing short of transformational. “I feel the tea moving to the ends of my fingers and toes,” says a student, sipping a freshly steeped chamomile. “My circulation must be good.” At a time when nearly all children spend their school days nose-to-screen, the Flood Brook School has […]
To the editor: Criminal justice reform should apply to all Vermonters
One of my favorite Vermont sayings — “You can’t get there from here” — applies to the double standard our state has when it comes to our policy on criminal justice reforms. Our progressive state, known for social reforms, known for breaking barriers, is far ahead of other states. I don’t doubt the truth of […]
To the editor: Spring brings Sunshine Acres’ 19th season
Spring is here at last, and bulbs and perennials – planted by Chester Townscape volunteers – are beginning to bloom at public locations around town. Soon to follow, when the danger of frost has passed, will be the annuals in bridge boxes and planters that make Chester such an attractive and joy-filled town for visitors, […]
To the editor: Vt. Women’s Caucus stands with Asian-Americans against hate
We, of the Women’s Legislative Caucus, are writing to express both our sadness and anger at the recent acts of hatred and violence in Georgia against Asian Americans which resulted in the killing of eight people including six Asian American women. The latest violence toward the Asian community, and these women in particular, is fueled […]
To the editor: School staffs wear red to support Keith Hill for GM principal Public asked to attend April 15 GM board meeting
Green Mountain and Cavendish Town Elementary school faculty and staff today wore red in solidarity and support of the recommendation by both the search committee and Two Rivers Supervisory Union Superintendent Lauren Fierman that Keith Hill be appointed principal of Green Mountain Union High School. The board’s rejection of the recommendation has caused confusion and […]
