All Entries in the "Featured" Category
Area EMTs take vaccines on the road for homebound Vermonters
By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last Friday, 30 residents of Bennington County, age 75 or older, received their first dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. On its face, that might not seem so remarkable since more than 30,000 Vermonters in that age band have either been vaccinated or made appointments to get […]
Weekly Covid Update: Shots open to 70+, school music comes back, emergency extended
©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Gov. Phil Scott opened Covid-19 vaccinations to Vermonters aged 70+ with registration beginning next Tuesday and announced the resumption of music programming in schools at his Friday press conference and extended the Covid-19 state of emergency through March 15. Registration for 70+ age group will begin at 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday, […]
Chester board delays cannabis discussion; affirms support for community greenhouse
By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing, LLC At just a little over 37 minutes in length, last Wednesday’s Chester Select Board meeting touched on many topics, but most of the work was “just housekeeping,” in the words of board chair Arne Jonynas. And there was an off-agenda discussion of future discussions of retail sales […]
TRSU board talks strategic planning, principal searches
By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Two Rivers Supervisory Union board meeting last Thursday fell just short of one hour and would have been shorter but for a lengthy discussion over scheduling a board retreat to work on a Strategic Operating Plan. Superintendent Lauren Fierman told the board, “We need to know […]
Weekly Covid Update: Youth sports to restart without spectators; new vaxx sites at Grace Cottage, Mount Ascutney hospitals
©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Gov. Phil Scott announced the resumption of youth sports competition between schools, including interscholastic teams and youth leagues, for basketball, hockey, indoor soccer and football, broomball and volleyball, to begin next Friday, Feb. 12 with additional safety measures including no spectators, the masking mandate expanding to referees and no more than […]
Towns set new info sessions, Town Meetings, votes in response to Covid-19 pandemic
By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing, LLC With Town Meeting Day just four weeks away and the rules for gathering during the Covid-19 pandemic still restrictive, select boards are looking at the options presented to them by the Vermont Legislature. With the passage of H. 48, the state gave municipalities – including school districts […]
Derry board mulls cannabis vote, talks wastewater sites
By Cherise Madigan © 2021 Telegraph Publishing, LLC The Londonderry Select Board has committed to holding a special town meeting to vote on whether to opt into Vermont’s nascent retail cannabis market, as well as whether to adopt a previously rejected local option tax for revenue from retail sales. Cannabis was not the only contentious […]
Local state reps outline priorities for 2021 session
By Cherise Madigan ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Local state legislators returned remotely to Montpelier for the 2021 session, focusing on the Covid-19 pandemic and recovery efforts. To find out what local legislators were specifically addressing this session, The Telegraph spoke with Reps. Tom Bock of Chester (D-Windsor 3-1), Kelly Pajala of Londonderry (I-Windham-Bennington-Windsor), Linda Joy […]
Weekly Covid Update: Rates continue to decline while hospitalizations rise State says Springfield Hospital's Moderna doses OK to use
©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Vermont’s Covid-19 weekly new case total, death toll and positivity rate have continued to decline for the fourth week in a row, according to the state Department of Health. New case weekly numbers dropped below the 1,000 mark to 899 reported this week. The total number of cases now stands at […]
Weston Select Board sets May 25 Town Meeting Details remain unsettled amid concern over loss of tradition
By Cherise Madigan ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Weston Select Board, expressing concerns about permanently losing Town Meeting Day, has decided to reschedule its Town Meeting this year tp Tuesday, May 25, although the details on where it will be held and how votes will be conducted won’t be revisited until the board’s March 23 […]
Moderna: Springfield’s 860 doses OK to use Covid-19 vaccines reported as 'discarded' were not
By Shawn Cunningham and Cynthia Prairie © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Vaccine manufacturer Moderna and federal officials have determined that the 860 doses of Covid-19 vaccine that were thought to be affected by a temperature change during storage are not spoiled. Although it has been widely reported that those doses were discarded, they continue […]
Temperature questions shut down vaccine clinic at Springfield Hospital Differing monitor readings throw doubt on efficacy of 860 doses
By Cynthia Prairie ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Kathleen Bell was standing “right at the door” of Springfield Hospital at 9 a.m. Wednesday waiting to enter to get her second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, when a hospital worker came out to announce that they clinic was now closed and those scheduled would be contacted for […]
Chester board approves $3.3 million budget
By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board approved the town’s $3.343 million budget at its Wednesday, Jan. 20 meeting and decided to use the general fund surplus of $335,295 to pay upfront for the match for the grant to do the Depot Street sidewalk project rather than borrowing the $200,000 […]
Chester board OKs annual warning, drops cannabis discussion Town budget, paving bonds, dump truck and police cruiser among items to be voted
By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board at a special meeting on Monday afternoon approved the town’s warning for the March 2 Town Meeting Australian ballot, but decided to postpone putting an article on cannabis sales in front of the voters until board members could discuss it further in a […]
Covid cases vs. ‘case rates’: How population plays into local numbers
By Cherise Madigan ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Cases of Covid-19 are continuing to rise in area towns, with Springfield up by 22 to a total of 108 and Manchester up by 27 to 81 in the span of just one week. By comparison, Vermont statewide has experienced has seen its case count rise by 898 […]
Weekly Covid Update: Vaccinations to begin for Vermonters 75 and up Signups begin Monday, shots on Wednesday, with Phase 2
©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC On the morning of Monday, Jan. 25, Phase 2 of the Vermont vaccination plan will begin, allowing Vermonters age 75 and older to begin registering for inoculations. The first vaccines for this group will start on Wednesday. The website and phone number for vaccination registration will be released on Monday morning. […]
GMUSD budget up less than 1% despite special ed hike
By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The directors of the Green Mountain Unified School District approved a $14.2 million budget last Thursday. It represents an increase of less than 1 percent over last year’s spending plan, despite a recent 14 percent increase by the Two Rivers Supervisory Union, which charges its spending back […]
Vermont vaccine rollout shifts to age based eligibility
By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC With the supply of the vaccine to combat Covid-19 in Vermont smaller and less reliable than anticipated, the administration of Gov. Phil Scott is changing its strategy for rolling it out. In what has been called Phase 1A, workers in health care, residents in long-term care facilities […]
Derry Board still mulls details of Town Meeting; opts for caretaker service, nixing full-time hire
By Cherise Madigan ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC A new Highway and Buildings maintenance position mulled by the Londonderry Select Board earlier this month will not come to fruition following criticism of the expenditure from some residents and board members. The proposed position, which would have totaled nearly $80,000 per year with benefits, will now be […]
Weston board reviews increased T&G tax rate, eyes Town Meeting delay
By Cherise Madigan ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Despite a decreased budget, the Taconic & Green Regional School District’s estimated tax rate is expected to increase by 3.9 cents in fiscal 2022, according to Weston’s representative on the district board, Deborah Lyneis. The increase will bump the current equalized rate of $1.603 to about $1.642, she […]
