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Statewide disc golf tournament draws players to Chester

Statewide disc golf tournament draws players to Chester

By Cynthia Prairie ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Stone Village Shootout disc golf tournament this past weekend at the Pinnacle in Chester attracted 50 players from Vermont and New Hampshire and marked the four-year-old course’s inaugural run in the disc golf tournament world. The Chester course was the No. 9 stop in the 2020, 11-course […]

K-12 Covid numbers remain low as child-care hubs continue to expand

K-12 Covid numbers remain low as child-care hubs continue to expand

©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC With continuing low Vermont Covid-19 numbers — and with just one new positive case in K-12 schools this week — Vermont schools have been approved to go from a  Step II to Step III in health guidance as of Saturday, Sept. 26. Meanwhile, the statewide child-care hub initiative continues to grow,  […]

Weston board grills Brattleboro Dev. Corp. on lack of internet push, local jobs programs

Weston board grills Brattleboro Dev. Corp. on lack of internet push, local jobs programs

By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Economic development — particularly in the context of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic — dominated discussion at the Sept. 22 meeting of the Weston Select Board, which found some friction between its own development priorities and those established by the Brattleboro Development Credit Corp. BDCC Director of Programs Jen […]

How VTel's phone/internet outage happened

How VTel’s phone/internet outage happened

By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Multiple equipment failures brought to a standstill VTel phone and internet service to Chester, Andover, Grafton and Windham — first on Thursday, then on Friday and into Saturday of last week, prompting questions about access to public safety agencies and how to make that more robust. According […]

Hance tells board Public Safety building is on schedule

Hance tells board Public Safety building is on schedule

By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing, LLC While it may appear to a passerby on Pleasant Street, that construction of Chester’s Public Safety Building has stalled, according to Town Manager Julie Hance, the standstill is a sign that the project is not only on schedule but also saving money. At its Sept. 16 meeting, […]

Derry Main St. paving wraps for season as town begins to focus on future Master Plan

Derry Main St. paving wraps for season as town begins to focus on future Master Plan

By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Londonderry’s Main Street paving project will continue into November, Town Administrator Shane O’Keefe announced at Monday’s Londonderry Select Board meeting, and the project is on-schedule to be completed this fall with the exception of a wear coat — the final driving surface for the newly paved road that […]

Year after blaze, Timber Works rises from ashes

Year after blaze, Timber Works rises from ashes

By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC A year ago this week, a fire in a dumpster outside Vermont Timber Works in North Springfield spread to the building destroying it in a massive blaze fueled by exploding propane and gas tanks inside the building. Just shy of a year later,  the company is back, […]

Act 250 denies Chester town gravel pit application

Act 250 denies Chester town gravel pit application

By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC In a decision released on Friday, Sept. 18, the District 2 Environmental Commission denied the Town of Chester’s application to open a municipal gravel pit on a 139-acre property the town purchased as a site for a back-up tank for its water system. The site is off […]

Scott allows bar seating with restrictions; lodgings can now book at 100 percent

Scott allows bar seating with restrictions; lodgings can now book at 100 percent

©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Gov. Phil Scott has “turned the spigot” for the hospitality sector this week, allowing for lodging to increase to 100 percent capacity and for restaurants and bars to offer bar seating with some restrictions. Lodging may now book 100 percent of rooms, however travelers should either be from Vermont or if […]

Scott extends state of emergency to Oct. 15

Scott extends state of emergency to Oct. 15 CDC says Vermont's contract tracing method 'best in nation'

  ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Gov. Phil Scott has extended the state of emergency through Oct. 15, allowing the governor to issue executive orders as the state continues with ongoing efforts to manage the coronavirus pandemic. News from the Vermont Department of Health remains overwhelmingly positive for Vermont as the state continues to lead the […]

Initiative looks to expand fiber-optic internet access in Derry, Weston

Initiative looks to expand fiber-optic internet access in Derry, Weston In time of Covid-19, high speed service vital to education, public health, business

By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders, Vermonters in some towns are feeling the lack of high-speed internet more than ever. While some area towns like Chester and Andover have had fiber optic for several years because Vtel received a federal grant to wire […]

Weston board OKs backhoe purchase, nears approval of broad-band initiative

Weston board OKs backhoe purchase, nears approval of broad-band initiative

By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Weston Select Board authorized the purchase of new equipment and moved closer to joining an initiative to expand high-speed internet access in the region at its Tuesday, Sept. 8 meeting, held via Zoom. See Thursday, Sept. 10 story: Initiative looks to expand fiber optic internet access in […]

First day of school goes smoothly despite changes, challenges

First day of school goes smoothly despite changes, challenges

By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The day that many have been waiting for and  — and somewhat dreading — arrived Tuesday as most Green Mountain District students reported to their classes to begin a strikingly different school year. By most accounts, the results were good and several parents said that their children […]

GMUSD schools seem more prepared for reopening than NEA statewide grades indicate

GMUSD schools seem more prepared for reopening than NEA statewide grades indicate

By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Thursday, Sept. 3, the Vermont NEA – the union that represents public school teachers in the state – released a “report card” for “overall preparation for safe start of school” as the Covid-19 pandemic continues. The grades in the report came from representatives of the local […]

Suit claims Londonderry sold home via tax sale without proper notice

Suit claims Londonderry sold home via tax sale without proper notice

By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Was a Londonderry home sold without the knowledge of its owner? That’s the question posed by a lawsuit filed against the Town of Londonderry that claims that a homeowner’s constitutional rights to due process and protection from the unlawful seizure of property were violated. Emanuel Contos of Glastonbury, […]

With low Vt. Covid cases, Scott focuses on school reopening, easing hospitality sector restrictions

With low Vt. Covid cases, Scott focuses on school reopening, easing hospitality sector restrictions

©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC With state K-12 schools set to open on Tuesday, Sept. 8, Vermont continues to lead the nation with the lowest positivity rate in the nation, as well as the lowest per capita case total in the country. Gov. Phil Scott said that Vermont’s low-Covid data continues to show why it’s possible […]

News analysis: Is GMUSD's 'no raises for anybody' stance in flux?

News analysis: Is GMUSD’s ‘no raises for anybody’ stance in flux? Two resignations point to disagreement

By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing, LLC Two recent resignations appear to point to some dissension over the Green Mountain Unified School District’s position in bargaining with its teachers. Until recently, the board had taken a “no raises” stance due to the budget uncertainty brought on by the economic damage done by the Covid-19 […]

Derry dog owner addresses barking issue; board appoints Health Officer

Derry dog owner addresses barking issue; board appoints Health Officer

By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC At a special session of the Londonderry Select Board on Monday, the board appointed a new Town Health Officer, heard from a resident whose dog’s barking was discussed by the board at its Aug. 17 meeting and went into executive session to discuss potential litigation. Cobble Ridge dog […]

State investigating Covid outbreak in Rutland County

State investigating Covid outbreak in Rutland County

The Vermont Department of Health is investigating a community outbreak of Covid-19 cases in Rutland County. The outbreak is associated with people who attended a private party at the Summit Lodge in Killington on Saturday, Aug. 19. To date, the Health Department has identified 14 cases among people who attended the event and their close […]

More Covid cases seen in southern Vermont

More Covid cases seen in southern Vermont As colleges reopen, state ups testing for returning students

©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Vermont Department of Health showed a total of 48 new Covid-19 cases this past week, slightly up from the 40 cases reported last week, for a total of 1,589 total cases, with a slight uptick in cases in southern Vermont. Chittenden County continues to lead the state in new cases […]