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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 […]

Weston Board grants Little School rent relief, continues fiber optic consideration

Weston Board grants Little School rent relief, continues fiber optic consideration

By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Weston Select Board continued to address the local impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic at its Tuesday, Aug. 25 meeting by granting rent relief to The Little School for the remainder of 2020 and exploring the potential for fiber optic internet service in Weston — an increasingly valuable […]

TRSU schools continue to plan reopening, release parent handbooks

TRSU schools continue to plan reopening, release parent handbooks Home-schooling could remove $600,000 from GM District budget

By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC With two weeks left before Vermont schools are scheduled to reopen, the Two Rivers Supervisory Union has issued handbooks for parents and students on what each of its two education options will look like when Sept. 8 arrives. But as with all things Covid-19, nothing is carved […]

Livestock dog's barking agitates Derry neighbors

Livestock dog’s barking agitates Derry neighbors

By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC In the time allotted for public comment at the Aug. 17 meeting of the Londonderry Select Board, a disagreement over a barking dog on Cobble Ridge Road prompted the board to examine its potential role in community conflict resolution, state and local statutes regarding livestock guardian dogs, and […]

Local charitable organizations get creative with fund-raising during Covid-19

Local charitable organizations get creative with fund-raising during Covid-19

By Bruce Frauman and Cynthia Prairie ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Some of the high notes of the year for many communities are the events held by charitable and nonprofit organizations that attract hundreds — sometimes thousands — of attendees and help support everything from food and heating programs to college scholarships to medical needs. But […]

New Vt. Covid-19 cases drop this week, Gov. Scott puts $133 million into economic recovery

New Vt. Covid-19 cases drop this week, Gov. Scott puts $133 million into economic recovery

©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Vermont Department of Health shows there is a total of 40 new Covid-19 cases this week, down from the 53 new cases reported last week, for an overall total of 1,541. These numbers are based on data published on the Health Department’s daily dashboard, tracking cases reported from Friday, Aug. […]

Chester Zoning Administrator Normyle steps down; Hasbrouck named interim during search

Chester Zoning Administrator Normyle steps down; Hasbrouck named interim during search

By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC With one member under the weather and another on vacation, the remaining three members of the Chester Select Board worked their way through a relatively light agenda that saw the public portion of the meeting end in about an hour. Town Manager Julie Hance told the board […]