All Entries in the "Featured" Category
To mask or not to mask: Locals talk about why they wear one, why they don’t
By Tuckerman Wunderle ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC As the state begins the process of reopening businesses in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Vermonters are adjusting to a new aspect of everyday life: masks. “I definitely wear one when I’m in a crowded public place,” says Brian Heybyrne, a Chester resident who is a […]
Local businessowners contemplate reopening As Scott opens 'spigot,' area retailers seek ways to safely accommodate customers
By Evan Chadwick ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC With Vermont exceeding expectations in containing the spread of Covid-19, Gov. Phil Scott has consistently turned the “economic spigot” a little more each week. Although the loosening of restrictions has already allowed some non-essential businesses to reopen in a limited capacity, the guidelines that businesses are required to […]
Derry board adopts resolution asking shoppers to wear masks VTrans explains Route 11 repaving project, process
By Bruce Frauman 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC After considerable discussion, the Londonderry Select Board on May 18, approved a resolution that requests that people shopping at Londonderry businesses wear a mask as the town attempts to protect workers and residents from the continuing threat of the Covid-19 virus. Board chair George Mora will work […]
Statewide school budget re-vote garners little support Politics in Covid response, says teachers' union
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Facing an enormous shortfall in the state education fund that needs to be addressed, the Scott administration put a suggestion on the table last Thursday that seemed to be a non-starter with members of the House Ways and Means committee, some of whom said it would lead […]
Weston Board OKs industrial generator for Town Office, Little School
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Weston Select Board on May 12 voted to purchase a new industrial grade generator to provide electricity during blackouts to the Town Office building and the Annex building next door, which houses the Little School. Board member Jim Linville estimated a cost of $15,000 to $20,000, with […]
TRSU boards search for savings amid Covid crisis Telegraph: School boards again violate Open Meeting Law
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC In an effort to keep teacher salary negotiations a secret, the Two Rivers Supervisory Union board and its two constituent school district boards decided to hold a joint executive session on the topic last Thursday. But the closed door confab went for naught as one member spilled […]
Black River High closing ‘heartbreaking’
By Evan Chadwick ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC With the permanent closure of Black River Middle and High School firmly on the minds of many Ludlow-area residents since the district merger creating the Two Rivers Supervisory Union passed by a 288-231 vote in 2018, people had long been preparing for the closing of the school in […]
Hance seeks savings in Chester budget
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC In a review of Chester’s financial picture, Town Manager Julie Hance told the Select Board that the town is holding off spending as much as possible so that it would not have to draw on its tax anticipation note or TAN. The note is like a line […]
Beattie: Food shortages, large gatherings of concern in Derry
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Londonderry Emergency Management Director Kevin Beattie updated the Select Board via Zoom on Monday, May 4 about Covid-19 conditions in the state and the local response, opening a meeting that lasted more than 2½ hours. Beattie said his biggest concern is that people are getting short of money […]
Telegraph receives Facebook News Relief Fund grant
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Thursday morning the Facebook Journalism Project announced The Chester Telegraph is among the 144 recipients of its Covid-19 Local News Relief Fund grants. The grant program, according to the FJP website, was established “to provide support for US local news organizations serving a critical role for […]
Scott: Mask compliance through education, not mandate Visitors still must self-isolate for 14 days
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC While Gov. Phil Scott often says that his administration’s Covid-19 related decisions are “data driven and based on the best science,” when it comes to compliance with its public health directives (including the use of masks and the self-quarantining of people coming from out of state) it […]
Weston Board to seek bridge loan; to seek electric speed signs for Route 100
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Town Clerk/Treasurer Kim Seymour told the Weston Select Board at its Tuesday, April 28 meeting on Zoom that the town needs to borrow $632,500 through a Tax Anticipation Note, with $119,000 coming from a town special fund. The loan would be a “bridge loan” to cover town expenses, […]
Sam Lloyd Jr. dies at 56: Weston native, GM grad and actor/musician remembered for uplifting spirit
© 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Sam Lloyd Jr., an actor and musician who moved easily between comedy and drama, stage and screen and Hollywood and his hometown of Weston, Vermont, died on Thursday, April 30 at a respiratory care facility in Los Angeles with his wife Vanessa by his side and his sister Laurel Facetiming […]
Say Ahh? Patients, docs see place for telemedicine
By Christian Avard ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Since the coronavirus outbreak, doctors and patients are adapting to new ways of meeting, diagnosing and treating illnesses that don’t pose the potential health risks to their patients and themselves of in-person visits. Telemedicine for many is becoming the go-to method for conducting patient visits during the pandemic. […]
State relying on ‘education’ for worker compliance to ‘restart’ directives
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Noting that social distancing and the wearing of face masks are “here to stay,” Vermont’s Health Commissioner, Dr. Mark Levine, said that people could expect them to be “part of the Vermont scene even as we reopen Vermont.” At the state’s regular Covid-19 press conference on Monday, […]
News Analysis: Bottom falls out of state education fund, massive tax increases loom
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC School district boards across the state will have some urgent thinking to do as the depth of the education funding crisis they face begins to be expressed in dollars of shortfall and cents in tax increases in the near future. At its meeting on April 16, members […]
FAQ: Coronavirus disease 2019
Reprinted with permission of Howard B. Owens of the Batavian in New York. What is Covid-19? Covid-19 is a disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Why is the disease called Covid-19? COVID is an acronym for “coronavirus disease.” The “19” is for the year of discovery, 2019. What is SARS-CoV-2? SARS is an acronym […]
Weston board OK’s paving bid for Lawrence Hill, Chester Mountain roads
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Weston Select Board on Tuesday, April 14 approved a bid of $290,539 from Fuller Sand and Gravel of Danby pending review and approval of Road Foreman Almon Crandall. The bid is almost $50,000 under the next lowest bid, according to board member Jim Linville. The bid is […]
Derry Emergency Management chief outlines actions during Covid-19 crisis
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Londonderry Select Board met for two hours and 40 minutes on April 20 in a Zoom session mostly to hear about what work Emergency Management Director Kevin Beattie was doing to protect the community during the Covid-19 crisis. Beattie said a virtual Emergency Operations Center to respond […]
Infection curve continues to flatten; Covid-19 numbers are moving target
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC During Gov. Phil Scott’s Monday press conference in Montpelier, state Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine noted that the slope of the Covid-19 infection curve “has clearly changed toward more of a plateau.” Using three charts, Levine pointed to the how the number of new infections changed with […]
