All Entries in the "Featured" Category
Dakin, Whalen, Gustafson take Chester Select Board seats; road bond issue passes in Chester
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Veteran office holder Leigh Dakin cruised to a write-in victory over political newcomer Scott Blair, co-owner of the Southern Pie Company and the Main Street Coffee & Scoop Shoppe, on Tuesday evening making the composition of the Chester Select Board 40 percent female for the first time. […]
GM School District budget OK’d by 70 votes CAES assistant principal funded in $13 million spending plan
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing, LLC The Green Mountain Unified School District budget was approved by the voters of Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester in Australian balloting on Tuesday. The count was 423 to 353 with a margin of victory of 70 votes or 9 percent. The budget gives Chester-Andover Elementary an assistant […]
Chester voters establish emergency reserve fund, pass climate resolution
By Leah M. Cunningham and Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC More than 120 Chester residents turned out on Monday night for Town Meeting, passing 21 articles, including setting up a town reserve fund and a much discussed climate resolution, and tabling one before adjourning the meeting after two and a half hours. Tabled was […]
Derry board delays vote on Traffic Ordinance
By Bruce Frauman ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Londonderry Select Board chair Jim Ameden said on Monday, March 4 that it would be best to wait until the next board meeting to vote to adopt a new Traffic and Parking Ordinance. The proposal lists every intersection currently posted with a stop sign, with a few exceptions, […]
Andover residents pass budget; elect full board following move of long-time member
By Cynthia Prairie © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC With the departure of long-time Andover Select Board member Red Johnson to the hinterlands of Virginia, the board has been one member short. That was remedied at Town Meeting on Saturday morning, March 2, when the board was reshuffled a bit and newcomer Jed LaPrise was elected […]
After rocky process, GM school budget goes to voters Assistant Principal for CAES was bone of contention
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Tuesday, March 5, residents in Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester will go to the polls to vote on the Green Mountain Unified School District budget for the 2019/2020 school year. The $12,937,250 spending plan represents an increase of more than $405,000, or 3.23 percent over the […]
GM ‘better board’ training heavy on limitations Board association recommends 'hands off' posture toward administration
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC The main event at last night’s Green Mountain Unified School District Board meeting was a training session for the board on being a board. Board chair Marilyn Mahusky told the meeting that she and Superintendent Meg Powden felt there was value in “bringing somebody in to help […]
Chester updated on Depot St. sidewalk project
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC The main event at Wednesday’s Chester Select Board meeting – a public hearing on the federally funded sidewalk project along Depot Street – almost didn’t happen when the presenters were unable to make their PowerPoint presentation work. But when the situation seemed darkest, outgoing board member Dan […]
1 incumbent, 2 write-ins vie for Chester seats Whelan hopes to retain Select Board post as Dakin, Blair seek victory as write-ins
Over the last four years, Chester’s races for Select Board have gotten a bit more competitive than in years past, bringing in contenders for the open seats as more voters seek to get involved in government. But when Ben Whalen petitioned to be on the March 5 ballot to seek a fourth one-year seat on […]
Pisha rebukes Grafton board on Rt. 35 facts Grafton Administrator Kearns seeks 'date certain' on repairs
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC In a forceful letter, Chester Town Manager David Pisha has rebuked the Grafton Select Board for discussing Chester’s plans regarding repairs to Route 35 without calling the town first “to find out the facts.” “That is not how I would expect neighbors to behave,” he wrote in a […]
Massive ice sculpture crowns Popple Dungeon
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC In the late fall of each year, Peter Delaney erects a tall wooden framework for mounting a hose that’s fed by a spring up in the hills along Popple Dungeon Road in Chester. He caps the hose and then drills five small holes in the cap to […]
Grafton board chair ‘as private citizen’ starts drive to force Chester to repair Route 35
By Cynthia Prairie and Shawn Cunningham ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Members of the Grafton Select Board are hoping to push the Chester Select Board to expedite repairs to Route 35 from the Williams River bridge to the Grafton line, after its chairman, Joe Pollio, mounted a petition drive that could possibly lead to court action. […]
Chester board picks ‘design/build’ for emergency services building Reviews no bid contract with Russell Construction in executive session
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board voted to go with a “design-build” process rather than traditional bidding for the proposed emergency services building, but not without objections by one member. “I believe in process and I don’t think we did our due diligence here,” said board member Heather Chase, […]
Fine winter weather for Chester Winter Carnival
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC After some years of either bitter or balmy temperatures, the Chester Winter Carnival went off this weekend under sunny skies and with comfortably cold thermometer readings. The ice rink was frozen solid as several of those playing broom hockey found when they fell. And there was even […]
Chester gets state grant for EV charging station Hopes to have Cobleigh site up by late summer
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester is one of nine towns and organizations to be awarded a state grant to install an electric vehicle charging station. Gov. Phil Scott announced the $400,000 in Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Grant Program awards last week. Town Administrative Assistant Julie Hance, who wrote the grant proposal for […]
Depot St. bridge construction set to begin Cold River Bridges signed to rebuild Cavendish span
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC The long awaited work on the Depot Street bridge in Cavendish is right around the corner according to Town Manager Brendan McNamara, and the town is looking down the road at minimizing some of the problems it sees with having the span open again. McNamara told the […]
Derry Select Board to propose traffic ordinance, speed limits on Thompsonburg Road
By Bruce Frauman ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Londonderry Select Board has agreed to propose at its next regular meeting a town traffic ordinance and speed limits along Thompsonburg Road. With a new safety audit report from VTrans and a recent report from the town’s Traffic Safety Committee, the board met in a special session […]
Michigan authorities arrest man in GM threat
© 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC A 23-year-old Michigan man was arrested yesterday in connection with an online threat made against a Green Mountain High School student and against the school on Monday, according to Vermont State Police. Police have said that the threat made on Monday, Feb. 4 was traced to a person “in the […]
Chief Cloud confirms two GM threats are related No arrests made; 'persons of interest' questioned
By Cynthia Prairie and Shawn Cunningham ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester Police Chief Rick Cloud said Thursday evening that the bomb threat called in to Green Mountain High School that morning is indeed related to the social media threat made to a student and the school on Monday. However, he did clarify that the caller […]
When a child’s text message of love is ominous A mother and son tell their story
By Cynthia Prairie © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Heidi Skinner was at her computer Thursday morning researching colleges for her 18-year-old daughter Camille when a text message came in from her 14-year-old son Isaiah. Besides Camille and Isaiah, Skinner has another child at GM, 12-year-old Hannah. It was 11:27 a.m. and Isaiah wrote, “I love […]
