All Entries in the "Featured" Category
GMUSD board agrees to ‘retire’ Chieftain name 'Indian head' image was dropped two years ago
By Shawn Cunningham © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC In a move that was a surprise to at least one board member, the Green Mountain Unified School District board voted tonight, Thursday, Jan. 19, to discontinue the use of the Chieftain name. The district had voted to stop using the image of a Native American in […]
Former Flood Brook teacher offered principalship at CAES
By Cynthia Prairie ©2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Board of Directors of the Green Mountain Unified School District, during a special meeting on Wednesday night, voted to offer Joanne Blane, an instructional coach for the Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union and former teacher at Flood Brook School in Londonderry, a one-year contract as principal of Chester-Andover Elementary […]
Cavendish board talks energy, reappraisals and police coverage
By Cara Philbin ©2023 Telegraph Publishing After considerable discussion, the Cavendish Select Board, on Monday, Jan. 9, voted to direct the town’s Planning Commission to begin the process of adopting the enhanced energy chapter for the Town Plan. Commission chair Etienne Ting had told the board that if it wanted that outcome it should tell […]
Chester Board dips into ‘Public Funds’ to pay for cemetery work Community garden license, STR regs, solar farm purchase inch forward
By Shawn Cunningham © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC With a quorum of just three members attending — including Leigh Dakin on Zoom — the Chester Select Board worked through a fairly light agenda on Jan. 4, from looking to bequeathed funds for money to offset a deficit in last year’s budget to sending a proposed […]
RUN FOR OFFICE! Open seats in Andover, Athens, Cavendish, Chester, Grafton, Londonderry, Weston & Windham
© 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC Vermont’s towns are run by community minded folks who step up and serve in local government positions – from town clerks and select board members to Library Trustees, Listers, Constables and more. This is the time of year that residents can take out a petition to get on the ballot […]
Andover Board nears accepting its first million-dollar budget Discussion of regulating short-term rentals dominates, but board opts for slower deliberations
By Cynthia Prairie ©2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC While the Andover Select Board on Monday night spent more time discussing a proposed bylaw addressing regulating the growing short-term rental industry, no action was taken on the issue — and seemingly won’t be in time for Town Meeting in March, when voters would have the earliest opportunity […]
Two select boards push back on their planning commissions Short-term rentals, energy chapter at issue as ARPA fund uses discussed
By Shawn Cunningham © 2023 Telegraph Publishing, LLC At their last regular meetings of 2022 the Select Boards of Andover and Cavendish took issue with the work of their towns’ Planning Commission and, in one instance, broached the idea of removing members to get its way. On Dec. 27 in Andover, the board took up […]
Inclusion declaration divides Chester board Measure passes on 3-2 vote after testy discussions
By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Despite statements that all five members of the Chester Select Board supported a “declaration of inclusion” adopted by other Vermont towns and proposed by members of the Chester community, the measure only passed by a bare majority of three votes to two last Wednesday night. The discussion […]
Challenges in journalism hit small rural communities: Prairie, Williams on GNAT’s ‘Press Pass’
On Thursday, Dec. 16, Cynthia Prairie, editor and publisher of The Chester Telegraph, sat down with Terry Williams, president and chief operating office of The Keene (N.H.) Sentinel and GNAT-TV news director Andrew McKeever for a discussion on the current state and challenges of journalism for McKeever’s Press Pass program. We thought our readers would […]
Judge defers decision on Merrill plea agreement
By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester resident and former middle school teacher Norman Merrill, charged with three felony counts related to creating and possessing child pornography, changed his not guilty plea on the count carrying the least penalty Tuesday morning, to guilty under an agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. However, U.S. […]
Christmas season kicks off with a weekend of events
By Cynthia Prairie © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Good cheer and humor fill the season with warmth no matter how chilly it gets and how much snow falls. Londonderry residents helped kick the Christmas holiday into high gear on Friday night with a parade of lighted farm equipment ushering in Santa and the town’s annual […]
Chester board adopts short-term rental ordinance
By Shawn Cunningham © Telegraph Publishing LLC Beginning in April of next year, property owners who offer dwellings in Chester for short-term rental will have to register with the town by paying a fee and abiding by a set of health and safety regulations that are already in state law but sparsely enforced. The unanimous […]
Judge rejects Piri’s defense subpoena in Rt. 103 murder case
By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC BRATTLEBORO Last Wednesday’s hearing in the second-degree murder case of Jozsef Piri focussed on a head-scratching situation for not only the Windham County State’s Attorney but the judge as well when defense attorney Adam Hescock sought information using a subpoena instead of accepted avenues for gaining information […]
Holiday events throughout the region Tree sales and lightings, musical events, craft fairs, community dinner
By Stacia Spaulding ©2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC The holiday season is upon us. Do you need a Christmas tree or are you wondering where to find Santa? Maybe a night of relaxation and fun is on your list. The Telegraph has compiled a list of holiday events in the region. Our Calendar of Events contains […]
Chester board hears from attorney about STR ordinance
By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester’s Select Board continued deliberating on an ordinance that would require registration of short term rentals — like Airbnb and VRBO — to gather information about the effects of such rentals on the town and to ensure that fire and safety regulations are observed. Back in August, […]
Blaze destroys Chester home, displacing family of eight Firefighters work amid bitter temperatures
By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Firefighters from more than a dozen departments responded to Chester for a fire that destroyed a home that housed eight on Route 103 north near Wymans Falls Road and closed the highway for several hours on Sunday night as temperatures dropped into the low teens. According to […]
News Analysis: Next steps for GMUSD after bond defeat
By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last Tuesday’s 47-vote defeat of a bond issue to renovate three school buildings that make up the Green Mountain Unified School District is on the agenda for that board’s monthly meeting on Thursday, Nov. 17 as members and administrators figure out where to go from here. At […]
Andover’s ‘High Bridge’ re-opens on time
By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC T bridge replacement project on Weston-Andover Road, a worry for the Andover Select Board for many years, has finished on time and reopened after an 11-week closure. The town and the construction company held a ribbon cutting on Friday, Nov. 4 to mark the occasion. The 84-foot […]
Mail-in ballots, large in-person turnout make for busy election day Props 2 and 5 pass, Democratic candidates win Windsor Senate seats, sheriff's office
By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Town clerks across the area on Election Day morning said that especially large numbers of voters had cast ballots early, returning the general election ballots sent to them by the Vermont Secretary of State. At the same time, they noted there was also steady traffic at polling […]
$20M school renovation bond fails by 47 votes
By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC The $20 million bond intended to pay for renovating the three school buildings of the Green Mountain Unified School District was narrowly defeated Tuesday evening by a vote of 808 in favor to 855 opposed, a defeat that school officials called “disappointing.” The lower vote totals may […]
