All Entries in the "Chester" Category
Brisk turnout for Chester housing development open house
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC On a sunny, almost spring afternoon on Tuesday, more than 100 people gathered inside Chester’s Town Hall to attend an open house to gather the public’s opinion on ideas for developing a piece of land owned by the town for accessible and affordable housing. The presentation was […]
Isolated older Vermonters can struggle alone Visiting nurses like Weston's Regina Downer are there to help
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Seven Days as part of “This Old State,” the paper’s yearlong series on aging in Vermont. Rachel is a Seven Days staff writer and corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. By Rachel Hellman © 2025 Seven Days As Jim’s eyesight […]
Chester board talks quarrying, STRs, future rail connections and federal funds
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC With Tuesday’s elections behind it, the Chester Select Board last Wednesday got down to its annual re-organization with a bit of a surprise. When nominations for officers were opened, long-time board chair Arne Jonynas nominated vice chair Lee Gustafson to the chairman seat. The vote of the […]
Fewer short-term rentals in Chester could indicate a softening market
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC At last week’s Chester Select Board meeting, Zoning Administrator Preston Bristow and Assistant ZA Hugh Quinn updated the board on the town’s short-term rental program, which seems to have cooled down along with the entire STR market in general. The town requires property owners who rent for […]
Collapsed Chester Police carport gone; contractor expected to foot bill for vehicle damage
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC In mid-February, the carport erected next to Chester’s Public Safety Building collapsed after a snowstorm trapping a police cruiser and an officer’s private car underneath. This past Sunday, a crew disassembled it and the cars underneath it were removed. The delay had to do with the unusual […]
On eve of Trump tariffs, Chester voters affirm friendship with Canada
By Cynthia Prairie ©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC At the end of Monday night’s Town Meeting in Chester — and the evening before the Trump administration’s 25 percent tariffs were to take effect against Canadian and Mexican imports — Chester resident Shawn Cunningham* rose to offer a resolution. With mic in hand, he read aloud from […]
Chester government to host open house on development of water tank land for housing
The Town of Chester is studying housing development potential at the 139-acre town-owned property south of Green Mountain Union High School to serve the local workforce and community members. Open House The Town will be hosting a public open house from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18Â on the 2nd floor of […]
At Town Meeting, Chester voters OK $4.225M budget, discuss sewer, solar bond issues Tuesday's vote: Sewer, solar field bonds approved; Roper, Knapp, Gustafson re-elected
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC More than 100 people turned out for Chester’s Town Meeting on Monday night to vote from the floor on 18 published articles including the town’s $4.225 million budget. All passed on voice votes, although some got a bit more scrutiny from the assembly than others. For results […]
Chester Clerk Debbie Aldrich steps aside, but not too far away
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC In 1983, Chester Town Clerk Sandy Walker hired a 20-year-old to be her assistant. And while some in Town Hall may have felt she was too young for the responsibility, Debbie Aldrich seems to have worked out. Now, with 42 years as Assistant Town Clerk, then Town […]
A field guide to Chester’s Town Meeting Day bond votes
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC In addition to the approving the town’s $4.2 million budget and borrowing to purchase equipment and do paving, Chester voters will be asked to give vote to two bond issues totaling a little over $4.1 million. While these may look like a burden for taxpayers, if the […]
Meet the three candidates running for two seats on the Chester Select Board
© 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Telegraph sent a series of questions to the three candidates who are vying for two one-year seats on the Chester Select Board. Those two seats are currently held by Arianna Knapp and Tim Roper, who are running for re-election. These questions address some of the issues for many […]
Nick Boke chosen to chair Chester Democrats
The Chester Town Democratic Committee met Thursday, Feb. 20Â to reorganize its officers and make plans for the upcoming year. Two dozen Democrats attended the meeting at Chester Town Hall, including two from Andover who had come to discuss how to create an Andover Democratic committee, as well as to collaborate with the CTDC. Windsor […]
Chester board denies driveway appeal, gets presentation on sidewalk study
By Shawn Cunningham ©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC By a 3-1 vote last Wednesday, the Chester Select Board voted to deny an appeal by the owner of a Main Street property for a curb cut to install a new driveway. But while the vote sounds resolute, some board members spoke of how conflicted they were over […]
New GM High mascot to be chosen this week
By Lorien Strange ©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Green Mountain Union High School students will be selecting a new mascot this week, more than a year since a contentious series of school board meetings ended with the demise of the original controversial mascot, the Chieftain. The original, 50-year-old mascot was considered racist and outdated and […]
36-year-old Windsor man gets prison for unlawful firearms possession in Chester
Ryan Buckley, 36, of Windsor, was sentenced on Tuesday, Jan. 21 in U.S. District Court to 46 months’ imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release in relation to his arrest in Chester by Chester Police in June 2023. Buckley, formerly from New Hampshire, had pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm after previously […]
Chester board to re-approve budget after spreadsheet glitch
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC A programming glitch in Chester government Excel spreadsheets detailing the proposed 2025-26 operating budget is forcing the Select Board to revote that proposed budget this morning. The new budget will be slightly higher — about $50,000 — than the one that the board earlier approved to send […]
Police search Baltimore home where stolen truck was found; arrest owner Homeowner faces drug, stolen property charges
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Officers from several area, state and federal departments searched a Baltimore home at around 2:30 today, Wednesday, Jan. 8, looking for tools missing from a truck stolen more than a week ago in Chester. In addition to recovering about two thirds of the tools, they found a […]
Chester board OKs rural zoning changes; talks 2025 budget, water meter upgrades
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC An amendment to Chester’s rural zoning regulations that’s been under consideration since July, with several hearings where it was criticized by residents and Select Board members alike, was finally adopted after one of its most controversial proposals was dropped. The 4 to 1 vote approving the at […]
One select board meeting, 3 contentious issues and a glitch
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board had its hands full at its Wednesday, Dec. 18 meeting as it again took on controversial changes to rural zoning but put off a vote, handed down a determination in a long-standing Class 4 roads dispute and learned that sometimes delaying a decision […]
Flurry of customers brings success to Chester’s first ‘Starry, Starry Night’ event
©2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC It was a frigid Saturday evening — one that made holding a camera near impossible. But it was brightened by lights adorning trees, the gazebo and many of the shops on the Green in Chester. And that bone-freezing cold quickly dissipated from the warm and welcoming atmosphere inside the shops, which […]
