All Entries in the "Chester" Category
Chester board opts out of in-person Town Meeting All questions to be voted by Australian ballot; online informational meeting to be held
By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board last Wednesday opted to hold an informational meeting on Monday, March 1 followed by a vote on all issues before the voters by Australian ballot on Tuesday, March 2 — Vermont’s Town Meeting Day. At the beginning of the discussion, board chair Arne […]
Chester Rotary seeks ‘competent organization’ to take over Fall Festival
By Cynthia Prairie ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Rotary is hoping that a “competent organization” will soon step forward to take over the annual Chester Fall Festival “for the sake of the community and the town,” said Rotary President Ian Montgomery on Tuesday morning. The festival, which was in its 45th year with the […]
Boards struggle with holding annual meetings during pandemic Legislation may give municipalities more options
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing, LLC Town Meeting day is more than two months away, but municipalities — including school districts — throughout Vermont are working out how that annual ritual of direct democracy will be handled during a global pandemic in which personal contact can be hazardous. When Gov. Phil Scott announced […]
Chester board mulls dismantling 131-year-old Jeffrey Barn Lack of insurance, upkeep at core of Select Board decision
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board is looking for a contractor to dismantle the 131-year-old Jeffrey Barn on Rt. 103 North after learning that the town’s insurer will no longer cover it. Town Manager Julie Hance told the board at its Wednesday, Dec. 16 meeting that the Vermont League […]
Chester board continues budget work, appoints Zoning Administrator Resident proposes civilian oversight of police
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC At its Dec. 2 meeting, the Chester Select Board continued working on the budget, department by department, and even converted into its alter ego – The Chester Water Commission – to look at the numbers for 2021. As has happened in previous meetings, most of the budget […]
40,000 Meals & Counting $315,000 grant gives Chester Helping Hands-Springfield Family Center partnership the boost to feed more
By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC During the bone chilling months of last March, when the Covid-19 pandemic was beginning it race across the country, Chester residents Chris Meyer and Jason Tostrup asked themselves a question: Will our neighbors be going hungry? As Vermont residents became confined to their homes, and unemployment spiked, the […]
Chester board continues speed limit discussion
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Speed limits once again took center stage at the Chester Select Board’s Nov. 18 meeting with a discussion of the data collected on River and High streets and Andover Road and requests by residents of those areas seeking reductions in the speed allowed. To see the speed […]
Construction crews work on 2 Chester firehouses
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC At either end of Elm Street in Chester, construction crews have been working on fire houses: one from the past and one for the future. On Route 103, just north of Elm Street, Wright Construction was installing a beam above the doors on the south end of […]
Yosemite Co. gives CAES classroom sound gear
By Shawn Cunningham © Telegraph Publishing LLC The Yosemite Engine Company, the independent, non-profit fundraising arm of the Chester Fire Department, on Friday presented 12 classroom sound system units to Chester-Andover Elementary School. “The Yosemite Engine Company and Chester Helping Hands had a discussion about things the school might need that were not in the […]
Marconics gatherings spark Covid concerns in Chester Owners: We are Covid compliant, attention is a 'witch hunt'
By Cynthia Prairie & Shawn Cunningham ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC As many as 25 to 35 cars — most bearing out-of-state license plates — parked at the old Jiffy Mart and adjacent streets in downtown Chester last week alarmed members of the Chester community as Covid-19 cases continue to rise nationwide and as Vermont severely […]
Chester Select Board agenda for Nov. 18, 2020
The Chester Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday Nov. 18, 2020 at Town Hall and via Zoom. In-person attendance is limited to 25 people. The town asks that if your physical presence is not required to consider participating via Zoom. Click this link to attend. The board’s agenda is […]
Board begins looking at Chester police policies, complaint procedures
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Police issues took center stage in separate discussions at the Chester Select Board meeting on Wednesday Nov. 4 as questions of policies, complaint procedures and a new budget hit proposed by the Vermont State Police. Board chair Arne Jonynas noted that the issue of policing and use […]
Photo gallery: Local elections called ‘smooth’
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC A visitor to the polls in 10 local towns today heard the same word over and over: smooth. One after another, town clerks and other election officials told The Telegraph that turnout was light to moderate but steady. There were no long lines or waits to vote […]
Man found dead on Popple Dungeon Road in Chester is identified
By Shawn Cunningham © Telegraph Publishing LLC A Vermont native who has been living in Alaska for the past five years was found dead in an SUV parked along Popple Dungeon Road on Tuesday, Oct. 27. According to Chester Police, James Johnson Jr. , 36, of Kenai, Alaska, was found dead in an SUV in […]
Chester town budget underspent so far this year
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC With 75 percent of the year past, the town of Chester had spent about 65 percent of its annual budget, having hit the brakes earlier this year when it looked as though the Covid-19 pandemic would result in delayed or delinquent property tax collection. At its Oct. […]
Clerks: Mail-in voting pace is brisk, few errors Voter registration rolls see a jump
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Area residents are embracing mail-in voting in substantial numbers and making very few mistakes, according to several town clerks. And, since Sept. 2 more than 200 people have registered to vote in nine towns. The Vermont Secretary of State used that date as the cutoff for mailing […]
The emerald ash borer: What we know, what’s being done, what we can do, what we can expect
By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last October, a Londonderry landowner found a green beetle with a red abdomen lodged in his door. Inspection from a forester and entomologist confirmed that the insect was the invasive emerald ash borer that — though first found in Vermont in 2018 — was not expected in the region […]
Telegraph reporter on GNAT election night panel; Church removes Trump sign from rectory land
Telegraph reporter to be on GNAT-TV election night panel GNAT-TV is going live at 8 p.m. on Election Night with news director Andrew McKeever moderating a panel including Cherise Madigan Forbes of The Chester Telegraph, former state Rep. Jeff Wilson and Manchester Town Manager John O’Keefe, all offering commentary and analysis. Area high school students […]
Prospects for Church St. sidewalk in Chester distant, dimmer Pinske questions loan fund, election update
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Many Chester residents who use Church Street as part of their walking route have long asked for a sidewalk to separate them from the traffic. But the possibility of that happening dimmed a bit on Wednesday night as Christina Haskins of Dufresne Group gave a presentation to […]
