RSSAll Entries in the "Chester" Category

DRB to keep flood hazard review open on Chester Jiffy Mart

DRB to keep flood hazard review open on Chester Jiffy Mart

By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC After a contentious hearing on June 1, this past Monday’s Chester Development Review Board meeting was polite and even relaxed in portions as the town’s quasi-judicial land use arbiters once again took up the application of Robert Record and Champlain Oil for a conditional use permit to […]

Chester Select Board member pushes fire district; board still unclear on ownership of historic firehouse

Chester Select Board member pushes fire district; board still unclear on ownership of historic firehouse

By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC At its June 3 meeting, the Chester Select Board set up a busy session for June 17, when the meeting time will return to 7 p.m. from 6:30 at the request of chairman John DeBenedetti. Among the discussions at last week’s meeting that will be on the […]

Chester alumni celebrate reuniting with a holiday-themed parade

Chester alumni celebrate reuniting with a holiday-themed parade

By Leah M. Cunningham ©2015-Telegraph Publishing LLC T he unsettled weather of the morning cleared up just in time for Chester’s annual Alumni Day parade, which kicked off at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 6. This year’s theme was Holidays, and several returning classes went all out with their floats, including an Earth Day float, one […]

Jiffy Mart developer sees new store as improvement to area's character

Jiffy Mart developer sees new store as improvement to area’s character

By Shawn Cunningham ©2015-Telegraph Publishing LLC Pointing to a “very old service station, a very old metal diner, an abandoned pizza parlor that’s overgrown, a dollar store site and a rental house that’s not in very good shape,” Matt Wamsganz, the point man overseeing constructing a 5,000-square-foot Jiffy Mart for Champlain Oil, told the Chester […]

VTel responds to Big Pole controversy in Chester; Andover-Chester MOUs still in play

VTel responds to Big Pole controversy in Chester; Andover-Chester MOUs still in play

By Cynthia Prairie ©2015 – Telegraph Publishing LLC Following two executive sessions to discuss legal issues with town attorney Jim Carroll, the Chester Select Board reconvened its public session after almost a 90 minutes on Thursday, May 21. After the first executive session, the board authorized Town Manager David Pisha to sign an amendment to […]

Downtown and Village Center tax credits available

Downtown and Village Center tax credits available

One of the primary benefits that comes from a municipality applying with the State of Vermont to designate an area as a Downtown or as a Village Center is the Downtown and Village Center tax credit program. The tax credit program was designed to support revitalization in community centers across the state. In 2015, $2,200,000 […]

In weak voter turnout, Chester water project passes by 26 votes

In weak voter turnout, Chester water project passes by 26 votes

By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing By a margin of 112 to 86, Chester voters on Tuesday authorized the town to borrow slightly more than $4 million to upgrade the town water system, adding a second storage tank and replacing a large stretch of asbestos/concrete water main along Route 103 from the Sunoco station […]

GMUHS board OKs limited school choice, restraint and seclusion policy

GMUHS board OKs limited school choice, restraint and seclusion policy

By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing At its regular monthly meeting, the Green Mountain Union High School Board of Directors adopted limited school choice for seventh and eighth graders, as well as a restraint and seclusion policy for disruptive students and heard a presentation on the proposed town water project from town government officials. […]

Chester residents seek answers on proposed water project

Chester residents seek answers on proposed water project

By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing, LLC It was a respectful but question-filled turnout at Chester Town Hall last night, Monday May 18, for an informational meeting regarding a $4 million water project proposed by the Town of Chester that is being voted on from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. today. Town Moderator Bill […]

Chester DRB's initial Jiffy Mart hearing focuses on flood hazard

Chester DRB’s initial Jiffy Mart hearing focuses on flood hazard

By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing, LLC Chester’s Development Review Board began the process of considering a new Jiffy Mart gas station, convenience store and food outlets  at its meeting on Monday, May 11. A couple of dozen people, including a quorum of the Select Board, were there for the initial examination of documents […]

Part 2: A Closer Look: Separating the Chester water project from gravel needs

Part 2: A Closer Look: Separating the Chester water project from gravel needs

By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC In any public discussion of the proposed municipal water upgrade, most people agree that Chester’s water system has suffered from deferred maintenance and that the longer work is put off, the more extensive and expensive it is likely to be. “We need this water project,” Jeff Holden, […]

Chester Select Board revisits Andover MOU; ice cream truck permit will have to wait

Chester Select Board revisits Andover MOU; ice cream truck permit will have to wait

By Cynthia Prairie ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC The ongoing negotiations with the Town of Andover over a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the cost of providing emergency fire and ambulance service to that town of 500 is looking more like a duel with paper swords. Since the 2007 budget, Chester has charged Andover $9,300 (up from […]

UPDATE- Quick response stops Baileys Mills brush fire

UPDATE: 7:50 a.m. Friday May 8. According to the Chester Fire Department, the cause of the fire (approximately 100′ by 300′) was “a large ash pile that had been emptied onto a week prior.” The fire department reminds the public that a large ash pile can continue to be hot in the middle for weeks.  […]

Part 1 - A Closer Look: The long and winding road toward a municipal gravel source

Part 1 – A Closer Look: The long and winding road toward a municipal gravel source

By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC This is the first in a two-part series on the water and gravel projects proposed for the town of Chester. Next week: Do water and gravel mix? On Tuesday, May 19, Chester voters will be asked to decide whether to go forward with a $4 million water […]

Suspicious fire razes Londonderry home; Andover fire goes underground, prompting sleepless night for firefighters

Suspicious fire razes Londonderry home; Andover fire goes underground, prompting sleepless night for firefighters

By Shawn Cunningham ©2015 Telegraph Publishing, LLC Tuesday continued to be a busy day for firefighters throughout the region, with Chester crews staying overnight in Andover to monitor what has turned into a ground and root fire and with South Londonderry firefighters responding to a pre-dawn house fire at 2687 Under the Mountain Road. Crews […]

Drug operation said to be cause of Saturday night fire

Drug operation said to be cause of Saturday night fire

By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing, LLC A Saturday night blaze on Route 10 in Chester was caused by a “drug operation,” according to Chester Fire Chief Matt Wilson in an interview on Sunday afternoon. Just after 8 p.m. the Chester Fire Department was called out for a structure fire at 1831 Route 10, […]

UPDATE: Chester Town Office will be closed April 30, May 1 & 4

Chester Town Clerk Deb Aldrich has announced that the town office will be closed on Thursday April 30, Friday May 1  and Monday May 4 for renovations ahead of the installation of new, movable shelving units in the town vault in June.  The town office will re-open on Tuesday May 5.

Gravel pit owner challenges Chester figures; Select Board OKs town vote on water project

Gravel pit owner challenges Chester figures; Select Board OKs town vote on water project

CORRECTION: The Chester Telegraph incorrectly reported in this article that Dupont Storage, which manufactures efficient movable shelving units, had cut its price for new shelves in the Town Hall vault by $259. In fact, the price was cut by $934. By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing, LLC At its April 15 meeting, the Chester […]

Authorities seek information in suspicious fire on Green Mountain Turnpike

Authorities seek information in suspicious fire on Green Mountain Turnpike

By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing, LLC UPDATE 9 a.m. April 22, 2015: State police investigators confirm that they have not determined the cause of the fire and characterize it as suspicious. The loss of the house and barn are estimated at $250,000 and anyone with information about the fire is asked to call […]

Champlain Oil files application for new Chester Jiffy Mart with chain restaurants

Champlain Oil files application for new Chester Jiffy Mart with chain restaurants

© 2015 Telegraph Publishing, LLC Robert Record, B. Cairns Properties, LLC and Champlain Oil  Co. filed applications with the Chester Zoning administrator for a conditional use permit and a flood hazard area review on Tuesday, April 14 for a new Jiffy Mart in Chester. The application says that developers hope to build a 4,980-square-foot Jiffy […]