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Whiting Library Board of Trustees agenda for Dec. 13

Whiting Library Board of Trustees agenda for Dec. 13

The Whiting Library Board of Trustees will hold its regular monthly meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday Dec. 13 2022 in the library’s Community Room at 117 Main Street and via Zoom. To join the meeting go to https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87303387574 and use the passcode 230134 Below is the board’s agenda Call to order Additions to the […]

Second meeting of TRSU's 'Portrait of a Graduate' set for Dec. 5

Second meeting of TRSU’s ‘Portrait of a Graduate’ set for Dec. 5

By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC About 25 community members gathered in the library at Green Mountain High School on Monday Nov. 14 to participate as a “design team” in the first of four meetings aimed at answering the question “what should a graduate from a Two Rivers Supervisory Union school – elementary, […]

Photo by ArtisticOperations.

Chester Planning Commission meeting to explore housing problems

Chester’s Planning Commission will host its fourth and final workshop on Chester’s ongoing bylaw modernization project at Town Hall, 556 Elm St., at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 21, as well as on Zoom  by clicking here. The Nov. 21 workshop will involve a panel discussion with realtors and builders to get their perspectives on […]

$20M school renovation bond fails by 47 votes

$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 […]

Chase beats Ryan in new Vermont House district

Chase beats Ryan in new Vermont House district

By Cynthia Prairie ©2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Democrat Heather Chase has won the seat in the Vermont House of Representatives for the newly carved out Windsor-Windham District of Athens, Chester, Grafton and Windham. Chase handily beat Ryan 1,308 to 803, winning in comfortable margins in each town. Those town by town breakdowns were: 819 to […]

Competitive Chase-Ryan race yields local view of campaign financing

Competitive Chase-Ryan race yields local view of campaign financing

By Cynthia Prairie ©2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC For the first time in many years, voters from this part of  Southern Central Vermont are viewing a rare bird: a competitive “spending race” for the Vermont House of Representatives  — in this case the new Windsor-Windham District that encompasses Athens, Chester, Grafton and Windham. The race to […]

What's in the GM renovation bond: Elementary schools to see upgrades in heating systems

What’s in the GM renovation bond: Elementary schools to see upgrades in heating systems

By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Both Cavendish Town and Chester-Andover elementary schools are slated to get upgrades to their fire alarm systems, should the bond proposal pass. Cavendish Town’s portion of the upgrade is worth $1.7 million; Chester-Andover’s is $2.6 million. Todd Parah, facilities director for Two Rivers Supervisory Union, says this […]

Chester board mulls gardens, housing, short-term rentals in wide ranging meeting

Chester board mulls gardens, housing, short-term rentals in wide ranging meeting

By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Coming in at just under three hours in length, the Oct. 19 Chester Select Board meeting got through a packed agenda that included a request for a lease to use the Canal Street well site for a community garden, a discussion of how to approach the lack […]

Colchester firm to develop Stormwater Master Plans for Chester, Londonderry

Colchester firm to develop Stormwater Master Plans for Chester, Londonderry

Fitzgerald Environmental Associates of Colchester will be developing Stormwater Master Plans for the towns of Chester and Londonderry in partnership with the towns and the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. Both projects are funded by State Capital Clean Water Funds. Stormwater Master Plans outline actionable steps toward improving water quality and reducing flooding through implementation […]

Chester board hears pros and cons of short-term rentals, ordinance

Chester board hears pros and cons of short-term rentals, ordinance Will look at ordinance again after lawyer's review

By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last Wednesday’s Chester Select Board review of a proposed ordinance that would require the registration of short-term rentals – like those marketed online by Airbnb and VRBO – brought out those in favor of regulation and those defending their income stream, as well as an emotional appeal […]

Chester Police Dept. study finds communication lacking, training procedures outdated

Chester Police Dept. study finds communication lacking, training procedures outdated

By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Police Department needs to improve its communication with the public as well as bring its policies and related training procedures into the 21st century, according to a number of recommendations in an assessment of the town’s Police Department written by Jim Baker, a former director […]

Chester boards up 'health hazard' Hennessey house

Chester boards up ‘health hazard’ Hennessey house

By Shawn Cunningham © Telegraph Publishing LLC On Tuesday afternoon, employees of the Town of Chester boarded up the house at 138 Cummings Road to keep people from staying in the house that the town says has no running water or working septic and is surrounded by a junk yard containing hazardous materials. The house […]

Chester Fire Department wins $450,000 grant to replace old tanker truck

Chester Fire Department wins $450,000 grant to replace old tanker truck

By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Town of Chester will be awarded a grant worth more than $450,000 toward the purchase of a new tanker for the Fire Department. The grant comes through FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant program and is the largest ever awarded to a Vermont municipality, according to a […]

State House candidates Ryan, Chase touch on variety of issues during Windham forum

State House candidates Ryan, Chase touch on variety of issues during Windham forum

By Cynthia Prairie ©2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC More than 40 people turned out on a stormy Tuesday night — in person and on Zoom — to hear the first candidate forum for a seat in the Vermont State House from the new Windsor-Windham District of Athens, Chester, Grafton and Windham. Democrat Heather Chase and Republican […]

Diversity grant allows Whiting to purchase more books and supplies

Diversity grant allows Whiting to purchase more books and supplies

Thanks to a grant from the Vermont Department of Libraries as part of American Rescue Plan Act funding by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Whiting Library received $1,715 to purchase books and supplies. With the distribution of these grant funds, VTLIB encouraged public libraries in Vermont to spend this second round of ARPA […]

GM board votes to put $20 million renovation bond before district voters

GM board votes to put $20 million renovation bond before district voters

By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Aug. 25, the board of the Green Mountain Unified School District decided to move forward with a multi-year, $20.5 million project to renovate its three school buildings. The vote was 6-1 — with three members absent — to put a 20 year bond before the voters […]

Chester planners send ordinance regulating short-term rentals to Select Board

Chester planners send ordinance regulating short-term rentals to Select Board

By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC At a special meeting held on Monday, Aug. 22, the Chester Planning Commission put the final touches on an ordinance to register and regulate short-term rentals (such as those offered via Airbnb and VRBO) and voted to send it to the Select Board for review and adoption. […]

Workers pump concrete into forms for abutment #2 on Aug. 16, nearly a month behind schedule

Popple Dungeon bridge reopening set for Sept. 5 Construction firm had sought three to five weeks more time

By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC The replacement for the culvert bridge across the south branch of the Williams River a little over 3 miles out on Popple Dungeon Road has been under construction since early June and was due to reopen this weekend. But Alpine Construction was pouring concrete for abutment #2 […]

Turnout is high in local primary voting; November matchups decided

Turnout is high in local primary voting; November matchups decided

By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Held in the hot and vacation rich month of August, Vermont’s primaries are generally sleepy affairs in which a relatively small number loyalists from the state’s three parties – Democratic, Republican and Progressive – come out to reaffirm the incumbents and chose the occasional challenger. But this […]

Chester planners wrestle with scope of short-term rental ordinance

Chester planners wrestle with scope of short-term rental ordinance

By Shawn Cunningham © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC While the main event was a warned public hearing for an amendment to the town’s Unified Development Bylaws — which includes its zoning regulations — Monday night’s Chester Planning Commission meeting spent far more time and energy on the undercard — a discussion of the latest draft […]