All Entries in the "Londonderry" Category
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 […]
Derry board ponders delay in Town Meeting; addresses property taxes and budgeting
By Cherise Madigan 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Londonderry’s 2021 Town Meeting may move to Pingree Park — and from March to May — if the state grants towns the ability to delay meetings due to the Covid-19 pandemic. And state legislators are working to make the one-time exception a reality, Town Clerk Kelly Pajala, who also […]
Pandemic casts shadow on Derry board decisions Town Meeting plans discussed; board cautious on spending
By Cherise Forbes ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC At the Dec. 7 meeting of the Londonderry Select Board, Kelly Pajala, who is Town Clerk and a state representative for Windham-Bennington-Windsor, told the board that legislators are working to get a bill to Gov. Phil Scott by mid-January to expand options for how and when towns may […]
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 […]
Community Nurse Project presents to Weston board in preparation for Town Meeting
By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Public health discussions dominated the Weston Select Board’s pre-Thanksgiving meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 24, with the town’s Emergency Management director, Michael Smilovich, encouraging unity in the face of an uptick in Covid-19 cases and resulting regulations. “With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it’s imperative that we heed the […]
State audit offers Derry road speed suggestions
By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC A recently completed Road Safety Audit from the Vermont Agency of Transportation has provided new data and recommendations regarding traffic speeds along Route 11 and into the North Village of Londonderry. According to Select Board Chair George Mora, traffic speeds and safety present an “ongoing problem” with residents […]
Covid frustrations spill over at Derry board ahead of holidays; Town hires assessor
By Cherise Madigan © 2020 Telegraph Publishing, LLC The Londonderry Select Board is not immune to the frustration that many are feeling around the Covid-19 pandemic and state mandated restrictions, especially as the holidays approach. Following Emergency Management Director Kevin Beattie’s update on the pandemic, Select Board member Vincent Annunziata voiced resistance to Gov. Phil […]
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 […]
Derry Board plans for new town assessor Listers chair to retire in 2022; roads crew post still unfilled
By Cherise Madigan Telegraph Publishing LLC Employment considerations dominated the election-eve meeting of the Londonderry Select Board on Monday. Following an impassioned recommendation from the chair of Londonderry’s Board of Listers, the Select Board established the part-time position of town assessor pending its approval of a job description and related budget adjustments. Additionally, town officials […]
Weston resident donates 20kw generator for Little School, town office
By Cherise Madigan © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Weston resident Gary Bettman has donated a 20 kilowatt generator to The Little School, temporarily resolving the Select Board’s months long deliberations on the subject and prompted the board to approve a future survey of the surrounding town property at its Oct. 27 meeting. Last December, the […]
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 […]
Local money in the presidential race NYT analysis details donation amounts, donor numbers
©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Monday, the New York Times published an analysis of campaign contributions by ZIP code. The reporters teased out the number of donations from April 1 through Oct. 14 and estimated their amounts by every ZIP code in the United States and looked at factors behind the numbers including education. The […]
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 […]
Broadband plan outlined to bring fiber to Weston, Derry, 14 other towns in Deerfield Valley CUD
By Cherise Madigan © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Deerfield Valley Communications Union District — of which Londonderry and now Weston are members — presented its business plan earlier this month, following months of surveys and studies into the region’s connectivity and potential. Officially formed this April, the 16-member town CUD aims to provide equitable, […]
Derry board revisits future of Williams Dam
By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Londonderry Select Board revisited the Williams Dam at its Monday, Oct. 19 meeting, continuing a discussion that has played out for years without resolution. Now, new safety classifications expected from the Vermont Department of Dam Safety in the near future poses a question for the Town of […]
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 […]
Beattie named Vermont Emergency Management Director of Year
By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Londonderry’s own Kevin Beattie has been recognized as Vermont’s Emergency Management Director of the Year for 2020, a year in which emergency management is anything but “business-as-usual.” “Kevin Beattie has all the characteristics that make an exemplary EMD,” said Mark Bosma, public information officer for the state Department […]
Derry Transfer Station food-scrap intake doubles
By Cherise Madigan ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Recycling Coordinator Esther Fishman told the Londonderry Select Board at its Monday, Oct. 5 meeting that the amount of food scraps being brought to the Transfer Station has increased by nearly 10,000 pounds per month since a state composting mandate went into effect this summer. Food scraps totaled […]
Londonderry Select Board agenda for Oct. 5
The Londonderry Select Board will hold a regular meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday Oct. 5, 2020 via Zoom. To join the meeting online click https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82909673832 Via telephone: (929) 205-6099 (Meeting ID: 2 0967) It is strongly recommended that potential participants familiarize themselves with Zoom software (https://zoom.us/) prior to the meeting as the Board will […]
Casting your ballot: A guide to voting procedures
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Voting in this pandemic year will not be like any vote we have ever cast and Secretary of State Jim Condos is suggesting that everyone have a voting plan. One suggestion is to vote by Saturday, Oct. 24 — “to reduce contact at polling places and to […]
