Featured Articles

Windsor Sen. McCormack won’t seek re-election

By Sarah Mearhoff ©2024 VT Digger After more than three decades representing Windsor County in the Vermont Senate, Dick McCormack plans to retire next January at the conclusion of his term. The veteran Democrat disclosed his decision to constituents on Town Meeting Day last week and explained his thinking to VTDigger in an interview Monday. […]

Chester hones STR ordinance changes as moratorium nears end

By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC After a routine reorganization following Tuesday’s Town Meeting Day election, the Chester Select Board, with new member Tim Roper, got down to working on some proposed changes to its Short-Term Rental Ordinance. The board’s six month moratorium on new un-hosted rentals ends on April 1 and it […]

A Local Guide to the Solar Eclipse: Partial or total, prepare to be awed, if the clouds stay away

By Roderick Bates ©2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Monday, April 8, a band of midday darkness about 100 miles wide will move in a northeasterly path across North America from Mexico to Newfoundland as the moon crosses in front of the sun. In Vermont, the southern edge of that path will cross through Middlebury and […]

Voters nix GMUSD budget; Other area results

By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last year was a rocky one for the board of the Green Mountain Unified School District and to cap it off, on Tuesday, voters shot down the proposed $17.4 million budget by a vote of 699 to 620 in a turnout substantially higher than one year ago […]

Andover voters reject ‘short-term rental’ article; set Monday meeting next year

By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC In an otherwise routine Town Meeting in Andover on Monday night one thing stood out. On Tuesday, the town government asked its voters to weigh in by Australian ballot on whether it should add “short-term rental” to the list of conditional uses under its zoning bylaws. But […]

Cavendish voters narrowly approve cannabis sales, end ‘from the floor’ voting

By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Voters in Cavendish on Tuesday voted 182 to 168 to allow retail sale of cannabis in the town. But the hot topic at Monday’s informational meeting were articles that would permanently eliminate voting from the floor of the annual Town Meeting in favor of Australian balloting. The […]

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  • To the editor: Change in medical cannabis law a step backward

    To the editor: Change in medical cannabis law a step backward

    The Vermont House Government Operations Committee is considering amending Vermont law to allow high-potency cannabis to be sold at retail stores to patients with “medical” cards for marijuana.  This would depart from the present law, which limits sale of high-potency cannabis concentrates to medical dispensaries only.  This change would be a major step backward for […]

  • It's Sugaring Time at Derry Library on March 16

    It’s Sugaring Time at Derry Library on March 16

    The South Londonderry Free Library, 15 Old School Road, invites kids of all ages to celebrate mud season by making three-dimensional sugarhouse collages with art teacher Casey Junker Bailey at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 16. Wood, tin, paper and fluffy cotton will be used for this fun project. Thanks to a generous grant from […]

  • Chester Select Board agenda for March 6

    Chester Select Board agenda for March 6

    The Chester Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday March 6 at Town Hall, 556 Elm Street and via Zoom. To join the meeting go to https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81988842129 Below is the board’s agenda. 1. Organization 2. Additions or Deletions to the Agenda 3. Adopt Rules of Procedure 4. Adopt Conflict of […]

  • Chester voters approve $3.975 million for budget; $39,811 for social programs

    Chester voters approve $3.975 million for budget; $39,811 for social programs

    By Cynthia Prairie ©2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC The 60 or so Chester voters attending Monday night’s Town Meeting in person  approved, with a few objections, to raising $3.975 million in taxes to fund the town budget, a budget that Town Manager Julie Hance said is “what it takes to maintain the services that we now […]

  • Memory Café in Chester on March 7

    Memory Café in Chester on March 7

    The Chester Memory Café welcomes all caregivers and their loved ones on the first Thursday of each month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The next one is scheduled for March 7. This free support group is held in the Willard Room at the rear of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 313 Main St. in Chester.  […]

  • New group seeks public input on events for Chester Town Hall

    New group seeks public input on events for Chester Town Hall

    ©2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC A small group of volunteers is spearheading an effort to bring back music, theater and arts events to the 2nd floor of Chester Town Hall, 556 Elm St., the refurbished theater space that seats 245 and is currently used mostly for Select Board and other government meetings. The group, known as […]

  • Springfield High presents 'Arsenic and Old Lace' March 8-10

    Springfield High presents ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ March 8-10

    Springfield High School’s Theater Department presents Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring. Performances will be at the Springfield High School Auditorium, 303 South St., at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, March 8 and 9, with a matinee at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 10. Admission is by donation. According to the Dramatists Play […]

  • Grafton Fire Department celebrates 100 years of community support

    Grafton Fire Department celebrates 100 years of community support

    By Dave Ross ©2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Grafton Fire Department was formally established at the March 4, 1924 Town Meeting exactly 100 years ago today and almost to the day of this year’s Town Meeting. This came about due to action by the Grafton Improvement Association that had appointed a committee the previous September […]

  • To the editor: School branding bill amendment is 'state censorship'

    To the editor: School branding bill amendment is ‘state censorship’

    You know the saying “You’ll spend us into the gutter?” How about a Vermont version: “You’ll spend us into the ditch.’’ Vermont’s veto-proof state Democrats are doing just that: spending the people of Vermont into the ditch. For example, there’s the mind-boggling education property tax? A half joke in Montpelier has it that only one […]

  • Mis- and disinformation highlighted discussed

    Mis- and disinformation highlighted discussed

    The League of Women Voters of Vermont, in partnership with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library, presents the last in its 2023-2024 Lecture Series on Election Issues and Democracy at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13. This season examines the structural and cultural issues that affect voter attitudes and election results. This year, the series returned to in-person […]

  • Bridge #20 on Route 121/35 in Grafton down to one lane during replacement

    Bridge #20 on Route 121/35 in Grafton down to one lane during replacement

    ©2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Vermont Agency of Transportation announces a single-lane closure on Bridge #20 over the Saxtons River along Vermont Route 121  in Grafton beginning Friday, March 1. VTrans is in the process of replacing Bridge #20, which is located on VT 121/35 East, just east of the intersection with Fisher Hill Road. […]

  • Julian quarry neighbors call on Select Board for action

    Julian quarry neighbors call on Select Board for action

    By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing The agenda for last Wednesday’s Chester Select Board was short and did not suggest the outpouring of emotion — from frustration to anger — that would come during public comment as neighbors of three quarries in Gassetts pushed the board to act more decisively on the complaints they […]

  • Chester voters hear from candidates in contested races

    Chester voters hear from candidates in contested races

    By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC About 35 Chester voters turned out on Friday night to hear candidates running for contested seats on the Select Board, school district board and Trustees of Public funds address issues and why they want to serve. Moderator Bill Dakin introduced the candidates and asked each group some […]

  • Green Mountain Power warns of phone scams

    Green Mountain Power warns of phone scams

    © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Green Mountain Power is alerting customers about a sudden surge of scam calls from people claiming to be with the company. According to a GMP, dozens of customers have reported a caller threatening immediate power shut off unless they pay their bills immediately. The company says these calls are scams […]

  • To the editor: Banish 'Groundhog Day;' Vote for Nikki Haley

    To the editor: Banish ‘Groundhog Day;’ Vote for Nikki Haley

    Since the hit movie starring Bill Murray came out in the 1990s, the term Groundhog Day — meaning a monotonous, unpleasant and repetitive situation — has become part of the English lexicon. As I watch the 2024 election unfold, it seems like Groundhog Day all over again.  We are trapped in a time loop that […]

  • To the editor: Lisa Rufa on her race for Chester Select Board

    To the editor: Lisa Rufa on her race for Chester Select Board

    I was unable to attend the Candidates Night, however I would like to answer the questions so voters can read my position on the issues that affect Chester. Question 1: Why do you want to serve on the Chester Select Board? I would like to serve on the Select Board because like so many in […]

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