RSSArchive for March, 2012

Whiting Library to institute late fees beginning April 2

Whiting Library to institute late fees beginning April 2

For the first time in its 120-year history, the Whiting Library will begin charging patrons a late fee on any item not returned by the due date. The policy change takes place Monday, April 2. Each late item – whether a book, DVD, audiobook or CD – will be assessed 20 cents for each day […]

Donald Webster, 74, active Mason, loved the outdoors

PROCTORSVILLE Donald R. Webster, 74, died on March 27, 2012 at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. Born in Chester, on Aug. 24, 1937, Mr. Webster was a graduate of Chester High School. After graduation, he enlisted in the Army, serving in the 82nd Airborne Division during the Korean War. A longtime employee of Combined Insurance and […]

Vermont ranks 6th in nation for women

Vermont ranks 6th in nation for women

By Cynthia Prairie Vermont is the sixth best state in the nation for women to live in, according to a new poll by iVillage.com, an online community for women. Vermont’s neighbor to the west, New York, came in 7th, and its neighbor to the east, New Hampshire was listed as 10th. The No. 1 spot […]

VTica features student artwork

VTica features student artwork

On the cover: From left, artwork by Hannah Potter, Nicole Wright, Casey Savage and an unidentified student. by Stephen Seitz Green Mountain Union High School art students are getting a chance to spread their wings this week at a special exhibit at the Vermont Institute of Contemporary Arts in Chester. The institute specializes in abstract […]

A comfortable area designated for quiet reading. Central air-conditioning will be added.

Green Mountain library poised for major renovation

By Rebecca Salem When students return to Green Mountain Union High School following Spring Break at the end of April, they’ll find a renovated, rehabbed and rewired library that Principal Tom Ferenc hopes will offer them a modern and comfortable learning environment that fosters interaction. The $100,000 renovation, which is expected to take two weeks […]

Calling all kids: Rotary Easter Egg Hunt on April 7

Calling all kids: Rotary Easter Egg Hunt on April 7

The Rotary Club of Chester will kick off the annual Easter Egg Hunt, which it has been holding for more than 30 years, at 9 a.m. sharp on Saturday, April 7, at Chester-Andover Elementary School, on Main Street in Chester. Chester and Andover children from preschool to 6th grade are invited to participate. The Easter […]

Summer Conservation Camp scholarship available to Chester-area student

Summer Conservation Camp scholarship available to Chester-area student

The Chester Conservation Committee will sponsor one Chester-area student, 12 to 16 years old, to attend the State of Vermont’s Green Mountain Conservation Camp this summer. One-week sessions, with separate camp sessions for boys and girls, run from June to August in two locations: Buck Lake in Woodbury and Kehoe Camp, located on Lake Bomoseen […]

Two GMUHS students to perform in OTW opera

Two GMUHS students to perform in OTW opera

The Opera Theatre of Weston announces that 31 students from all over southern Vermont – including two from Green Mountain Union High School – will be performing in the January 2013 OTW production “Noye’s Fludde” by Benjamin Britten. Four others are from Ludlow and Grafton schools. Following auditions, 25 students were selected for the chorus. […]

Commentary: Vaccines can help keep rising health-care costs down

Commentary: Vaccines can help keep rising health-care costs down

By Leigh Dakin Many issues that come before the State House require balancing personal freedoms against the public good. In areas that involve health, the public good includes who will pay the cost of medical treatment. Currently, the state and federal governments are the payers of last resort, but the current system is unsustainable. An […]

DRB member speaks against Dollar General

DRB member speaks against Dollar General

By Cynthia Prairie Navigating a bumpy sea of issues – from the placement of catch basins to water connections for a sprinkler system to expected noise levels – the Chester Development Review Board held what it promised would be its final meeting last night, Monday, March 12, on a proposed conditional use permit to allow […]

New, consolidated supervisory union may be on horizon

New, consolidated supervisory union may be on horizon

by Rebecca Salem In an effort to streamline operations to cut education costs by reducing the number of supervisory unions, the Rutland Windsor and Windsor Southwest supervisory unions have recommended merging. A new SU would include the WSWSU towns of Chester, Andover, Baltimore and Cavendish and RWSU towns of Ludlow, Mt. Holly and Plymouth. The […]

To the Editor: Constituents support cellphone ban

I recently distributed an informal poll, prepared by state Sen. William Doyle, to my constituents in Andover, Baltimore and Chester to give them an opportunity to share their thoughts on various issues of statewide importance. An overwhelming majority of the Doyle Poll respondents in my district agreed that drivers should be prohibited from using cellphones […]

April Jobs Fair seeks employers, workers

Springfield, VT – The River Valley Workforce Investment Board will be hosting the first River Valley Employment Fair from 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 3, River Valley Technical Center at the Howard Dean Education Center, 307 South St. in Springfield. Fair organizers are actively looking for local employers with job opportunities, especially […]

A Sign of Mud Season

A Sign of Mud Season

   

Sunspots and students

Sunspots and students

Photo and text by Claudio Veliz Students from Paul Martorano’s 3rd and 4th grade class at Chester-Andover Elementary School were treated Thursday, March 8, to a solar viewing session of sunspots and one of the most violent magnetic storm concentrations on its surface in at least half a decade. Claudio Veliz and Ron Jackson of […]

News briefs: Town Dem Caucus March 24; April jobs fair; Windsor Ag Fair seeks farm, craft vendors

The Chester Town Democratic Committee will hold its Post-Primary Presidential Democratic Town Caucus beginning at 10 a.m., Saturday, March 24, in the conference room of the Whiting Library, 117 Main St., Chester, VT. All Democrats are invited to attend. The purpose of the Caucus is to elect delegates from the Town of Chester to the […]

Incumbents Bock, Jonynas returned to selectboard; school budgets pass

Incumbents Bock, Jonynas returned to selectboard; school budgets pass

Photo on the Homepage: Christine Balch, Muriel Briggs and Sindy Pisha hand out ballots at Chester Town Hall on Election Day, Tuesday, March 6, 2012. Photo by Cynthia Prairie By Cynthia Prairie With 638 Chester residents voting by the time polls closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Tom Bock and Arne Jonynas were returned to office […]

Town, school district funding, resolutions approved at Town Meeting

Town, school district funding, resolutions approved at Town Meeting

By Cynthia Prairie With about 160 voters in attendance, an early 6 p.m. start, several failed article amendments and some lively discussions, Chester’s Town Meeting went off relatively smoothly Monday night. Voters first passed the Chester Town School District budget of $227,657 for early childhood and special education for those not in kindergarten, then tackled […]

Proposed N. Springfield biomass plant draws concern, support

Proposed N. Springfield biomass plant draws concern, support

by Stephen Seitz As a 35-megawatt biomass electric plant proposed for North Springfield inches forward, some in Chester are raising questions about traffic while others are fully supporting the project. Years may pass before ground is broken: The Public Service Board has yet to issue a certificate authorizing the plant’s construction at the North Springfield Industrial […]

To the Editor: Voters urged to pass Green Mountain HS budget

To the Editor, Thanks to the hard work of Green Mountain Union High School administration and staff, the GMUHS proposed 2012-13 budget represents an increase in expenditures over the prior year of 1.43%, less than half the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for 2011, and almost $5,000 less than the […]