RSSArchive for July, 2013

Jazz comes to Chester; Springfield Hospital kicks off centenary; French lessons at Misty Valley; Chester nonprofits offered digital workshop; Speckers at Andover Town Hall

Jazz comes to Chester; Springfield Hospital kicks off centenary; French lessons at Misty Valley; Chester nonprofits offered digital workshop; Speckers at Andover Town Hall

Aug. 1: Jazz at the Academy Building Gerry Grimo and the East Bay Jazz Ensemble return to Chester bringing big band sounds, jazz, pop and R&B music to the area, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1 on the lawn of the Academy Building across from the Green on Main Street. The concert, part […]

Tender ribs without the wait

Tender ribs without the wait

By Jim Bailey theyankeechef.blogspot.com Here is a recipe that is sure to get you outside cooking. I love ribs but I truly hate the waiting time to get pork fork-tender. So what to do? Slice the meat thinner. It’s Just That Simple. Enjoy the taste of the outdoors without the wait.  Just make sure you […]

Program would designate, aid business broadband improvement districts

The Vermont Telecommunications Authority has announced a new initiative to work with communities that wish to support businesses and local economies through improvements in broadband Internet service. Through an Application for Assistance, the VTA is soliciting proposals to define Business Broadband Improvement Districts. This is an opportunity to bring together the efforts and resources of […]

LIFE IN WATERCOLORS: Winston painting sale evokes memories of the Chester Art Guild

LIFE IN WATERCOLORS: Winston painting sale evokes memories of the Chester Art Guild

By Cynthia Prairie Galen Pinkham is a large man with a ready smile, a welcoming laugh and a wealth of stories. He navigates this Grafton home with the ease of someone who grew up among the books, the record albums, the furniture and, especially, the many paintings that hang from just about every wall. Many […]

Bryan Ballinger is trying to raise a STINK!

Bryan Ballinger is trying to raise a STINK!

By Shawn Cunningham With an Aug. 8 deadline approaching on his Kickstarter funding campaign, former Chester resident Bryan “Breadwig” Ballinger is optimistic that he will raise the $20,000 needed to publish his “scratch and sniff” children’s book, Animal Gas. At press time, his appeal to help produce the allegory on how we perceive our ourselves […]

Green Mountain grad takes flight with internship at Air & Space Museum

Green Mountain grad takes flight with internship at Air & Space Museum

ON THE COVER: Laura and a member of the Blue Crew assist a visitor at the National Air and Space Museum. // Photos courtesy National Air & Space Museum By Andy Jackins Laura Hofmann, the 2011 salutatorian at Green Mountain Union High and current Middlebury College junior, is spending 10 weeks in the nation’s capital […]

A bit of Mexico meets Maine in spicy shrimp tostadas

A bit of Mexico meets Maine in spicy shrimp tostadas

By Jim Bailey theyankeechef.blogspot.com Most shrimp we eyeball in supermarkets is farm-raised “across the pond” or in Latin America.  It is then frozen and shipped around the world, being brought back to its thawed stage by the stores that sell it. Wild Maine shrimp (Pandalus borealis), as well as other Maine shellfish, is almost always […]

Bluegrass music in Chester; author Halpern and her therapy pup-partner at Misty Valley; TARPS announces photo contest winners; music in Rutland, Brattleboro; & 'Mockingbird' documentary in Ludlow

Bluegrass music in Chester; author Halpern and her therapy pup-partner at Misty Valley; TARPS announces photo contest winners; music in Rutland, Brattleboro; & ‘Mockingbird’ documentary in Ludlow

Chester Family Medicine, part of Springfield Medical Care Systems, brings bluesgrass band Big Spike to Chester from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 25, on the lawn of the Academy Building across from the Green on Main Street. With impeccable vocal harmonies, a powerful stage presence, a sense of humor and mastery of their […]

After decision hiccup, town agrees to seek grant, loan for exterior repairs to Whiting Library

After decision hiccup, town agrees to seek grant, loan for exterior repairs to Whiting Library

By Cynthia Prairie The Chester Select Board last Wednesday, July 17, walked back on earlier suggestions that the Whiting Library Board of Trustees come up with more than the original $10,000 it had pledged toward major repairs of the library building. It instead agreed to apply for a federal grant and loan and put in […]

Development Review Board agenda for Monday July 22, 2013

The Chester Development Review Board will meet a 6 p.m. Monday, July 22 at Town Hall, 556 Elm St. in Chester, following a 5:30 p.m. site visit at 50 Maple Ridge in Gassetts. Below is the agenda for the board. 5:30 p.m. site visit 50 Maple Ridge 6 p.m. public hearing Review minutes from July […]

Halibut stands up to chorizo and corn sauce

Halibut stands up to chorizo and corn sauce

By Jim Bailey theyankeechef.blogspot.com I remember my first attempt at cooking at my fathers restaurant in Maine. I had just gotten home from school and went directly into his kitchen, as I did every day. He would go home and take a nap for a couple of hours during the slow afternoon. A party of […]

'Next to Normal' a next-to-perfect production that should not be missed

‘Next to Normal’ a next-to-perfect production that should not be missed

By Karen Zuppinger Weston Playhouse opened its second main stage production of the season with the 2010 Pulitzer Prize and 2009 Tony award winning musical Next to Normal. The story centers around Diana (played by Heidi Blickenstaff), her 18-year struggle with mental illness and its impact on her family. The production is next to perfect, […]

Busy week of music, musicals, authors, movies, turtles and toads!

Busy week of music, musicals, authors, movies, turtles and toads!

July 18: Starline Rhythm Boys The Chester Summer Music Series welcomes once again bring the Starline Rhythm Boys back to Chester from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 18. The “Boys” evoke the spirited country and juke joint sounds that echoed out of the Tennessee Hills and Texas Honkytonks of the 1940s and ’50s. They’ll […]

Development group elects officers; USDA offers local grants; girl wins health care education scholarship

Development group elects officers; USDA offers local grants; girl wins health care education scholarship

The Regional Development Corporations of Vermont elected its officers at its recent annual meeting. Bob Flint, executive director of Springfield Regional Development Corporation, was elected president, Joan Goldstein, executive director of Green Mountain Economic Development Corporation, was elected vice president, and Ruth Wallman, executive director of the Lake Champlain Islands Economic Development Corporation, was elected  […]

Pre-diabetes, diabetes, mental health, childbirth & CPR classes offered

Pre-diabetes, diabetes, mental health, childbirth & CPR classes offered

Springfield Medical Care Systems is sponsoring free health education programs in August and September. All programs are open to the public. Register now for any of the following classes: August’s Pre-Diabetes Education class will convene 6:30 to 7:30 p.m, Wednesday, Aug. 7 at Springfield Hospital Meeting House on the hill at 25 Ridgewood Road. The […]

New venue & time: Chester Select Board Meeting agenda for July 17

Due to the hot weather, the Chester Select Board will meet at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, July 17 at the Newsbank Conference Center on Main Street in Chester, VT. Here is the agenda for that evening. Approve July 3, 2013 Select Board Minutes Citizen Comments Old Business Vendor Permit; Daniel Hanson Police Report; Doug Hoyt Financial […]

Select Board sets tax rate, talks asphalt sidewalks

Select Board sets tax rate, talks asphalt sidewalks

By Karen Zuppinger At a busy July 3rd meeting, the Chester Select Board set this year’s tax rates, approved a $10,000 contract to create a new town government website, held a required public comment meeting on the replacement of repair and of sidewalks and approved applying for a loan to design upgrades to the drinking […]

Recent storms raising e. coli levels in area rivers

Recent storms raising e. coli levels in area rivers

The Southeastern Vermont Watershed Alliance began its annual water quality testing on Wednesday, June 19th, with Wednesday, July 3 as its second river sampling day. Throughout the summer season, volunteers from SeVWA take water samples from specific spots in the Williams, Saxtons, West and Rock rivers and the North Branch and Whetstone brooks, testing for […]

Gypsy Reel kicks off Chester Music Series; 'Next to Normal' premieres at Weston; gun show set for September

Gypsy Reel kicks off Chester Music Series; ‘Next to Normal’ premieres at Weston; gun show set for September

Chester’s Summer Music Series kicks off its 2013 season with Gypsy Reel, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 11. The 90-minute concert will take place on the lawn of the Academy Building across from the Green. Gypsy Reel is an acoustic band rooted in Celtic tradition. Its music is a synthesis of world rhythms and influences […]

Grilled angel food cake makes a great platform for pickled watermelon rind

Grilled angel food cake makes a great platform for pickled watermelon rind

By Jim Bailey theyankeechef.blogspot.com Here is a great hot weather indulgence that encompasses several tastes that simply go perfectly together. Mix it up by using flavored pound cake if desired, but I find the lightness and perfect sweetness of angel food cake is just, well, perfect with the accompaniments below. Charred angel food cake with […]