Featured Articles

Chester considers July to June budgeting, tax year

By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC At its July 15 meeting, the Chester Select Board continued to look at the costs of the services the town provides, including recreation and planning/zoning/assessment. But it was the recommendations of the town’s auditors –including transitioning to a fiscal year from the current calendar year budget — […]

Chester Hardware files for bankruptcy

By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC While the note on the front door said the business at 21 Main St. would be closed from July 3 through 13, on July 7, the owner of Chester Hardware & Mercantile was filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Under Chapter 7, the assets of a debtor are […]

Explainer: Why is the homestead tax rate higher than the non-homestead rate this year?

By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Readers have asked why the education property tax rate for residents in the Green Mountain Unified School District is higher than the rate for non-residents and businesses. It’s usually the other way around. The answer lies in the Byzantine calculations the state uses to fund education spending. […]

A place, a memory, an affection: Vermont folk artist Martha Stevenson paints Vermont towns

By Cynthia Prairie ©2026 Telegraph Publishing The works of folk artist Martha Stevenson are iconic in Vermont. While best known for her acrylic paintings of Okemo and other ski mountains in the snow, Stevenson is also noted for her lush, romanticized landscapes depicting small town Vermont with all of their appealing quirks. Now Stevenson, formerly […]

Chester board sets tax rates, begins look at town services

By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last Wednesday, the Chester Select Board finalized the town’s property tax rates by adding the state mandated education tax to the municipal rates it approved on June 17. And it also began the process of looking at town services with an eye to finding savings that might […]

Van Alstyne wins Vermont Prize for Tenney film

By Cynthia Prairie ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester native Travis Van Alstyne is the 2026 winner of the Vermont Prize, an annual $5,000 award given to one Vermont-based artist working in the visual arts. The award recognizes his short animated film Love of the Land, an award-winning animated short film that was released in 2024. […]

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  • To the editor: Brickner has proven track record

    To the editor: Brickner has proven track record

    I support Ben Brickner for the Vermont Senate because he has a proven track record of carefully doing the detailed and, often thankless, work as Pomfret’s Select Board chair and auditor. Ben is committed to fiscal responsibility and has already walked the walk. Aware that tax payments are his neighbors’ money, he has worked hard […]

  • To the editor: Sheriff candidate Lake expresses concerns over ICE

    To the editor: Sheriff candidate Lake expresses concerns over ICE

    As a law enforcement officer in the state of Vermont, I am held to a high standard of conduct because Vermonters have to trust us to protect them. Despite that standard, too many Vermonters don’t trust law enforcement. When we have multiple sheriffs in our state that have been brought up on criminal charges and […]

  • To the editor: Vote for Burrows for state Senate

    To the editor: Vote for Burrows for state Senate

    I am proud to cast my vote for Elizabeth Burrows for Vermont Senate and I urge my neighbors to join me. I’ve known Elizabeth since I was a kid. When I was a sophomore in high school, she took me under her wing as a mentor. Thanks to her guidance, I served as a Senate […]

  • To the editor: Windsor County lucky to have Chase as candidate

    To the editor: Windsor County lucky to have Chase as candidate

    Voters in the Windsor District are lucky: You have six strong candidates running for State Senate in the upcoming Democratic primary on August 11. As you consider who will best represent your communities in Montpelier, I hope you’ll cast a ballot for Heather Chase. I had the good fortune to work closely with Heather in […]

  • To the editor: Chase has earned my vote on Aug. 11

    To the editor: Chase has earned my vote on Aug. 11

    Heather Chase has earned my vote on Aug. 11. The Vermont Democratic Primary for Windsor state senators is rapidly approaching on Tuesday, Aug. 11. Heather Chase is running for a chance to serve the people in this district. She has a long history of connection with the people of this area. She has raised a […]

  • To the editor: Vote for Chase for Windsor Senate

    To the editor: Vote for Chase for Windsor Senate

    I have known Heather Chase for 15 years, and she has my vote for a Windsor County Democratic Senate seat in the Aug. 11 primary.  Her experience as a state representative and select board member in Chester means she will be ready to go on Day One. A small business owner for 30 years, Heather […]

  • To the editor: Senate candidate Chase has compassion of a nurse, knowledge of business

    To the editor: Senate candidate Chase has compassion of a nurse, knowledge of business

    I am writing this letter to pledge my support for Heather Chase who is running for Windsor County senator. I have known Heather for more than 20 years, as an RN, a mother, a nine-year member of Chester Select Board, and a Representative for two years in the Vermont State House. Equally impressive: Heather has […]

  • Op-ed: The operating system behind Vermont’s educational decline

    Op-ed: The operating system behind Vermont’s educational decline

    By Kendra Rickerby Six months ago, the Vermont Agency of Education released guidance encouraging schools to use artificial intelligence to improve teaching and learning while preserving the human relationships that define education. Last week, in a WCAX article on July 16, it was announced that the U.S. Department of Education has identified Vermont as “needing […]

  • To the editor: Why Ben Brickner is qualified for your vote

    To the editor: Why Ben Brickner is qualified for your vote

    Worried? I am. Many of us Vermonters feel the squeeze of cost of living. Looking down the barrel are national issues we cannot control. But we also see Vermont issues that we can control. Here’s how. Vote for candidates who: offer different perspectives and backgrounds bring new and qualified blood into the Vermont Legislature know how to […]

  • To the editor: Rep. Goldman backs Chase for state Senate

    To the editor: Rep. Goldman backs Chase for state Senate

    It was an honor and a privilege to work with Heather Chase when she represented Windsor-Windham in the 2023-2024 legislative session of the House of Representatives. Her work ethic was remarkable, fueled by curiosity and persistence. She did not determine her vote either in the Commerce Committee, where she served, or in the House until […]

  • Cavendish concerts continue with Deb Brisson & the Hay Burners July 29

    Cavendish concerts continue with Deb Brisson & the Hay Burners July 29

    Deb Brisson & the Hay Burners will perform at the Svec Memorial Green in Proctorsville at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29, courtesy of the town of Cavendish and the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association. The Green is located at the Depot and Main streets. The band features Deb Brisson’s supple and powerful lead vocals. […]

  • Free glow-in-the-dark art class in Londonderry

    Free glow-in-the-dark art class in Londonderry

    Pop Up Art at Custer Sharp presents another free class for all ages from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 25 at the Custer Sharp House, 2461 Middletown Road in Londonderry. Have fun making your own Glow in the Dark Art, under the supervision of Christine Mix, to hang in your bedroom, tent […]

  • Springfield Community Band presents concerts on July 26 & 28

    Springfield Community Band presents concerts on July 26 & 28

    The Springfield Community Band will present two free concerts in late July. A pop/rock concert will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 26 on the lawn of Expeditionary School at Black River, 43 Main St. in Ludlow. Please bring a chair. James Pecsok will direct the band as it looks back many decades to […]

  • Henry Homeyer: Add art, humor and whimsy to your garden

    Henry Homeyer: Add art, humor and whimsy to your garden

    By Henry Homeyer ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC For some, gardening is serious business. Not me. Well, I do consider myself a serious gardener, having been growing things since I was a toddler, but I like to make our gardens full of plants – and things – that bring smiles or even laughs to anyone visiting […]

  • Manchester Music Festival artists to perform at fund-raising for Weston Playhouse repairs

    Manchester Music Festival artists to perform at fund-raising for Weston Playhouse repairs

    Musicians of the Manchester Music Festival Young Artists Program will perform during a fund-raising concert to benefit renovations of the flood-damaged Weston Playhouse. The concert will be held at 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 26 at the Old Parish Community Church, 644 Main St. in Weston. The concert is free; cash and check donations to […]

  • Whiting Library to restart Friends group

    Whiting Library to restart Friends group

    After a long hiatus, the Whiting Library, 117 Main St. in Chester, is re-establishing its Friends of the Library group. If you love your library and want to support it, consider joining as one of the founding members. Do you have a gift for fundraising, organization, grant-writing or just love books and reading and wish […]

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