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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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  • Ice cream and agriculture: Roger Allbee to speak at Windham community social

    Ice cream and agriculture: Roger Allbee to speak at Windham community social

    The Windham Community Organization and the Town of Windham Historical Society invite everyone to an Ice Cream Social from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 19 at the former Windham school, 5940 Windham Hill Road. Roger Allbee will speak about Turning the Soil: 250 Years of Vermont Agriculture, his new historical book illustrating changes […]

  • Gaudi art workshop for all ages at Derry Library

    Gaudi art workshop for all ages at Derry Library

    Who was Antoní Gaudí? Join art teacher Casey Junker Bailey at the South Londonderry Free Library, 15 Old School Road, at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, July 17 to find out more about this nature-inspired Catalan architect who designed whimsical spire-topped buildings filled with mosaics. Create your own small mosaic, design a fantastical structure to go […]

  • Cavendish Town-Wide Tag Sale July 25

    Cavendish Town-Wide Tag Sale July 25

    Cavendish’s Town-Wide Tag Sale will be held from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 25. The sale takes place in the villages, byways and highways of Cavendish and Proctorsville. Both fire departments will be serving up lunch. Proctorsville Volunteer Fire Department will have a BBQ on the Proctorsville Green, and the Cavendish Volunteer […]

  • Tri-Mountain Lions Club announces 4th of July Duck Derby winners

    Tri-Mountain Lions Club announces 4th of July Duck Derby winners

    The Londonderry Area Tri-Mountain Lions Club held its annual Duck Derby fundraiser following Londonderry’s 4th of July parade. More than 300 ducks were set loose in the West River to race to the finish line. First-place duck #106 earned $200 for Barbara and Stuart Coleman of Winhall, who generously donated their winnings back to the […]

  • Henry Homeyer: Taking some growing advice from Jefferson's Monticello

    Henry Homeyer: Taking some growing advice from Jefferson’s Monticello

    By Henry Homeyer ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Fourth of July celebrations are over – the fireworks, parades, hot dogs and strawberry shortcake. Leading up to the Fourth, I paused to think about the gardens of Thomas Jefferson, one of the authors and signers of the Declaration of Independence. He lived and gardened at Monticello, […]

  • Andover Select Board agenda for July 13

    Andover Select Board agenda for July 13

    The Andover Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday July 13, 2026 at Andover Town Hall, 953 Weston-Andover Road. Below is the board’s agenda: 1. Call Meeting to Order. 2. Act on Agenda. 3. Act on Minutes of June 22nd meeting. 4. Public Comment (Time allowance: Five minutes per visitor, […]

  • Springfield Community Band Rock/Pop concert set for July 21

    Springfield Community Band Rock/Pop concert set for July 21

    The Springfield Community Band presents a Rock ‘n Roll/Pop concert at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21 at the Hartness House, 109 Front St. in Springfield. James Pecsok, band director at Bellows Falls Union High School, will be the guest conductor. The band will look back many decades to play the music of rock legends […]

  • 'Whale of a Sale' returns to Derry July 24 & 25

    ‘Whale of a Sale’ returns to Derry July 24 & 25

    The Second Congregational Church’s annual Whale of a Sale will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, July 24 and Saturday, July 25 at the church, 2051 Vermont Route 11 in Londonderry. Highlights this year include furniture, lamps, a fine collection of prints/frames and all kinds of sporting equipment and tools. As […]

  • CTES PTG celebrates gift from Fairway Fundraising

    CTES PTG celebrates gift from Fairway Fundraising

    The Cavendish Town Elementary School Parent-Teacher Group is celebrating a gift made possible by Cavendish local Tyler Butterick of Fairway Fundraising, whose September 2025 golf tournament at Fox Run Golf Club in Ludlow raised $13,324 for CTES students. This generosity has transformed opportunities in music, athletics and STEM while demonstrating the power of a community […]

  • Taconic Music Young Artists to perform during Sunday service at Weston church

    Taconic Music Young Artists to perform during Sunday service at Weston church

    The newly renamed Old Parish Community Church, 644 Main St. in Weston, will welcome four young artists who are participating in Taconic Music’s Chamber Music Intensive this summer. The string quartet will perform special music during Sunday service starting at 10:30 a.m. on July 12. These four talented musicians are part of a rigorous four-week […]

  • Reading of 'Declaration of Independence' on Vermont State House steps July 8

    Reading of ‘Declaration of Independence’ on Vermont State House steps July 8

    All are invited to witness a demonstration of shared heritage and community unity at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 8 as the front steps of the Vermont State House, 115 State St. in Montpelier, transform into a living stage when citizens and leaders gather to bring America’s foundational promise to life. Lt. Gov. John Rodgers […]

  • Neighborhood Connections offers support sessions for caregivers, those with dementia

    Neighborhood Connections offers support sessions for caregivers, those with dementia

    Neighborhood Connections, 5700 VT-100 in Londonderry, is offering support to caregivers in the community who are working with loved ones experiencing memory challenges or a diagnosis of dementia or related disorders. “Remembering Together” uses a group format for caregiver support and participant engagement that is modeled after existing successful programs. Meetings will take place from […]

  • East Bay Jazz Ensemble returns to Proctorsville

    East Bay Jazz Ensemble returns to Proctorsville

    The Town of Cavendish and the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association invite everyone to the Svec Memorial Green, located at the intersection of Depot and Main streets in Proctorsville, to hear the large sound of Gerry Grimo and the East Bay Jazz Ensemble at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15. The ensemble has a performing […]

  • Thom Simmons at the helm of the HMS Sugar Bob

    Pride and Pirates in Chester

    © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Two events drew good crowds last week in Chester. A Pride Month Celebration with music, ice cream and the Naan Stop food truck fare sponsored by the Country Girl Diner on Thursday, June 25 brought folks out to hear Olivia Nied play and sing. And while rain was predicted, it […]

  • Auditor tells Chester board the town tax is 'artificially low'

    Auditor tells Chester board the town tax is ‘artificially low’

    By Shawn Cunningham ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC You’re lean and mean but you’ve got no money,” said auditor Ron Smith at the June 17 Chester Select Board meeting. “But we’re not in the hole,” replied Town Manager Julie Hance. Smith agreed, but reiterated that the town does not have enough money sufficient for cash flow […]

  • Springfield Garden Club announces three scholarship winners for 2026

    Springfield Garden Club announces three scholarship winners for 2026

    The Springfield Garden Club announces the 2026 winners of the Springfield Garden Club Scholarship and the Sandy MacGillivray Scholarship. Ian Bernier and Cooper Palmer are the recipients of the Springfield Garden Club Scholarships. Bernier, of Andover, is a graduate of Green Mountain Union High School and will be attending the University of Vermont in the […]

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