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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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  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • Duck Run nets $5K+ toward new family services van

    Duck Run nets $5K+ toward new family services van

    The Springfield Area Parent Child Center’s 2026 Duck Run raised more than $5K toward the purchase of a new van that will help to expand services to children and families throughout southern Windsor and northern Windham counties. A total of 1,075 ducks was sold, including 979 yellow ducks and 96 purple ducks, making this the […]

  • To the editor: Vermont needs a course correction

    To the editor: Vermont needs a course correction

    US. Rep. Becca Balint (D) served in the Vermont Senate from 2015 to 2022. During her tenure, the state budget increased from $5.1 billion to $7.71 billion. Balint’s voting record can be found by clicking here. I searched and did not find one instance where she voted against a tax increase for Vermonters. Her voting […]

  • To the editor: A vote for Chase is a vote for experience, character and results

    To the editor: A vote for Chase is a vote for experience, character and results

    Democratic voters in the Windsor Senate District have an outstanding opportunity to elect a proven leader by supporting Heather Chase for State Senate in the Vermont primary election on Tuesday, Aug. 11. Heather has already demonstrated her commitment to public service through her work in the Vermont House of Representatives, on the Chester Select Board […]

  • Bow Thayer, Krishna Guthrie bring musical magic to Cavendish July 22

    Bow Thayer, Krishna Guthrie bring musical magic to Cavendish July 22

    The Town of Cavendish and the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association invite the public to spend an evening on the Svec Memorial Green, at the intersection of Depot and Main streets, in Proctorsville, at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 22 to enjoy the musical magic of Bow Thayer and Krishna Guthrie. Bouncing between different instruments, […]

  • 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 […]

  • Chester Select Board agenda for July 15

    Chester Select Board agenda for July 15

    The Chester Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday July 15 at Town Hall, 556 Elm Street and remotely via Zoom. Below is the board’s agenda: 1. Approval of Minutes of July 1, 2026 Select board Meeting 2. Citizen’s Comments 3. Old Business 4. Review of Services: Recreation, Planning/Zoning/Assessing 5. […]

  • 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, […]

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