Archive for August, 2025
In densely busy meeting Chester board picks sidewalk design
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC With the Chester Select Board meeting once a month – rather than twice – during the summer, meeting agendas can grow and sometimes bring together large and complex issues. Last Wednesday was a perfect example. The board held a two hearings, discussed and approved a zoning change […]
Area firefighters repurpose FEMA houses for skill building Chester homes on Route 11 now ready for demolition
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last Tuesday, two houses near the Williams River along Route 11 in Chester were put to one final use before they are to be demolished as part of a FEMA buyout. Dozens of firefighters from West Weatherfield, Ascutney, Proctorsville, Winhall and Chester took part in a hands-on […]
Wilder Library to seek new director, provides construction update
The Board of Trustees of the Wilder Memorial Library in Weston announces that library director Jessica Clapp will reduce her role over the next several months and eventually step down from her position. She plans to stay in Weston and will work with the board through the transition period. The process to select a new […]
Volunteers needed for BRAT’s 26th Annual RiverSweep on Sept. 6
For 25 years, the all-volunteer Black River Action Team has been removing trash from the bed and banks of the river in Windsor County. In collaboration with the Connecticut River Conservancy, the group will be at it again from 8 a.m. until noon on Saturday, Sept. 6. Volunteers of all ages and abilities are encouraged […]
Info session on Medicare Open Enrollment Sept. 4 in Derry
Neighborhood Connections, located in the Mountain Marketplace, 5700 VT Route 100 in Londonderry, is hosting an informative session about Medicare Open Enrollment from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 4. Tirah Brothers, State Health Insurance Assistance Program coordinator from Senior Solutions, the Area Agency on Aging for Southeastern Vermont, will cover everything you need […]
College News
Abbigale Williams of Andover is among 13 Elmira College student-athletes recognized by the Easton/National Fastpitch Coaches Association as All-America Scholar Athletes for the 2024-25. Williams earned the Individual Scholar-Athlete title. In addition, Elmira College earned Team GPA honors with a team GPA of 3.428. Karson Barclay of Londonderry is among the University of Rhode Island’s […]
Curran inducted into Vermont’s Ag Hall of Fame Chester resident, Black River Produce co-founder earns Lifetime Achievement Award
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Mark Curran’s life took an unlikely turn when the college philosophy major decided to take a year off and spend it as a carpenter and ski bum in Vermont. Little did the Pennsylvania native know that — 51 years later — he would be inducted into the […]
Public invited to Legislative Forum in Ludlow Sept. 4 event hosted by local Republicans
The Ludlow Republican Committee and the Chester Town Republican Committee are inviting the public to attend a Public Legislative Forum with Vermont Republican leadership and local Statehouse representatives from Chester, Weathersfield and Ludlow districts: Reps. Tom Charlton, Kevin Winter and VL Coffin. The event will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 4 at […]
Chester to test pedestrian solutions for the Green
Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Starting this week there will be some strange looking construction around the Chester Green as the town tries out some ideas for solving a few traffic problems in an attempt to make the area safer for pedestrians and cyclists. From Thursday, Aug. 28 to Thursday, Sept. 11, Local […]
Chester considering a local option tax to support new housing initiative
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC At its Wednesday, Aug. 20 meeting, he Chester Select Board again broached the subject of a local option sales tax as a way to begin a town-wide conversation on generating money to spur the development of affordable housing in town. Last January, as the board was finalizing […]
‘Wildlife Around a Pond’ walk set for Aug. 30
Tim O’Donoghue will lead an exploratory walk around a beaver pond on Saturday, Aug. 30 to observe and identify a variety of mammals, birds and amphibians that find their sustenance and live in or near the water. Meet at 9 a.m. at 3700 Twenty Mile Stream Road in Proctorsville — its junction with Chapman Road, […]
Stratton Foundation launches new year of fundraising Aug. 29 Golf Outing to benefit Head-To-Toe children's program
The Stratton Community Foundation kicks off a new year of fundraising efforts with the 2025 Annual Golf Outing taking center stage. Set for 1 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 29 at Stratton Mountain Golf Course, 251 Stratton Mountain Road, this event spearheads the campaign to support the foundation’s mission of giving. All proceeds benefit the Head-To-Toe […]
Weston’s ‘A Distinct Society’ questions physical, emotional borders
By Lorien Strange ©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Upon hearing about a play set in a library that straddles the U.S.-Canadian border, you might expect a whimsical, heartfelt story nestled among dusty bookshelves in a grand reading room. Something you might read about in a book, sure, but not a place you could actually visit. While […]
To the editor: Solar proposal a sign of Chester’s, state’s progress
Solar technology has become a frequent target in the Trump era culture wars with most of the attacks including misinformation or disinformation. A recent comment in response to a Telegraph story about a proposed solar facility in Chester was no exception. An individual inferred that solar power is not needed in Vermont because our forests […]
Windham County Dems to hold Aug. 30 cookout Sen. Welch to be featured at family-friendly event
The Windham County Democratic Committee will be holding a family-friendly cookout featuring Sen. Peter Welch from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30, at the Westminster Institute/Butterfield Library on Route 5 in Westminster. The event is free and open to the public. Those who are able to do so are encouraged to consider making […]
Woman in Londonderry incident who died in Bennington ID’d Medical Examiner: Fatal injuries caused by blunt force trauma, not gunshot
By Cynthia Prairie ©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington has determined that a woman who was injured in Londonderry and driven 50 minutes away to a Bennington hospital on Friday afternoon died of blunt force trauma to the head and neck, and not from a gunshot wound as was earlier […]
David F. Willis, 85, of Chester Memorial service set for Oct. 25 at St. Luke's
David Field Willis Sr., 85, of Chester, passed away on Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025. Born April 25, 1940, in Portland, Maine, he was the son of Elizabeth Lounsbury Field and Samuel Arnold Willis II and brother of Deborah. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Lillian Beery Willis; his son David and his […]
VSP seeks public help in Londonderry theft investigation
© 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Police are looking for a man in connection to a “retail theft” from the Londonderry Village Market on Friday, July 18 but need help in identifying him. According to a Vermont State Police press release at about 9 a.m. on Monday, they received a report of a theft involving the […]
Archeologists dig in Chester, give sewer project a green light
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC For three days last week, a crew of highly educated and well-trained people toiled in the heat and humidity, digging holes and finding nothing of significance. And that constituted “mission accomplished.” The group were archeologists working for Hartgen Archeological Associates of Rensselaer, N.Y., and their job was […]
Original Vermont Country Store in Weston gets state historical marker
The Vermont Country Store’s deep roots in Vermont have been officially recognized by the Vermont Division of Historic Preservation in a new Vermont Roadside Historic Marker that has been installed in front of the store in Weston along Route 100. The marker, erected in May, is one of 335 along highways and byways throughout Vermont. […]
