Author Archive for Cynthia Prairie
Cynthia Prairie has been a newspaper editor more than 30 years. She has worked at such publications as the Raleigh Times, the Baltimore News American, the Buffalo Courier Express, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Patuxent Publishing chain of community newspapers in Maryland. She and her family moved to Chester, Vermont in 2004.
Editorial: If you want changes in the school system, drop Facebook, attend board meetings
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Since the fall of 2015, The Chester Telegraph has reported extensively on the Two Rivers Supervisory Union, the Act 46 merger plans and votes, the school budgets, new school districts, etc., publishing more than 95 articles about the system in less than four years. These have been highly […]
Chester Alumni Association seeks help with 2019 parade
© 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Alumni Association is seeking participants, sponsors, donations of goods and services for its raffle and dollar donations for this year’s annual Alumni Day Parade and Barbeque, to be held on Saturday, June 8. If your business, organization or family would like to add a float or sponsor a […]
Rt. 35 petition to Chester stalled in Grafton Pollio says he's contacting Chester board; board says no word yet
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Despite words that would indicate otherwise, there seems to be little movement on the part of the town of Grafton, which launched a petition drive more than 40 days ago to force the town of Chester to repair Route 35 or be taken to court. Chester officials have […]
Business Ticker Southern Pie moves in with Scoop Shop; Windham Foundation fined; Job Fair in Springfield in April
©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Southern Pie Company, at 287 Main St. next to Six Loose Ladies, has moved in with Main Street Coffee and Scoop Shoppe right up the street at 94 The Common, next door to the Free Range Restaurant. Both shops are owned and operated by Scott and Leslie Blair, who own […]
Explosion, fire destroy Derry guest house
Please see our updated article by clicking here. ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC An unoccupied guest house on a farm at 2843 Winhall Hollow Road in Londonderry exploded and burst into flames shortly before 10 a.m. this morning, bringing in firefighters from as far away as Rockingham and Manchester. No one was injured. The guest house, […]
Andover residents pass budget; elect full board following move of long-time member
By Cynthia Prairie © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC With the departure of long-time Andover Select Board member Red Johnson to the hinterlands of Virginia, the board has been one member short. That was remedied at Town Meeting on Saturday morning, March 2, when the board was reshuffled a bit and newcomer Jed LaPrise was elected […]
1 incumbent, 2 write-ins vie for Chester seats Whelan hopes to retain Select Board post as Dakin, Blair seek victory as write-ins
Over the last four years, Chester’s races for Select Board have gotten a bit more competitive than in years past, bringing in contenders for the open seats as more voters seek to get involved in government. But when Ben Whalen petitioned to be on the March 5 ballot to seek a fourth one-year seat on […]
Leigh Dakin: Role of Select Board in economic development should be high
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Leigh Dakin is ready to get back into the game. In the 1980s, she served nine years on the Chester Select Board and, more recently, six as a state representative in Montpelier. With her new grandson, she’s been enjoying a retirement from a long career in nursing. But […]
Pisha rebukes Grafton board on Rt. 35 facts Grafton Administrator Kearns seeks 'date certain' on repairs
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC In a forceful letter, Chester Town Manager David Pisha has rebuked the Grafton Select Board for discussing Chester’s plans regarding repairs to Route 35 without calling the town first “to find out the facts.” “That is not how I would expect neighbors to behave,” he wrote in a […]
Grafton board chair ‘as private citizen’ starts drive to force Chester to repair Route 35
By Cynthia Prairie and Shawn Cunningham ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Members of the Grafton Select Board are hoping to push the Chester Select Board to expedite repairs to Route 35 from the Williams River bridge to the Grafton line, after its chairman, Joe Pollio, mounted a petition drive that could possibly lead to court action. […]
Chester gets state grant for EV charging station Hopes to have Cobleigh site up by late summer
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester is one of nine towns and organizations to be awarded a state grant to install an electric vehicle charging station. Gov. Phil Scott announced the $400,000 in Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Grant Program awards last week. Town Administrative Assistant Julie Hance, who wrote the grant proposal for […]
Chief Cloud confirms two GM threats are related No arrests made; 'persons of interest' questioned
By Cynthia Prairie and Shawn Cunningham ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester Police Chief Rick Cloud said Thursday evening that the bomb threat called in to Green Mountain High School that morning is indeed related to the social media threat made to a student and the school on Monday. However, he did clarify that the caller […]
When a child’s text message of love is ominous A mother and son tell their story
By Cynthia Prairie © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Heidi Skinner was at her computer Thursday morning researching colleges for her 18-year-old daughter Camille when a text message came in from her 14-year-old son Isaiah. Besides Camille and Isaiah, Skinner has another child at GM, 12-year-old Hannah. It was 11:27 a.m. and Isaiah wrote, “I love […]
Lock down, evacuation at Green Mountain Parent, student tell of harrowing morning
By Shawn Cunningham and Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Here are links to the latest stories on the school lockdown. – When a child’s text message of love is ominous – Chief Cloud confirms two GM threats are related Green Mountain High School was evacuated early on Thursday after the school received a telephone […]
GM threat came from Midwest Concerned GM, CAES parents kept children home
© 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester Police have identified the person making a threat against Green Mountain High School as someone in the Midwest, according to Principal Lauren Fierman. Fierman issued a press release on Tuesday that gave a bit more information about the threat, which had many parents concerned enough to keep their children […]
As storm closes in, towns urge caution Here's some hints and phone numbers you should have
Emergency management officials around the area are warning everyone that this weekend winter storm, which will start Saturday evening, could deliver 1 to 2 feet of snow, and bitter weather of as low as 20 below. This will be an especially difficult weekend since it’s also the national holiday in honor of Martin Luther King […]
After four months of repairs, CAES opens to a new year
© 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC Four months after Chester-Andover Elementary School was set to welcome its 240 pupils in the warm weather following summer vacation, they instead embraced the children with warm welcomes beneath a cloudy, snowy sky. ON THE COVER: 3rd Grade teacher Laurie Birmingham gets her classroom at CAES ready for her students. […]
Vail reverses ski program rate hike for kids on Fed lunch list Reduces lift pass benefit to Snow Sports volunteers
By Cynthia Prairie ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC Vail Resorts has rescinded its announced price increase for those local families on the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program whose children want to participate in school ski and snowboard programs at Okemo Mountain, according to those close to the situation. The Chester Telegraph reported the initial rate-hike […]
Ski programs at Cavendish Town, Chester-Andover mount fund-raisers Okemo hikes rates, ends reduced fee for qualifying families
By Cynthia Prairie ©2018 Telegraph Publishing Winter sports program coordinators have scrambled to set up Go Fund Me campaigns to ensure that children at Cavendish Town and Chester-Andover elementary schools can participate, after Okemo Mountain Resort raised prices from $19 to $47 a child and eliminated lower fees for families qualifying for the Federal Free […]
Family Center receives more than $1,000 from Chester Cookie Tour, Andover Snow Riders
The Chester-Andover Family Center has recently received more than $1,000 from two local organizations. The Overture to Christmas Committee presented a check for $500 from monies raised during its 2nd Annual Holiday House Cookie Tour, held on Sunday, Dec. 9. Cookie tour passports — containing information about each Main Street venue toured and recipes of […]
