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: The GM school board is leading
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC When a public body should be criticized, at times the loudest voice you’ll hear comes from me. Today, that will be true for one that deserves praise: The Green Mountain Unified School District Board of Directors and its Finance Committee. Over the past several months, these elected members […]
TRSU board agenda for Dec. 5
The board of the Two Rivers Supervisory Union will meet from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5 at Black River High School , 43 Main St. in Ludlow. Below is its agenda. I. CALL TO ORDER: a. Roll Call II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: (Additions & Deletions) III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: a. Nov. 05, […]
Andover Select Board agenda for Nov. 25
The Andover Select Board will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 25 at Andover Town Offices, 953 Andover Road. Below is its agenda. 1. Call Select Board meeting to order. 2. Act on Agenda. 3. Act on Minutes: Act on minutes from the Nov. 11 meeting. 4. Public Comment (Time allowance: Five minutes per […]
Andover resident celebrates 100th; Londonderry Rescue Squad gives kids a taste of EMS work
© 2019 Telegraph Publishing, LLC Andover resident Barbara Brady celebrated her 100th birthday on Saturday, Oct. 5 with 45 friends and family at the former Baba a Louis Bakery in Chester. Brady and her late husband Joe, who died in 2015, were both New Jersey natives and had built a home in Andover to indulge […]
Vermont reports 1st vaping illness in state; 7th death occurs in California
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing The Vermont Department of Health is reporting the first case of severe respiratory illness associated with vaping in a Vermont resident. Five more possible cases are being investigated. A spokeswoman for the department, citing federal HIPAA rules, refused to reveal an age-range, sex or county where the patient lives. […]
Editorial: A question of judgment
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Meg Powden took the reins of the Two Rivers Supervisory Union in 2016, when our schools were in the throes of Act 46 consolidations and all parties involved worked hard to make the transition smooth. At the time, Powden was an unknown entity, so we sat back and […]
Derry Rescue Squad building damaged in an ‘inside job’
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Kevin Beattie, of the Londonderry Rescue Squad, was preparing to head out to a rescue in Winhall Monday evening. A woman had slipped at a pond and he could make use of the specialized equipment on the Rescue 1 truck to aid in her recovery. He turned from […]
New owner, name slated for Chester bookstore From avid reader to bookseller to store owner
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Vicki Thornton loves to read. It was reading that brought her to work at Phoenix Books Misty Valley when the owner’s daughter and store manager, Katie DeSanto, was looking for some help in January to free her from the frequent days away from her East Hardwick home. And […]
Pollards open flower shop at Chester Hardware
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Come Saturday, Aug. 17, the almost yearlong absence of a flower shop in the town of Chester will come to an end, thanks to a simple question from the owner of Chester Hardware. It was October of 2018 when the long-time owners of Chester Flowers and Village Children […]
Editorial: Next step in openness: Process, clarity in school budgeting
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC With the satisfactory resolution of the Open Meeting Law violation and other issues, the Green Mountain Unified District Board of Directors seems to be getting a firm grip on its responsibilities, stepping away from the rubber-stamp function that seems expected by the Two Rivers Supervisory Union. But the […]
Editorial: The public wins out at GMUSD board
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Democracy is a rough ‘n’ tumble and startling beautiful occurrence. And it is rare to witness it being wrenched back from darkness. But last Thursday night, the board of the Green Mountain Unified School District did just that and handed a resounding victory to you, the public, when […]
After year delay, new CAES playground dedicated
©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Fund-raising and planning took quite a number of years. Then, last August, when Chester-Andover Elementary School and the volunteers of the Parent-Teacher Group were ready to welcome kids back to school and celebrate the brand new and very blue playground that they had labored so long for, a water line break […]
Tractor-trailer accident closes Route 103 North of Chester
Time: 8:14 p.m. June 11 A single-vehicle accident involving a tractor-trailer heading south on Route 103, just north of Chester’s Stone Village at Palmer Road, has stopped traffic in both directions. The accident occurred around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11. No one was injured. But Chester Fire Department personnel are concerned about fluid from […]
PEOPLE Pajala, Olsen talk politics?; Chester's Hannah Gustafson in title role in 'Snow Queen' at Paramount
©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester’s Hannah Gustafson stars in ‘Snow Queen’ at Paramount Hannah Gustafson of Chester will be dancing the title role of the Snow Queen when the Vermont Center for Dance Education will perform The Snow Queen on Sunday, June 9 at the Paramount Theatre in Rutland. Shows are at 1 and 6 […]
Sunday Artisans Alley Market debuts in Chester
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC It was a perfect sunny and cool Sunday morning for the inaugural opening of the Artisans Alley Market in Chester, conceived by Sharon Baker of Sharon’s on the Common to highlight local, small creators and bring more people into downtown Chester during the weekends. Seven vendors, selling everything […]
Grafton softens earlier language, delivers Route 35 petition to Chester
By Cynthia Prairie ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC It took three months, but Grafton Select Board chair Joe Pollio finally delivered the long-awaited petition to Chester Town officials demanding the quick repair of Route 35 in Chester. There is one twist. The petition, whose last of 232 signatures was apparently gathered more than two months ago, […]
Business Ticker Boston Mag gives kudos to Woodcock Farm of Weston; new sign for Sharon's of Chester; Weston Playhouse gets $10,000 NEA grant
Boston Mag gives shoutout to Woodcock Farm Summer Snow cheese Weston’s Woodcock Farm Cheese Co.’s Summer Snow cheese got a shoutout from Boston Magazine in its Ultimate Guide to News England’s Cheese Revolution, in which writer Julia Clancy talks about the New England cheese scene, saying that it “is taking over the world.” One section […]
To the editor: Stratton Mtn. School thanks partners in SMS Gives Back
Thank you to everyone who helped us make Stratton Mountain School’s annual day of giving, SMS Gives Back, a success! Our 167 volunteers put in a cumulative 585 hours of service at 20 organizations throughout the region. Thank you to the following organizations who partnered with us: Bromley Manor Dorset Equine Rescue Equinox Terrace Flood […]
Green Up Day events in our communities
©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC ANDOVER Come help beautify Andover town grounds, clean our roadsides, and spruce up our cemeteries at Andover’s Green Up Day, held from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 4. Volunteers will meet at 9 a.m. at the Andover Town Hall, 954 Andover Road. Vermont Coffee Company coffee and homemade doughnuts […]
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 […]
