Author Archive for Cynthia Prairie
Cynthia Prairie has been a newspaper editor more than 40 years. Cynthia 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, and has won numerous state awards for her reporting. As an editor, she has overseen her staffs to win many awards for indepth coverage. She and her family moved to Chester, Vermont in 2004.
Sunday morning fire destroys home on Trebo Road
UPDATE: How you can help, below the story. A single-family home on Trebo Road, about a half a mile from Route 103 North, was destroyed Sunday morning in a fire that also injured two residents and apparently collapsed portions of the building “fairly quickly,” Chester Fire Chief Matt Wilson said in an interview on […]
Bulkies and basketball: Fund-raisers fuel Lindsey Sturtevant fund
By Cynthia Prairie ON THE COVER: The bulkie team at Lisai’s prepares sandwiches for last Thursday’s fund-raiser for Lindsey Sturtevant and her family. Almost $6,000 was raised Thursday during two fund-raising events for Lindsey Sturtevant, the Chester 12-year-old who is preparing for a second bone marrow transplant after her first one — six years ago […]
For Lindsey’s sake: Community surrounds family as a little girl readies for a marrow transplant
By Cynthia Prairie Sue Willis picks out a few of the glass beads from the wooden box marked T.K. T*, gently rubbing them in the palm of her hand. With each touch, it seems, appears a memory of what her 12-year-old daughter has been through as well as a foreshadow of what she will […]
Chester’s final fiscal articles set; no formal challenges to incumbents, seven contests vacant
By Cynthia Prairie Chester town voters will be addressing expenditure requests for 14 articles during Town Meeting, 10 of those requests from petition drives mounted by organizations. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. Monday, March 3 in Town Hall, 556 Elm St. in Chester. As for the elections on Tuesday, March 4, the roster will […]
Deadlines loom for fiscal, candidate petitions in Chester
By Cynthia Prairie With Chester town vote petition deadlines looming — 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23 for fiscal articles and 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27 for elective offices — surprisingly few petitions had been submitted as of Tuesday, Jan. 21, said Julie Hance, assistant town clerk. By last Tuesday, three of an expected 11 […]
$5,000 reward offered in antiques shop fire probe
By Cynthia Prairie The Vermont Arson Tip Award program is offering $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the fire that last Tuesday destroyed the Yankee Ingenuity Antiques shop on Main Street in Chester. Police and fire investigators have labeled the fire, which began shortly […]
Vote Chester 2014: A preliminary look at the March elections
By Cynthia Prairie As of Tuesday, only three people had filed for election for 23 Chester offices that are up for a vote. The three are incumbents seeking to be returned to seats that they currently hold. Select Board member Tom Bock, town clerk Deborah Aldrich, who is also town treasurer, and Lister Deborah […]
Top 10 from 24 months of unique reporting in The Chester Telegraph
By Cynthia Prairie On Jan. 16, 2014, The Chester Telegraph celebrates its second birthday. A few of our faithful readers have asked us to compile a list of the 10 top stories that we covered in 2013. We thought it was a great idea but, since we didn’t do it last year, we decided […]
Town water billing formula to change in 2014
By Cynthia Prairie In an attempt to even out wildly fluctuating revenue coming into the Chester water department, town manager David Pisha is looking to “radically alter the way we will bill for water in the future.” Currently, the 650 or so homes on Chester town water are billed at $2.95 per 1,000 gallons of […]
Annual Christmas dinner serves up good food, cheer to more than 100 seniors
Photo gallery is below the article More than 100 senior citizens from Chester and the surrounding towns sat down to a festive and hot Christmas meal on Saturday, Dec. 14 in the Chester Andover Elementary School cafeteria. Tables were set with bright green and red tablecloths, bowls of cranberry sauce, baskets of rolls and gift-basket […]
Prescription drug disposal site opens at Chester Town Hall
By Cynthia Prairie The Chester Police Department is participating in a nationwide effort to collect unused prescription drugs to keep them out of public water systems as well as keeping them out of the hands of children and others who might abuse them. In the long run, the goal is to deter crime. A […]
2nd annual Shop Local Gift Guide Part 2: For them, her, him and those animals over there
By Cynthia Prairie Last week, Part I of our 2nd Annual Shop Local Holiday Gift Guide offered up a load of ideas from housewares, stocking-stuffers and food in all price ranges, and within a short travel distance. This week, we tackle gifts for those sometimes hard-to-buy-for folks — family, friends, loved ones (including pets) […]
A holly, jolly Overture to Christmas
Photos and text by Cynthia Prairie Saturday’s Parade of Packages, part of Chester’s annual Overture to Christmas events, was interrupted when emergency vehicles had to pull out of the procession to respond to a single-car accident in Andover. (There were no injuries reported.) But that didn’t dampen the day as more than 20 kids […]
Friends, family rally to keep artist’s memory alive with GMUHS scholarship
By Cynthia Prairie Friends and family of the late Heath Gordon are establishing a memorial scholarship fund for Green Mountain Union High School seniors who are pursuing higher education in either art or music. Gordon, who grew up in Chester with his older sister Wendy and younger brother Sam, was a musician and artist […]
Weston Playhouse expansion site plan gets OK with conditions
By Cynthia Prairie Site plans for the new cultural arts facility of the Weston Playhouse Theatre Co. have been given the go-ahead by the Weston Planning Commission with seven minor conditions for use and one conclusion of law that could force the playhouse to speed up its capital fund-raising campaign. The decision was sent […]
Time to Shop: It’s the 2nd annual Shop Local holiday gift guide (Part 1)
By Cynthia Prairie For the second year in a row, The Chester Telegraph has traveled around the region to window shop for you, looking for interesting and beautiful gifts to give this holiday season. We’ve tried to cover everyone on your list. This week, in Part 1, we concentrate on housewares, stocking stuffers and […]
Chester takes possession of new fire truck
By Cynthia Prairie The Chester Fire Department took possession on Tuesday Nov. 26, of its new fire truck – a Class A pumper. Crew immediately began switching out accessories from the old truck and testing the equipment at the town garage off Depot Street, with the expectation that it could be ready for work […]
Using their noodles: Spaghetti dinner helps Keewaydin camp effort
The 70 or so 5th and 6th graders from Chester-Andover Elementary School are deliciously closer to going to Keewaydin Environmental Education camp in May 2014 thanks to the volunteer parents, teachers and pupils who served up a spaghetti dinner to more than 100 hungry folks last Thursday night, Nov. 21, 2013. The dinner — […]
Parks agency repairs Chester state forest accessibility, drainage problems
By Cynthia Prairie Chester’s only state-owned forest, the 108-acre Williams River State Forest in the Popple Dungeon area west of Nudist Camp Road, has gotten some much-needed work that will make it much more accessible to the public. Tim Morton, a Saxtons River resident who is the state District 1 stewardship forester for the […]
$22,000 state grant, $14,000 in donations push Londonderry park nearer to revitalization
By Cynthia Prairie With the awarding on Tuesday, Nov. 12, of a state grant for $22,000 and donations thus far reaching almost $14,000, the Londonderry Parks Board has passed the halfway mark of its goal of $63,600 to revitalize Pingree Park. Pingree Park is a 16-acre recreation area off Route 11 and Stowell Hill […]
