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.
From the editor: A poll is just a poll, not a vote
By Cynthia Prairie ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Every so often, The Chester Telegraph rolls out a poll to take the pulse of our communities on various issues: bringing a big box store into Chester; what type of restaurants you would like to see move in; cannabis laws etc. Voters have been respectful in their voting, […]
One Londonderry seeks donations for new skating rink
The Recreation Group of One Londonderry is seeking donations to fund the construction of a 120- by 60-foot skating rink to be built behind Jake’s Restaurant at the Mountain Marketplace Plaza. The project was approved by the Londonderry Development Review Board in August, and the rink is expected to be completed by Christmas. The rink […]
New Chester gallery celebrates the art in nature Fischer Arts owner blends love of science with love of art
By Cynthia Prairie ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Fischer Arts, a new gallery specializing in antique and modern works celebrating nature, will be holding an opening celebration from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 27, at its new shop at 102 The Common on the Green in Chester. Following the Nov. 27 event, the […]
Animals seized, Windham woman charged with cruelty
© 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC A Windham woman has been charged with animal cruelty and more than 60 farm animals were seized from her residence after Vermont State Police descended upon her Popple Dungeon home on Friday, Nov. 5. Vermont State Police say they issued a search warrant on the home of 23-year-old Erika VanAlstyne […]
Andover board OKs dollar amount for emergency services; tables ATV ordinance till Town Meeting Chester now must draw up contract for fire, ambulance
By Cynthia Prairie ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC During the calm portion of what turned into a headache-inducing meeting on Monday, the Andover Select Board decided that it would accept a $55,754.67 contract from the Town of Chester to provide emergency fire and medical/ambulance services, should one be offered. The price of service will fluctuate based […]
Despite letter, Drew’s Organics production to resume in 2022, owners say Facility continues to run three shifts, seeks more employees
By Cynthia Prairie ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The worldwide supply chain crisis has hit the Schlotterbeck & Foss food manufacturing facility in Chester, which also produces Drew’s Organics dressings and salsas. And despite a seemingly definitive letter to its retail customers and distributors saying that S&F is “discontinuing production” of Chester-based Drew’s Organics, a company […]
Chester Select Board agenda for Oct. 6
The Chester Select Board will hold its regular meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 6 at Town Hall, 556 Elm St., and via Zoom. To access via Zoom: https://zoom.us/join Meeting ID: 819 8884 2129 or https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81988842129. Below is its agenda. 1. Approve Minutes from the September 15, 2021 Selectboard Meeting and September 24, 2021 Special Selectboard Meeting 2. Citizen […]
Andover community action spares ‘The Jersey 5’
By Cynthia Prairie and Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Andover neighbors and town officials came together this past week to get help for a single ailing Jersey cow then ended up with a small herd. The “Jersey 5” are now lounging and dining in a green field of high grass on an undisclosed […]
See you this weekend — Sept. 18 & 19 — at the Chester Festival on the Green!
By Cynthia Prairie ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Community Events committee is excited that its months-long efforts for this weekend’s Chester Festival on the Green are finally coming to fruition. But committee chairman Scott Blair told The Telegraph on Thursday that he wanted to clear up some possible confusion. Contrary to one media report […]
New at Chester Festival: Vaxx clinic, family-friendly farm events
By Cynthia Prairie ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Vermont National Guard will be hosting a walk-in Covid-19 vaccine clinic at the Chester Festival on the Green from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 18, to administer the single dose Johnson & Johnson inoculation to anyone 18 and older. The tent will be set […]
Kinhaven employees test negative for Covid following positive results
By Cynthia Prairie ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The five employees of Kinhaven Music School in Weston who tested positive for Covid-19 have all been retested at least two more times with negative results for the contagious coronavirus, school co-executive director Anthony Mazzocchi told The Telegraph on Tuesday. While expressing disappointment that the school had to […]
Kinhaven sends youth class home early after five employees test positive for Covid Co-director: All five have been vaccinated, are asymptomatic
By Cynthia Prairie ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Kinhaven Music School in Weston ended its two-week program for children ages 10 to 14 on Saturday, a week early, after five vaccinated employees tested positive for Covid-19. Kinhaven co-executive director Anthony Mazzocchi said on Tuesday that while the employees are asymptomatic, the school sent the children home […]
Chester plays host to new farmers market
By Cynthia Prairie ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC See Photo Gallery Below Despite only three vendors and a community organization info booth, the inaugural Chester Farmers Market, held on Wednesday, July 18, made an enthusiastic show of it in the grassy field next to the Baba a Louis parking lot on Route 11 West in Chester. […]
Area towns consider ways to spend ARPA funds Town Halls, broadband, water among ideas for fed monies
By Cynthia Prairie ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Gov. Phil Scott has announced that Vermont has received 50 percent of its allocation from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund within the American Rescue Plan Act, and a number of south-central towns have already begun considering how they will spend those funds. Those towns include Andover, […]
S. Central Vermont realtors honor two as Realtor of Year, Good Neighbor
Jenifer Prouty Hoffman, principal broker and owner of Hoffman Real Estate, has been named the 2021 Realtor of the Year by the South Central Vermont Board of Realtors. SCVBR’s Realtor of the Year award is the board’s highest honor and recognizes a realtor member for outstanding commitment to the real estate industry, and to their […]
31 area restaurants OK’d for Covid relief grants worth $4.2 million
By Cynthia Prairie ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Thirty-one restaurants, bars and food trucks from Bellows Falls to Manchester, including four in Chester, have been approved to receive portions of the $28.6 billion federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund to help them recover from the effects of restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. The total funding those […]
College News
Emerson College in Boston awarded more than 950 undergraduate degrees and more than 470 graduate degrees for the Class of 2021 on Sunday, May 2, at Fenway Park in Boston, during its 141st commencement exercises, and virtually on Sunday, May 9. The College also honored the Class of 2020 graduates in an additional ceremony at […]
Green Mountain seniors receive awards, scholarships
© Telegraph Publishing LLC At a ceremony on Friday June 11, the Green Mountain High School recognized students with the announcement of awards and scholarships. The list of the recipients is below. Chester High School/GMUHS Alumni Association Kyleigh Moses & Rosalee Saccardo Masonic Lodge Olive Branch #64 Sadie Kobak & Erik Heitsmith Order of the […]
Editorial: Keeping an eye on the public’s business
By Cynthia Prairie ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC One of the most important missions of any newspaper is to be a check on government officials and agencies, including those with the state and towns and school systems, any place that has control over taxpayer funds. From its launch almost 10 years ago, The Chester Telegraph has […]
Chester Chatter: From flag kids to money cakes
By Ruthie Douglas ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC For some time when my daughters were young, I became enamored with Women’s Day magazine. It was full of good ideas and advice. During the summer of 1976, for the U.S. Bicentennial, it suggested buying back-to-school clothes for our in children red, white and blue and mixing and […]
