Author Archive for Shawn Cunningham
Chester board OKs Act 250 appeal, orders dog in attack muzzled
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC In two special meetings last week, the Chester Select Board discussed the Act 250 District Commission’s rejection of the town’s application to extract gravel on the site it bought for a new water tank and took evidence in a hearing about a dog named Edgar that neighbors […]
Casting your ballot: A guide to voting procedures
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Voting in this pandemic year will not be like any vote we have ever cast and Secretary of State Jim Condos is suggesting that everyone have a voting plan. One suggestion is to vote by Saturday, Oct. 24 — “to reduce contact at polling places and to […]
How VTel’s phone/internet outage happened
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Multiple equipment failures brought to a standstill VTel phone and internet service to Chester, Andover, Grafton and Windham — first on Thursday, then on Friday and into Saturday of last week, prompting questions about access to public safety agencies and how to make that more robust. According […]
Hance tells board Public Safety building is on schedule
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing, LLC While it may appear to a passerby on Pleasant Street, that construction of Chester’s Public Safety Building has stalled, according to Town Manager Julie Hance, the standstill is a sign that the project is not only on schedule but also saving money. At its Sept. 16 meeting, […]
Year after blaze, Timber Works rises from ashes
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC A year ago this week, a fire in a dumpster outside Vermont Timber Works in North Springfield spread to the building destroying it in a massive blaze fueled by exploding propane and gas tanks inside the building. Just shy of a year later, the company is back, […]
Act 250 denies Chester town gravel pit application
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC In a decision released on Friday, Sept. 18, the District 2 Environmental Commission denied the Town of Chester’s application to open a municipal gravel pit on a 139-acre property the town purchased as a site for a back-up tank for its water system. The site is off […]
First day of school goes smoothly despite changes, challenges
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The day that many have been waiting for and — and somewhat dreading — arrived Tuesday as most Green Mountain District students reported to their classes to begin a strikingly different school year. By most accounts, the results were good and several parents said that their children […]
GMUSD schools seem more prepared for reopening than NEA statewide grades indicate
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Thursday, Sept. 3, the Vermont NEA – the union that represents public school teachers in the state – released a “report card” for “overall preparation for safe start of school” as the Covid-19 pandemic continues. The grades in the report came from representatives of the local […]
News analysis: Is GMUSD’s ‘no raises for anybody’ stance in flux? Two resignations point to disagreement
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing, LLC Two recent resignations appear to point to some dissension over the Green Mountain Unified School District’s position in bargaining with its teachers. Until recently, the board had taken a “no raises” stance due to the budget uncertainty brought on by the economic damage done by the Covid-19 […]
TRSU schools continue to plan reopening, release parent handbooks Home-schooling could remove $600,000 from GM District budget
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC With two weeks left before Vermont schools are scheduled to reopen, the Two Rivers Supervisory Union has issued handbooks for parents and students on what each of its two education options will look like when Sept. 8 arrives. But as with all things Covid-19, nothing is carved […]
Chester Zoning Administrator Normyle steps down; Hasbrouck named interim during search
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC With one member under the weather and another on vacation, the remaining three members of the Chester Select Board worked their way through a relatively light agenda that saw the public portion of the meeting end in about an hour. Town Manager Julie Hance told the board […]
Chester breaks ground for public safety building
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last week, after more than a decade of proposals and several unsuccessful votes, Chester broke ground for a new public safety building to house the Fire and Police departments as well as the town’s Ambulance Service approved by voters on Nov. 5, 2019. On Thursday, Aug. 13, […]
Schools hone opening plans as state adds to, changes guidance Next TRSU public forum to be held Thursday night on Zoom
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC As the clock ticks down to a Tuesday, Sept. 8 start date for Vermont schools, those in the Two Rivers Supervisory Union continue to work out the details of a plan to offer a hybrid approach to education this fall. But on Tuesday, Vermont Secretary of Education […]
Chester board OKs funding for marketing efforts, looks at speed limits
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC In introducing a marketing effort for Chester to the Select Board on Wednesday, Aug. 5, Bob Flint, executive director of the Springfield Regional Development Corporation, said it started with a call from Town Manager Julie Hance to see if there were opportunities the town should look into […]
Explainer: What is antigen testing?
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Antigen testing for the coronavirus has received a lot of attention in Vermont, when in early July more than 50 positive results came from a clinic in Manchester. This type of rapid testing was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in May on an emergency basis, […]
TRSU sets midweek ‘remote learning day’ as it hones re-opening plan Supt. Fierman schedules public meeting for Wednesday
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC As it continues to field questions from parents and hone its plans for reopening, the Two Rivers Supervisory Union will hold a third in a series of public forums to discuss the imminent reopening of schools. The forum will be held at 6 p.m. on Aug. 5 […]
Chester Planning Commission agenda for August 3
© Telegraph Publishing, LLC The Chester Planning Commission will hold a regular meeting via Zoom at 6:30 p.m. on Monday August 3, 2020. Below is its agenda. A link to join the meeting will be posted on the Town of Chester’s website home page 1. Review minutes from the July 20, 2020 meeting 2. Citizens […]
TRSU moves toward hybrid reopen Sept. 8 Second re-opening forum set for Wednesday night
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC At the beginning of a Zoom public forum last Tuesday, Two Rivers Supervisory Union Superintendent Lauren Fierman told the nearly 120 parents, community members and teachers attending that due to the nature of the pandemic almost everything they would talk about was subject to change. Since then, […]
Michigan man indicted for 2019 threat against GMUHS
© 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont announced in a press release on Friday, July 24 that a federal grand jury, sitting in Burlington has indicted Jason Graham, 24, of Michigan, for threatening Green Mountain Union High School in Chester in the winter of 2019. On […]
Missing Springfield man found dead in Chester
© 2020 Telegraph Publishing, LLC A Springfield man who went missing on July 18, 2020 was found dead yesterday afternoon off Route 103 north in Chester. According to a Chester Police press release, at about 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 23 police were notified that a vehicle belonging to Robert Redfield, 55, had been seen […]
