Author Archive for Shawn Cunningham
Rural Caucus hears update on Act 181 changes
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Vermont Legislature’s Rural Caucus — which recently sent a letter to House Speaker Jill Krowinski urging the repeal of portions of Act 181 — heard an update this morning from Rep. Rob North on the status of that move. North, of Ferrisburg, sits on the House […]
Judge clears way for Piri murder trial early next year Five week trial expected, complicating scheduling
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC A Windham County Superior Court judge has denied a defense motion to dismiss second-degree murder charges against Jozsef Piri, paving the way for a five week long trial sometime early in 2027. Piri is accused of shooting and killing Roberto Fonseca-Rivera – a Boston truck driver – […]
Chester Fire & EMS receive VFW commendations Manchester Post recognizes first responders to mark its 80th anniversary
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC On April 9, Steve Leach — a representative of the Harned-Fowler VFW Post 6471 of Manchester — visited Chester’s Public Safety Building to present the fire and ambulance departments with VFW Community Service certificates. Leach said that April 2026 marks the 80th anniversary of Post 6471’s National […]
GM board sends same budget back for May 12 re-vote
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC After a rough start to its Thursday, April 16 meeting, the Green Mountain Unified School District board gelled and decided unanimously to again put forward the budget that went down to defeat at Town Meeting Day, to set the re-vote date for May 12, then brainstormed ways […]
Chester board OKs federal grant application, solar field purchase
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC In one of the most unusual agendas in recent memory, the Chester Select Board held two meetings last Wednesday with three executive sessions and a legal tutorial on the roles of the board and town manager in Vermont statutes from town attorney Jim Carroll. While the remainder […]
Act 250 board suspends work on ‘road rule,’ Tier 3 regs ahead of likely repeal
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Earlier today, Alex Weinhagen of the Vermont’s Land Use Review Board told The Telegraph, “We are suspending work on the Tier 3 and the Road Construction Jurisdiction provisions of Act 181 given the Legislature’s likely repeal of these two elements of the law.” Then this afternoon, the […]
Pause to revise Act 181 likely Chester residents weigh in at Planning Commission meeting
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC At last week’s Chester Planning Commission meeting focused on Act 181, Land Use Review Board member Alex Weinhagen said his group would like more time to work on getting new rules — which make major changes to Act 250 — right. Then, in an interview with The […]
Construction crew breaks water main in Chester
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC A construction crew working on Chester’s sewer project on First Avenue at Route 103 broke a water main Thursday, causing water to pour out of the trench, over the roadway and into a field, where it drained off. Moments after the break, Jeff Holden, Chester’s Water and […]
Chester Select Board OKs funds to assess three properties for housing; July 4th event on Green
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last Wednesday’s Chester Select Board meeting again had an agenda filled with non-controversial, routine tasks for the board with documents to sign, appointments to make and approvals to grant. The board looked at a request from the town’s Housing Commission for $11,300 from the housing reserve fund […]
Judge in 4 year-old murder case aims to pick up pace
Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC More than six years after truck driver Roberto Fonseca-Rivera was shot and killed on Rt. 103 in Rockingham and more than four years after Jozsef Piri was charged with 2nd degree murder in the crime, the justice system continues to grind slowly toward a trial, which lawyers on […]
GM board to consider ‘reduction in force’ ahead of next budget vote
UPDATE April 1: Last night the GMUSD board voted to issue a reduction in force for its employees ahead of the re-vote of the district budget later this spring. We will have more on this story in the coming days. By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last Thursday evening, the Green Mountain Unified […]
Chester Select Board agenda for April 1
The Chester Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday April 1 at Town Hall, 556 Elm Street and remotely via Zoom. Below is the board’s agenda: 1. Approval of Minutes of March 18, 2026 Select Board Meeting 2. Citizen’s Comments 3. Old Business 4. Sharon Baker; Permission to Use Green […]
Chester board names paper of record despite chair’s complaints about Telegraph
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board agenda for March 18 promised a low-key meeting with mostly routine appointments, liquor license and entertainment permit approvals and review and adoption of some policies. The most contentious item – given recent dustups over school board appointments – seemed to be whether to […]
GMUSD board re-organizes with several new members Board chooses two new Chester representatives
By Shawn Cunningham © Telegraph Publishing LLC The effects of the recent Town Meeting Day elections and filling of its two vacancies are looking like a sea change in the operation of the Green Mountain Unified School District board if last Thursday’s meeting is any indication. The new directors — Michael Ripley of Cavendish replacing […]
First hearing in MacGinnis v Chester perplexes judge
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC WOODSTOCK For most of the status conference in the lawsuit that Kirk and Michelle MacGinnis have brought against the Town of Chester, Superior Court Judge Kerry Ann McDonald-Cady struggled to understand what the plaintiffs wanted and whether the type of action they brought was the right one. Kirk […]
Chester board adopts policy on public records requests
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The first Select Board meeting after the town’s annual meeting is usually a light one and last Wednesday’s Chester Select Board confab was even lighter than its agenda promised. Sharon Baker was expected to present a request to use the Chester Green for a Vermont Food Festival […]
Whisper, internet campaigns fail as Jonynas, Roper, Fierman, Bailey win their Chester races Benelli, Ucci take school board seats, 18-year veteran Hance comes up short; school budget rejected
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC With an unusually large number of contested races and two instances of controversial election shenanigans, Chester’s results for Select Board and school board campaigns have been highly anticipated. In the end, Democrats had a blowout night with all of their candidates victorious and most by substantial margins. […]
What’s on Chester’s March 2 and March 3 ballots Infrastructure projects fall in the shadow of contested elections
By Shawn Cunningham and Cynthia Prairie © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Tuesday, March 3 Australian ballot will contain more than just the contested races for Chester’s Select Board and for Chester seats on the Green Mountain School District Board. And on Monday, March 2, the Town Meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. will offer […]
Chester board to consider Act 250 ‘tier status’; rural areas to see tighter rules Initiative to spur village housing may make building more difficult elsewhere
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Wednesday, the Chester Select Board will hold a meeting with only one topic to be discussed in the public: “Adopt Municipal Resolution on Tier 1B Status.” This is part of a new law that exempts downtowns and village centers from Act 250 regulations to increase the […]
Class 4 roads continue to generate dust-ups for Chester board Road salt shortage limits use to main highways
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board is having quite a moment with Class 4 roads, a subject that heats up from time to time like a dormant volcano. While the board has been working on a policy for the use of those ancient rights of way — which the […]