Author Archive for Shawn Cunningham
Chester board reviews budget, capital expenses
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing, LLC With department heads for fire, police, ambulance, highway, water and sewer present, the Chester Select Board continued its review of the 2021 budget at its Dec. 4 meeting. First up was Water and Sewer as the board put on their commissioners’ hats and looked at a budget […]
Santa visits Chester’s Overture to Christmas
© Telegraph Publishing, LLC Santa and Mrs. Claus made their annual visit to Chester as part of the Overture to Christmas this past weekend. The Chester Fire Department brought the jolly old elf to the Fullerton Inn where Santa lit the town tree, greeted children and spent some time hearing their Christmas gift wishes.
TRSU superintendent criticizes GM board budget decisions Powden: 'The spirit of collaboration is no longer there'
By Shawn Cunningham ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Two Rivers Supervisory Union’s Meg Powden used her superintendent’s report at Thursday’s board meeting to chastise the Green Mountain Unified School District Board of Directors for what she said was its attitude toward a number of administration initiatives. “Indulge me,” said Powden, asking TRSU board members to look […]
TRSU pushes consolidations in transportation, food service, GM priority programs
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last week, a new committee of the Two Rivers Supervisory Union began discussing a plan to merge the transportation operation of the Green Mountain Unified School District with that of the Ludlow-Mount Holly Unified Union School District under one full-time transportation director as early as next July. […]
Christmas trees arrive for Chester Fire Dept. sale
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Just before 8 a.m. on Black Friday, the scanner crackled to life with a loud piercing tone. “Chester Fire, Administrative tone. The truck with the trees has arrived. All available personnel to the field to unload.” And with that, a Chester holiday season tradition and a major […]
GM budget panel nixes CAES preschool, urges fund-raising for CTES playground Puts money into STEAM, literacy, early foreign language
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Green Mountain Unified School District Finance Committee rejected a number of administration initiatives on Monday night in favor of fully funding the priorities it established at a September retreat. The committee took up a two page document titled Administration Priorities, quickly calling it a “wish list.” […]
Chester board mulls cannabis sales, Historical Society loan, donation of old Jiffy Mart building
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC At the request of one member, the Chester Select Board last Wednesday took up a lengthy discussion of whether the town should ban the sales of cannabis (marijuana) if pending legalization legislation passes the Vermont House in the next session. Last January, the Vermont State Senate passed […]
Budget requests on GM finance agenda Monday include bank building, new CTES playground Panel seeks public input from Baltimore Andover, Cavendish, Chester
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC At its Nov. 12 meeting, the Green Mountain Unified School District Finance Committee expressed its desire for public participation in its decision-making and asked The Telegraph to publicize that. The Telegraph, in turn asked that all documents to be used in the meetings be made public in […]
GMUSD finance panel urges public participation
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC If you live in the Green Mountain Unified School District, the Finance Committee of the Green Mountain District Board wants you. Noting that in past budget cycles, budget committees have recruited the public to become members and bring different perspectives to the table, committee chair Deb Brown […]
News analysis: Better process would yield better school budgets
By Shawn Cunningham © Telegraph Publishing LLC Two Rivers Supervisory Union Business Manager Cheryl Hammond recently told the Green Mountain Unified School District Board that the district ended the 2018/2019 school year with a deficit of approximately $149,000 or about 1.2 percent of the overall budget. That’s not especially surprising considering the fact that among […]
Lumber truck crash closes Rt. 11 in Chester Driver cited: was his 2nd accident in same area in five years
UPDATE – November 12, 9:52 p.m. – Vermont State Police have posted that Route 11 is now open to traffic. By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Around 1 p.m. this afternoon — Tuesday — a tractor trailer carrying lumber slid off the road into a ditch on Route 11 just west of Swett […]
Chairlift airlift aids Magic installation
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC The installation of the Black Line Quad took a giant step forward last week as Magic Mountain in Londonderry got some airlift support, said SkiMagic President Geoff Hatheway. The resort called on FairLifts, a national company that provides a number of helicopter services including aerial cranes. On […]
Police press for more clues in Rt. 103 homicide
By Shawn Cunningham and Cynthia Prairie © 2019 Telegraph Publishing, LLC One week after a Boston truck driver was found shot to death in his produce delivery truck on Route 103 in Rockingham, a large contingent of Vermont State Police were out at the scene hoping to jog drivers’ memories to help with the investigation. […]
Chester voters OK bond for emergency services building $4.777 million project to set to begin in May 2020
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester voters overwhelmingly approved a $4.777 million bond issue to construct a 15,000-square-foot emergency services building on Pleasant Street and to renovate and upgrade the existing town garage. With 499 residents casting ballots on the lone issue, the bond passed 315 to 183 vote with one spoiled […]
Chester holds final info meeting on emergency services building Vote today on whether to approval $4.777 million bond issue
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC With one day to go before voting on a $4.777 million bond issue for building a new home for Chester’s fire, ambulance and police departments and renovating and upgrading the existing town garage, more than 40 residents turned up on Monday night for the last information meeting […]
Windstorm knocks out power for days
By Shawn Cunningham ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC A powerful storm on Thursday night into Friday left thousands of Green Mountain Power customers in the dark with many still powerless on Sunday morning. As of this morning — Monday — GMP was reporting 371 statewide customers without power with more than 25 percent in The Telegraph […]
Four displaced after fire damages Chester home
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC A Sunday morning fire on River Street in Chester severely damaged a house, leaving a family homeless. Neighbor Larry Reed told The Telegraph that around 10 a.m. he heard an explosion and looked outside to see the second floor porch on the green house next door — […]
Londonderry opens warming center on Sunday
There will be a Warming Center open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. today (Sunday) at the Londonderry Rescue Squad building at 6068 VT-100 for anybody needing it.Warm up, get water, charge cell phones. For information, contact Kevin Beattie at 802 548-8246. Pets cannot be accepted at this center.
Boston trucker apparently shot dead on Rt. 103 Victim pled guilty in 2017 to federal drug charges in Mass.
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC A Boston man was found dead along Route 103 in Rockingham Friday, apparently of a gunshot wound, in the truck he was driving for a Boston fruit wholesaler according to Vermont State Police. Late Friday afternoon, state police were sent to perform a welfare check on the […]
Powden releases text of speech to board, Telegraph Board members' reaction to presentation mixed
By Shawn Cunningham © 2019 Telegraph Publishing, LLC A speech given by Two Rivers Supervisory Union Superintendent Meg Powden but withheld from the public was released after The Chester Telegraph requested the text under a state law that protects the public’s right to know what government agencies are doing. Board members’ reaction to the speech […]
