Author Archive for Shawn Cunningham
Chester House innkeeper’s calm helps to save historic structure
By Shawn Cunningham © 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester Fire Chief Matt Wilson credits the Chester House Inn owner’s calm demeanor and knowledge of firefighting in helping firefighters extinguish a chimney fire that had spread into the walls and roof and could have been much worse. There were no injuries and everyone including pets made […]
UPDATE: Meet GM principal candidates tonight before panel vote, but where?
By Shawn Cunningham © 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC If all goes according to plan tonight, the Green Mountain Unified School District board will choose one of the three finalists to replace Tom Ferenc as he retires as principal of the high school. And this afternoon will also be the only opportunity for parents and community […]
In Travelball circuit, high school girls make the pitch to colleges
By Shawn Cunningham © 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC PUTNEY Major league pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Florida and Arizona later this week, but a group of middle and high school girls – including three from Green Mountain and three from Springfield – have already been working out since November. This is Travel […]
Ludlow re-vote fails, merger will go forward, BRHS to close by mid-2020
By Shawn Cunningham © 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC A last ditch effort to keep Black River High School open fell short Tuesday night as the re-vote of the Ludlow/Mt. Holly merger failed. According to Ludlow Town Clerk Ulla Cook, the vote was 288 in favor of the merger and 231 against. Back on Nov. 28, […]
TRSU panel nixes Powden raise; full board rejects budget, demands clarity
By Shawn Cunningham © 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Thursday night, the Executive Committee of the Two Rivers Supervisory Union deleted from the TRSU budget Superintendent Meg Powden’s 5.58 percent raise that would have taken her salary from $125,580 to $132,590. Later, the full TRSU board sent the entire budget back to the central office […]
As Ludlow school re-vote nears, info meeting sparsely attended
By Shawn Cunningham © 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC A little over two months ago, voters in Ludlow and Mount Holly went to the polls and approved – by wide margins – a merger that would keep their elementary schools open but close Black River High School by July 2020. But, in late December, a group […]
School Budgets: What goes into the central office assessment?
By Shawn Cunningham © 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC In recent weeks, the finance committee of the new Green Mountain Unified School District deadlocked twice, refraining from recommending to the full board a budget put forward by the Two Rivers Supervisory Union. But the GMUSD board reluctantly approved that budget (with a token $30,000 reduction) noting […]
Chester Board approves budget after final cuts, appoints Master Plan group
By Shawn Cunningham © 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC Having put the town budget back in the hands of Town Manager David Pisha to find savings across the town departments on Jan. 8, the Chester Select Board met on Jan. 17 to review the cuts and finalize the numbers. Due to smaller-than-expected surpluses (which could have […]
Magic Mtn. opens lift, ski area for beginners
By Shawn Cunningham © 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC With students from the Ski School looking on, the Magic Mountain Ski Area in Londonderry on Saturday opened its new Nelson Family Learning Area for beginning skiers with the mountain’s first new lift in decades. As the sun broke over the mountain and onto the new installation, […]
With little enthusiasm, GMUSD board sends budget to voters
By Shawn Cunningham © 2018 Telegraph Publishing, LLC The Green Mountain Unified School District board moved ahead in fits and starts Wednesday night, approving a budget proposal that a number of members were not happy with while Superintendent Meg Powden repeatedly sounded “retreat,” promising just such an extended board session “sooner than later” to sort […]
Log truck-plow crash temporarily closes I-91; no life-threatening injuries
By Shawn Cunningham © 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC A tractor-trailer truck carrying logs on I-91 collided with a VTrans plow truck Wednesday evening shutting down the highway completely for about 20 minutes and one northbound lane of the highway for several hours. There were no life-threatening injuries in the accident. According to Vermont State Police, […]
Joint Cavendish/Chester school board meeting turns on issues of transparency, trust
By Shawn Cunningham © 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC At a meeting of the Cavendish Town Elementary School Board – on its own and in a joint session with the Chester-Andover Elementary School on Tuesday night – a number of Cavendish residents expressed misgivings about the intentions of administration of the new school district. Their suspicions […]
Chester Select Board mulls budget priorities, asks departments for cuts
By Shawn Cunningham © 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC With a short schedule for getting a budget approved and sent to the printer ahead of Town Meeting Day in March, the Chester Select Board met on Monday Jan. 8 to review its 2018 numbers with an eye toward reducing an overall increase of $242,986. In a […]
An ice sculpture grows in Popple Dungeon
The recent low temperatures have given Peter Delaney’s annual free form ice sculpture a great start on the winter. Each year, Delaney, who lives in the 2000-block of Popple Dungeon, constructs a frame to support a garden hose that gets water – gravity fed – from up the hill. This year, he say, he built […]
TRSU backs away from nursing change, reshuffles principal proposal; finance committee deadlocks on budget
Editor’s note: The meetings of the Green Mountain Unified School District Board and Finance Committee were held on Tuesday evening. Here are some of the highlights of those meetings. The Telegraph will have a detailed report on the meeting in the next day or so. By Shawn Cunningham © 2018 Telegraph Publishing, LLC With an […]
Powden adds foreign language to nurse, principal cuts; refuses to release meeting recording
Editor’s Note: The Chester Telegraph attended the 6 p.m. Jan. 2 meeting of the Green Mountain Unified School District Finance Committee as it worked on the budget for the new school district. Unfortunately our reporter was unable to stay past 7 p.m., but the next morning requested a copy of the digital audio file recorded […]
Master Plan moves to implementation phase; Okemo Chamber seeks Chester board help
By Shawn Cunningham © 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC Without final financial numbers for 2017 to finish its work on the budget, the regular meeting of the Chester Select Board handled a number of housekeeping items and heard a plea for help from the Okemo Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce. Executive Assistant Julie Hance told the […]
TRSU Super Powden proposes consolidating nurse, principal functions in new district
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC One agenda item out of more than a dozen – next year’s budget – sucked the oxygen out of the room at last Tuesday night’s meeting of the new Green Mountain Unified School District, held at Cavendish Town Elementary School. The audience of about 15 was unhappy […]
Ludlow residents petition for school merger re-vote, hope to keep BRHS alive
UPDATE: On Wednesday, Dec. 27, Ludlow’s Assistant Town Clerk and Treasurer Pamela Todt confirmed that the petition had 127 valid signatures and is therefore sufficient to cause a re-vote of the merger with Mount Holly. By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC With just two days left until a Dec. 28 deadline, voters in […]
Magic ‘Best in Snow’ again, continues work on upgrades
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC More than a foot of snow last Tuesday was an auspicious sign for the Magic Mountain ski area just days before opening, as its new owners continued to refurbish and upgrade the 57-year-old ski area in their second season of operation. But the news that came this […]
