Author Archive for Shawn Cunningham
State OKs Mt. Holly-Ludlow merger, moves toward Nov. vote
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Having been approved by the State Board of Education on Oct. 18, the latest proposal that would merge the Mt. Holly and Ludlow school districts moves forward to a Nov. 28 vote, but there’s plenty going on in the meantime. If passed, the merger would create the […]
‘Damp patch’ snags Chester emergency services building study
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC The state of Vermont has thrown a small wrench into Chester’s feasibility study on constructing new town buildings on the Town Garage site. Last Wednesday, Chester architect Claudio Veliz, updating the Chester Select Board on the study that his firm is conducting on the buildings to house […]
Chef Tostrup joins Free Range; Neal’s opens in Proctorsville
Neal’s owner also challenges Tostrup, Free Range to a softball game
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Free Range Restaurant owners Anne and Rick Paterno announced today that Chef Jason Tostrup will be joining them in mid-November as managing partner and executive chef. Tostrup is best known in the area for his tenure at the Inn at Weathersfield and, for the past four years, […]
Governor seeks independent candidates to replace Olsen
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing, LLC Gov. Phil Scott announced yesterday that his office is seeking candidates interested in filling the house seat to be vacated by Oliver Olsen on Nov. 1. Olsen is an independent who began serving the Windham-Bennington-Windsor district with the death of Rick Hube in 2009. “I appreciate the […]
Green Mountain girls get by Otter Valley 2-0, improve to 13-0
By Shawn Cunningham © Telegraph Publishing, LLC The Green Mountain High girls soccer squad got past a scrappy Otter Valley team on Wednesday afternoon in Chester. While GM’s score was low compared to recent outings, most of the game was played at Otter Valley’s end of the field, keeping pressure on its goal keeper. With […]
Public gets peek at Tomasso property
By Shawn Cunningham © Telegraph Publishing LLC On a warm and sunny Saturday, upwards of 80 Chester residents — and a few dogs — took the New England Forestry Foundation up on its offer to show the public some of the 1,800 acres it hopes to buy and preserve if it can raise $3.5 million […]
Rep. Olsen announces resignation from State House; Town Clerk Pajala throws hat in ring
Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC State Rep. Oliver Olsen of South Londonderry announced Sunday night that he will resign his office by January 2018. And this morning, Londonderry Town Clerk Kelly MacLaury- Pajala announced that she will submit her name to be considered for the job of filling out the remainder of his […]
Chester board agrees to sell land to Sandri, gas pumps stay in front
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC In a reversal of the plan presented to the board on Aug. 16, Michael Behn of Sandri said his company will not move its pumps to the westside of the existing Sunoco station and add a canopy. Even so, the Chester Select Board voted 4-1 on Wednesday […]
Chester awarded $800,000 sidewalk grant for Depot Street
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Town of Chester has announced that it has been awarded $800,000 for an extensive sidewalk project that will be the first large-scale result of the recently completed Village Center Master Plan. According to Executive Assistant Julie Hance, VTrans’ Bicycle and Pedestrian Program awarded the grant that […]
GM girls soccer bests Leland & Gray, rises to 11-0
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Green Mountain girls soccer team extended its undefeated record Wednesday by beating Leland & Grey 5-1 at home. Returning from an injury sustained during the squad’s last game with the Townshend school’s very physical team, junior Paige Karl scored first, with 37:27 remaining in the first […]
Chester board hears ambulance down a person; discusses renovations of Town Hall
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC The most closely followed topic at last Wednesday’s Chester Select Board meeting was not on the agenda, as Water Superintendent Jeff Holden explained what had happened during hydrant replacement that necessitated a boil water order. See Telegraph coverage of his remarks here. The board also heard a […]
Road access issue stalls Jack’s Diner hearing
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC The conditional use application for Jack’s Diner had its third but not quite final meeting before the Chester Development Review Board on Monday night. Attorney Amanda George told the board that the approval her client, Jacques Dodier, was expecting from the Agency of Transportation had not come […]
Boil water order lifted in Chester
© 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Jeff Holden, Superintendent of the Chester Water Department, has announced that the “boil water” order imposed on Monday has been lifted. Two tests required to be clear of bacteria were performed and the results were clean. The order was issued in line with a state protocol after a valve blew […]
New merger plan would close Black River High within two years
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC A committee of the Ludlow and Mount Holly school districts decided Tuesday night to merge into one district and operate two elementary schools and – temporarily – the Black River middle/high school until it can be closed. After that, students from the two towns will be able […]
Holden explains Chester water situation; boil order could be lifted today
By Shawn Cunningham © Telegraph Publishing LLC Water Superintendent Jeff Holden told the Chester Select Board last night that the first of two tests of the town’s water system came back clean after a construction mishap pulled dirt into the water system on Monday. That prompted the town to issue the “boil water” order for […]
Village Center Master Plan rolled out for Chester board
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing, LLC Saying that “if it doesn’t work for residents, it doesn’t work,” Mark Kane of SE Group rolled out the Chester Village Center Master Plan that his company and many of those residents have worked on it since October of last year. Kane told a special session of […]
Jack’s Diner has second DRB hearing, third scheduled
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Monday night, the Chester Development Review Board once again took up the application of Jacques Dodier for a conditional use permit to operate a restaurant and apartments on the site of what was Jack’s Diner until 2011 when he shuttered the operation for what was described […]
Sandri land offer to Chester goes behind closed doors
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board meeting of Wednesday, Sept. 20 was mostly about checking in with ongoing projects before holding two executive sessions – one to interview candidates for the Planning Commission and Development Review Board and another to discuss an offer by Sandri to purchase town land […]
Cavendish town garage bond passes by wide margin: site TBD
Voters in Cavendish went to the polls today deciding to go ahead with plans to borrow up to $400,000 to replace the town’s highway department garage, which burned in February. What voters didn’t know — and still must be determined — is where the garage would be located. That remarkable situation came about at the […]
As bond vote looms, Cavendish board takes 2nd look at Rt. 131 site for garage
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC As the clock ticks down toward Tuesday, Sept. 26 — when Cavendish voters will decide whether to borrow up to $400,000 to build a new town garage to replace the one that burned in February — the question of where to build it resurfaced at September’s Select […]
