Author Archive for Shawn Cunningham
Lawsuit pending, Jack’s Diner owner re-emerges to seek DRB OK
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Six years after Chester’s Development Review Board denied a conditional use permit for an expanded Jack’s Diner with apartments above it – and while the town of Chester is currently suing him for zoning violations – Jacques Dodier is back with a new application that will be […]
Battle of Bands set to cover medical expenses for Chester woman
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC After a near-death bout with infections, a Chester woman has a long road to recovery ahead and, this Saturday, members of the community will be holding a benefit Battle of the Bands at MacLaomainn’s Pub to help cover her large and growing medical bills. Just a few […]
Chester board OKs old waste district fund disbursement
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC With board chair Arne Jonynas under the weather and members Dan Cote and Heather Chase traveling, the July 19 Chester Select Board could have been canceled for lack of a quorum. But using a speaker phone — which is allowed by the state law that permits members […]
Weston Playhouse directing trio to step down next year
By Shawn Cunningham and Cynthia Prairie © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Thirty years after taking the reins as artistic directors at the Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, Malcolm Ewen, Tim Fort and Steve Stettler announced today that they will be stepping down after the 2018 season. The announcement came in a press release this morning. In […]
Volunteers prep for annual book sale
© 2017 Telegraph Publishing, LLC The weather was warm and sunny on Friday afternoon as a host of volunteers laid out scores of cartons of books sorted by topic ahead of the Wilder Memorial Library’s annual book sale. The event is a fundraiser for Weston’s public library and will occur under the tents in Farrar […]
Court allows supervised work hours for Chester sex assault defendant
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC WHITE RIVER JUNCTION Chester resident Ryan Stocker appeared before the Windsor County Superior Court Criminal Division twice this week, the second and third time he has come into this courthouse since he was charged in late June with two counts of sexual assault, On Tuesday, he appeared […]
Chester Planning Commission reboots with new members
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Nearly five months after three resignations deprived it of a quorum, the Chester Planning Commission reorganized itself with four of its five seats filled on Monday, July 17. Newly appointed members Barre Pinske and Tim Roper were welcomed by commission chair Naomi Johnson who worked through introductions, […]
VSP investigates three Rockingham burglaries
© 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Vermont State Police from the Westminster Barracks are investigating two commercial and one residential burglary in the town of Rockingham. This morning at about 6:18, police were notified of a break-in and burglary at the Cambridgeport store at 997 Saxtons River Road in Cambridgeport. Police say that overnight, someone broke […]
Derry area youths to contend for regional baseball titles
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Two Manchester Youth Baseball teams will be heading to Massachusetts this weekend as Vermont state champions. In a tournament earlier this month, the 12-year-olds and under and 10-year-olds and under teams won the right to play in the regional competition of the Cal Ripken Baseball League. The […]
Rash of overnight burglaries along Rt. 30 keeps VSP busy
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Four burglaries with similar circumstances and timing along Route 30 in West Townshend and Jamaica were reported to Vermont State Police today. Early this morning, the West Townshend Cafe reported that overnight, someone had pulled out a window air conditioner and crawled into the building through the […]
Conservancy nears goal to create access to Chester swimming hole
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Less than a year ago, then-Chester Select Board chair John DeBenedetti asked Lydia Menendez how the Vermont River Conservancy would raise the money needed to buy 1.84 acres and a create public access to the Rainbow Rock swimming hole and give it to the town. “Magic,” quipped […]
Chester tax rates decline again; resident seeks to buy town land
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester’s tax rates are dropping again this year as they have for several years. At its July 5 meeting, the Select Board set the non-residential tax rate at $1.9793 per $100 of assessed value and the homestead rate at $1.9274. Last year’s rates were $2.0182 and $1.9545 […]
Possible lightning strike destroys Chester home, storms wreak more havoc
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester residents Dennis and Jan Rounds lost their Chester home to a fire in the early hours of Sunday. No one was at home at the time. Chester firefighters, who spent the early hours of Sunday morning extinguishing the house fire on Fenton Road, speculated that the […]
Photo Gallery: Green Mountain graduates 54 in class of 2017
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC On a warm, humid night with thunderstorms predicted, Green Mountain Union High School seniors, their families and friends gathered in the school’s gymnasium. “It’s hot,” said Principal Tom Ferenc,“but there’s a really good vibe here though.” Salutatorian Mackenzie Walton got a big laugh saying that he used […]
Missing Grafton man found less than a mile from home
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Search and rescue teams from the Vermont State Police, New England K9 and Upper Valley Wilderness Response picked up the search for Thomas Brown, 84, of Grafton, on early Tuesday and within a couple of hours found the man “conscious and alert” at 198 Fire Pond Road. […]
South Derry fire department wins $84,000 FEMA grant
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Champion Fire Company No. 5 Chief Jeff Duda announced Friday morning that the South Londonderry company has won an $84,096 Assistance to Firefighter Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Champion was one of seven FEMA grant winners in Vermont including Springfield with $250,069 and Wilmington with […]
Chester board finds itself in a DRB dustup
By Shawn Cunningham ©2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester’s planning and zoning functions continue to be problematic even after the adoption of “pro-business” changes to the Unified Development Bylaws earlier this year. Front2Back Landscaping owner Randy Miles complained to the Select Board at its June 14 meeting that the Development Review Board had denied his application. […]
Truck inspection yields cause of yesterday’s Hazmat leak
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing, LLC One nail, sticking up as little as a quarter of an inch from the surface of a pallet punctured one plastic drum being carried on a Clean Harbors Environmental Services truck and closed Rt. 103 in Chester for nearly 20 hours starting on Tuesday afternoon, according to […]
UPDATE: ROUTE 103 NOW OPEN Route 103 South still closed as Hazmat cleanup continues
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC At 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, more than 18 hours after the 911 call that unleashed a large emergency Hazmat response, Chester and Springfield firefighters, ambulance crews, local and DMV police and other responders were still on the scene with Rt. 103 South closed east of the Chester-Andover […]
2 named to Chester Planning Board, shoring up of Rt. 35 starts
By Shawn Cunningham © 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Leaving one of the three vacant positions still open, the Chester Select Board appointed two candidates to the Chester Planning Commission at its meeting on Wednesday, June 7. The board, which interviewed five candidates in executive sessions this spring, put Chester residents Tim Roper and Barre Pinske […]
