All Entries in the "Commentary" Category

Chester-Andover food services highlight fresh and local
The first month went very well this year. The children at Chester-Andover Elementary are excited to be back in school. Food service staff have returned, and are ready to go. Returning this school year is our cook Mary Spaulding. Our new hire this year is Alan Farrar. Alan will be our kitchen assistant working with […]


To the editor: BRGNS thanks all who helped make Rummage Sale a success
The staff and clients at Black River Good Neighbor Services thank all of the volunteers, donors and customers who made our annual Fall Rummage Sale a success. We put a tremendous effort into offering quality merchandise at fair prices and we spend many, many hours into setting up the barns and lawn at Fletcher Farm […]

To the editor: Who are the people behind the wind company?
The tiny towns of Grafton and Windham are faced with the possibility of a 28-turbine wind project being built on our ridgelines. This, the largest industrial wind development in Vermont, would forever change these quiet rural towns and the lives of their residents. The magnitude of this development is high up on the Richter scale. […]

To the editor: Windham Selectwoman responds to resident’s pro-wind letter
These comments are in response to Mary McCoy’s op-ed, which appeared in The Chester Telegraph on Aug. 29. As a selectwoman in Windham, I responded to them at the Sept. 6 Windham Select Board Meeting, with the full intent that any of our residents who were unable to attend would still be able to view/hear […]

Proficiency Based Education: The coming evolution in education
Michael Eppolito, Curriculum Coordinator for Two Rivers Supervisory Union, has written a three-part series for The Chester Telegraph on Proficiency Based Education, an educational concept that will be implemented in Vermont schools by 2020. Parents, teachers and even students will want to understand how this concept will affect their children’s future and their own. PART […]

To the editor: GM Food Services providing healthy meals
The Green Mountain Union High School’s Food and Nutritional Services is well into the new school year and everything is going great. It is always good to see the kids back. All of our staff from last year have returned including Josh Adams our sous chef, Karla Hunsdon our sandwich prep and server and kitchen […]

To the editor: Thanks to all who helped make Fall Festival a success
Fall Festival had another successful year thanks to the cooperation and support of so many people in our community. Visitors enjoyed coming to our beautiful Chester Village to celebrate the arts in our area and enjoy our local musicians. The vendors were excellent, the food was delicious, and the music kept the Festival upbeat. […]

To the editor: Factoids aside, Meadowsend Timberlands a good steward of land
The conversation continues about the potential of an industrial wind project on Meadowsend Timberland’s Stiles Brook Forest, a privately owned, 5,000-acre tract of land in Windham and Grafton. As part of the Meadowsend Timberlands team for over 11 years, I have participated in meetings, workshops, presentations and read the many commentaries on the subject over […]

To the editor: Many in Windham, Grafton open to wind project
I have called South Windham my home for 60 years, have no intention to leave it, and want what’s best for it. Contrary to popular belief, there are many in Windham and Grafton like me who are open to developing wind power on the plateau between our two towns. Here are 10 of my reasons […]

An explainer: Proficiency Based Education fuels growth of transferable skills
Editor’s Note: This is Part 3 of TRSU Curriculum Coordinator Michael Eppolito’s series explaining a seismic shift in public education, classroom work and grading that will be implemented throughout Vermont schools for those graduating in June 2020. You can read Part 1, explaining Proficiency Based Education, here. Part 2, on whether Proficiency Based Education will […]

Op-ed: MTL holds right to manage its property with Stiles Brook wind project
By Jeremy Turner Managing forester Meadowsend Timberlands There has been a lot of debate around the future of a property that is owned by the company I have worked for over the past 20 years, Meadowsend Timberlands. MTL owns the 5,000-acre tract of land, a small portion of which the Stiles Brook Wind Project would […]

To the editor: Jack Coleman was committed to lifelong learning
To the impressive account of John R. Colman’s legacy, one additional aspect of his rich life should be added: his commitment to lifelong learning programs. (Jack Coleman, force behind Chester’s Players Guild, Overture to Christmas, dies at 95, Chester Telegraph, Sept. 9). Jack taught in the I.L.E.A.D. program at Dartmouth College for some years to […]

An explainer: Proficiency education could aid in college admission
Editor’s Note: This is Part 2 of TRSU Curriculum Coordinator Michael Eppolito’s series explaining a seismic shift in public education, classroom work and grading that will be implemented throughout Vermont schools for those graduating in June 2020. You can read Part 1, explaining Proficiency Based Education here. By Michael Eppolito ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC One […]

To the editor: Upper Midwest embraces wind
We just returned from a 2,600-mile round trip on motorcycles to the Wisconsin Dells. Imagine to our (seven people in the group) surprise all the wind turbines we saw, maybe 1,000 just in Michigan and Illinois alone — we got tired trying to count them. As we arrived in Ubly, Mich., we had seen at […]

An explainer: Proficiency Based Education is on the way
Editor’s Note: Over the next few weeks in The Chester Telegraph, TRSU Curriculum Coordinator Michael Eppolito will be explaining a seismic shift in public education, classroom work and grading that will be implemented throughout Vermont schools for those graduating in June 2020. We begin with Part 1. By Michael Eppolito States across the nation, and […]

To the editor: Black River Rugby season about to begin
Summer is winding down and fall is fast approaching, and with it comes the 2016 fall season for the Black River Rugby Club. Black River is a Division 4 Men’s Team in the New England Rugby Football Union. Again this year, Black River Rugby would like to thank Mark Verespy and The Killarney Irish Pub […]

Op-ed: A Windham resident speaks out for wind
By Mary McCoy As a resident of the town of Windham, I have observed the activity related to the wind farm proposed for our town — and Grafton, which has been dominated by very vocal opposition. For my own peace of mind, I am compelled to publicly state some of the positive reasons for supporting […]

To the editor: Bock thanks supporters for primary victory
A sincere thank you to all my supporters from Andover, Baltimore, Chester and North Springfield who brought our campaign to victory at the Aug. 9 primary. I am honored to have received the Democratic nomination for state representative and look forward to the final leg of the race to Election Day this fall. Over the […]

To the editor: Woodward announces run for Windsor Senate seat as independent
My name is Scott Woodward and I’d like to announce my candidacy to the voters of the Chester area. One reason I’m running as an independent is because of the growing frustration with both the major parties. I also believe my broad set of business, government and legal skills would serve me well as a […]