All Entries in the "Featured" Category
Chester Hardware files for bankruptcy
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC While the note on the front door said the business at 21 Main St. would be closed from July 3 through 13, on July 7, the owner of Chester Hardware & Mercantile was filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Under Chapter 7, the assets of a debtor are […]
Explainer: Why is the homestead tax rate higher than the non-homestead rate this year?
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Readers have asked why the education property tax rate for residents in the Green Mountain Unified School District is higher than the rate for non-residents and businesses. It’s usually the other way around. The answer lies in the Byzantine calculations the state uses to fund education spending. […]
A place, a memory, an affection: Vermont folk artist Martha Stevenson paints Vermont towns And now all 252 hang at the State House in Montpelier
By Cynthia Prairie ©2026 Telegraph Publishing The works of folk artist Martha Stevenson are iconic in Vermont. While best known for her acrylic paintings of Okemo and other ski mountains in the snow, Stevenson is also noted for her lush, romanticized landscapes depicting small town Vermont with all of their appealing quirks. Now Stevenson, formerly […]
Chester board sets tax rates, begins look at town services Hears new request to give up Class 4 road
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last Wednesday, the Chester Select Board finalized the town’s property tax rates by adding the state mandated education tax to the municipal rates it approved on June 17. And it also began the process of looking at town services with an eye to finding savings that might […]
Van Alstyne wins Vermont Prize for Tenney film $5000 award to benefit work on second movie
By Cynthia Prairie ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester native Travis Van Alstyne is the 2026 winner of the Vermont Prize, an annual $5,000 award given to one Vermont-based artist working in the visual arts. The award recognizes his short animated film Love of the Land, an award-winning animated short film that was released in 2024. […]
Auditor tells Chester board the town tax is ‘artificially low’ 'You're lean and mean, but you've got no money'
By Shawn Cunningham ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC You’re lean and mean but you’ve got no money,” said auditor Ron Smith at the June 17 Chester Select Board meeting. “But we’re not in the hole,” replied Town Manager Julie Hance. Smith agreed, but reiterated that the town does not have enough money sufficient for cash flow […]
Proctorsville’s Bob Glidden retires after 33 years as fire chief Glidden has served as a firefighter for 56 years
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The year was 1970. Richard Nixon was in the second year of his first term, gasoline averaged 36¢ per gallon, the minimum wage was $1.60 and Bob Glidden was starting his career as a volunteer firefighter in Proctorsville. He was 12. Next week, he will retire from […]
Policy governance wheels still spinning at GM board Act 170 merger talks begin by Oct. 15
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Study groups mandated by Act 170 will shortly be ramping up to produce proposed school merger agreements by the law’s September 2027 deadline. Those will be voted on at Town Meetings in March 2028. Meanwhile, the Green Mountain Unified School District Board spent a fair amount […]
Green Mountain graduates 47 as thunderstorms avoid Chester Photo gallery of an evening to remember
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The possibility of rain passed by mid-afternoon Friday and the sun was shining through high clouds as 44 members of the Class of 2026 marched out to Pomp and Circumstance and took their seats set up on the lawn of the high school. A little over an […]
News Analysis: Transforming Vermont’s education system, again As House bill 955 enters the final stretch, here's what's coming at us
UPDATE: H955 was signed into law by Gov. Scott on June 18. It is now called Act 170. By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC As this article is being written, H. 955 is still just a bill. Before it can begin “transforming Vermont’s education system,” it must be checked and double checked for typos […]
GMUSD board wrestles with bullying and governance
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last Thursday’s Green Mountain Unified School District Board meeting took up the second half of the behemoth agenda that the board started the week before. Before beginning the meeting, board chair Lisa Sanders of Cavendish asked that only one person speak at a time, with no side […]
GMUSD board hears of bullying, threats to inclusion at high school Board accepts resignations of two principals
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC While new GMUSD board chair Lisa Sanders played catch-up on a backlog of work by splitting the agenda and scheduling an additional meeting for May, the board got an earful from the public and continued its combative internal dynamic at its May 21 confab. The board will […]
Chester begins Town Plan update; ‘all boards’ public meeting on June 9 to coordinate effort
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC In a couple of weeks, Chester will hold an “all boards” meeting, bringing together many of the boards, committees and commissions that work on issues facing the town. That Tuesday, June 9 public meeting will be held from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at Town Hall and remotely […]
Chester board hears that audits will show no deficits, reservoir dam recommendations
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC At last Wednesday’s meeting, the Chester Select Board got a bit of good news when Town Manager Julie Hance announced that there was no negative fund balance or deficit for 2024 or 2025. Back in January, Hance said that although the town received a clean audit for […]
GM budget passes by wide margin; Cavendish Elementary principal resigns
****Article updated at 5 p.m. Wednesday with quote from Superintendent Layne Millington.**** By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC On March 3 – Town Meeting Day – 1,013 residents of Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester went to the polls and by a margin of 37 votes defeated the budget proposal put forward by […]
Sage Jewelry takes root in new Chester location
By Cynthia Prairie ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Michele Colby has finally found the storefront she has longed for. During the 16 intervening years, her children have grown and so has her business, Sage Jewelry and Gifts, now one of the two oldest retail businesses on the Chester Green. Just this past April, Colby finally moved […]
GMUSD budget re-vote informational meeting May 5
The Green Mountain Union School District will hold a informational meeting regarding the District’s school budget ahead of a May 12 re-vote at 6 p.m. on May 5, 2026 at Green Mountain Union High School, 716 Route 103 south in Chester and remotely via Zoom. Below is the board’s agenda: I. Call to Order II. […]
Judge clears way for Piri murder trial early next year Five week trial expected, complicating scheduling
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC A Windham County Superior Court judge has denied a defense motion to dismiss second-degree murder charges against Jozsef Piri, paving the way for a five week long trial sometime early in 2027. Piri is accused of shooting and killing Roberto Fonseca-Rivera – a Boston truck driver – […]
GM board sends same budget back for May 12 re-vote
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC After a rough start to its Thursday, April 16 meeting, the Green Mountain Unified School District board gelled and decided unanimously to again put forward the budget that went down to defeat at Town Meeting Day, to set the re-vote date for May 12, then brainstormed ways […]
Chester board OKs federal grant application, solar field purchase
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC In one of the most unusual agendas in recent memory, the Chester Select Board held two meetings last Wednesday with three executive sessions and a legal tutorial on the roles of the board and town manager in Vermont statutes from town attorney Jim Carroll. While the remainder […]