All Entries in the "Featured" Category
VTica features student artwork
On the cover: From left, artwork by Hannah Potter, Nicole Wright, Casey Savage and an unidentified student. by Stephen Seitz Green Mountain Union High School art students are getting a chance to spread their wings this week at a special exhibit at the Vermont Institute of Contemporary Arts in Chester. The institute specializes in abstract […]
Green Mountain library poised for major renovation
By Rebecca Salem When students return to Green Mountain Union High School following Spring Break at the end of April, they’ll find a renovated, rehabbed and rewired library that Principal Tom Ferenc hopes will offer them a modern and comfortable learning environment that fosters interaction. The $100,000 renovation, which is expected to take two weeks […]
Calling all kids: Rotary Easter Egg Hunt on April 7
The Rotary Club of Chester will kick off the annual Easter Egg Hunt, which it has been holding for more than 30 years, at 9 a.m. sharp on Saturday, April 7, at Chester-Andover Elementary School, on Main Street in Chester. Chester and Andover children from preschool to 6th grade are invited to participate. The Easter […]
DRB member speaks against Dollar General
By Cynthia Prairie Navigating a bumpy sea of issues – from the placement of catch basins to water connections for a sprinkler system to expected noise levels – the Chester Development Review Board held what it promised would be its final meeting last night, Monday, March 12, on a proposed conditional use permit to allow […]
New, consolidated supervisory union may be on horizon
by Rebecca Salem In an effort to streamline operations to cut education costs by reducing the number of supervisory unions, the Rutland Windsor and Windsor Southwest supervisory unions have recommended merging. A new SU would include the WSWSU towns of Chester, Andover, Baltimore and Cavendish and RWSU towns of Ludlow, Mt. Holly and Plymouth. The […]
Incumbents Bock, Jonynas returned to selectboard; school budgets pass
Photo on the Homepage: Christine Balch, Muriel Briggs and Sindy Pisha hand out ballots at Chester Town Hall on Election Day, Tuesday, March 6, 2012. Photo by Cynthia Prairie By Cynthia Prairie With 638 Chester residents voting by the time polls closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Tom Bock and Arne Jonynas were returned to office […]
Town, school district funding, resolutions approved at Town Meeting
By Cynthia Prairie With about 160 voters in attendance, an early 6 p.m. start, several failed article amendments and some lively discussions, Chester’s Town Meeting went off relatively smoothly Monday night. Voters first passed the Chester Town School District budget of $227,657 for early childhood and special education for those not in kindergarten, then tackled […]
Proposed N. Springfield biomass plant draws concern, support
by Stephen Seitz As a 35-megawatt biomass electric plant proposed for North Springfield inches forward, some in Chester are raising questions about traffic while others are fully supporting the project. Years may pass before ground is broken: The Public Service Board has yet to issue a certificate authorizing the plant’s construction at the North Springfield Industrial […]
2012 Chester budget calls for slight tax hike
Chester voters will address the town budget and a number of budget articles at Town Meeting, to begin at 6 p.m. Monday, March 5, in Town Hall, 556 Elm St. Elections will be from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, also at Town Hall. by Stephen Seitz Chester taxpayers will see a slight […]
Three vie for two Selectboard seats
by Stephen Seitz Two incumbents and one former state representative are vying for two, one-year seats on Chester’s five-member Selectboard in early March: incumbents Arne Jonynas and Tom Bock and former state Rep. Kathy Pellett. Selectman Derek Suursoo is running unopposed for a third three-year term. In separate interviews, Pellett, Jonynas and Bock discussed the […]
Happy Birthday ChesterVermont.org!
By Shawn Cunningham One year ago – a snowier Feb. 16th than today – Cynthia Prairie and I set up our computer in the meeting room behind Bret and Nancy Rugg’s office at the Fullerton Inn. Deb Shelby, our web developer, arrived and, while we arranged some chairs, she configured the projector for our show. […]
New sidewalks slated for 2013
by Rebecca Salem Armed with $279,000 in federal funds and $40,000 in town funds, Chester will begin reconstructing and widening 2,300 feet of downtown sidewalk on the south side of Main Street starting in summer 2013. The project will begin at School Street, run east along Main Street on the Whiting Library side to Maple, […]
Dollar General hearing delayed til March
The Chester Development Review Board has postponed the Feb. 13 continuance hearing on the Dollar General request for a conditional use permit, Zoning Administrator Michael Normyle has announced. The hearing will be delayed until Monday, March 12, at the request of the applicant, the Zaremba Group, the company that is proposing to build the 9,100-square-foot […]
State puts halt to construction at Jack’s Diner
By Cynthia Prairie Construction has been silenced at Jack’s Diner since Wednesday, Jan. 25, when an assistant state Fire Marshal issued a stop-work order on the expansion efforts. Landon Wheeler, the assistant state Fire Marshal, said on Monday, Jan. 30, that he issued the order after owner Jacques Dodier failed to comply with requests for […]
Town Meeting reverts to Town Hall; Pellett runs for selectboard
Only 25 to 30 voters braved the icy roads on Monday night, Jan. 23, to vote at Green Mountain Union High School on two articles that will change the date and place of this year’s town meeting, Town Clerk Deb Aldrich said today. The meeting lasted for about five minutes, she added. On a quick […]
Chester Farmers Market to close
The eight-year-old Chester Farmers Market won’t be returning for the 2012 season, its officers have announced. For the past five years, vendors had set up at the Zachary’s Pizza House parking lot every Sunday from Memorial Day weekend through Columbus Day weekend. Shawn Cunningham, market vice president, said a combination of factors lead to the […]
Chester in 2010: A Snapshot
We are mostly white, middle-aged and female and most of us live in a home that we either own or is owned by a family member. This is Chester 2010, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Census, which are being released throughout the year. Among our population of 3,154 (up 110 residents […]
Residents Testify Against Dollar General
By Cynthia Prairie Monday’s hearing on the conditional use permit sought to allow construction of a Dollar General store was more emotional and contentious than previous ones, this time with several members of the Development Review Board expressing doubt about the project and more Chester residents testifying against it. Within the next two weeks, the […]
Handmade Quilts for Sale at Family Center
Chester fiber artist Dorothy Riley Blomberg has donated eight colorful handmade quilts for sale to benefit the Chester Andover Family Center, 656 Depot St. The finely crafted quilts are suitable for a baby’s bed or as an artistic wall hanging. The quilts are on sale for $20 to $50 with all proceeds going to the […]
