All Entries in the "Featured" Category
GMUSD board preps for next year as Fierman departs
By Lorien Strange © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC The calm of Superintendent Lauren Fierman’s final meeting with the Green Mountain Unified School District Board last Thursday stood in contrast to the turbulence and tension throughout her last year with the Two Rivers Supervisory Union. With the school year done and the All Board Retreat still […]
After civil public hearing, Derry board rejects proposed zoning regs, returning them to planners
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC With more than 120 people in the Town Hall on Monday night and the memory of the heated exchanges when community members pushed back on proposed updates to Londonderry’s zoning regulations, many expected a fairly contentious hearing on the issue. But with Moderator Doug Friant running the […]
Rain forecast clears, allowing GMUHS Class of 2024 graduates outdoors
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC It was raining at 7 a.m. on Friday. That evening’s graduation ceremony was already set up in the gym at Green Mountain Union High School rather than outdoors in front of the school, where it is traditionally held. That was a disappointment for those graduating and their […]
Chester board hones proposed regulations on ‘nuisance animals’
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC The lion’s share of the Chester Select Board’s June 5 meeting was taken up with the question of how to make an “nuisance animal” ordinance that isn’t a bit of a nuisance itself. The impetus for this was the problem that a herd of goats roaming at […]
School spirit shines through cloudy day at Chester Alumni Parade
By Lorien Strange ©2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC There’s a unicycle?” exclaimed a young boy as other kids practiced gymnastics and ran around the gazebo in front of Chester Town Hall just before Saturday’s annual parade put on by the Chester High School/Green Mountain Union High School Alumni Association. Meanwhile, the small crowd of adults took […]
GM and Ludlow-Mount Holly districts pass budgets with higher turnout
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Residents in the two school districts that comprise the Two Rivers Supervisory Union went to the polls for the third time in as many months on Tuesday, this time passing their much-downsized budgets to run four elementary schools and one high school, with a much higher turnout. […]
GM school board wrestles with better use of its three school buildings
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last week’s Green Mountain Unified School District’s Restructuring Committee meeting was like experiencing a time warp, with the discussion re-litigating portions of the Act 46 merger that created the district more than seven years ago. The original charge for the committee was to come up with ideas […]
Londonderry zoning proposal sparks community pushback, a board resignation
By Shawn Cunningham and Cynthia Prairie © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC The row during last week’s Londonderry Select Board special meeting over proposed zoning regulations, which caused one board member to resign, continued on Monday night as more than 100 residents crowded into the Town Office meeting room, then spilled into the hallway and outdoors. […]
What’s at stake in the June 4 GM school budget vote?
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Tuesday, June 4 – a little less than three weeks from now – residents of Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester will have the opportunity to vote on the Green Mountain School District budget for the third time in as many months. The budget funds Cavendish Town […]
Potash neighbors tell select board of nuisance goats ARPA funds discussion and development loan approval
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last Wednesday, several residents from the area of Andover and Potash Brook roads asked the Chester Select Board to establish a nuisance ordinance in response to a neighbor’s animals – including goats, horses, pigs and vicious dogs – that have made living in the area difficult for […]
GM school board approves warning for 3rd budget vote on June 4
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last night, the Green Mountain Unified School District Board voted unanimously to approve a warning that will put a $16.5 million budget in front of the voters in Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester on Tuesday, June 4. This will be the third vote on the school budget […]
GM school board readies third budget proposal hoping to avert major penalty
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last night was a make-or-break moment for the board of the Green Mountain Unified School District as members met in Proctorsville to craft a budget that could win the approval of voters before the end of the school year on June 30 and avoid the penalties that […]
Chester board OKs community health initiative, full-time Fire Chief post
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board at its April 17 meeting approved some major new initiatives in public safety, including a community health program that would expand the work of the town’s ambulance service beyond emergency response and a full-time fire chief. Ambulance Chief Mike Randzio told the board […]
GM and LMH budgets go down to defeat again
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Voters from four area towns went to the polls yesterday, Tuesday, April 23, and again defeated the 2024-25 budget for the Green Mountain Unified School District. This time the vote was 220 yes to 340 no with two blank ballots. The 120-vote margin was up from the […]
Nick Kekic, Chester glass artist, chosen for annual Smithsonian Craft Show D.C. show highlights finest North American crafts people
By Cynthia Prairie ©2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester glass blower Nick Kekic of Kekic Glass will make his first appearance with the Smithsonian’s 42nd annual Craft Show called ‘Creating Joy,’ to be held May 1 through 5 in Washington, D.C. He is one of 11 glass artists to exhibit among 120 in media such as […]
A scorecard for voters in the April 23 GM school budget re-vote
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Next Tuesday, April 23, voters in Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester will go to the polls to decide whether or not to approve a somewhat smaller budget for the Green Mountain Unified School District for the 2024-25 school year. The original budget was rejected in March by […]
Chester board gets water/wastewater update, approves coin drops
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Engineer Naomi Johnson of Dufresne Group updated the Chester Select Board last Wednesday on several town water and sewer projects that have been completed or are nearing completion. These include an “asset management plan” for the town’s wastewater system, an inventory of the water system to find […]
Julians admit violations, will cease hammering, other activities
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester’s Development Review Board was set to hear an appeal of the town’s notice of violation against Julian Materials/Allstone on Monday night when it was announced that those companies and the neighbors of its three quarries in Gassetts had agreed to a stipulation that brings a halt […]
Chester Board addresses preserving ancient roads Conservation Committee could aid with public accessibility
By Shawn Cunningham © 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC In the middle of a rather routine “housekeeping” meeting last Wednesday, the Chester Select Board took time to discuss the town’s 16.67 miles of Class 4 roads. Often called “ancient roads,” Class 4 roads are town-owned rights-of-way that are no longer maintained. Some are still recognizable as […]
Local short-term rental regulation one year later
By Shawn Cunningham ©2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC A a year ago, The Telegraph published an article about where area towns stood in dealing with short-term rentals such as AirBnb and VRBO. At Town Meeting earlier this month, Andover residents voted down making short-term rentals a conditional use while the Town of Londonderry began advertising for […]
