All Entries in the "Featured" Category
DRB to keep flood hazard review open on Chester Jiffy Mart
By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC After a contentious hearing on June 1, this past Monday’s Chester Development Review Board meeting was polite and even relaxed in portions as the town’s quasi-judicial land use arbiters once again took up the application of Robert Record and Champlain Oil for a conditional use permit to […]
Chester Select Board member pushes fire district; board still unclear on ownership of historic firehouse
By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC At its June 3 meeting, the Chester Select Board set up a busy session for June 17, when the meeting time will return to 7 p.m. from 6:30 at the request of chairman John DeBenedetti. Among the discussions at last week’s meeting that will be on the […]
Londonderry residents seek answers, tell State Police of fears of arsons, burglaries
Cynthia Prairie © 2015-Telegraph Publishing LLC Emotions burbled beneath a surface of congeniality as more than 200 Londonderry residents jammed Town Hall on Middletown Road Monday night to hear from Vermont State Police and its fire investigators concerning a recent spate of burglaries and the long history of suspected arsons in the area. State Rep. […]
Chester alumni celebrate reuniting with a holiday-themed parade
By Leah M. Cunningham ©2015-Telegraph Publishing LLC T he unsettled weather of the morning cleared up just in time for Chester’s annual Alumni Day parade, which kicked off at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 6. This year’s theme was Holidays, and several returning classes went all out with their floats, including an Earth Day float, one […]
Wind developers invite skeptical Graftonites to info session; speed study on Route 121 OK’d
By Gloria Dufield ©2015-Telegraph Publishing LLC The Monday, June 1 Grafton Select Board meeting was well attended with many community members taking part in the continuing discussions on the Grafton-Windham wind project, a proposed speed limit change on Route 121 and the minimum bid on the town garage. Melissa Belcher, of Meadowsend Timberlands Ltd., a […]
Sun shines bright on Chester Memorial Day Parade
By Leah M. Cunningham ©2015-Telegraph Publishing LLC Under warm and sunny skies, residents of Chester gathered in and around the Green on Saturday, May 30 for the annual Memorial Day Parade. Green Mountain Union High/Middle and Chester-Andover Elementary bands marched by as the CAES flag squad twirled their red and white banners to the glee […]
Jiffy Mart developer sees new store as improvement to area’s character
By Shawn Cunningham ©2015-Telegraph Publishing LLC Pointing to a “very old service station, a very old metal diner, an abandoned pizza parlor that’s overgrown, a dollar store site and a rental house that’s not in very good shape,” Matt Wamsganz, the point man overseeing constructing a 5,000-square-foot Jiffy Mart for Champlain Oil, told the Chester […]
VTel responds to Big Pole controversy in Chester; Andover-Chester MOUs still in play
By Cynthia Prairie ©2015 – Telegraph Publishing LLC Following two executive sessions to discuss legal issues with town attorney Jim Carroll, the Chester Select Board reconvened its public session after almost a 90 minutes on Thursday, May 21. After the first executive session, the board authorized Town Manager David Pisha to sign an amendment to […]
Reconstruction begins on 300-foot wall in Weston
By Mallory Hopkins © 2015-Telegraph Publishing LLC Construction has begun on a 300-footlong replacement wall on Lawrence Hill Road in Weston. The original wall has stood below the Community Church since the 1800s, when it was built using rocks found in fields and rivers. But the wall has become unstable, with stones falling into the […]
Grafton ponders speed limit change on Route 121; unhappy with notifications from wind developer
By Gloria Dufield © 2015 Telegraph Publishing Although the weather was sunny and mild, a dozen residents and all five members of the Grafton Select Board were in attendance at the Monday, May 18 meeting, where discussion continued on topics from past sessions including a proposed wind project and the sale of the old town […]
In weak voter turnout, Chester water project passes by 26 votes
By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing By a margin of 112 to 86, Chester voters on Tuesday authorized the town to borrow slightly more than $4 million to upgrade the town water system, adding a second storage tank and replacing a large stretch of asbestos/concrete water main along Route 103 from the Sunoco station […]
GMUHS board OKs limited school choice, restraint and seclusion policy
By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing At its regular monthly meeting, the Green Mountain Union High School Board of Directors adopted limited school choice for seventh and eighth graders, as well as a restraint and seclusion policy for disruptive students and heard a presentation on the proposed town water project from town government officials. […]
Chester residents seek answers on proposed water project
By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing, LLC It was a respectful but question-filled turnout at Chester Town Hall last night, Monday May 18, for an informational meeting regarding a $4 million water project proposed by the Town of Chester that is being voted on from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. today. Town Moderator Bill […]
CAES board adopts limited school choice
Gloria Dufield © 2015 Telegraph Publishing, LLC T he Chester-Andover Board of Directors on Monday, May 11, finalized some specific policy and processes that continue to reflect the district merger. Of most significance on this short agenda for CAES students and parents were adoption of limited school choice program within the district for the elementary […]
Chester DRB’s initial Jiffy Mart hearing focuses on flood hazard
By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing, LLC Chester’s Development Review Board began the process of considering a new Jiffy Mart gas station, convenience store and food outlets at its meeting on Monday, May 11. A couple of dozen people, including a quorum of the Select Board, were there for the initial examination of documents […]
Part 2: A Closer Look: Separating the Chester water project from gravel needs
By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC In any public discussion of the proposed municipal water upgrade, most people agree that Chester’s water system has suffered from deferred maintenance and that the longer work is put off, the more extensive and expensive it is likely to be. “We need this water project,” Jeff Holden, […]
Chester Select Board revisits Andover MOU; ice cream truck permit will have to wait
By Cynthia Prairie ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC The ongoing negotiations with the Town of Andover over a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the cost of providing emergency fire and ambulance service to that town of 500 is looking more like a duel with paper swords. Since the 2007 budget, Chester has charged Andover $9,300 (up from […]
Grafton struggles with conflict of interest issues, wind project at Select Board meeting
By Gloria Dufield ©2015 The Chester Telegraph The Grafton Select Board of Monday, May 4, continued to focus on the Iberdrola Renewables wind project, changes in the Town Plan and whether Select Board and Planning Commission members were facing a conflict of interest in regards to both. In a breaking story, Michael Faher of the […]
Part 1 – A Closer Look: The long and winding road toward a municipal gravel source
By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC This is the first in a two-part series on the water and gravel projects proposed for the town of Chester. Next week: Do water and gravel mix? On Tuesday, May 19, Chester voters will be asked to decide whether to go forward with a $4 million water […]
Suspicious fire razes Londonderry home; Andover fire goes underground, prompting sleepless night for firefighters
By Shawn Cunningham ©2015 Telegraph Publishing, LLC Tuesday continued to be a busy day for firefighters throughout the region, with Chester crews staying overnight in Andover to monitor what has turned into a ground and root fire and with South Londonderry firefighters responding to a pre-dawn house fire at 2687 Under the Mountain Road. Crews […]
