All Entries in the "Featured" Category
Chester Planning Commission continues to hone sign regs
By Shawn Cunningham ©2015-Telegraph Publishing LLC In the absence of Tom Bock, Naomi Johnson took the chair of the Chester Planning Commission for its Monday, Jan. 26 meeting as the commission began reviewing the “definitions” section of the Unified Development Bylaws. While the past several meetings were attended by a substantial number of business people […]
Fire destroys Chester home on Sunday, donations welcome
By Cynthia Prairie ©2015-The Chester Telegraph Chester Fire Chief Matt Wilson says that a fire that destroyed the home of Andy and Judy Lavallee on First Avenue in Chester on Sunday was not suspicious, but that the cause has not been officially confirmed. According to the Chester Fire Department, firefighters responded around 8:30 a.m. to […]
Chester Select Board rejects Open Meeting Law complaint, pulls Australian ballot articles
By Shawn Cunningham ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board heard from the town’s attorney regarding The Chester Telegraph’s complaint of a violation of Vermont’s Open Meeting Law and the board removed the questions regarding Australian ballot voting for all questions from the Town Meeting warning at its Jan. 21 meeting. Jim Carroll, attorney […]
Chester Historical Society throws future of Yosemite Fire House into question
By Shawn Cunningham ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC The future of an iconic Chester structure is in question as the organization that has been responsible for it for nearly 38 years has expressed a desire to shed that responsibility. At a meeting on Thursday Jan. 22, Chester Historical Society President Ron Patch told the society’s membership […]
Spending issues on Town Meeting agendas for Andover, Chester, Grafton & Weston
2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC This time of year, town governments throughout Vermont begin setting their proposed spending agendas that voters will have to vote up or down either from the floor or by Australian ballot. Below are summaries of those articles for Andover, Chester, Grafton and Weston. Because of the Tuesday snows, we’ll give you […]
From the editor: On the recent downs and ups of the Chester Telegraph
Around 11:20 a.m. last Tuesday morning, as we were editing and writing articles for The Chester Telegraph, the company that hosted our website began experiencing instability on its servers. As you probably noticed, attempts to access the paper were met with 502 errors, 504 errors and other messages that indicated we and other websites hosted […]
Open offices: What’s up in Chester, Andover, Grafton, Weston and Londonderry
©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC Next week: We’ll outline the fiscal articles that will be on the ballots for Andover, Chester, Grafton, Londonderry and Weston. Chester petitions due Monday Petitions to run for elective office in Chester are due at the Town Office by 5 p.m. Monday Jan. 26. According to Chester Town Clerk Deb Aldrich, […]
Chester Planning Commission begins drafting sign law, comments still sought
By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC Having taken several hours of testimony from business owners and residents at two earlier meetings, the Chester Planning Commission met on Monday, Jan. 12 to discuss and organize the work of revising the town’s sign ordinance. Commission chair Tom Bock referred to the complexity of the work […]
SAPA-TV announces video on demand; seeks donations to further broadcasting
By Shawn Cunningham ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC If living on a Class 3 road out in the woods has always meant missing the thrill of watching a Chester, Springfield or Weathersfield select board meeting in your pajamas, you won’t be deprived any longer. As Springfield Area Public Access Television begins its video on demand service, […]
Chester board considers eliminating votes during town meeting; adopts budget proposal for voter approval
By Shawn Cunningham ©2015 The Chester Telegraph The Chester Select Board is considering whether voting from the floor at town meeting should be eliminated. Two articles were proposed for consideration at the Monday March 2 meeting. Article 2 asks “Shall the Town of Chester vote on all public questions by Australian ballot.” Article 3 asks […]
Commentary: Do it in public — a call for transparency and accountability
By Cynthia Prairie ©2015 The Chester Telegraph The Chester Telegraph has sent a formal letter of complaint alleging that on Nov. 19 of last year the Chester Select Board held an illegal executive session. You can read a copy of that complaint here. That seems like a pretty serious step. But the fact is that […]
Public Funds bring tidy return, Hearse House project to receive grant
By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC The three-member board that oversees more than a dozen funds given to the town for designated purposes met Tuesday to hear from representatives of People’s Bank who manage the $660,000 public funds portfolio and to announce a grant to support the rehabilitation of the Hearse House at […]
Chester planning board, DRB address problems in new zoning regs
By Shawn Cunningham ©2015 The Chester Telegraph The Chester Planning Commission and Development Review Board met in a joint session on Monday Jan. 5 to discuss questions and problems associated with interpreting the town’s new Unified Development Bylaws. The bylaws, which were developed by the Planning Commission over five years, consist of revised zoning regulations, […]
Our year in review: Land rights, wrecks, fires, floods and friendships
©2014 Telegraph Publishing LLC When The Chester Telegraph began publication three years ago, more than a few people (including the publisher of a local newspaper) warned us that “nothing ever happens” in these communities. And yet, over the past year, keeping up with “nothing” has often been hectic work. Here’s a selection of some of […]
Environmental judge upholds Chester DRB on Dollar General permit
By Cynthia Prairie ©2014-Telegraph Publishing LLC Environmental Judge Thomas Walsh handed the billion dollar Tennessee-based Dollar General corporation an early Christmas present by striking down an appeal of the Chester Development Review Board’s OK of a developer’s plans for a 9,100-square-foot store across from the Country Girl Diner. The decision was signed on Monday, Dec. […]
Chester board delays budget decisions; discussed land purchase in questionable executive session
By Shawn Cunningham ©Telegraph Publishing LLC – 2014 The Chester Select Board took up the 2015 budget at its Wednesday Dec. 17 meeting, discussing several issues from earlier meetings. But it was agenda item No. 7 – the proposed purchase of land – that raised questions about transparency in the town government of Chester. Town […]
$20 AND UNDER: Gifts they’ll love without breaking your bank
By Cynthia Prairie © 2014 Telegraph Publishing LLC Welcome to the 3rd annual Chester Telegraph Shop Local Holiday Gift Guide. Although the economy seems to be on the upswing, we felt that this year it was a good idea to focus on gifts priced at $20 and under. You may be under the impression […]
Chester Planning Commission looks at signs, ponders ‘appropriate funkiness’
By Shawn Cunningham © 2014 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Planning Commission continued to take comments from the public, especially small business people, regarding new sign regulations that the commission is beginning to work on. While the crowd was not as large as the previous meeting, several who were not at the Monday, Dec. 1 […]
Paving, police, library and health insurance among Chester budget topics.
By Shawn Cunningham ©Telegraph Publishing LLC – 2014 Taking up next year’s budget first on the agenda again at its Wednesday, Dec. 3 meeting, the Chester Select Board looked at issues from the cost of changing police and fire dispatch from Springfield to Hartford, to the need for a fifth full-time police officer and whether […]
Chester business owners seek changes to sign regulations
By Shawn Cunningham ©Telegraph Publishing LLC — 2014 About 25 people, most of them local business owners, attended the Chester Planning Commission’s Dec. 1 meeting to tell members about problems they have had with the current and past sign laws and offer advice on what they think is needed in the new sign ordinance that […]
