All Entries in the "Featured" Category
Annual Peru Fair draws out the crowds
The skies were blue, the weather warm, perfect for the 34th Annual Peru Fair on Saturday, Sept. 28. This old-fashioned town fair actually started life in 1979 as the World’s Largest Tag Sale. Now, however, it boasts more than 100 vendors. And it draws folks from all over for food, fellowship and fun, as well […]
Playhouse gets zoning board OK; Duke leaves WPTC
By Cynthia Prairie The Weston Zoning Board of Adjustment has granted the Weston Playhouse Theatre Company a conditional use permit to build a new theater complete with parking spaces, driveway and landscaping on the 5-acre Walker Farm property at the corner of Route 100 and Chester Mountain Road in Weston. ON THE COVER: Architect Jim […]
Select Board mashup: Town solar farm now a question; supervisory union budget transparency questioned and answering a question: Who hired the consultant?
By Shawn Cunningham The Chester Select Board seems to be talking itself out of a solar farm deal that it has been working on for the past eight months. During its meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 18, board member Derek Suursoo kicked off the discussion on the proposed solar farm — slated for town land off […]
Smiling faces fill Chester’s 39th Annual Fall Festival
The sun shone bright on Saturday, and broke through a cloudy Sunday, enough to keep food vendors and craftspeople busy and shoppers and tourists visiting the Rotary Club of Chester’s 39th Annual Fall Festival on the Green. Craftsmen and women from Chester and beyond dotted the Green, demonstrating their art. Filling the air were the […]
Opponents lay out arguments against Dollar General plan
This is Part II of a two-part series reporting on last week’s Dollar General appeal, today covering the testimony for opponents of the proposed Dollar General store in Chester and cross-examination. Feel free to share your views on the articles and the issues in the Comment section below the article or send us a Letter […]
Zaremba defends Dollar General plans in court
This is Part I of two parts reporting on this week’s Dollar General appeal, only covering the testimony for Dollar General and cross-examination. Please share your views in the Comment section below the article. By Cynthia Prairie NEWFANE Many punches were thrown, quite a number were landed but none seemed to be a knockout in […]
Judge hears from Dollar General proponents
Posted at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013 NEWFANE The first day of testimony in the appeal of the Act 250 approval of a Dollar General for Chester wrapped up shortly before 5 p.m. after an early morning site visit and testimony from witnesses on behalf of the Zaremba Group, the developer for the 10,000-store […]
Issues over proposed bylaws returned to Planning Commission; Missing Link Bridge to be rebuilt
By Shawn Cunningham For the second meeting in a row, on Wednesday Sept. 4, the Chester Select Board went immediately into executive session. The closed door session was to talk with candidates for the positions of Lister and Planning Commission member. The board entered executive session at 7:07 and returned at 7:29 p.m.after which they […]
Playhouse plans for year-round performances with Walker Farm expansion
By Cynthia Prairie The Weston Playhouse Theatre Company is planning to expand its theatrical offerings to year-round with a new cultural center at the 4.9 acre Walker Farm, just north of its Weston Green main stage. The company, which attracts audiences from throughout the northeast, currently stages shows from late spring to early fall, offering […]
Study author recommends adding officers to Chester Police force
By Shawn Cunningham In a presentation to the Chester Select Board on Wednesday, Aug. 21, Doug Hoyt, a former police chief of Montpelier, suggested that the Chester Police Department staff should grow by two officers, to six total. Hoyt conducted a study of the police department under the auspices of the Vermont League of Cities […]
Black River expands into meat processing with new 50,000-square-foot plant
By Karen Zuppinger SPRINGFIELD Springfield based Black River Produce recently opened a meat processing plant to meet a growing demand. The 50,000-square-foot facility is located in the old Ben & Jerry’s building in North Springfield Industrial Park, a few miles down the road from the company’s headquarters. The compound processes all natural beef, lamb and […]
Chester’s Cheyenne Prescott places 2nd in 10th Keene Idol
By Karen Zuppinger KEENE, N.H. Seventeen year old Chester resident Cheyenne Prescott is this year’s 2nd place winner of the 10th annual Keene Idol singing competition. Bested only by industry vet and former “The Voice” contestant, Michelle Brooks-Thompson, Prescott’s vocals and stage presence stood out on a night when all seven finalists brought their A […]
Telescopes star at 78th Stellafane Convention
Claudio Veliz of the Southern Vermont Astronomy Group, based in Chester, attended this year’s annual Stellafane Convention in Springfield, the 78th meeting of Amateur Telescope Makers. The event attracts amateur telescope and lens makers from all over the world. This year’s convention was held from Thursday, Aug. 8 through Sunday, Aug. 11. Organizers said that […]
Toddler playset finally goes up at the Pinnacle
Click any photo to launch the gallery.
Tapping Into Local Talent: Southern VT youths light up Weston stage
By David Lampe-Wilson The theater is often referred to as “the fabulous invalid.” But it hangs on through an ongoing infusion of new audiences and new artists. What keeps theater alive and kicking – at least in Weston, VT – is its closeness to the community, says Steve Stettler, a producing director with Weston Playhouse. […]
DRB begins to address Dollar General proposal again
The Chester Development Review Board has gone through all the documents from the previous hearings on the proposed 9,100-square-foot Dollar General Store, according to zoning administrator Michael Normyle. At its Monday, Aug. 12 meeting, the five-member board will announce that it will begin considering what steps to take next. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. […]
LIFE IN WATERCOLORS: Winston painting sale evokes memories of the Chester Art Guild
By Cynthia Prairie Galen Pinkham is a large man with a ready smile, a welcoming laugh and a wealth of stories. He navigates this Grafton home with the ease of someone who grew up among the books, the record albums, the furniture and, especially, the many paintings that hang from just about every wall. Many […]
Bryan Ballinger is trying to raise a STINK!
By Shawn Cunningham With an Aug. 8 deadline approaching on his Kickstarter funding campaign, former Chester resident Bryan “Breadwig” Ballinger is optimistic that he will raise the $20,000 needed to publish his “scratch and sniff” children’s book, Animal Gas. At press time, his appeal to help produce the allegory on how we perceive our ourselves […]
Green Mountain grad takes flight with internship at Air & Space Museum
ON THE COVER: Laura and a member of the Blue Crew assist a visitor at the National Air and Space Museum. // Photos courtesy National Air & Space Museum By Andy Jackins Laura Hofmann, the 2011 salutatorian at Green Mountain Union High and current Middlebury College junior, is spending 10 weeks in the nation’s capital […]
After decision hiccup, town agrees to seek grant, loan for exterior repairs to Whiting Library
By Cynthia Prairie The Chester Select Board last Wednesday, July 17, walked back on earlier suggestions that the Whiting Library Board of Trustees come up with more than the original $10,000 it had pledged toward major repairs of the library building. It instead agreed to apply for a federal grant and loan and put in […]
