All Entries in the "Featured" Category

Bittersweet Family Day as CAES bids farewell to Plunkard
Becky Plunkard has been with Chester-Andover Elementary School for 19 years — it’s been so long that she had to look back in her records to check, she said. Secretary, paraprofessional, special education teacher, substitute teacher, mentor, Respect Club adviser, special events and after school activities coordinator. “I have kids that I remember when they […]

A Day of Remembrance: Chester’s Memorial Day 2012
Traffic came to a standstill for a short time on Routes 103 and 11 on Wednesday as Chester once again observed Memorial Day on its traditional May 30th date. Hundreds of residents including students from Chester Andover Elementary and Green Mountain Union High School took part. The annual parade kicked off at 9 a.m. with […]

Family Center hopes to buy Putney Pasta building
By Stephen Seitz Should the remaining cards fall properly, the Chester-Andover Family Center may soon find itself in a new and much larger home. “Even if we close in July, we won’t be able to move until September,” said Sherry Willumitis, the thrift shop manager. “There’s a lot of work to be done.” The 27-year-old […]

2012 Rotary Golf Tourney to aid Chester Emergency Services
by Stephen Seitz Time to start polishing the clubs for the 2nd Annual Chester Rotary Charitable Golf Tournament, to be held at the Tater Hill Golf Course on Sunday, June 3. Click here for a registration form. Proceeds from this year’s tournament will go to benefit Chester Emergency Services, according to tournament organizer Ron Theissen. […]

Alumni weekend schedule of events
The CHS/GMUHS Alumni Association has been hard at work preparing for the 2012 alumni weekend. Below is the list of events from the association. But for much more information, go to the association’s website. Friday, June 8th Noon: Golf Tournament at Tater Hill Country Club. Sign up for the tournament with the registration form or […]

Select Board awaits legal opinion before filling DRB slots
By Cynthia Prairie The Chester Select Board may have intended to appoint two members and one alternate to the Development Review Board at its Wednesday, May 2, regular meeting, but a filing by attorneys for the Zaremba Group, which wants to build a Dollar General on Main Street, thwarted the plan. Zaremba, through attorney David […]

Fire leaves family of five searching for a new home
By Cynthia Prairie It was dinner time at the Picz home, a chilly April Saturday good for grilling out but eating in. At the grill, Greg Picz was the first to see the smoke crawling from the basement stairs. He yelled for his wife Angie and their three children to get out of the house – […]

VTica opens Carbonetti exhibit
The gallery at the Vermont Institute of Contemporary Art was wall-to-wall with visitors on Saturday evening, May 5, for the opening of a month long display of the works of Jeanne Carbonetti, an internationally known water colorist who lives in Chester. VTica, at 15 Depot St. in Chester, is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. […]

GM’s Ferenc named VT Principal of the Year
By Shawn Cunningham Green Mountain Union High School Principal Tom Ferenc has been named MetLife/NASSP High School Principal of the Year for Vermont. It was just last week that another Chester educator, Frank Kelley, was recognized statewide for his history teaching chops. The award – which is underwritten by MetLife on behalf of the National […]

Select Board appointment error throws Dollar General OK into question
By Cynthia Prairie Confusion on the part of the Select Board over when appointments to the Development Review Board are made could throw into question the DRB’s recent decision to allow a Dollar General store to be built, as well as other actions it may have taken since the beginning of March. (You can read […]

Kelley named Vermont History Teacher of the Year
By Stephen Seitz The spotlight of recognition shone on Chester-Andover Elementary School teacher Frank Kelley recently, as he was named Gilder Lehrman Vermont History Teacher of the Year for 2011-2012. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is a nonprofit organization that promotes the study of American history and provides resources to help teachers. Each […]

Bourque leaving GM School Board after 7 years
By Rebecca Salem After seven years serving as chair of the Green Mountain Union High School Board, Bill Bourque will be stepping down in July. He and his family are moving west – from Andover to Manchester, VT. Bourque became chairman of the school board shortly after joining in 2005. At that time, he was […]

DRB approves Dollar General proposal
By Cynthia Prairie The Chester Development Review Board has approved the proposal for a 9,100-square-foot Dollar General store on a 1.4-acre empty parcel southeast of Main Street Pizza, former home to Zachary’s Pizza House. The decision was 3 to 2, and voted on Monday night, April 16. The DRB did place 35 conditions upon the […]

Lego assembly clicks at St. Luke’s
About 75 children and adults were present as 33 Lego scene creations were entered in St. Luke’s Episcopal Church’s Lego scene contest on Saturday April 14th. The contest was open to children from pre-K to grade 6 with the proceeds going to benefit St. Luke’s and the Whiting Library Children’s Room. The church was abuzz […]

Easter Bunny arrives in Chester
The Easter Bunny hopped into Chester Saturday morning under blue skies and to the welcoming smiles of 75 kids and their parents, as the Chester Rotary once again hosted its Annual Easter Egg Hunt at Chester-Andover Elementary School. Chocolate eggs were spread like grass seed across lawn, garden and the Castle playground by Rotary members, […]

Jersey Girls to be featured at Beard Foundation Dinner in NYC
By Cynthia Prairie Chester’s own Jersey Girls Dairy will receive the honor of being featured by the James Beard Foundation at one of its rare Chef-Farmer Dinners, to be prepared by Chef Jason Tostrup of the Weathersfield Inn. The dinner, which will be held on June 4 at the foundation headquarters — the late James […]

Restoration brightens, gives accessibility to Stone Church
By Cynthia Prairie When congregants returned in January to the historic First Universalist Parish in the Stone Village after a four-month restoration project, they were met with jewel red carpeting and sunny yellow walls that draw eyes to the stunning stained glass windows. But the major aspects of the $270,000 project involved adding safety features […]

State to continue to push Green Mountain Care
Rep. Dakin reassures as Supreme Court decides federal law By Stephen Seitz Whatever the U.S. Supreme Court decides to do about health care, the state will do its best to go forward with its Green Mountain Care plan, according to state Rep. Leigh Dakin. Dakin gave her assessment Monday, April 2 at the Fullerton Inn, […]

Whiting Library to institute late fees beginning April 2
For the first time in its 120-year history, the Whiting Library will begin charging patrons a late fee on any item not returned by the due date. The policy change takes place Monday, April 2. Each late item – whether a book, DVD, audiobook or CD – will be assessed 20 cents for each day […]

Vermont ranks 6th in nation for women
By Cynthia Prairie Vermont is the sixth best state in the nation for women to live in, according to a new poll by iVillage.com, an online community for women. Vermont’s neighbor to the west, New York, came in 7th, and its neighbor to the east, New Hampshire was listed as 10th. The No. 1 spot […]