All Entries in the "Latest News" Category
Act 170 school merger groupings announced, meetings in weeks What is good faith?
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last Thursday, Sept. 17, while discussing the Act 170 voluntary school merger process, TRSU Superintendent Layne Millington asked members of the board of the Green Mountain Unified School District what other group of school districts they would be interested in merging with outside of their Group 7 […]
GMUSD Board hears need for deep cuts to avoid penalties
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC After many months of wrangling over various aspects of policy governance — a method of assigning roles of the board and the administration — the Green Mountain Unified School District voted to consign it to the ash heap and move to another model. But that sense of […]
Andover Select Board agenda for Sept. 28
The Andover Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday Sept. 28 at Andover Town Hall, 953 Weston-Andover Road. Below is the board’s agenda. 1. Call Meeting to Order. 2. Act on Agenda. 3. Act on Minutes of September 14th meeting. 4. Public Comment (Time allowance: Five minutes per visitor, 10 […]
Chester Hardware bankruptcy sale in the works Business could have new owners by year's end
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC If all goes to plan, according to bankruptcy trustee Raymond Obuchowski, the Chester Hardware store that declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy and closed in July could be under new ownership by early December. On Friday, Obuchowski and trustee Paul Levine filed notice of a motion asking the U.S. […]
Vermont Land Use Review Board to host public info meetings on Act 250 habitat connectors
The Vermont Land Use Review Board will host four public information sessions across the state — in person and remotely — to introduce Vermonters to a new Act 250 review criterion that goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2028. Criterion 8(C) only applies to projects that already require an Act 250 permit and does not […]
Chester planners hear of alternative zoning for increasing housing
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Planning Commission is in the early days of updating the Town Plan with technical and writing assistance from the Mount Ascutney Regional Commission or MARC. But at Monday’s meeting, the most interesting moments came in a discussion of fast-tracking housing projects that could be applied […]
Black River Walk & Talk on flood awareness on Sunday
To kick off National Flood Awareness Week — Sunday, Sept. 20 through Saturday, Sept. 26 — the Cavendish Historical Society, Black River Action Team and the Dartmouth Rural Rivers Project are teaming up for a program on the history and health of the Black River and what is being to done to help mitigate flooding. […]
Chester Select Board agenda for Sept. 16
The Chester Select Board will hold two meetings on Wednesday Sept. 16. First they will meet in their capacity as the Water and Sewer Commission followed by a meeting as the select board. The meetings start at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 556 Elm St., and remotely via Zoom. Below are the boards’ agendas: Water […]
A Perspective on Growth: A boy forges path to adulthood with help from family, organizations
By Nicholas Boke Life now seems to be coming together for 18-year-old Ashton Briere, unlike just a few years ago when he could barely read or write, living in Claremont, N.H., with little adult supervision and almost never attending school. “I had behavioral problems,” Briere says today. “And I found it hard to go to […]
Andover Select Board agenda for Sept. 14
The Andover Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday Sept. 14 at Andover Town Hall, 953 Weston-Andover Road. Below is the board’s agenda: 1. Call Meeting to Order. 2. Act on Agenda. 3. Act on Minutes of August 24th meeting. 4. Public Comment (Time allowance: Five minutes per visitor, 10 […]
Chester board talks changes in finances, tax collection, budget voting
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC With auditor Ron Smith attending the Wednesday, Sept. 2 meeting, the Chester Select Board again considered some big changes in the way the town handles its finances and tax collection and how the budget is approved. The board looked at a “fund balance policy,” and the idea […]
Facilitators chosen for Act 170 school merger talks to begin in October
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Vermont Learning Collaborative announced on Friday the names of the seven Act 170 facilitators who will guide school districts in evaluating the possibility of voluntary school mergers between now and Sept. 1, 2027. Any proposed mergers will be voted on by the communities involved in the […]
Musical fund-raiser to benefit new Grafton Community Nurse program
By Cynthia Prairie ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC A small group of Grafton musicians is holding a fund-raising concert in late September to help benefit Grafton’s nascent Community Nurse effort as well as to honor the memory of two nurses who answered the call when needed. At 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, soprano Tricia Suriani and […]
GMUSD board hears disappointment in response to bullying
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Running to almost two full pages, the Green Mountain Unified School District board agenda for Thursday, Aug. 20 was another gargantuan lift for the evening. But Board Chair Lisa Sanders requested a number of changes that consolidated the agenda worked to move things along. Nevertheless, a big […]
The Ultimate Guide to the 2026 Chester Festival
© 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Welcome to the 52nd Chester Festival, a weekend filled with friendly faces, fine crafts, wonderful arts, great food and superb music and entertainment for the whole family. This year’s festival will be bigger than ever with more than 100 vendors. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. […]
Chester Select Board agenda for Sept. 2
The Chester Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday Sept. 2 at Town Hall, 556 Elm St., and remotely via Zoom. Below is the board’s agenda: 1. Approval of Minutes of August 19, 2026 Select Board Meeting 2. Citizen’s Comments 3. Old Business 4. Economic Development Loan; Bright Beginnings 5. […]
Teen lifeguard recognized for lifesaving at Pinnacle swimming pool Select Board continues look at town services
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The average Select Board meeting is a series of requests to be heard, problems to work out and questions to answer. But once in a while there’s a lighter, more celebratory moment like the one in Chester last Wednesday. That’s when recreation Director Matt McCarthy presented 16-year-old […]
Millington pulls out of Washington Central superintendent race
By Shawn Cunningham and Cynthia Prairie ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Telegraph has confirmed that Two Rivers Superintendent Layne Millington has withdrawn his name from consideration for the superintendency of the Washington Central Unified Union School District,for which he was one of two finalists. After hearing early Monday morning that Millington had dropped out, The […]
GMUSD Board agenda for Aug. 20
The Green Mountain Unified School District Board will hold its regular meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday Aug. 20, 2026 at the Green Mountain High School 716 Route 103 South in Chester and remotely via Zoom. Below is the board’s agenda: I. Call to Order a. Roll Call, Confirming a Quorum II. Agenda Additions or […]
Chester Select Board agenda for Aug. 19
UPDATED 11:30 a.m. Aug. 17 with No. 7 added. The Chester Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday Aug. 19, 2026 at Town Hall, 556 Elm St., and remotely via Zoom. Below is the board’s agenda: Approval of Minutes of Aug. 5, 2026 Select board Meeting\ Citizen’s Comments Old Business […]