All Entries in the "Latest News" Category
Whisper, internet campaigns fail as Jonynas, Roper, Fierman, Bailey win their Chester races Benelli, Ucci take school board seats, 18-year veteran Hance comes up short; school budget rejected
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC With an unusually large number of contested races and two instances of controversial election shenanigans, Chester’s results for Select Board and school board campaigns have been highly anticipated. In the end, Democrats had a blowout night with all of their candidates victorious and most by substantial margins. […]
Chester Select Board agenda for March 4
The Chester Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday March 4, 2026 at Town Hall, 556 Elm Street and via Zoom. Below is its agenda 1. Reorganization of the Board 2. Approval of Minutes of February 18, 2026 Select board Meeting and February 18, 2026 Special Select board Meeting 3. […]
Election results for Andover and Weston
©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC At Andover’s Monday night Town Meeting, voters elected incumbent Melissa Gates Perry to another three-year term and incumbents Susan Leader and Chris Walker to one-year terms on the five member board. Voters also gave Jeanette Hazeltine another municipal hat-trick electing her as Town Clerk, Treasurer and Collector of Delinquent Taxes. Bill […]
Chester votes down 1% Local Option Tax; Frank Kelley steps up as Town Moderator
By Cynthia Prairie and Shawn Cunningham ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The proposed 1 percent Local Option Tax on meals, rooms and consumed alcoholic beverages that would have brought an estimated $60,000 annually into the Chester Housing Commission’s Housing Reserve Fund went down in defeat on Monday night by a vote of 59 to 76. In […]
Bailey drops out of school board race amid ‘worry for my wife’s safety’
By Cynthia Prairie © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Jesse Bailey has decided to drop out of the race for the board of the Green Mountain Unified School District. His decision comes after two days of facing outrage, criticism, but also support, when a right-wing troll from Brattleboro found, repackaged and distributed a video of he […]
GMUSD candidate Jesse Bailey in hot water over OnlyFans video with wife But Bailey says he is concerned about the safety of his wife
By Cynthia Prairie ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Jesse Bailey, a first-time candidate for the Green Mountain Unified School District Board, is taking a lot of heat over a sex video of himself and his wife and photos of her from her private OnlyFans site that were made public this morning. But while he’s in the […]
What’s on Chester’s March 2 and March 3 ballots Infrastructure projects fall in the shadow of contested elections
By Shawn Cunningham and Cynthia Prairie © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Tuesday, March 3 Australian ballot will contain more than just the contested races for Chester’s Select Board and for Chester seats on the Green Mountain School District Board. And on Monday, March 2, the Town Meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. will offer […]
Q&A: Ucci challenging incumbent Jonynas for three-year Select Board seat
The Chester Select Board is made up of five members voted at large — three are three-year terms, which are elected on a staggered, and two are one-year terms, which are, of course, voted on every year. This year, incumbent Arne Jonynas, who holds a three-year term, is being challenged by Jerry Ucci. You’ll find […]
Q&A: Spaulding, Roper, Mancuso and Fierman compete for two Select Board seats
The Chester Select Board is made up of five members voted at large — three are three-year terms, which are elected on a staggered, and two are one-year terms, which are, of course, voted on every year. Those two one-year seats are currently held by Tim Roper, who is seeking reelection and Ariana Knapp, who […]
League of Women Voters lecture series on voting rights continues March 11 VT Secretary of State Sarah Copeland-Hanzas to speak
The League of Women Voters of Vermont, in partnership with Kellogg-Hubbard Library, presents the next installment of its 2025-2026 lecture series on Voting Rights and Access to the Ballot at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11. Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland-Hanzas will discuss two bills now before Congress: the SAVE Act and the John […]
Q&A: Miles & Bailey face off for an unexpired term on the Green Mountain district board
From left, Randy Miles and Jesse Bailey The Green Mountain Unified School District Board has 11 members; six of whom represent Chester, the largest town by population within the school district. In addition to Chester, there are three representatives from Cavendish and one each from Baltimore and Andover. Two Chester residents are vying for one […]
Q&A: Ucci, Hance & Benelli vie for two three-year seats on the GMUSD board
The Green Mountain Unified School District Board has 11 members; six of whom represent Chester, the largest town by population within the school district. In addition to Chester, there are three representatives from Cavendish and one each from Baltimore and Andover. Three Chester residents are vying for two three-year terms. Those candidates are Patricia “Penny” […]
Chester board to consider Act 250 ‘tier status’; rural areas to see tighter rules Initiative to spur village housing may make building more difficult elsewhere
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Wednesday, the Chester Select Board will hold a meeting with only one topic to be discussed in the public: “Adopt Municipal Resolution on Tier 1B Status.” This is part of a new law that exempts downtowns and village centers from Act 250 regulations to increase the […]
Chester Select Board agendas for Feb. 18
The Chester Select Board will hold two meetings on Wednesday Feb. 18. The first, at 5:30 p.m., will be a special meeting consisting of citizens comments and an executive session to discuss the solar field purchase with the town attorney. The second will be the board’s regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Both meetings will be […]
Candidates’ Night forum in Chester on Tuesday Feb. 17
© 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Tuesday evening, Feb. 17, the Town of Chester will host an opportunity for voters to meet and hear from candidates running for seats on the boards of the Whiting Library and Green Mountain Unified School District as well as the Chester Select Board. The candidate forum will take place […]
Landgrove’s Ben Ogden wins silver in XC sprint
By Kevin O’Connor ©2026 VT Digger The Green Mountain State has its first winners at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy. Fifty years after Bill Koch scored the nation’s first cross-country medal, fellow Vermonter Ben Ogden became the second U.S. man to do so by nabbing silver Tuesday in the men’s sprint. Ogden, […]
Zachariah leaves Whiting Library after 26 months as director
©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Five days after Gail Zachariah’s last day as director of the Whiting Library, the Board of Trustees sent out a press release announcing her departure. The Westminster resident had been director of the Chester library for two years and two months, after serving as head of engagement and youth services at […]
Class 4 roads continue to generate dust-ups for Chester board Road salt shortage limits use to main highways
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board is having quite a moment with Class 4 roads, a subject that heats up from time to time like a dormant volcano. While the board has been working on a policy for the use of those ancient rights of way — which the […]
Windsor Sheriff checks into VA Medical Center Palmer free after not guilty plea to sexual misconduct charges
This article first appeared in The Vermont Standard. By Mike Donoghue Embattled Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer checked himself into the Veterans Administration Medical Center in White River Junction last week, according to people following his legal and work issues. The move came as Palmer is under fire on several fronts recently, including in Vermont […]
Chester clerk reminds owners to renew their pooch’s license Rabies clinic and registration event scheduled for March 7
By Shawn Cunningham © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC There’s Stellas and Ellas and Bellas and Belles, Lunas and Triggers and Bears. Oh my. Contrary to the popular Florence and The Machine song, the dog days are not over. In fact, it’s time to get ready to have your furry friends registered with Chester Town Hall […]