All Entries in the "Chester" Category
State board orders Julian quarries to cease operations until conditions are fulfilled
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Vermont Land Use Review Board, in its administrative order against Julian Materials LLC posted on Monday, June 16, calls on the Julian companies to “stop work” at all three of its quarries in north Chester. The Land Use Review Board administers the Act 250 program. Since […]
Chester board tables American flag issue til fall Sets tax rate, approves zoning office shuffle
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Before being elected to the Chester Select Board, Tim Roper complained to that body a couple of times about the state of the flags displayed on Main Street. They can be found wrapped around their poles, sometimes tattered and even snared on splinters from the utility poles […]
CAES educators join statewide Friday morning protest of Vermont education reform bill
By Cynthia Prairie ©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC The educators are concerned. They say that the proposed state law H 454 to remake Vermont’s public education system, which is to be voted on on Monday in the Vermont Senate, has been rushed and filled with too many holes. It seeks to reform the governance, the finance […]
Friends of Yosemite seek help to preserve ‘Hessie’ fire coat
By Lorien Strange ©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Coming into Chester on Depot Street, I’ve often wondered about the Yosemite Fire House. It’s an unusual building, with its two tall towers topped by Mansard roofs, and clearly old. But other than a sign on the door to the first floor, there’s not much around the building […]
No Kings protest set for June 14 in Chester
From 10:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday, June 14, join the Chester Town Democratic Committee on the Chester Green to echo Benjamin Franklin’s response to Elizabeth Willing Powel’s question about the new Constitution in 1787, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” “A Republic,” Franklin replied, “if you can keep it.” […]
GM school board to hold special meeting to revisit board appointment, complaint
By Cynthia Prairie ©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Board of Directors of the Green Mountain Unified School District will hold a special meeting next Wednesday in part to cure violations of Vermont’s Open Meeting Law regarding executive sessions that occurred at its May 15 meeting and – in effect – to rescind its request that […]
Chester Fire Department ready to roll with new tanker
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC On Monday morning the Chester Fire Department took delivery of its latest piece of firefighting apparatus. The department had ordered the $500,000 tanker more than two years and two fire chiefs ago, but a number of hiccups delayed the delivery, which had been expected late last year. […]
Chester board punts making school board rep recommendation; hears protests about protests
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last Wednesday, the Chester Select Board was met with a fairly full house and two large servings of controversy starting with the public comment period. One issue concerns the use of the Green for political demonstrations while the other involved objections to a candidate who is seeking […]
May Day protest attracts 250+, some counter protesters
On Thursday afternoon, May 1, the Chester Green was — as it had been a month ago — lined with anti-Trump demonstrators carrying signs, waving at drivers and listening to speakers who, for this May Day celebration, emphasized the importance of workers and unions in building the American middle class. May Day is an international […]
Friends, co-workers, residents celebrate retirement with Aldrich
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC More than 120 friends, co-workers, relatives and Chester residents turned out at the American Legion on Saturday night to celebrate Town Clerk Debbie Aldrich’s retirement after 42 years. Aldrich began working as an assistant town clerk in April 1983 and became town clerk when Sandy Walker […]
Town Green Up Day activities Information for Andover, Cavendish and Chester
By Stacia Spaulding ©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Although Green Up Day officially takes place on the first Saturday in May, many area residents have gotten a jump-start on cleaning up the roadsides in their towns. If you would like to help, there are still plenty of opportunities available on Saturday, May 3. Many more schools […]
Neighbors plead with Chester board to enforce on quarry violations
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC In an otherwise light meeting – mostly followups and housekeeping – the Chester Select Board last Wednesday heard from neighbors complaining that the Julian quarries in Gassetts were continuing to violate a signed agreement with the town. The quarries were cited by the town for violations in […]
Agendas for Chester Select Board and Sewer Commission on April 16
The Chester Select Board will meet in its capacity as the Board of Sewer Commissioners at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Immediately following that meeting, it will then hold a “Special” Select Board. The meeting is designated as special because of its later than usual start time. The meetings will be held at […]
Fire danger is high today in southeastern Vermont
© 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Vermont’s Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation’s fire danger forecast for today is showing high fire danger in a strip of towns along the New Hampshire border stretching from Norwich in northern Windsor County to Vernon at the Massachusetts line. The towns in our area that are in the yellow […]
Hands Off rally in Chester draws large, peaceful crowd
By Shawn Cunningham and Cynthia Prairie © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC A crowd of around 500 showed up on the Chester Green on chilly, gray Saturday to send a message to the Trump administration and that message was “Hands Off.” Protesters brought mostly hand-made signs that expressed the taxpayer-funded services and rights they wanted left […]
Spring ice storm knocks out power to thousands
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC As temperatures rise and shards of ice fall from the trees they have bent or broken, a drizzle of rain continues to fall while power crews work to restore electricity to thousands of customers in our area. The freezing rainstorm, which began on Saturday morning, deposited ice […]
Chester board talks forest management, finishes annual appointments
By Shawn Cunningham © Telegraph Publishing LLC Last Wednesday’s Chester Select Board meeting was partly made up of the re-organizational housekeeping that follows each year’s March Town Meeting but also looked toward the future and the work that the town needs to do. Windsor County Forester Hannah Dallas came before the board to discuss the […]
Brisk turnout for Chester housing development open house
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC On a sunny, almost spring afternoon on Tuesday, more than 100 people gathered inside Chester’s Town Hall to attend an open house to gather the public’s opinion on ideas for developing a piece of land owned by the town for accessible and affordable housing. The presentation was […]
Isolated older Vermonters can struggle alone Visiting nurses like Weston's Regina Downer are there to help
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Seven Days as part of “This Old State,” the paper’s yearlong series on aging in Vermont. Rachel is a Seven Days staff writer and corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. By Rachel Hellman © 2025 Seven Days As Jim’s eyesight […]
Chester board talks quarrying, STRs, future rail connections and federal funds
By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC With Tuesday’s elections behind it, the Chester Select Board last Wednesday got down to its annual re-organization with a bit of a surprise. When nominations for officers were opened, long-time board chair Arne Jonynas nominated vice chair Lee Gustafson to the chairman seat. The vote of the […]
