All Entries in the "Grafton" Category
Grafton board says formal vote on wind project to occur in late 2016, early 2017
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC On a 3-to-1 vote, the Grafton Select Board agreed on Tuesday night to tell Iberdrola, the Spanish wind company, that it would not be ready to hold a vote of registered voters on the company’s controversial wind project until late 2016 or early 2017. This formal vote is […]
Grafton begins crafting wind survey, sets up wind info panels
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Monday night’s Grafton Select Board meeting could have gone the way of many meetings in the past few years, turning into a pitched battle of finger-pointing and legal arguments, but board chair Ron Pilette wasn’t having it. Pilette moved the meeting forward, setting aside an ongoing ethics complaint […]
Grafton 2nd homeowners given voice in wind poll
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC After a long discussion, punctuated by comments from first- and second-homeowners alike urging that the Grafton Select Board act, the board on Monday night approved going forward with a nonbinding poll to find out how all town residents and taxpayers view the proposed Iberdrola industrial wind project as […]
Grafton group seeks to sway Chester board against wind project
By Shawn Cunningham © 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC The July 20 Chester Select Board was a presentation-rich environment, with information on an impending townwide reappraisal and an offer to donate the north shore of the Rainbow Rock swimming hole to the town. The longest, however, was a PowerPoint presentation by opponents of the wind project […]
Candidates for lt. gov., governor talk industrial wind power, citizen input at Grafton forum
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC The small crowd gathered before even one candidate entered Grafton’s White Church on Monday night got the biggest treat of the day, when young Ripley Schemm practiced a solo soprano performance with one of the world’s most famous arias. Accompanied by his father on piano, Ripley, who is […]
Pilette, new chair to Grafton Select Board, moves wind info-gathering forward
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Monday’s Grafton Select Board meeting was a long one made up of fits and starts as Town Attorney Robin Stern attempted to instill order in what has habitually been easily-derailed proceedings. She was largely successful, thanks to newly elected Select Board chair Ron Pilette, who despite his own […]
Turner wins Grafton Select Board seat; opponent Dougall hospitalized before polls open
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Grafton voters went to the polls today and elected John Turner to a Select Board seat left vacant by the resignation of Gus Plummer. But the voting developed an unexpectedly sad tone just before the polls closed this evening as word got out that candidate Don Dougall had […]
Burglars hit Grafton Garage
© 2016 Telegraph Publishing, LLC The Vermont State Police in Rockingham are investigating a break-in and burglary at the Grafton Garage at 21 Route 121 in Grafton. Police responded to the burglary report this morning and say the crime was committed overnight. A small amount of cash, three checks and a digital camera were stolen. […]
Grafton board hopefuls offer two views of government, wind project
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC In what was promising to be a stormy Thursday night – at least outside – about 75 people gathered at the White Church in Grafton to hear from two candidates who hope to be elected to fill the unexpired term left by Gus Plummer’s resignation in mid-May. That […]
Grafton town attorney sees ‘no violations’ in Sands’ meeting; suggests use of Iberdrola-funded escrow account
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Grafton town attorney Robin Stern, in an email to Town Administrator Emily Huff and copied to Select Board chair Al Sands and Town Clerk Kim Record, says that she has found no violation of the Grafton Code of Conduct on Sands’ part in meeting with Iberdrola Renewables and […]
In an agreeable meeting, Grafton board sets election date, foregoes bid process on winter sand
By Cynthia Prairie ©Telegraph Publishing LLC Monday’s Grafton Select Board meeting was a quiet and quick affair. With only three of four board members present — chair Al Sands was away — vice chair Skip Lisle moved through the long agenda relatively quickly. It would likely have been a longer meeting if, as suggested by […]
Sands may have violated Grafton Code of Conduct in meeting Iberdrola
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Grafton Select Board chair Al Sands may have violated the town’s two-year-old Code of Ethics by meeting with representatives of international wind industry company Iberdrola Renewables. That possibility was brought up on Thursday, May 26, at Town Hall, during a special Select Board meeting held for the purpose […]
Improper warning forces rescheduling of Grafton special meeting; Sands questioned on meeting with Iberdrola
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC What was supposed to be a special meeting of the Grafton Select Board to begin — and maybe even fill — the vacancy left when Gus Plummer resigned exactly one week previous turned into an informal session in which new Town Administrator Emily Huff plead mea culpa for […]
Attorney lays out blueprint for Grafton in wind project talks
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC ON THE COVER: Attorney Richard Saudek, center, speaks as he is flanked by Select Board members, from left, Skip Lisle, Cynthia Gibbs, Al Sands and Ron Pilette. After a rocky start that began with the announced resignation and departure of Select Board chair Gus Plummer, the Grafton Select […]
After threat, Grafton S.B. chair to resign over safety concern
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC ON THE COVER: Gus Plummer is flanked by fellow board members Cynthia Gibbs, left, and Alan Sands. Through a quavering voice, Grafton Select Board chair Gus Plummer told an audience of 60 Monday night that he had received a note that so upset him – especially when it […]
Vermont State Police Incident Log for May: April 3-April 29, 2016
© 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Editor’s Note: The Vermont State Police incident report is a sampling of incidents directly from Vermont State Police. We do not identify individual victims of crimes nor those who have been arrested. Sunday, April 3, Windham – A 55-inch flat screen television was taken in a burglary from a residence […]
Grafton board opts to make all VLCT correspondence public
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC In what may have been a most surprising and quick boost to transparency in local government, a three-person quorum of the Grafton Select Board on Monday night unanimously agreed that correspondence between board members and the Vermont League of Cities and Towns be open to public inspection. The […]
VTrans outlines Weston bridge replacement, Rt. 100 closure timeline
By Christopher Biddle ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Vermont Agency of Transportation came to Weston on Tuesday, April 26 to give residents a rundown on the planned replacement of Bridge 98 on Route 100 that will take place this summer. Jennifer Fitch, a project engineer with VTrans, told a crowd of 25 in the Weston […]
Agenda item sent back for rewarning in another contentious Grafton board meeting
By Cynthia Prairie ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Even before the Grafton Select Board could begin revisiting whether it should formally sanction a committee to address possible financial benefits from a proposed wind project, Board member Ron Pilette stopped the meeting cold. The Monday night meeting, attended by more than 40 residents, many to hear this […]
Grafton Select Board tussles over wind project issues
By Shawn Cunningham © 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Grafton Select Board zipped through the first seven items on its Monday, April 4 agenda with unanimous votes and even some friendly banter, but got mired on the next two, which asked if a lawyer should be hired to represent the town and if the Select […]
