Civic participation rewarded with drinks

WINSTED — Lee Thomsen, the owner of The Winning Ticket bar on Main Street, took a creative approach in encouraging citizen action this week by offering drink specials to anyone who voted at Thursday’s town meeting.“This is the Chicago way of getting people to a meeting,” Thomsen said.At the meeting, residents were asked to vote to override the Board of Selectmen’s rejection of a proposal by the Winchester Land Trust to acquire the development rights to 360 acres of town-owned land. “To me, the issue is not so much about the Land Trust,” Thomsen said. “It’s more about allowing people to vote and have their say.” As for how he would know who voted and who did not vote at Thursday’s meeting, Thomsen said, “Let’s just say I have faith in my fellow man.” The meeting took place two days after this week’s Winsted Journal went to press. An article detailing the meeting will be in next week’s issue.