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.

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CORNWALL — At the recommendation of the Cornwall Volunteer Fire Department, on Jan. 20 the Board of Selectmen voted to move forward with the purchase of two new trucks.

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Marjorie A. Vreeland

SALISBURY — Marjorie A. Vreeland, 98, passed away peacefully at Noble Horizons, on Jan. 10, 2026.She was surrounded by her two loving children, Richard and Nancy.She was born in Bronxville, New York,on Aug. 9, 1927, to Alice (Meyer) and Joseph Casey, both of whom were deceased by the time she was 14. She attended public schools in the area and graduated from Eastchester High School in Tuckahoe and, in 1946 she graduated from The Wood School of Business in New York City.

At 19 years old, she married Everett W. Vreeland of White Plains, New York and for a few years they lived in Ithaca, New York, where Everett was studying to become a veterinarian at Cornell. After a short stint in Coos Bay, Oregon (Mike couldn’t stand the cloudy, rainy weather!) they moved back east to Middletown, Connecticut for three years where Dr. Vreeland worked for Dr. Pieper’s veterinary practice.In Aug. of 1955, Dr. and Mrs. Vreeland moved to North Kent, Connecticut with their children and started Dr. Vreeland’s Veterinary practice. In Sept. of 1968 Marjorie, or “Mike” as she wished to be called, took a “part-time job” at the South Kent School.She retired from South Kent 23 years later on Sept. 1, 1991.Aside from office help and bookkeeping she was secretary to the Headmaster and also taught Public Speaking and Typing.In other times she worked as an assistant to the Town Clerk in Kent, an office worker and receptionist at Ewald Instruments Corp. and as a volunteer at the Kent Library.

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