Residents at West Tisbury town meeting next year will be asked if they want to use paper ballots for some votes at town meeting.

Responding to resident requests earlier this year for secret ballots, selectmen last week prepared a bylaw amendment which says a written or paper ballot “shall be taken on any town meeting article if a motion is made, seconded and approved by 20 voters (whether required to be a counted vote or not.)”

Vote totals on any paper ballot in terms of ayes, nays and abstentions will be announced by the moderator.

Top Runner

Amory Salem of Edgartown, who has won the women’s division of the Annual Thanksgiving Day 5K Race in Oak Bluffs several times, was the top finisher overall in this year’s Thanksgiving race. Mrs. Salem also was the female winner in the Chilmark Road Race this past summer.

Voters at the next Aquinnah town meeting would decide on beer and wine licenses for two Up-Island eateries, if governor Deval Patrick signs a bill enacted in the statehouse last week allowing selectmen to license restaurants to pour beer and wine by the drink.

Last week the House and Senate enacted a town home rule petition that would allow licenses for establishments that seat at least 15 people. Both the Aquinnah Restaurant and the Outermost Inn meet that criterion. If the town ballot vote approves licensing, Aquinnah’s 100-year dry run would end.

Two Vineyard Haven Raffle

Prizes Are Still Unclaimed

Two winning tickets, one for $1,000 and one for $100, remained unclaimed as of late yesterday morning in the Vineyard Haven Holiday Raffle.

Two other tickets had been claimed. One for $500 was bought at C.B. Stark and the other for $250 was bought at the Mediterranean Restaurant.

Over the past year on the Vineyard, there was plenty of wind, storms for almost every season and so much summer sun there was a concern about drought.

A big ocean storm in April opened the barrier beach at Norton Point to the ocean. A northeaster on Valentine’s Day and another last month with near-hurricane winds kept reminding Vineyarders the ocean can get nasty.

In other words, it was another classic year of variable New England weather on the Island.