When it comes to initiatives to improve our community, nothing is better than having a voice in the matter.

Main Street Winchester is giving the public that much-needed opportunity with its recent Main Street Madness bracket challenge.

The Winchester Downtown Bracket, modeled after a college basketball bracket, includes eight place-making projects; this week the bracket is down to four projects: small scale installation, shade canopy, wayfinding and parklet.

Winchester residents can vote with donated school supplies, such as pencils, binders and more, through Wednesday in the boxes placed in front of 29 S. Main St. Place school supplies in the red box as a vote for the shade canopy or place the supplies in the blue box as a vote for the small scale installation.

Place school supplies in the green box as a vote for the parklet project or place the supplies in the yellow box as a vote for wayfinding and signage

Donations benefit the Rowland Arts Center.

To learn more about the project, visit Main Street Winchester’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/downtownwinchester or read the most recent full story on our website at winchestersun.com/2019/04/02/round-two-of-downtown-bracket-challenge-underway.

We applaud Main Street Winchester for allowing the community to have a voice in this project. The group could have easily made its own choice or recommendations to the city. Instead,  this bracket challenge gives the people a say while also helping a worthy local cause.

When residents have a say in what happens their community, they take more ownership of the improvements and feel more pride in their community.

Regardless of what initiative wins, we are sure it will be a welcome and nice improvement to the downtown community.

Editorials represent the opinion of the newspaper’s editorial board. The board is comprised of publisher Michael Caldwell and Bluegrass Newsmedia editors Whitney Leggett and Ben Kleppinger. To inquire about a meeting with the board, contact Caldwell at 759-0095.