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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (June 7, 2018)
community june7 2018 19 $100,000 Scratch-it Ticket Bought and Won in Vernonia It’s normal for an Oregon Lot- tery retailer from Vernonia to sell a cus- tomer from Vernonia a ticket. What’s not normal is when that ticket is worth $100,000. Ashley Smith, 24, who lives in Vernonia with her boyfriend, heard from a friend at work about how they had won a $200 Oregon Lottery prize. Later that evening, while Smith was picking up groceries at the R&S Market, she saw Oregon Lottery Scratch-its and decided to pick one up. And $100,000 later, she’s glad she did. “The only time I really play is during the holidays when I get Scratch- its as gifts,” Smith said. “I never buy these and then I win $100,000. I mean, I bought it in this small town here, my goodness.” Part of her winnings will be used for her wedding, she said. But she wasn’t going to spend too much money on the nuptials, opting to “be smart” with most of the prize. “It’s life-changing money for me,” she said. “The first thing I did was pay off my student loans. We are going to invest the rest. It will give us a nice cushion.” Officials with the R&S Market said they were very happy a local won the big prize. “We are very excited for the per- son who won,” said Randy and Sharon Parrow, owners of the R&S Market. “We are happy it was a person from Vernonia. We always thank everyone who shops at the R&S Market.” In the last few years, the market also sold a $20,000 winning Scratch-it in 2016. Smith said she was still in shock about the win, and that she and her soon- to-be husband would like to also try to use the win for some travel. Congratulations Samantha Wallace (VHS Class of 2013) received a Masters of Biomedical Engineering from the University of Portland on Sunday, May 6, 2018. Samantha was honored with the Khalid H. Khan Graduate Student Excellence Award from the Shiley School of Engineering and is currently employed with Micro Systems Engineering, Inc. in Lake Oswego. Halibut Open in Columbia River Subarea The Pacific halibut nearshore sport fishery in the Columbia River Subarea (Leadbetter Pt., Washington to Cape Falcon) opened seven days per week starting May 24. Opportunities to fish for Pacific halibut remain open in other areas of Or- egon as well: • Off central Oregon between Cape Falcon (near Manzanita) and Humbug Mountain (near Port Orford), the spring all-depth halibut fishery is next sched- uled to be open June 7-9 and June 21-23. • The area between Humbug Mountain and the OR/CA border is open at all depths for Pacific halibut seven days a week through October 31 or until the quota of 8,892 pounds has been met, whichever comes first. Days on which Pacific halibut fishing is open will be announced on the NOAA Fisheries hotline (1-800-662- 9825) and posted on the Marine Zone Recreation Report Regulation Updates page and 2018 Pacific Halibut Regula- tions page. “We haven’t really travelled anywhere,” she said. “We are exploring and seeing the best deals to go some- where out of the country.” During the 2015-17 biennium in Columbia County, where Smith lives and purchased the ticket, more than $10 mil- lion in Oregon Lottery proceeds were di- rected to economic development, parks, education, and watershed enhancement. Lottery officials recommend that you always sign the back of your tickets with each Oregon Lottery game you play, to ensure you can claim any prize you may win. In the event of win- ning a jackpot, players should consult with a trusted financial planner or simi- lar professional to develop a plan for their winnings. Prize winners of more than $50,000 should contact the Lot- tery office to schedule an appointment to claim their prize. Since the Oregon Lottery began selling tickets on April 25, 1985, it has earned more than $11 billion for eco- nomic development, public education, state parks, and watershed enhance- ments. For more information on the Or- egon Lottery visit www.oregonlottery. org. Lawyer in the Law Library A workshop on ID Theft and Computer Hacking will be held on Wednesday, June 13 from 6:00-8:00 pm in the Columbia County Law Library, which is located at 270 S. First St. in St. Helens. The workshop marks the 19th in the monthly Lawyer in the Law Li- brary workshops that are hosted by the law library. Speakers for the workshop will be Columbia County District Attorney Jeff Auxier and Portland Police Bureau Detective Brian Sitton. The workshop is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. No registra- tion is required. Your attendance and questions will be welcome. For more information, please contact Columbia County law librarian Pam Davis at (503) 396-5344 or da- vis12000@aol.com.
