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OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Powerball prize invites myths, misconceptions about lottery
By SCOTT MCFETRIDGE
Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa — With up
to $1.4 billion at stake in Wednes-
day’s Powerball, questions about
the drawing seem to be as abundant
as the convenience-store kiosks
offering tickets for the record-
breaking jackpot.
The inquiries include many
myths and misconceptions about
the winners, the prize money and
the system that decides them. A
look at some of the most common
questions:
Why are all the jackpot
winners from certain states?
Of¿cials with the Multi-State
Lottery Association, a group of state
lotteries that oversee Powerball,
said this is one of the most frequent
complaints.
It’s “human nature to think the
other guy is winning,” said Sally
Lunsford, public affairs director for
the Kansas Lottery.
It’s also wrong, though there are
anomalies.
For example, in the past two
years, Missouri and Tennessee have
each been home to three Powerball
jackpot winners, while New York,
the nation’s fourth most populous
state, has only had one winner
during that span.
Lottery of¿cials, backed by
mathematicians, said probabilities
equal out over time, but in shorter
periods, oddities can occur, in the
same way someone could Àip a coin
and get heads ¿ve times in a row.
The Powerball jackpot over-
states the winnings.
There’s more of a rationale
behind this claim. The jackpot is
the amount paid out over 30 years
and not the amount a winner could
receive immediately. So while the
current jackpot is listed at $1.4
billion, a sole winner would only get
that much if the person received 29
annual payments. Winners can also
choose the cash prize, which is the
total amount currently up for grabs,
but that is “only” $868 million.
Gary Grief, executive director
of the Texas Lottery, responded that
Powerball prominently displays
both the annuity and cash prize
¿gures. The bigger number gets
more attention, and Grief said
lotteries have taken that approach
for decades.
“When the prize gets so big, the
critics come out as well,” he said.
Winners who take an annuity
face big tax dangers.
One of the most persistent
misconceptions, of¿cials said, is
that winners risk tax trouble if they
opt for an annuity but die before all
29 payments are made.
Terry Rich, chief executive of
the Iowa Lottery, said he’s heard
this one frequently and repeatedly
explains that if someone dies, that
person’s estate will treat the annuity
like any other asset. A winner’s heirs
may choose to cash in an annuity
and then pay taxes on the money,
but that’s a choice they must make.
Investment
planners
note,
however, that when winners choose
how to receive their money, they
should consider their age and
whether they mind if some of the
cash remains out of their reach and
goes to their heirs instead.
The odds of winning the
jackpot are worse than in the past.
This is true, as the Multi-State
Lottery Commission last fall added
more numbers to choose from.
The new system changed the odds
from 1 in 175 million to 1 in 292.2
million. But far from hiding the
change, the organization trumpeted
it as part of an effort to build larger
jackpots while also giving away
more prizes of $2 million or less.
Without the change, it’s unlikely
a jackpot would ever come close
to the current $1.4 billion, or $868
million cash prize.
The smaller the jackpot, the
better the odds.
This is false. Your odds for each
ticket are 1 in 292.2 million regard-
less of the jackpot size or how many
other people play. If you buy more
tickets, your odds increase, but
they’re still woefully small.
However, it’s true that as jack-
pots increase, more people typically
play the game. And the more tickets
REFUGE: Government of¿ces remain closed schools re-open
Continued from 1A
the destruction of the fence
and said the action under-
mines hard-earned conserva-
tion impacts achieved in the
area.
“Removing
fences,
damaging
any
Refuge
property, or unauthorized use
of equipment would be addi-
tional unlawful actions by the
illegal occupiers,” Fish and
Wildlife said in a statement.
“Any movement of cattle
onto the Refuge or other
activities that are not specif-
ically authorized by USFWS
constitutes trespassing.”
Sixteen
full
time
employees and one part time
employee usually work at
the refuge, Holm said. Some
who can’t work away from
the refuge have taken admin-
istrative leave, while others
are working from home or
another of¿ce.
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
A Don’t Tread On Me flag flies at the entrance of the
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Sunday.
In Burns, about 30 miles
from the refuge, schools
reopened after being canceled
for a week over safety
concerns due to the refuge
standoff.
*overnment of¿ces in
the area remained closed,
including those of the Bureau
of
Land
Management.
BLM spokesman Randy
Eardley said about 60 BLM
employees were working
from home.
“There is a very clear
threat to BLM employees,”
Eardley said, but he did not
cite any speci¿c threats.
Ammon Bundy called his
group’s occupation of the
refuge “peaceful” and said
the armed men would not
leave until the Hammonds
are out of prison and abuses
against ranchers are exposed.
Bundy called the occupation
a “moral and righteous stand
for the future of this country.”
A man representing
hunters and anglers, who
arrived in Oregon from
New Mexico this weekend,
condemned the Bundy group
at the news conference.
“What I see is a lunatic
fringe of extremists who
have taken my land over,”
said New Mexico Wildlife
Federation
executive
director Garrett VeneKlasen.
The
group
represents
sportsmen, including hunters
and anglers.
Federal, state and local
law enforcement of¿cials
are monitoring the occupa-
tion but have not taken any
action.
DOGS: Up for adoption after they are spayed, neutered Jan. 28
Continued from 1A
two years old.
“They are mostly Aussie
mixes and heeler mixes,” she
said.
A
spay-and-neuter
organization out of Benton
City, Washington, organized
the rescue effort. Harriet
Johnson, director of Prevent
Homeless Pets, transported
the 20 dogs in her Toyota
Sienna van. Thirty more
dogs were placed with two
other organizations. Before
the removal, a group of
four Prevent Homeless Pets
volunteers went into the resi-
dence to vaccinate and worm
the dogs.
“Not a single one was
spayed or neutered. They’d
never had an exam in their
life,” Sullenger said, “but
none were underweight.”
Johnson refused to name
the dogs’ owner, saying he is
a kind soul who was trying to
do good and simply couldn’t
abide seeing puppies starve.
“When you’re trying to
help, things can easily get
out of control,” Johnson
said. “This is a person
who deserves privacy and
respect.”
She urged others who
become overwhelmed to
reach out.
“There are groups out
there that can help,” she said.
Sullenger said the dogs
were ¿lthy, but healthy.
“It was not that he abused
or neglected them,” she said.
“He just had too many. He
got in over his head.”
Sullenger said eight of the
dogs immediately went to
foster homes. The other 12
were installed into kennels at
the shelter. Another dog that
seemed especially frightened
went to foster care the next
day for some extra loving.
Each dog was bestowed
with a Valentines Day-themed
name in preparation for a
Valentines Day adoption
event at a Tri-Cities Pet Smart
on Feb. 13. The list of moni-
kers includes Lovey, Heart-
breaker, Sugar, Romance and
Sweet Tart, among others. In
one of the kennels, an Aussie
mix named Romeo chased
a Àuorescent-green tennis
ball. Juliet, another Aussie
mix that is in heat, is being
fostered.
The dogs will get spayed
and neutered on Jan. 28 and
offered for adoption the
following day.
The sudden inÀux of
dogs puts a ¿nancial strain
on PAWS, Sullenger said.
She said the $125 adoption
fee doesn’t usually cover
spaying and neutering,
vaccinations, Àea treatment,
worm treatment, toys and
food. Donations, she said, are
welcome.
“We’re not getting our
usual surrender fees (of $35
per animal),” she said. “It’s
been a bit of a ¿nancial hit.”
———
Contact Kathy Aney at
kaney@eastoregonian.com
or call 541-966-0810.
that are purchased, the greater the
chance that there will be multiple
winners.
But this all largely misses the
more important fact: The chances
of winning are incredibly remote,
so it makes little difference whether
you’d have to share the money.
What about other uses for such
a vast sum of money?
The Powerball prize has grown
so large that Gerald Prante, an
economics professor at Lynchburg
College in Lynchburg, Virginia,
has determined that a single winner
would likely be among the top 100
income earners in the nation for
2016.
That has made some people
uneasy about so much money going
to one person when it might be better
spent on public needs. But when
weighed against typical government
spending, the $1.4 billion looks like
a more modest amount. By compar-
ison, California Gov. Jerry Brown
last week proposed a $122.6 billion
general fund budget for the nation’s
most populous state.
SNOW: 2015 was Oregon’s
warmest year on record
Continued from 1A
Melissa Webb, snow
hydrologist
with
the
NRCS in Portland, said
that could derail snowpack
in a hurry. In fact, Webb
said snowpack has already
dipped from 149 percent to
105 percent in the Umatilla
Basin since Christmas Eve,
showing just how quickly
things can change.
“A couple inches, plus or
minus, is a pretty big deal,”
she said. “We really need
to have pretty consistent
storms.”
December
undoubt-
edly delivered, with Jan.
1 marking the highest
snowpack to start a year
since 2011. But the effects
of recent drought years are
cumulative, Webb said.
Simply put, it’s going to
take more than a month of
cold and snow to complete
the turnaround.
Data from the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration shows that
2015 was Oregon’s warmest
year on record, and the
NRCS already reported last
winter yielded the lowest
snowpack on record. Those
factors combined mean
Eastern Oregon is still in
moderate to severe drought.
Agriculture,
¿sheries
and recreation were all hit
hard by the 2015 drought.
Without enough snow melt
to recharge streams, some
irrigation districts were
forced to shut off water
early. Low Àows and high
water temperatures killed
off certain populations of
¿sh, prompting the state to
impose an unprecedented
afternoon ban on ¿shing for
trout, salmon, steelhead and
sturgeon.
Wild¿re season also
lasted roughly three weeks
longer in northeast Oregon,
without snow cover to keep
fuels from drying out early.
“We’re very excited to
have a good start to the year
after the drought last year,”
Webb said. “We want to
make sure we keep building
our snowpack to get close
to normal water supplies.
Webb said she hopes the
three-month forecast proves
wrong. History has proven
there are many different
possibilities when starting
out with a great season like
this, she said.
“We are de¿nitely in
wait-and-see,” Webb said.
“We’ve had our share of
low snowpack winters in
recent years. I’d like to see
us buck that trend.”
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
Love
!
s
e
t
o
N
Mwah
CABBAGE HILL: Elevation drops about 2,000 feet in six miles
Continued from 1A
Between the holidays and
bad weather, Cannon said
winter is bad for business
— especially when he has to
traverse Cabbage Hill.
If he isn’t immediately
stopped by a road closure
or the blinking snow chain
lights that automatically
disqualify him from using the
hill, the gravel ODOT uses to
provide traction on the hill
wears down his tires. He also
risks getting stuck on the
other side of a road closure
on his way back home.
Paid per mile, Cannon said
no one reimburses him if he’s
forced to stay in La Grande
while the weather clears.
Despite these challenges,
Cannon said he’s come to
expect slow business in the
winter and budgets his year
accordingly.
“If you don’t have
six months savings, you
shouldn’t be self-employed,”
he said.
Even during ideal weather
conditions, the incline and
decline of Cabbage Hill can
be daunting.
“This seven-mile down-
grade, 35 miles west of La
Grande, Oregon, has some
of the most changeable and
severe weather conditions in
the Northwest,” an ODOT
publication entitled “Respect
the Hill!” states. “These
conditions may impair
visibility and cause icy road
surfaces. You’ll lose about
2,000 feet of elevation in
Tell the world how you feel,
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Semi-trailers, RVs and pickup trucks sit along the side of the eastbound lanes of
Interstate 84 as their owners put on traction devices at the bottom of Cabbage Hill
outside of Pendleton.
six miles and twist through
a double hairpin turn at a
6-percent downgrade.”
Strandberg said no single
person makes the call to
cordon off Cabbage Hill,
instead relying on judgment
calls from ODOT main-
tenance staff to determine
whether it should be closed
or not, relying on observa-
tions on road conditions and
driving speeds rather than a
set of measurable criteria.
Using a combination of
Oregon Routes 11, 204 and
82, drivers can travel from
Pendleton to La Grande
without using I-84, although
ODOT doesn’t recommend
speci¿c alternate routes
because it wants to prevent
traf¿c congestion on smaller
state roads during inclement
weather.
Even without identifying
alternate routes, Strandberg
said ¿nding alternate paths
of travel can be dif¿cult in
Eastern Oregon where there
aren’t too many redundancies
in the road infrastructure.
For people that live
in areas solely accessible
through I-84, Strandberg
said ODOT will allow them
to use a limited section of the
highway provided they show
identi¿cation with their
address.
With a distribution center
in Pendleton and a branch
in La Grande, a closed I-84
seems like a bane to Hodgen
Distributing,
but
Russ
Strandholm doesn’t worry
too much about it.
Strandholm said soft
drink and beer demand is
generally lower in the winter,
meaning that customers can
wait a day or two longer for
their deliveries.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0836.
Shannon Paxton
541-564-4530
211 SE Byers Ave.
Pendleton
333 E Main St.
Hermiston
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