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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 2018)
NATION Thursday, October 25, 2018 East Oregonian Page 7A South Carolina adds 2nd billionaire Washington voters with huge $1.537 billion lottery ticket set to decide ban on new local soda taxes By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press SIMPSONVILLE, S.C. — The number of billion- aires in South Carolina may have doubled overnight — at least before taxes — after a lottery ticket sold in the state won the $1.537 bil- lion Mega Millions lottery jackpot. The ticket, sold at the KC Mart in Simpsonville, matched all six numbers drawn Tuesday night, defy- ing the 1 in 302.5 million odds to win the near-record prize. The winner would only become an actual billionaire by taking the prize in annual installments over three decades and hanging on to the bulk of the money. The lucky person can also take an $877.8 million lump-sum cash payment, which most winners choose to receive. South Carolina Educa- tion Lottery officials know when and where the win- ning ticket was bought, but until someone turns the ticket in, they won’t know who bought it. And the pub- lic may never find out. South Carolina allows lottery win- ners to remain anonymous after conducting a thorough investigation to confirm their identity, lottery Chief Operating Officer Tony Cooper said. The name of South Car- olina’s last big winner — a $399 million Powerball jackpot in September 2013, which at the time was the fourth biggest lottery prize in U.S. history — has never been made public. “Our message to the $1.5 BILLION #Mega Mil- lions jackpot winner: Sign the back of the ticket, place the ticket in a safe location, speak with a trusted advisor and CALL THE LOTTERY at 1-866-736-9819. Take a deep breath and enjoy the By LISA BAUMANN Associated Press AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins Media at left, record people entering the KC Mart in Simpsonville, S.C., on Wednes- day after it was announced the winning Mega Millions lottery ticket was purchased at the store. moment!” the South Car- olina Education Lottery tweeted. The winning numbers were 5, 28, 62, 65, 70 and Mega Ball 5. The prize is extraordinary by any measure, but partic- ularly so for South Caro- lina. With more than $1.5 billion, an exceedingly gen- erous winner could shower roughly $307 on each of the state’s five million people. It’s about as much as 20 per- cent of the state’s $8 billion annual budget. “It’s a big, big win for South Carolina,” Cooper said. Lottery officials said the state will get $80 million in taxes. The state sold around $15 million worth of tick- ets just for Tuesday night’s drawing, with most of the revenue going to education, Cooper said. In 2016, Forbes listed only one billionaire in South Carolina, InterTech Group CEO Anita Zucker. She was worth $1.8 billion from the chemical, real estate and manufacturing conglomer- ate, the magazine reported. An earlier Mega Mil- lions estimate of $1.6 billion would have been a world record for lotteries, but actual sales came in below the $1.586 billion Power- ball jackpot prize shared by winners in California, Flor- ida and Tennessee in Janu- ary of 2016. “Estimates are based on historical patterns,” said Carol Gentry, a spokes- woman for the Maryland Lottery, which leads a con- sortium of state lotteries par- ticipating in the Mega Mil- lions jackpot in a Wednesday morning phone interview with The Associated Press. “The jackpot’s been roll- ing since it was hit in July in California, but there are few precedents for a jackpot of this size,” Gentry said. South Carolina is one of eight states — along with Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio and Texas — where winners can remain anony- mous. The winner also has up to 180 days to claim the prize. “Our board has a pol- icy to protect the winner because of all the risk asso- ciated with having that much money,” South Carolina Education Lottery Direc- tor William Hogan Brown told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” KC Mart owner CJ Patel will also be a winner. He gets a $50,000 bonus, and said Wednesday he will share part of it with his employ- ees. He has owned the store not far from where Green- ville’s suburbs turn rural for more than three years. Patel said lottery ticket sales were brisk leading up to Tuesday and he has no idea who bought the winner. “I hope he will keep com- ing in,” Patel said with a broad smile. “He’d be good for the business.” The biggest Mega Mil- lions jackpot winner prior to this was a $656 million ticket sold in 2012, Gen- try said, “so it’s a record for Mega Millions and it came very close to breaking the world record of all the jackpots.” SEATTLE — Soda industry giants includ- ing the Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo, Inc. are spend- ing more than $20 million to convince voters in Wash- ington state to pass an ini- tiative that would block local governments from imposing taxes on soda, sugary beverages and some food items. The effort follows a tax on sugary beverages that went into effect in Seattle earlier this year. “When you tax any gro- cery items, when you raise prices, it’s not a good thing for the businesses,” said Prem Singh, who owns convenience stores in the state and is part of a coa- lition of small businesses, chambers of commerce and restaurants supporting the initiative. The American Beverage Association is pushing the ballot initiative in what’s become a nationwide cam- paign to slow the expansion of soda taxes. The indus- try has prevailed with bans on new, local soda taxes in California, Arizona and Michigan. Other supporters include the union repre- senting beverage industry workers and the Washing- ton Food Industry Asso- ciation, which is the only in-state organization that has donated cash, $20,000, to the campaign. Seattle’s city coun- cil passed its tax last year, joining other cities includ- ing San Francisco, Berke- ley, and Philadelphia. Meant to encourage health- ier choices, the Seattle mea- sure puts a 1.75 cent tax per fluid ounce on the distri- bution of sweetened bev- erages such as Pepsi and Coke, sports drinks, and other drinks with excep- tions for diet sodas and milk-based drinks such as lattes. Seattle’s soda tax would remain in effect if the ini- tiative passes, but couldn’t be expanded. The tax took effect Jan. 1 and in its first six months accumu- lated over $10 million to go toward healthy food options for low income people, child care programs and college tuition. The initiative would still allow state lawmakers to enacting taxes on products if it chooses. State law currently exempts most grocer- ies from collecting sales tax, but it also grants Seat- tle and certain other cities broad taxing authorities that would probably allow a tax on a range of items includ- ing food, according to Julie Moore, a spokeswoman with the city of Seattle’s Finance and Administrative Services. On its website, the Yes! To Affordable Groceries political committee con- ducting the campaign says “special interest groups across the country and here in Washington are propos- ing taxes on groceries like meats, dairy and juices — basic necessities for all families.” But Candice Bock, director of Government Relations for the Associ- ation of Washington Cit- ies, said they are not aware of any other city that has seriously considered tax- ing food or sweetened bev- erages. “The only one that we are aware of is Seattle’s current sweetened beverage tax,” Bock said in an email. FREE EVENT! Veterans are twice as likely as civilians to die by suicide, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. They make up more than 14 percent of all suicides, although they account for only 8 percent of the total population. Suicide is a subject many are afraid to talk about or even acknowledge. But how do we not talk about one of the leading causes of death? Each year, suicides claim the lives of 44,000 people in the United States alone. It’s the third leading cause of death for children between ages 10 and 14, and the second leading cause of death for people between 15 and 34. CALL MORROW COUNTY VETERANS SERVICES FOR MORE INFORMATION 541-922-6420 PROTECTIVE FACTORS Protective factors are characteristics that make a person less likely to engage in suicidal behavior. Moreover, protective factors can promote resilience and ensure connectedness with others during difficult times, thereby making suicidal behaviors less likely. • Effective clinical care for mental, physical and substance use disorders • Easy access to a variety of clinical interventions • Restricted access to highly lethal means of suicide • Strong connections to family and community support • Support through ongoing medical and mental health care relationships • Skills in problem solving, conflict resolution and handling problems in a non-violent way • Cultural and religious beliefs that discourage suicide and support self-preservation Warning Signs WARNING SIGNS • The warning signs of suicide are indicators that a person may be in acute danger and may urgently need help. • Talking about wanting to die or to kill oneself; • Looking for a way to kill oneself; • Talking about feeling hopeless or having no purpose; • Talking about feeling trapped or being in unbearable pain; • Talking about being a burden to others; • Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs; • Acting anxious, agitated, or reckless; • Sleeping too little or too much; • Withdrawing or feeling isolated; • Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge; and • Displaying extreme mood swings. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 1-800-833-1161 1-800-273-8255 We can all help prevent suicide. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. OR Text SIGNS to 741741 for 24/7, anonymous, free crisis counseling. VETERANS: If you’re a Veteran in crisis or you’re concerned about one, responders at the Veterans Crisis Line text-messaging service (text to 838255) offer help that can make a difference. Caring, qualified VA responders are standing by to provide free and confidential support — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year — even if you’re not registered with VA or enrolled in VA health care. Responders will work with you to get through any personal crisis. Privacy Policy-The Veterans Crisis Line text-messaging service does not store mobile phone numbers of users who access information via text message (SMS). We do not collect any personally identifiable information about users without their permission. Any personally identifiable information collected with the user’s consent will never be shared with other users of the system nor will they be distributed outside the system, unless required by law. Message Rates-The Veterans Crisis Line text-messaging service does not charge for texting to 838255. Message and data rates may apply. Call 911 or the emergency service in your country if you see or hear the following: • Someone threatening to hurt or kill him/herself or talking about wanting to die. • Especially if the person has a weapon or item to hurt himself/herself. • Searching for ways to kill him/herself by seeking access to lethal means- whether that is online or physically in the moment of despair. • Someone talking, writing, or posting on social media about death and suicide when these actions are out of the ordinary for the person. SPECIAL THANKS TO: Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs, Domestic Violence Services, Community Counseling Services, Walla Walla VA Medical Center, Columbia River Health Care, Morrow County Health District, Boardman Senior Center, Tillamook Creamery and others.