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.