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Gillespie’s Moto Mart sells million dollar St. Patrick’s Day Raffle ticket
One of the million dollar tickets for the Illinois Lottery’s St. Patrick’s Day Raffle was sold at the Moto Mart in downtown Gillespie and long-time BenGil residents Bill and Diane Hayes were the lucky winners.
They had no suspicion they were the lucky winners until their son, Mark, contacted them. “He told us we should check the ticket after hearing there was a winner from Gillespie and only 42 tickets were sold,” Bill said. “So, I went to check it and the clerk scanned it a couple times before telling me I was the million dollar winner.”
Bill, who is only 10 days away from retirement from Olin Brass Copper, said he yelled and praised God after finding out. “I was really glad,” he added.
The couple enjoy playing the lottery, but usually only play during special promotions, raffles or when the lottery starts climbing. Bill said they won’t be doing anything special with the winnings, “I just want to take care of my kids and grandkids, so this will help.”
They have not claimed their prize yet, but plan on making contact with lottery officials by the end of the week. According to Illinois lottery officials, they say it is normal for winners to wait a couple days to claim their prize.
Officials actually encourage winners to sign the ticket first, put it in a safe place and then seek legal and financial advice before claiming the prize.
According to an Illinois Lottery spokesman, about 50,000 of the available 500,000 St. Patrick’s Day Raffle tickets went unsold. The tickets sold for $20 each and the annual raffle offers the best odds to win the jackpot – one million dollars. There was a total of 509 winners from the raffle: (4) $1,000,000 winners, (5) $100,000 winners, and (500) $1,000 winners.
The other million dollar winning tickets were sold in Collinsville, Bloomingdale and Decatur.
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Another major winter storm is forecasted to blanket the BenGil area in heavy rains, flooding and snowfall starting Wednesday night through Thursday.
The mixture of precipitation and rapidly changing weather likely will produce the potential for sudden icing on roads, with high winds leading to blowing snow and reduced visibility.
“The Illinois Department of Transportation’s snow-and-ice teams will be prepared and out in force, but the public needs to be ready for conditions to change quickly and worsen if they are out on the roads,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman. “As always during periods of extreme weather, the safest option is to postpone any unnecessary trips and stay home. If you must travel, prepare for very slow and potentially hazardous conditions. And please slow down around our plows and other emergency vehicles, giving them plenty of room to do their jobs.”
The National Weather Service is predicting a wintry mix of precipitation to start with thunderstorms and heavy rain in much of the state this evening, converting to freezing rain overnight before turning to snow Thursday morning. In addition to localized flooding, ice and sleet accumulations are likely, creating extremely slippery surfaces and slick conditions.
Due to the rainy conditions ahead of temperatures falling overnight, the effectiveness of pretreating and salting surfaces in advance of significant snowfall will be limited. The public should anticipate icy conditions even when roads appear clear and greatly reduce speeds.
“As the Illinois State Police plans to take on the unpredictable Illinois weather, we would like to remind motorists to do their part in keeping the roads a safe place,” said Illinois State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly. “ISP, alongside IDOT and other agencies, will be working in hazardous weather conditions. Please remember to slow down, stay vigilant and move over for ANY vehicle on the side of the road.”
Statewide, IDOT has available more than 1,800 trucks and equipment to plow, treat roads and respond to weather emergencies. If you encounter a plow or any maintenance vehicle during your travels, please slow down, increase your following distance and remain patient. Do not attempt to pass – conditions in front of the plow will be worse than behind it.
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Police are investigating the death of a Bunker Hill woman who was found dead at the end of her driveway near the roadway on Monday morning, January 31.
Nancy Blycker, 91, had multiple injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. The Macoupin County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call to the 2900 block of Wood Hill Lane around 7:40 a.m. on Monday.
The initial suspicion was homicide, according to a release by the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis who said approximately 20 investigators were working the investigation, but the autopsy contradicted that suspicion.
The Major Case Squad said on Tuesday it is “highly unlikely” Blycker’s death was the “result of homicidal means.”
The Major Case Squad turned the case back over to the Macoupin County Sheriff’s Department. The official cause of death is pending further lab analysis.
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The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the BenGil area, southwestern Illinois, and the St. Louis area.
The warning was issued early Tuesday taking effect at midnight tonight until noon on Thursday, February 3 calling for a “wet, heavy” snow. The forecast also calls for ice prompting a warning about possible power outages.
“All indications continue to point to a disruptive, impactful, and dangerous winter storm impacting the region starting late tonight and lasting through Thursday night,” the National Weather Service said in its Area Forecast Discussion.
The BenGil area is expected to receive heavy mixed precipitation including snow accumulations between 6 and 10 inches, sleet accumulations around three-quarters of an inch, and ice accumulations around two-tenths of an inch. Wind gusts will be as high as 35 mph on Thursday.
The storm is expected to start with rain most of the day today before transitioning into a mixture of freezing rain and/or sleet Tuesday night, then all snow Wednesday morning or as late as Wednesday afternoon continuing until about noon on Thursday.
