Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 22, 1994 TAG: 9403220090
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE and KATHY LOAN
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Short
Kathy Ford, 37, said she bought the winning ticket on an impulse shortly before the drawing.
"I stopped by the store at 10:26 to get some gum," Ford said. "I play occasionally, but just when it crosses my mind."
Ford didn't discover she had won until she checked her ticket Sunday night. She went to the lottery office in Roanoke on Monday to turn in the winning ticket.
She bought the winning numbers, an easy-pick combination, at the Uni Mart on Roanoke Street. The winning numbers were 2, 9, 18, 32, 40 and 43.
The store will receive a $5,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
Ford's birthday was Friday.
Although she took Monday and today off from work at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant, Ford said she will continue to work.
"The first thing I'm going to do is buy my own home. Nothing fancy, but something comfortable."
Ford said she also wants to use some of the money to send her son, who graduates from high school this spring, to college. She also wants to save money for her 12-year-old daughter's education.
Ford said her father hasn't been able to work since he had heart surgery last fall. "So I want to help my parents in any way I can."
She said she would be in Roanoke today to receive her first payment of $34,000 after taxes. She will receive 19 additional payments.
Ford said the timing couldn't have been better.
"I had been doing the best I could . . . I guess God was looking out for me."
by CNB