SIDNEY — It’s time for a little dreaming as the Powerball drawing continues to grow. Wednesday night’s drawing is at $1.5 billion and tickets are going fast and furious for the chance to live out your dreams.
But what would you do with $1.5 billion?
“I would take care of my family and friends and then me, my husband and my kid would disappear,” wrote Misty Hamilton on the Sidney Daily News’s Facebook page. “We would move somewhere and live out our lives without a care in the world. But i would make sure those close to me are taken care of first.”
Kristin Noelle Allen said she would donate money to all the “great organizations in Sidney! Rebuild the Y, Agape, our schools. How great would that be?!”
“I would pay God first (tithe) and then I would make sure my wonderful Aunt Kathy would be taken care of,” said Stephanie Lewis. “Then like most, I would pay off all debt and spoil my kids, mom and my two brothers.”
Sidney Police Chief Will Balling said his life wouldn’t change a lot if he won the lottery.
“If I won the Powerball jackpot I would pay my mortgage and all my bills off, provide a foundation for my family’s future, buy each one a new car and continue to come to work and do the job that I love,” said Balling.
Shelby County Commissioner Julie Ehemann has her family’s needs first along with the SCARF organization.
“The first thing I would do if I won the Powerball (I have not bought a ticket by the way) would be to contribute towards our new Animal Shelter and get my husband a new truck!” said Ehemann. “After that may be I should run for president! I might actually have enough money to take on Donald Trump!
“Seriously, there are many issues facing Shelby County and many worthwhile organizations working to attack those issues. It would be awesome to have the funds necessary to help those organizations,” she said.
Christi Thomas, who recently retired from the Sidney Fire Department and is a freelance writer for the Sidney Daily News, will donate some of the money to county organizations and take a cruise.
“We talked about this at our Altrusa meeting last night (Monday) and I agree with what some of the others said … I’d give a bunch away … to Raise the Roof, SCARF, the Library, Historical Society, Community Foundation, family, etc.,” said Thomas. “But, I’d also remodel my house (I don’t want to live in anything larger than I already have), buy a new car or two, and maybe take that World cruise I’m always reading about.”
Sidney Mayor Mike Barhorst has a wish list of seven items of what he would do if he won the Powerball jackpot.
“I would begin by having a realtor purchase properties in downtown Sidney, rehab them and move businesses into the spaces, creating a dynamic downtown,” said Barhorst.
Second on his list would be to help the library build a state of the art facility, complete with sculpture garden, fountains and a parking garage.
“A Shelby County History Museum would be next on the list, that had exhibits that highlighted Sidney’s manufacturing and agriculture history,” said Barhorst. “The exhibit would include a Beck bus, a Ahrens-Fox fire engine manufactured in Sidney and an Elco 30 automobile.”
Barhost said he would also endow an art museum with a collection that featured Midwestern artists.
The fifth item on his list deals with seeing the bicycle path along the canal completed, along with a number of other park improvements that would highlight the riverfront.
Clear Creek Farm would be fully endowed if Barhorst won the lottery.
“And, on day seven, I would rest, and with my wife, decide what to do next (like rehab City Hall, build a North End Fire Station, endow Dorothy Love, and plan our long-anticipated trip to Scotland),” said Barhorst.
Sidney City Schools Superintendent John Scheu is heading to an island if he wins the Powerball jackpot.
“I would make an appointment with a financial adviser, fund the remainder of amount needed for a new Shelby County Animal Shelter and call House Hunters (TV Show) to purchase an island in the Pacific Ocean for $1,000,000,” said Scheu. “The remaining $999,000,000 would be spent/invested with the help of a financial adviser.”
The drawing will be held at 11 p.m. Wednesday.
