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Woman 81, wins huge PowerBall jackpot

PROVIDENCE, R.I., March 7 (UPI) -- An 81-year-old Rhode Island woman claimed the third-largest PowerBall jackpot in the game's history -- $336.4 million.

Louise White of Newport said she was able to buy the winning ticket and two others Saturday because someone in her family had a yen for rainbow sherbet on the last evening tickets for the drawing were on sale, The Providence Journal reported. She had been unable to go earlier because the person who normally takes her to the store was busy.

"When we arrived at the Stop N Shop I went to the ticket counter and asked if I had time to buy a PowerBall ticket. The gal behind the counter said yes, you have until the store closes," White said. "I asked for three quick picks with the PowerPlay."

White said she did not immediately check her tickets against the winning numbers when they were read later that evening. When she realized she had all the winning numbers for the multistate lottery, she stored the ticket in her Bible and the family took it with them when they went out to breakfast the next morning, WPRI-TV, Providence, reported.

White, who calls herself "very blessed," said she isn't completely sure what she will do with the money. She chose a $210 million lump sum payment.

 

108-year-old vacuum cleaner still works

TIMPERLEY, England, March 7 (UPI) -- A British man who rescued a 108-year-old vacuum cleaner from ending up in a landfill said the machine is still in working order.

Harry Cox, 53, of Timperley, England, who is now believed to be the owner of the world's oldest working vacuum cleaner, said he found the 1904 American Sturtevant vacuum cleaner No.4 in a room full of items headed from paper company W L Coller of Greater Manchester to a landfill, the Mirror reported Tuesday.

"I like to collect things that are getting thrown away, restore them and give them a new lease of life. It makes me feel good," Cox said.

However, Cox said his wife prefers to clean their home with a more modern -- and less noisy -- model.

The previous record holder for oldest working vacuum was Bill Whitwam of Leicester, England, who has a 1929 Hoover Senior in operating condition.

 

Colorado couple sole residents of precinct

FORT COLLINS, Colo., March 7 (UPI) -- A Colorado couple said last year's legislative and congressional redistricting left them as the sole residents of the state's smallest voting precinct.

Larimer County resident Ann Grant, a Democrat, said she and her husband, Butch Hartson, a Republican, learned of their unique status from an official with the local Republican Party earlier this year, The Denver Post reported Tuesday.

"He told us we had a precinct all to ourselves, and we were the smallest precinct in the state -- and maybe even the country," Hartson said. "We all had a big laugh about it. It's really kind of funny."

Hartson said he was the sole attendee at his precinct's Republican caucus last month.

"I had a drink, talked with the other Republican in the room -- me -- got bored and went to bed," he joked.

Grant said she has similar plans for Tuesday night's Democratic caucus.

Larimer County Clerk Scott Doyle said the couple will likely be folded into a neighboring precinct when the secretary of state's office attempts to correct problems with the redistricting this year.

"So many times, redistricting is done at the 50,000-foot level, and it is our job to bring it down to the street level," Doyle said. "It's just a little squiggly piece of ground that should have been part of another district."

 

Prosecutor defends drunk flying plea

FOND DU LAC, Wis., March 7 (UPI) -- A Wisconsin prosecutor said a drunken driver pleaded no contest to operating an aircraft with a prohibited blood alcohol content due to evidence problems.

Fond du Lac County District Attorney Daniel Kaminsky said Lawrence Schreiber of Muskego, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Wisconsin, was allowed to enter the unusual plea despite his Mercedes-Benz not being an aircraft because there were problems with the scientific evidence, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Tuesday.

Kaminsky said problems with the blood test showing Schreiber's blood alcohol content to be 0.156 percent could have allowed defense attorneys to argue his blood alcohol content at the time he was pulled over in June was at or under the 0.08 percent limit.

He said allowing Schreiber to plead guilty to the aircraft offense would mean the conviction would show up as a prior if he receives another operating-while-intoxicated charge while being agreeable to the defense because it allowed him to avoid having his license suspended.

"I understand the public scratching their head," Kaminsky said. "But don't judge a book by the cover. The substance of the resolution is what counts.