Heard on the Street

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PARENT AND FAMILY SOLD|ret||ret||tab|

SBJ's sister publication, Springfield Parent & Family, was sold in July to Meyer Communications. Randy Dale is the new editor of the monthly family-oriented publication. SPF published its last issue under SBJ Publisher Dianne Elizabeth in March. Dale said Meyer Communications' first issue of SPF is due to be out the first week of September just in time for school! Hooray!|ret||ret||tab|

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LOTTERY INFO|ret||ret||tab|

Powerball is a legal numbers game of the multistate kind with 21 member states that have a combined population of more than 55.8 million, according to the Missouri Lottery Fact Book. To win all six numbers, the odds at the risk of sounding a lot like Mr. Spock are 80,089,128-to-one. Just winning five numbers drops the odds to 1,953,393-to-one, at which point the winner is still paid a nice chunk of change $100,000. The Lotto jackpot starts at $1 million and has been as high as $19 million. There the chances are better than the Powerball jackpot, so to speak 3,529,526-to-one. The ShowMe 5 Paydown, that offers the chance to win $50,000 tax-free, carries odds of 1,086,008-to-one. Thirty cents of every dollar brought in from lottery proceeds goes to education, allocated by the legislature. Fifty-five cents goes to the prizes, 8.5 cents to administrative costs and 6.5 cents to retailer commissions and incentives. More than $161 million, only 3 percent of the state's education budget, went to programs such as the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the foundation which helps pay for transportation and special education services, reading assessment, the Safe Schools Initiative, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, pupil testing, Caring Communities, the Department of Higher Education and work force preparation projects at community colleges.|ret||ret||tab|

A DIFFERENT KIND OF TIME-SHARE|ret||ret||tab|

Missouri's Highway Patrol members have developed a wonderful way to support their comrades who suffer from catastrophic illness or injury, but have exhausted their sick time it's called "Share Leave." Employees with less than 10 years of service can't accumulate more than 288 hours of annual leave. So instead of losing the paid leave if they don't use it, patrol employees agreed to put their leftover hours into the Share Leave account that fellow employees in need may draw upon. |ret||ret||tab|

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THREE-DAY BLUES FEST|ret||ret||tab|

Downtown will be crawlin' with blues this weekend Sept. 7, 8 and 9 at the 2001 Greater Ozarks Blues Festival. The main stage is at Campbell and Olive, where Don Shipps kicks off the show. Other blues performers will spill over Saturday from the main stage to the Springfield Brewing Company for the "Blues School" after noon. Headliner R.L. Burnside is "the ultimate paradox in all of blues," according to Gary Harper, of DDEC.net, one of the festival sponsors. "On the one hand, he is the greatest living legend exponent of Mississippi Blues in its rawest form, but on the other hand, he is the most irreverent, boundary-stretching artist in the genre," Harper said in a news release. Sunday's show includes gospel, too.|ret||ret||tab|

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AND SPEAKING OF BLUE|ret||ret||tab|

Was there a visit from Titania, Queen of the Faeries, to Park Cen-tral Square during the last full moon? Why else would the water bubbling from the multilayered public fountain have been blue during the last few weeks? "Sometimes, usually about this time of year when the college kids come back, we usually get a little bit of dye or sometimes we get some bubbles ..." suggested Phil Broyles, as-sistant director of Public Works. Not that he's pointing any fingers ... |ret||ret||tab|

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SLICE OF NICE|ret||ret||tab|

You and your horse can help make a child's dream come true. The two of you just need to take part in the fourth annual Charity Trail Ride to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation Sept. 8, being held this year at Baxter Springs, Kan. The riders, who will gather at the Wal-Mart there no doubt surprising Saturday morning shoppers will ride their mounts to Miami, Okla., an 18.5-mile, one-day ride. Wal-Mart sponsors the event and will staff it with its associates. A lunch will be provided for the riders, as well as water stops along the way. A veterinarian will be on hand, as well as a farrier for those pesky loose horseshoes. Each rider will need to pay a $20 registration fee and is encouraged to obtain sponsors. Last year $166,000 was raised to benefit the charity, according to Arla Price, of the Springfield chapter. Make-A-Wish grants wishes to children diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions For more information, call Make-A-Wish.[[In-content Ad]]