University of Kentucky - Kentuckian Yearbook (Lexington, KY)

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The winning ticket After 200 years Kentuckians voted to adopt the lottery hoping to bring valued proceeds to many needy organi- zations. Story by Molly McCutcheon Layout by Elizabeth C. Moore nxious patrons wait- ed in line, money in and, for ltthe go ahead to buy a Kentucky lottery ticket. April 1 at 7:01 am. marked the start of lot- tery ticket sales for the first time in 200 years. Stores were filled with customers waiting to try their luck in the Dreamstakes or the instant Winner scratch otf game. Kentuckians have not had a lottery since 1790 when the state was still a part of the Commonwealth of Virgin- iat The lottery was held to fund what later became Transylvania University. Years later lotteries were used to finance road im- provements and to build schools, churches and hospi- tals. Although past Kentucky lotttery revenue financed many useful projects, misap- propriation of authorized Iota tery funds forced the Ken- tucky legislature to ban lotteries of any form in 1856. in 1987 lottery hopefuls rallied their support for Deme ocratic gubernatorial candi- date Wallace Wilkinson who launched much of his cam- paign on the promise of a lot- teryt He believed it would solve many of Kentucky's funding problems. Wilkinson's timing proved perfect as he walked away with the elec- tion and the hopes of a lot- tery in the bag for many eager Kentuckians Wilkinson won strong sup- port in the legislature in pass- ing the amendment to the state constitution to allow a lottery. The amendment passed overwhelmingly in the election and the Governor began to appropriate funds for the proceeds. The legislature approved earmarking funds for the Viet- nam veterans but decided to wait until 1990 to act on other programs. Early child- hood education and senior citizens programs are on top of Wilkinson's list for future lottery proceed allocation. Opposition from churches claimed the lottery preyed on those less fortunate to spend money they didn't have. But despite opposition, the lot- tery went full speed ahead. Wallace Wilkinson bought the first lottery ticket at Iot- tery headquarters in LouiSn ville and made his last stop in Lexington's Kroger on Alex- andria Drive. Wilkinson rubbed off three spots which he thought revealed a $100 win. He cashed the ticket, signed the back and flashed his winnings. Soon after the clerk realized one of the spots was $1000 not $100 and the Governor had to re- turn the money. Although he was not an instant winner, he insisted that all of Kentucky was. Some UK students felt that the lottery was a benefit to the future of Kentucky and hoped that lottery proceeds would help to increase the education budget. Many stu- dents also found themselves contributing to the lottery and did not feel it was a waste of money, but worth the chance. Computer science junior Tom Griffin said, if I want to waste my money, it's my business. Graduate stu- dent in counseling psycholo- gy Mary Bolin believed that Hspending money on a lottery ticket is the same to me as going to the track. Some have spent anywhere from $1 to $100 and the money kept rolling in. With a favorable response from students it was not sur- prising that the 4700 retail outlets reported selling over 2.6 million dollars worth of lottery tickets by 4 o'clock on the first day. Three Ken- tuckians also became win? ners of $5000 . All three of them were eligible for a drawing that could make them a millionaire on derby day May 6. The excitement of winning and the challenge to keep winning kept people buying those lottery tickets hoping to at least pay back the money spent on the tick- et, or, through a stroke oi luck. strike it rich.l:l lilf my bus Grit Many hopes

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Curtain Call Some felt that the end of Ronald Reagants term as U.S. Presi- dent was the nend of an era? while others believed George Bush would bring Hfour more years. Story and Layout by Jeffrey R. Murphy 9 9 nce you begin a great movement, there's no telling where it will end We meant to change a nation, and instead we changedaworld. These were the words of Ronald Reagan. 40th Presie dent of the United States, only a few days before he stepped down from the office after having held it for two terms. Reagan gave this Htare- wellt' speech from the Oval Office on January 11, 1989 in Washington DC, only nine days before the inagura- tion of Reagents Vice-Presi- dent, George Bush, as his successor. The former movie star's double-term began in 1981 when the 52 American hos- tages were released from Iran on the day that Reagan was sworn into office. Two months later, John Hinckley attempted to murder the President in Washington, to continue the Htradition of all Presidents elected in a year ending in zero being shot andior killed, In 1982, Reagan was be- coming a hero in the eyes of many, for restoring the US. to its economical health. But the nations economy then underwent a recession to cause Reagan's popularity to fall to an all-time low in the polls. In 1984, Reagan won his second term as President after defeating Democrat Walter Mondale in 49 states, Mondale's running mate for Vice-President was the first ever to be a woman, Ger- aldine Ferraro. 1986 proved to be anoth- er controversial year for the President. In April, he or- dered the bombing of Libya. It was later discovered that Reagan secretly authorized arms to be sold to Iran in ex- change for the release Of hostages, which sparked the highly publicized Irah-Contras hearings and made Colonel Oliver North a hero to some Americans. In 1987, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed the INF treaty with Reagan. This treaty eliminated all short- range and intermediate-range nuclear missiles to Europe Gorbachev had ignited a freer atmosphere to the Sovi- et Union and relations im- proved with the United States. Reagan had expressed in his farewell speech that he had called the Soviets an evil empire during the first few yearsof his administra- tion. He had changed by the end of his term to say that his views about Gorbachev were different from those of former Kremlin leaders, and that he hoped the ttolose- ness between the Soviets and Americans would contin- uet Toward the end of his Presidency, in 1988, Reagan proposed a $16 trillion bud- get, which was the largest in U.S. history to date. He expressed that his Presidency had been to him, going by too fast in a car someone else was driving and seeing the people through tinted glass. And so many times i wanted to stop and reach out from behind the glass, and connect Despite the fading support for Reagan and the many ups and downs of his eight years in office, the American public held enough faith in him to elect one of his proteges as the next President. A few days after Reagan's speech, Vice-President George Bush was inagurated as the 41st President of the United States, after having defeated Democratic nomi- nee Michael Dukakis. The country did have its doubts about Bushls choice for Vice-Presidentt Dan Quayle received an enor- mous amount of investigation and pressure from the na- tion's public and press. For some reason, Ameri- cans had trouble supporting a Vice-President who based his philosophy on what he quoted his grandmother as telling him tas he stated in a Vice-Presidential debatei,: 'tYou can do anything you want if you just set your mind to it. E ttWe meant to change a nation, and instead we changed a world? -Presi- dent Ronald Rea- gan Ronald Reagan 19

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an- ant ge ale ats tck :k- 'If I want to waste my money, ifs my business. -Tom Griffin Many played the Ionery games in hopes of hitting it big Lottery 21