Untitled Document

Tomahawk Troops

02/21/2008

The alert has been raised for an Army National Guard unit in Tomahawk and now preparations are being made for a possible deployment. All personnel of the 951st Engineer Company in Tomahawk received their alert orders in late January, which doesn't automatically mean they'll be called up. A possible deployment could have the unit headed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

The unit of about 100 already spent about 14 months in Iraq in 2003 and 2004. The unit could hear within the next few months that they're headed overseas. If the unit is called up, it would likely happen in the latter part of the year. The 951st based in Tomahawk; specializes in tasks such as building roads and clearing obstacles.

The Powerball jackpot is up to 115-million-dollars for Saturday night. Nobody won the top prize of 100-million last night. And nobody from Wisconsin won the second prize, either. Three players from the Badger State won 10-grand apiece by matching four regular numbers but not the Powerball. Just over 22-thousand others won smaller prizes. The numbers were 9, 12, 20, 22, and 36. The Powerball was 31, and the Power Play multiplier was three. The jackpot is above 100-million for the first time this year. Saturday’s cash option is 55-million dollars – which is what a single winner would get by taking the prize all at once, instead of in 30 annual installments.

Wisconsin’s presidential primary had its highest voter turnout since 1988. 36-percent of eligible voters went to the polls Tuesday. Just over one-and-a-half million Wisconsinites put Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain closer to winning their parties’ nominations. Seventy-three percent voted in the Democratic primary. But a C-N-N exit poll said only two-thirds of those people were actually Democrats. Nine-percent were Republicans apparently trying to pit the weakest candidate against McCain. Even so, U-W Madison professor Charles Franklin says the high Democratic turnout is worrisome to the G-O-P. But he said the dynamics would be very different come November. State Democratic Party chairman Joe Wineke says he’s never seen Democrats as excited as they are now. He says Obama and Hillary Clinton get part of that credit, but folks are also tired and frustrated with President Bush. State G-O-P chairman Mark Jefferson says we shouldn’t read too much into the high Democratic vote count. He said there wasn’t much bringing people to the Republican race, with McCain all but wrapping up the nomination.

Winning lottery numbers: Powerball: 9-12-20-22-36, Powerball 31, Power Play 3 Megabucks: 15-21-25-27-32-39 Supercash: 20-23-25-35-37-38 – No Tripler Pick-3: 9-8-2 Pick-4: 0-4-2-2 Badger-5: 4-11-16-21-27