The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, NC

Local News

December 20, 2010

The poorest N.C. Lottery’s best customers

Edgecombe among highest per-adult sales

From Staff Reports

TARBORO — North Carolina’s adults are spending an average of $200 a year on scratch tickets,  an investigative report from NC Policy Watch finds – and the state’s poorest counties are also its biggest lottery consumers, including Edgecombe.

The most impoverished counties in North Carolina had the highest per capita lottery sales, an NC Policy Watch review of lottery data found. Out of the 20 counties with poverty rates higher than 20 percent, 18 had lottery sales topping the statewide average of $200 per adult.

The state sold $1.4 billion worth of scratch tickets and number games during the last fiscal year.

Some of the most impoverished counties in the eastern part of the state also had some of the highest per-adult lottery sales. Washington County (21.8 percent poverty in 2000) sold $435.84 worth of tickets per adult, while Tyrrell (23.3 percent poverty in 2000) had $349.79 in sales. Bertie County (23.5 percent in 2000) had $386.64 and Edgecombe (22.9 percent in 2008) had $468.99 in sales per adult.

The 10 highest counties in per capita lottery sales: Bertie, Martin, Lenoir, Wilson, Hyde, Washington, Edgecombe, Halifax, Vance and Nash.

The highest per capita sales were $536.11 is Edgecombe’s neighboring Nash County. The lowest were in Madison County on the N.C.-Tennessee border, with $25.41 in sales for every adult.

The 10 lowest counties in per capita lottery sales: Madison, Clay, Graham, Macon, Swain, Yancey, Watauga, Cherokee, POLk and Yadkin.

Per capita sales were lowest in the western part of the state, and picked up significantly in the eastern stretch of North Carolina.

The NC Policy Watch report, featuring an interactive map with a county-by-county breakdown of lottery sales, is available at www.ncpolicywatch.com. The county map can be viewed at http://www.ncpolicywatch.org/swf/lotterymap/. 

Text Only
Local News
  • Nash Health Care seeking expanded affiliates

    ROCKY MOUNT — The Board of Commissioners of Nash Health Care has voted to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to five, pre-selected regional tertiary hospital systems for evaluation of an expanded affiliation relationship.
    Nash Health Care operates a number of facilities, including five hospitals totaling 403 beds — Nash General Hospital, Nash Day Hospital, the Bryant T. Aldridge Rehabilitation Center, Community Hospital and Coastal Plain Hospital.

    June 19, 2013

  • AIB judging under way

    The America in Bloom (AIB) judges are in town, and Tarboro’s AIB committee rolled out the red carpet for them, beginning with Sunday supper at the home of AIB committee member Candis Owens.
    “I am really excited about these judges,” Owens said “It looks like they have been selected specifically for Tarboro, because they’re both historic preservationists.”
    James R. “Jim” Abraham is a professor of historic preservation at the Savannah College of Art and Design, while Ed Hooker, III is the historic architect and cultural resource manager for Fort Riley, Kan., according to the judges’ biography.

    June 17, 2013

  • lemonade.jpg Brother, sister offer relief from the heat

    Madelyn Gay, 9 left, pours lemonade in a cup that her brother Peyton Gay, 10, is holding in front of their St. Andrews Street home last Thursday. With the temperature reaching 96 degrees, the sister and brother tandem sold the refreshing liquid.

    June 17, 2013 1 Photo

  • Summer Food Service Program for children kicks off

    Edgecombe County Public Schools is working to make sure that no children in Edgecombe County go hungry while school is closed this summer by sponsoring the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) for children. Summer meals will be offered at Carver Elementary, Pattillo, Phillips Middle, Princeville Elementary and West Edgecombe Middle schools starting today. The meals will be offered from Monday through Thursday until Aug 8. Breakfast will be served from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

    June 17, 2013

  • Gun permits on the rise

    The Edgecombe County Sheriff's Department reported a spike in the number of citizens applying for gun permits and carrying concealed weapons. From Dec. 1, 2011 to June 13, 2012, the sheriff's department issued 88 gun permits as well as 213 concealed weapon permits. From Dec. 1, 2012 to June 6, 2013 the sheriff's department issued 492 gun permits and 364 concealed weapon permits.

    June 14, 2013

  • Heat.jpg Warmest day this year reaches mid 90's

    Beating the heat was the name of the game Thursday in Edgecombe County, as temperatures soared into the mid 90’s.
    “Right now the temperature is 95 degrees. This is the warmest day so far across central North Carolina,” said Shawna Cokley, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, at 2 p.m. Thursday. She said the average June temperature for the Raleigh area is 86, 87 degrees.

    June 14, 2013 1 Photo

  • Art Council offers summer camps

    Art camps this summer will get children’s creativity flowing.
    Edgecombe County Cultural Arts Council is offering several camps for children ages 3 to 12. Art teachers for the camps include Ashley Myers, Genevieve Govoni and Taylor Owens, as well as guest artists.
    “It will be a chance for them to create and explore different mediums that they might not be exposed to in school,” said Joyce Turner, executive director of Edgecombe Arts. “Each camp will more or less be themed.”

    June 13, 2013

  • Vines Cobb.jpg Pinetops mayor satisfied with 2013-2014 $4.6 million budget

    PINETOPS — The board of commissioners stayed in line with surrounding towns by adopting its budget without implementing a property tax increase, although water and sewer rates increased by an average of 6.5 percent.
    "It's a good budget, said Pinetops Mayor J. Vines Cobb. "There was no tax increase, so we are holding the line,"

    June 13, 2013 1 Photo

  • Drugs found on THS student at school

    A Tarboro High School senior was hit with drug charges on campus three days before graduation.
    According to Tarboro Police Sgt. Al Braxton, a teacher spotted Rasheen Travon Council, 18, 404 Lincoln Road,. Tarboro, engaged in suspicious activities. The teacher notified a police officer.
    Upon the officer's investigation, he found Council was in possession of 29.4 grams of marijuana in small bags. Braxton said he doesn't know whether or not Council made a transaction at the school.

    June 13, 2013

  • RIVER.jpg Rising Waters on the Tar

    The Tar River has risen to 16 feet-four inches over the past four days. On Saturday, the water levels were very low, but since the rains have come, the water levels have risen. The gates at the Tar River on River Road are shut with padlocks on them, because the water has gone over the path that runs adjacent to the river.

    June 13, 2013 1 Photo