Powerball fever

With $1.3 billion up for grabs, lottery hopefuls across the nation have been purchasing Powerball tickets from participating vendors. Pictured above at BRICKS Travel Plaza in Motley, Val Ballard (left) of Clearbrook is handed his Powerball ticket by Jessica Kosec. “We’ve been selling a lot of tickets this week and people seem to be spending more...like $10 to $20 worth of tickets,” Kosec said. Ballard, who purchased five Powerball tickets at $2 each, said he’s never won anything in his life and he’s hoping his luck might change with the Jan. 13 drawing. (Staples World photo by Dawn Timbs)