Q: I was curious if there has ever been a grand prize winner for Decades of Dollars. I checked the last three months and there have been no winners since May 6.
—Kathy Koning, Cumming
A: Seven people – including three in Georgia — have won $250,000 a year for 30 years as the grand prize winner in the Decades of Dollars game, Tandi Reddick, the communications director for Georgia Lottery, told Q&A on the News in an email. The last grand prize winner was McDonough's Borom Toek, who won on May 3, 2012. Winners also can opt for a $4 million one-time payout. More than 500 Georgia Lottery players have won the game's $10,000 second-place prize and more than 3.9 million Georgia Lottery players have won more than $19.5 million in Decades of Dollars prizes, ranging from $2 to $10,000. Decades of Dollars is played in Georgia, Virginia, Kentucky and Arkansas.
Q: My question is about the memorial for one of Michelle Obama’s relatives that is in Rex. To my knowledge, it’s gone. What happened to it?
—Cheryl Holmes, Rex
A: The monument to Melvinia Shields, the first lady's great-great-great grandmother, has been removed for repairs after it was knocked off its pedestal in June, Clayton County Commissioner Sonna Singleton told Q&A on the News in an email. The monument is expected to be returned in September, she wrote. The memorial to Shields, who was born into slavery in South Carolina in 1844 and bequeathed to the Shields family of Clayton County in 1850, was dedicated in June 2012.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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