Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter



CAT Tracks for June 26, 2006
ST. JUDE'S "DREAM HOME" WINNER...

...has a CAT connection.

From the Paducah Sun...


Winners all around

Beverly Walker wins "Dream Home" and St. Jude gets $603,835

By Jaclyn Brenning The Paducah Sun

Beverly Walker was just one of 2,000 people to tour the St. Jude "Dream Home" Saturday. She parked her car in the grass yards away from the house - there was no other space.

She parked the same car in the driveway Sunday afternoon.

Walker, who couldn't remember winning anything except a black-and-white television 30 years ago, had just won the St. Jude "Dream Home."

"It's just overwhelming," she said. "I cannot believe it."

Construction began on the "Dream Home" in January. The project was a benefit for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Approximately 6,000 tickets were sold at $100 each for the drawing to win the house - a brick ranch home of 2,800 square feet with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The house, located on Peppers Mill Drive, was appraised at $310,000 after being finished less than two weeks ago.

Walker will not get keys to the house for another month, but she walked through the hallways and bedrooms Sunday afternoon, touching the walls and the mirror and admiring the rooms.

"My niece will just love this," she said.

She motioned to the bedroom painted in a light pink with a mural of veil-like drapes on the wall. The room beside it had ducks flying over a blue-green lake and cattails painted onto one of the walls - yes, that would be a big hit with her nephew.

Walker's sister, Rose Mary Kloss, said the announcement was a shock for everybody. They got a dozen telephone calls in just minutes from ecstatic friends and family. She said her sister wasn't even in the room before the drawing. When the WPSD-TV telecast built suspense among listeners by first announcing only the initials of the winner - B.W. - Kloss said she screamed. She just knew it was her sister.

"Beverly didn't believe it," Kloss said. "She kept saying there were two Beverly Walkers in town. I think she didn't want to get her hopes up. But then they said the Beverly Walker on Pine Brook Drive, and we all knew it was her."

Walker, 64, of Paducah said she did not know how she would celebrate Sunday night. She wasn't sure the fact she had won the home had sunk in yet. She still felt shocked, but one of her nieces had brought a bottle of champagne for the occasion. Walker said it sounded like a good idea.

Neighborhood children sat outside the "Dream Home" at a lemonade stand. They hosted their own small fundraiser and had made $60 over the weekend. Half the money would go to St. Jude, and the other to Hope Unlimited Family Care Center. Throughout the afternoon, Peppers Mill Drive neighbors peered around their porches to see who the addition to the subdivision would be. Some peeked through blinds, and others dropped by for a friendly hello. More than a dozen cars pulled up to see if the winner had been named - had they won by any chance? they asked.

Maryann Huebschmann of Calvert City was just such a person who stopped by the house Sunday afternoon. She had bought her ticket months ago. The house was so beautiful, she said, and although she was disappointed she hadn't won, St. Jude was a good cause.

Tom Desmond, a regional director in Louisville for St. Jude, said the benefit raised $603,835. Proceeds go to the hospital. Desmond said the "Dream Home" in Paducah had the best response from the public they had seen in other locations, such as Bowling Green. Tickets went on sale in February and sold out before April. The last tickets held for sale Sunday afternoon were gone in less than 20 minutes.

"We'll definitely be coming back next year," Desmond said.

Other prize winners

Wicker furniture, courtesy of Trees N Trends: Arlie O'Neil, Wingo

Extreme smile makeover, courtesy of Holland Advanced Dentistry: Claudine Sanders, Paducah

Outdoor patio furniture, courtesy of Aloha Pools: Joyce Toon, Fancy Farm

$1,000 Visa card, courtesy of Bluegrass Dermatology: Kim Estes, Hanover, N.H.

Fireplace insert, courtesy of Hearth and Home: Jerry Spraggs

Sewing machine, courtesy of English Sewing: Jerry Anderson

$1,000 gift certificate to El Chico's Restaurant, courtesy of Precision Transmission: Ann Criswell, Paducah

$1,000 gift certificate, courtesy of Nick's Family Sports Pub: Cobey Slankard, West Paducah

ScottKay sterling and gold designer fashion jewelry gift, courtesy of Michelson's: Jennifer Griffith, Paducah

Bathroom sink and vanity, courtesy of Symsonia Kitchen & Bath: Bronda Hall, Mayfield

$1,500 gift certificate, courtesy of Edmonds Exterior: Donald Dudley, Paducah