Hits and misses

Hit: Sheboygan County is on a roll. The Fond du Lac "Miracle Mile" can eat its heart out; it's got nothing on us!

For the third time in the past month, a major lottery winner has come from the Sheboygan area. On Wednesday, a $1 million winning Powerball ticket was purchased at QMart, 1211 Weeden Creek Road. The winner has not yet been identified.

On June 12, a Sheboygan man collected $673,500 in an after-tax lump sum payment in the May 31 Powerball drawing. Back on May 26, a $199,000 winning Badger 5 ticket was sold at Piggly Wiggly in Sheboygan.

Is it just luck, or good, clean living?

Miss: The economic news isn't nearly as good for 68 employees at Quantum Spatial in Sheboygan, who will be laid off in late August, according to a report the company filed with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

Quantum Spatial provides the acquisition, analysis, integration and management of geospatial data using advanced imaging and remote sensing technologies, according to its web site. In addition to the Sheboygan location, at 4020 Technology Parkway, the company operates out of Portland, Ore., and Lexington, Ky.

The website does not indicate how many employees work at the Sheboygan location. We hope those losing their jobs take advantage of the state assistance to which they become entitled under the Dislocated Worker Program Rapid Response Program in mass layoff situations.

Hit: A good example of a working partnership was on display last week when the Plymouth Common Council voted to donate $100,000 to the city's Education Foundation capital campaign to help construct the new Food Science and Agriculture Center at Plymouth High School.

The donation brings the foundation very near to its $1 million fundraising goal for the facility, which will house a 2,700-square-foot greenhouse attached to a 2,400-square-foot classroom.

The ag facility will help the school in providing a better learning environment for students of all ages, while also helping the city in its continuing economic development efforts. The donation creates a true win-win situation.

Miss: What's a little mud among friends, right?

The nearly week-long Country USA music festival at Ford Festival Park in Oshkosh began last Tuesday under extremely soggy conditions fostered by above-average rainfall in June. A day before the music began, organizers let some of those attending know that their assigned camp sites were just too wet to camp comfortably or safely. Some camping groups had to be split up as a result. Heavier camping units and tour buses were in danger of being stuck in the mud.

The weather during the week was mostly good — meaning dry — which helped make things more tolerable. Festival attendees were undaunted by the conditions. It was a party after all! This marked the first time in the event's 19-year history that all general admission tickets were sold out, with more than 40,000 people expected to attend each day.

Carrie Underwood was the headline act on the final night of the festival on Saturday.