Market plans bash for lottery winners

They're pulling out all the stops at Sarnelli's Market in Jones Mills today when lottery officials present two winners with their shares of a $2.5 million jackpot.

Bernadette Lane Barron, 55, a Champion florist, and co-worker Kimberly A. Mitchell, 37, will split the jackpot, which represents the cash value of a $5 million Super 6 annuity prize, according to a Pennsylvania Lottery news release.

The winning ticket was purchased at Sarnelli's Market at the junction of State Routes 31 and 711 in Donegal Township. Owner Joe Sarnelli said Barron and Mitchell have been steady lottery customers 'for years.'

He has rented a circus tent and is spreading out a buffet lunch in celebration and preparation for the arrival of regional lottery officials.

Barron and Mitchell 'come in here every single day, seven days a week,' said Sarnelli, who runs the store with wife, Rose, and two children. Cashier Cheryl Pritts sold the winning ticket for the May 2 drawing, but all of the employees will be honored today, he said.

'We don't have just one person on the lottery (counter), so they're all going to be recognized,' Sarnelli said.

Contacted yesterday, Mitchell said she and Barron were told by lottery officials not to talk to newspapers until after they receive their checks. A lottery official could not be reached immediately for comment.

Barron's Floral Shop and Landscaping has locations on State Route 711 and at Seven Springs Mountain Resort, near Champion, according to the lottery press release. Both Barron and Mitchell plan to continue working, the lottery said.

Sarnelli said the prize is the largest ever won on a ticket sold by his store, though previous tickets sold there netted winners $75,000 and $120,000.

The Sarnellis will receive a $25,000 bonus from the lottery for selling the winning ticket, officials said.