MOSES LAKE — Basin residents can turn loose their inner Clark Griswold and help students at the same time. 

The Columbia Basin Herald’s Light Up Columbia Basin contest will raise money for the Newspapers in Education program, which puts newspapers in classrooms across the Basin.   

The contest is simple, said Columbia Basin Herald Regional General Manager Bob Richardson. “(Judging) will be done by people in the community,” Richardson said. “When people enter, they’ll put pictures of their house. We’ll have (an interactive) map for people in the community to drive around and look at these houses, and then they can go on their phones while they’re out looking at the houses and vote for their favorites.” 

The first prize winner, the Champion of Lights, will receive a one-night stay at The Coeur d’Alene Resort and two tickets for the St. Joe River Cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene. Second prize will be the St. Joe River Cruise, and third prize is a free six-month subscription to the Columbia Basin Herald. All three will also receive a commemorative plaque plus bragging rights for the year. 

“What better way to help with NIE than a contest where we personally are donating the prizes?” Richardson said. 

The Columbia Basin Herald has sponsored the Newspapers in Education program for at least 20 years, Richardson said. The program supplies newspapers for classroom use free of charge to any school or teacher who wants them, said Marketing and Audience Development Director Dana Moreno.  

“Teachers can choose one day a week, five days a week,” Moreno said. “We send out 250 papers a day.” 

The papers go to elementary, middle and high schools across the Columbia Basin, Moreno said.  

“A lot of teachers use them for current events and things like that,” Richardson said. “They’re shown how to read a newspaper and glean information. It’s a valuable tool. It helps the kids in our area get a feel for what’s going on in our community.” 

The Columbia Basin Herald picks up all the expenses of the NIE program. The program was previously supported with an annual golf tournament, but like so many other things, that went away during the COVID-19 pandemic. Around the same time, the Columbia Basin Herald partnered with the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce and local businesses in a home decorating contest called Light Up Moses Lake. The Light Up Columbia Basin contest combines both of those traditions. 

The entry fee is $25. Home illumination artists can register for the contest by calling 509-765-8882, Moreno said, and can send a photo of their house later. Registrations must be done by phone, she said. Registration is open through Dec. 5. Voting will take place Nov. 21-Dec. 23. 

“The community support is what makes it possible,” Richardson said. 

More information is available at http://bit.ly/2025LightUpCB. 

    Local businesses are invited to take part in Light Up Columbia Basin as well as homeowners. The money goes to support the Columbia Basin Herald’s Newspapers in Education program.