Eureka students donate sports funds to fire relief

Following the devastation brought by nearby wildfires, the students of Lincoln County decided it was time to give back to their community.

The school’s annual “Rumble in the Jungle” fundraiser traditionally benefits high school extra-curricular activities, including sports. But this year, both students and faculty decided the money would do more good in their community as it recovers from this year’s historic fire season.

According to Lincoln County High School Principal Joel Graves, the idea came about one night while he and his wife were discussing the fundraiser. It was his wife’s idea to donate some of the proceeds to fire relief efforts, but it was the student athletes who agreed and pushed their principal to give it all away.

“I think the main part is we would want the same help if that were to happen to us,” said Lincoln County High School senior Liz Pacella. “They do so much to help us already.”

Over its five-year history, the event has raised a minimum of $17,000 each year and a record $28,000 last year.

That, Graves said, was a perfect example of how the close-knit community of Eureka works.

Having grown up in Eureka, Graves said he has seen the same thing happen time and time again. Anytime tragedy strikes, everyone joins together to pitch in and contribute.

As the annual auction has grown, so has the list of contributors, from local businesses to parents to individuals without kids in the school system at all.

“And that was just for extra-curriculars,” Graves said. “It’s going to be much bigger this year because of the fires.”

Planning for the event starts months in advance. This year the school decided to bring in outside help to coordinate where the funding will go and how it will be spent.

A board of seven current and former community members, including some from the Eureka Amish community, will discuss and decide how this year’s proceeds will best benefit victims of the wildfire.

Eli Eash, senior pastor of Kootenai Christian Fellowship Church in Eureka, is one of those seven who have been talking one-on-one with each of the fire victims to find out what is needed, both immediately and long term.

“A lot of them have been displaced and can’t start to rebuild their needs until they have a place to reside,” Eash said.

Some residents have begun to rebuild, with new foundations already poured and in place. However, others are faced with a total loss of property and must figure out where to begin again.

Homes weren’t the only things lost.

According to Eash, even properties where homes weren’t destroyed suffered, and now both owners and renters are putting together lists of what they’ll need to recover.

Everything from barns to outhouses to fencing to farm equipment has made the list, but Eash said it won’t be until after the fundraiser when they know what budget they have to work with that the committee can start deciding where and how they can help.

Though people and structures remain the biggest priority for now, Eash said that, given enough funding, the team hopes to be able to put some money toward replanting the forests.

As for the students, Pacella said the hope is that their efforts will make a difference in the community that has always supported them.

“Coming together as a community seems really easy for us and really natural,” she said.

Even as a high school student, she said she and the rest of her classmates feel the connection and responsibility to contribute to their Eureka and West Kootenai communities.

“There wasn’t a single person who was against us giving the money to the fires, because as teenagers, it’s kind of hard to help out,” Pacella said.

The auction will take place Saturday, Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. at the Frontier Bar and Grill in Rexford.

Two dueling auctioneers, one Amish and one English, will be selling off hundreds of items, including truck loads of firewood, Amish furniture, hunting rifles, several deserts, golf packages, lodging stays at RiverStone Lodge, a used fishing boat and several gift baskets. All items have been donated by local businesses and individuals and collected by Lincoln County High School students.

The students and committee hope to raise between $50,000 and $100,000 for fire relief.

For more information, contact Lincoln County High School Principal Joel Graves at (406) 560-4429.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.