COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — The keys to a new house in northern Idaho were raffled off Wednesday and handed to a 72-year-old eastern Washington woman who says she was unable to attend the drawing after her car was stolen earlier this week.
Donna Wallar of Ephrata won the four-bedroom home valued at $250,000 during a raffle.
Carpentry students at North Idaho College built the house in Coeur d’Alene and it was raffled off to raise money for scholarships and other programs. A crowd packed an auditorium at the school late Wednesday for the drawing, which included prizes such as a $20,000 car, a $10,000 boat and a $3,500 vacation package.
The crowd burst into applause as Wallar’s name was drawn for the $250,000 home. She, however, was unable to attend the drawing in northern Idaho because her current home had been broken into earlier this week and her car stolen, she said.
Foundation Executive Director Rayelle Anderson later reached Wallar by phone at a restaurant in Ephrata to share the news.
“Oh really. Oh my gosh, I don’t believe this,” Wallar said after Anderson told her she had won.
“You are officially a new homeowner,” Anderson said.
Wallar responded: “How wonderful.”
The North Idaho College’s foundation sold about 5,000 tickets at $100 each and raffled off $285,000 in prizes, raising about $218,000 for the school. Paul Wedeberg, of Snohomish, won the car and Jennifer Erickson, of Coeur d’Alene, will take the boat home after the drawing.
Wallar told KXLY-TV she hasn’t decided what she’ll do with the new house. It sits about 150 miles east of her current residence in Ephrata, a town that has proven somewhat lucky for its residents.
An eastern Washington man bought one of two winning tickets in a $380 million Mega Millions lottery at a supermarket in Ephrata and earlier this year claimed half of the second largest jackpot in history. The other half went to a northern Idaho woman.
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