Inside Lakeside High's push for a $1 million field upgrade

Welcome back. A high school just outside Spokane is now a top four finalist in T-Mobile's Friday Friday 5G Lights contest. Lakeside High School is the only school left in the West Division competing for the grand prize, a $1 million field upgrade. Now the school needs your help to get the most votes to win that grand prize by November 8th. So let's get voting and tell you how you can do it. Joining us this morning is Devin Bauer, Nine Mile Falls School District's Athletic Director who is leading the charge And this awesome opportunity, Devin, good morning. Thanks so much for joining us. Good morning, Erin. Thank you for having us on. Yeah, first off, congrats to you making it to the top four. Tell us all this, how it got started and you guys got involved and how it works. Yeah, this is an amazing competition. It's really been good for our community. Our community got hit hard by the Spokane complex fires. And this has really provided an opportunity for our community to rally. To come back together, our students, it's just been so exciting. It's been unbelievable. Yeah, for sure. Now, tell us a little bit about your facilities now. I know you said they got hit. What has that been like? Were they old to start with and now they're just not available to you or what's the situation there? Yeah, so the fire came within about 20 feet of our school. It really affected our students and our staff with over 20 students, staff members that lost their homes. But our facilities here at Lakeside have just, it's just kind of, they've been in despair. Our crack is tracking, or is cracking, falling apart. We don't currently have any bleachers that people bring lawn chairs, can sit and watch. Thank you very much. No running. Running water for restrooms, so this grant would just totally revamp that stadium and validate our students and our community's efforts and everything we do in pursuing excellence here. Yeah, and unfortunately the district's capital levy failed last year to replace the football stadium. How do you remain positive through all this? I mean, I know you have this spark of light here, but going forward. Yeah, I think it's just resiliency. Our community is just so resilient. Thank you. And fighting for what we believe in and what the kids deserve it. And it's really about taking care of your neighbor and we're going to keep at it and do anything we can to give these kids in our community what they deserve. Are those kids and you and your staff having fun with this campaign? Oh, it's been a blast. We definitely feel the love. Last night we were on the Seahawks Jumbotron. We've had Sydney Sweeney post for us. We've had Tyler Lockett come out, there he is. It's just been unbelievable and just being a small town and to feel that you're noticed. Yeah, you've got some major support. So I mean, what would it mean for you to get this in place to be the number one? It would just be a dream come true for our community as a hometown kid growing up here playing on that same field, it would just be over the moon for our students. Are you surprised that you've made it this far into the top four? I mean, I think you're what, the only school west of the Mississippi? Yeah, we're the only school west of the Mississippi. We're small, but we're passionate. This is something we believe in and we're just calling every Washingtonian. We need their help. We need Seattle's help to push us over the edge. We're a little bit behind right now, but we're not out of the fight. If everybody can just take 10 seconds, get on, go to. vote the number four lakeside.com. Help us out, push us over the top. I know it seems out there to go do it, but please, our community's asking, our community needs this. And we really, really need your support. Yeah, for sure. And I want to let you know, I did my part. I voted right here. I'm going to show it to my co anchors and everyone at the station. We're going to vote for Lakeside. So this will be an amazing thing. Okay, let's go, Seattle. We need you. Let's do it, we have a link on our website and how you can vote at fox13seattle.com. Devin Bauer, thank you so much for sharing your story and we wish you the best of luck to get that new upgraded million dollar look. Thank you Erin, appreciate it.