Grant PUD names photo contest winners

EPHRATA - Dozens of Basin residents participated in Grant County PUD's recent River Nomad photo contest - posting photos of the Columbia River to the agency's Facebook page throughout the summer.

The PUD received more than 30 photo submissions during this year's contest, spokesperson Tom Stredwick said Thursday. They recently tallied up the number of "likes" each photo got, and awarded the top three with prizes, he said.

Lisa Karstetter's "View of the Columbia" photo came out on top with the most "likes." She won a Columbia River tour for herself and four guests.

Linda Tuesly and Heidi Manly each won Washington State Parks Camper Bucks for coming in second and third place, respectively. Tuesly submitted a photo taken on Priest Rapids Lake and Manly shared a photo of two young girls enjoying a swim.

Each of the images were taken at PUD recreation sites along the Columbia River, Stredwick said. One of the contest's requirements is that photos submitted have to be taken along the Columbia River near Priest Rapids and Wanapum Dams, he said.

The goal of the contest is to highlight ways people can enjoy that stretch of the river, Stredwick said in a previous Columbia Basin Herald article. The PUD maintains about 23 recreation sites in that area where people can fish, swim, boat, camp and picnic, he said.

This is the second year the agency has held the contest. Stredwick said the contest will be offered again next summer.