In brief: Cybersecurity training program to launch

The University of Idaho Coeur d’Alene will offer cybersecurity training to professionals in the information technology field.

The program begins in August. It’s geared toward people with at least two to four years of work experience who need additional training to perform security analyst work.

The Idaho Department of Labor is providing a two-year start-up grant of $462,000 for the program, which is intended to become self-sustaining as enrollments grow. About 500 students are expected during the first two years.

UI partnered with Fatbeam, Idaho Power, Kootenai Health and Highpoint Medical to propose the short-term training program and certificate exams. Annual average wages for security analysts are $86,000. Fatbeam, a broadband services company, will help provide a training lab in UI’s Post Falls Research Park.

Potter, ex-leader of Jobs Plus, honored

The man credited with bringing over 70 companies to North Idaho, including Buck Knives and Center Partners, a large call center, was inducted into the Idaho Hall of Fame on Thursday.

Bob Potter, who led Jobs Plus Inc. for 15 years, was honored at the economic development corporation’s annual luncheon at the Coeur d’Alene Resort. Potter, 87, retired as president of Jobs Plus in early 2003.

Most of the companies Potter recruited are family-owned. They brought more than 3,900 jobs to North Idaho and made more than $325 million in capital investments in the area, according to the nonprofit corporation.

Potter is a former AT&T sales executive who moved to Hayden Lake from California to retire. Business leaders recruited him in 1987 to become the first president of Jobs Plus, formed to help diversify Kootenai County’s job base.

Baby sitter acquitted in child’s death

LEWISTON – A North Idaho baby sitter accused of killing a 2-year-old in her care has been found not guilty.

Natasha N. Hodges, 31, wept as the 2nd District Court jury read the verdict Wednesday, clearing her of first-degree murder.

The trial stemmed from the Aug. 30, 2012, death of Rylee Mingo. Hodges was accused of striking the child so forcefully in the abdomen that the blow tore a major vein. The defense argued that it was unclear when the vein ruptured, as Rylee was diagnosed with pancreatitis after death.

Hodges waived her right to a speedy trial in 2013. The trial lasted eight days and the jury deliberated for two hours before proclaiming Hodges not guilty.

Theia, dog left for dead, has surgery

A stray dog that was bashed in the head and left for dead in a ditch has had surgery at Washington State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

According to WSU Public Information Officer Charlie Powell, the dog, a 1-year-old pit bull mix named Theia, underwent a three-hour surgery and was resting comfortably.

The dog used to roam the streets of Moses Lake and survived on food scraps.

It is believed she was hit by a car in March and that someone apparently struck her in the head with a hammer to put her out of her misery. The dog was buried in a field but somehow survived and showed up at a nearby farm with a dislocated jaw, leg injuries and a caved-in sinus cavity.

Powell also indicated that Theia was “breathing a little” through her nose again.

Costs of the procedure were estimated to run as high as $10,000, and Theia’s caretaker, Sara Mellado of Moses Lake, had raised more than $28,000 for her care through a crowdsource funding website.