Ford donates to fire relief funds in Malden and Pine Creek

The Ford Motor Company Fund awarded a grant of $25,000 to the Innovia Foundation to support the fire relief efforts in Malden and Pine Creek region after the Babb Road Wildfire in September 2020.

How the funds will be used will be determined with input from the Pine Creek Community Restoration Long-Term Recovery Organization, the town of Malden and the local Unmet Needs Roundtable.

The Ford Motor Company Fund is the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company and its mission is to strengthen communities. The Innovia Foundation is a community foundation for eastern Washington and northern Idaho.

University of Idaho named academic lead for cybersecurity consortium

The University of Idaho Center for Secure and Dependable Systems has been appointed the academic support center lead at the Department of Defense University Consortium for Cybersecurity. The University is also a partner in the U.S. Cyber Command Academic Engagement Network, which aims to increase applied research and partnerships in cybersecurity.

This consortium is congressionally mandated by the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act and exists to facilitate communication between the U.S. Secretary of Defense and academia across the United States. As the academic lead, the University of Idaho will be in charge of communicating with other recognized centers.

Whitman County Library set to begin food for fines program

Starting Feb.1, all 14 branches of the Whitman County Library will be accepting cans of food, boxed nonperishable foods, household paper products and toiletries to waive up to $10 in library fines. All donations must be unopened and unexpired, and each donation equates to $1 in fines. The libraries will be collecting donations through the end of February.

All collected donations will be given to the food bank in the community where they are collected. Extra donations, or for anyone without fines on their account can donate and it will be put towards another person’s fines. Donations can not cover fines sent to collections. For more information contact the Colfax Library at (509) 397-4366.