County to receive $500K to hire veterans

| June 26, 2012 6:31 AM

BOISE (AP) — Two Idaho communities — one in the north and the other in the state's east — are getting $650,000 combined from U.S. Department of Justice to add military veterans to their forces.

The Kootenai County Sheriff's Department will receive $500,000 and the St. Anthony Police Department will get $150,000.

The two law enforcement agencies were announced on Monday as recipients of the grants from the DOJ's Community Oriented Policing Services program.

Designed to save or create some 800 law enforcement jobs nationwide, the money must be used to created positions filled by recent military veterans who have served at least 180 days since Sept. 11, 2001.

All told, communities across the United States are getting $111 million in 2012 for the hiring program that's been pushed by President Barack Obama.