Briefs
• Teachers receive $500 grants from STCU
Bryan Smidt, English teacher at Coeur d'Alene High School, and Kelli Aiken, counselor at Lakes Magnet Middle School in Coeur d'Alene, were each recently awarded a $500 classroom grant by STCU.
The educators' names were selected at random from nearly 2,000 entries of certified teachers who attended back-to-school events the credit union hosted for educators in North Idaho and Eastern Washington. The money can be spent on anything the teacher believes will enhance students' classroom experience, whether a basic need or something special.
Founded by educators in 1934, STCU is a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative with 130,000 members, 17 branch locations and more than $1.9 billion in total assets.
• Marine Corps League set to celebrate birthday
Join the Marine Corps League Pappy Boyington Detachment in celebrating the 239th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps.
If you are a Marine or the relative of a Marine and would like to attend the local Marine Corps Birthday Ball, contact the detachment to RSVP.
The ball will be held Nov. 8 at the Red Lion Templin's Hotel in Post Falls. This is a formal dress event with a ceremony starting at 5:30 p.m.
The cost per person is $45. There will be a silent auction, photographer available, music and dancing.
To RSVP, contact Paulette Gaffney at 818-0913.
• Former senator ordered to pay for misused funds
BOISE (AP) - Former U.S. Sen. Larry Craig has been ordered to pay nearly $242,000 to the U.S. Treasury for improperly using campaign funds to cover legal expenses after his arrest in a 2007 airport bathroom sex sting.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled Tuesday that Craig illegally converted campaign money for personal expenses while trying to withdraw his guilty plea to one count of disorderly conduct. The order says Craig must pay back $197,535 of campaign funds plus a penalty of $45,000.
Jackson found that Craig violated the Federal Election Campaign Act by converting campaign funds for personal legal expenses.
Craig's effort to withdraw his guilty plea "was a personal matter that was not connected to the Senator's duties as an officeholder," Jackson wrote.
Jackson also noted that her judgment was the first of its kind, adding that no other court has been asked to determine what the punishment should be for not following the particular section of the campaign law Craig violated.
The Idaho Republican had argued that Senate rules allow reimbursements for any official travel costs and he was traveling between Idaho and Washington, D.C., for work. Messages seeking comment were left for his two lawyers Tuesday.
Craig was arrested June 11, 2007, by an undercover police officer at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The officer said Craig tapped his foot and signaled under the stall that he wanted sex.
The senator pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace but immediately began a prolonged fight to undo his plea using campaign money.
The Federal Election Commission had wanted Craig to pay $140,000 in fines and return nearly $217,000 to his campaign.