In brief: Home intruder flees when woman wakes

A 67-year-old woman awoke to find a man in her north Spokane home early Monday and discovered that he had apparently been in her bedroom rifling through her closet and end table while she slept.

The woman told Spokane County sheriff’s deputies that the man fled through the back door when he saw her, according to a news release. The entry was secured only by a screen door due to the heat.

She described the man as 5-foot-10, with medium build, wearing a gray sweatshirt, black athletic pants with white stripes and carrying a backpack, the release said.

Deputies and a Spokane police K-9 officer set up a perimeter but couldn’t find the suspect.

The woman’s purse was found on the back patio, with some items missing.

Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for information that leads to the arrest of the suspect. People with information should call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (800) 222-TIPS or forward the tip via the website at www.crimestoppersinlandnorthwest.org.

Thomas Clouse

CdA picks Ednetics for schools’ Wi-Fi

The Coeur d’Alene School District has announced that it’s selected Ednetics, a Post Falls firm, to provide Wi-Fi service districtwide, including all 17 schools. It’ll do that rather than sign a controversial statewide high school Wi-Fi contract state schools chief Tom Luna made with a Nashville, Tenn., firm last week.

The $278,000 deal with Ednetics is up for final school board approval Monday, but it’s been long in the works. It’s part of a bond issue voters approved last August.

Wendell Wardell, chief operating officer for the district, said Tuesday that the district wanted one platform for all its schools and it wanted local support for the products. The Ednetics network will be higher-powered than what the state’s offering, he said, and it’ll be up and running by Nov. 1. Plus, he said, “We’ll own the equipment, as opposed to a vendor owning the equipment and having it reside in our buildings. We didn’t feel comfortable with that.”

Idaho school districts have until Thursday to decide whether to opt in to the statewide contract. Betsy Z. Russell