Fisherman drowns in Spirit Lake

A 31-year-old man from Athol, Idaho, drowned while fishing at Spirit Lake.

David M. Adkins died Friday, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department reported in news releases Sunday.

His body was found under water, near his overturned 11-foot flat-bottom boat. It was recovered about 200 yards offshore, near the Lake Haven Resort, the sheriff’s department reported.

Adkins, who apparently lost his balance and fell overboard, was not wearing a life jacket, and alcohol may have been a factor, the sheriff’s department reported.

Lewiston

Potlatch ending scholarships

Potlatch Corp. has announced that it’s ending its 56-year-old college scholarship program that distributed more than $11 million to about 3,300 high school graduates in six states.

“We believe this is the right time to discontinue this program, which targets individuals, and focus our philanthropy efforts in the future on organizations that affect greater numbers of people,” said Mark Benson, vice president of public affairs for the Spokane-based forest products company.

The scholarships were awarded to students who lived within 30 miles of a Potlatch operation in Idaho, Washington, Minnesota, Arkansas, Nevada and Illinois.

Students could receive $1,400 a year that could be renewed long as students met required academic criteria.

Benson said the program tried to identify students, most of whom were not children of Potlatch employees, who had great potential but were considering not going to college.