A passer-by who tried to break up a fight Thursday night in Spokane Valley accidentally shot a man in the foot.

A group of people had come to Thierman Road near Nixon Avenue to fight with a man they believed had assaulted one of their friends, said Spokane County sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Mark Gregory.

An uninvolved man was driving by when he stopped to break up the fight. The man told deputies that the group became hostile and he felt threatened, so he fired one round into the ground. The round ricocheted off the asphalt and embedded itself in the shoe of one of the men, Gregory said. The bullet did not penetrate the man’s foot.

Nina Culver

Apparent human remains found in Bayview area

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office is investigating skeletal remains that appear to be human at a remote spot near Bayview on Lake Pend Oreille.

A hiker came upon the bones Wednesday afternoon and contacted authorities, the office said in a news release. Deputies responded to a forested area off Cape Horn Road.

Staff reports

Broadband vendors give Idaho until Feb. 22 to pay bill

BOISE – The vendors of a controversial broadband service in Idaho are threatening to cut service in about two weeks if the state doesn’t pay its bills, an aide to Gov. Butch Otter told state lawmakers Thursday.

A judge in November declared the state’s $60 million contract with Education Networks of America and CenturyLink for the Idaho Education Network illegal and void. An unsuccessful bidder, Syringa Networks, sued, and a court found the state had illegally altered the contract.

“There is a state statute that says that you may not pay against invalid contracts,” said state Department of Administration Director Teresa Luna. “We’ve been working to clarify that with the judge.”

Former Sen. John Goedde, an aide to Otter, said the administration wants lawmakers to authorize $1.6 million to maintain the network for the rest of the year. He said the vendors are threatening to cut service Feb. 22.

Betsy Z. Russell