Hoosier State Press Association - The Indiana Publisher - Better Newspaper Contest
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/425501
Page 25 Division 2 Best In-Depth Feature or Feature Package/Category 10 First place Thriving with special needs Kate Wehlann The Salem Leader Comments: A great idea for a feature series that was edu- cational, entertaining and inspiring to me, and I'm sure your readership. Writing was solid and stories were well-written and had good flow. Visually, the layout could have been much stronger, but the idea behind it was good. Second place Brown County Intermediate School Megan O'Bryan & Ben Skirvin Brown County Democrat (Nashville) Comments: Good idea for a series of stories that impacted a number of families in your community. Writing was solid, and visually the layout and design helped make the stories invit- ing and easy to read and follow. Third place '59 Chevy reveals love story Ross Schulz The Corydon Democrat Comments: I'm not a big car guy, but I really enjoyed this story. It was a fun read. Probably one of the more interesting true "features" that was presented in this category. Story was a bit long and some of the best stuff was found at the end of it. I'm fortunate I stayed with it. Best Sports Event Coverage/Category 11 First place Eagles, 'BPN' rise to top Brian Smith The Corydon Democrat Comments: By far the most interesting and engaging of the articles. Precise and well-written. I cared about this team. Second place Flying high Kevin Lilly Brown County Democrat (Nashville) Comments: Short and sweet, this story tells you everything you need to know about this team and its new coach. I am left wanting to pick up the next edition to read about this team as it makes it way through the season. Third place Offense not enough; Eagles fall in sectional Calvin Johnson Brown County Democrat (Nashville) Comments: How we deal with loss defines us more than how we deal with wins. This story exemplifies the heartbreak the team feels, while also looking forward to the next game and the next chance to come out on top. Best Sports News or Feature Coverage Category 12 First place One small town, one crazy coach: Story of 1963 Ireland Spuds Ed Cahill The Press-Dispatch (Petersburg) Comments: Extremely well-done piece that deftly balances the story of a book about a team and the story of the team itself. Takes a potentially standard write-up and with great research and touch transforms it into a must-read. Second place The family experience Kevin Lilly Brown County Democrat (Nashville) Comments: Great package and well-told story. Third place Unheralded to unbelievable Brian Smith The Corydon Democrat Comments: Well-researched feature covers all the angles, giving the reader an excellent portrait of an underdog athlete. Kate Wehlann The Salem Leader Spend 10 minutes with 16-year-old Gabby Campbell and any thoughts of her having Down Syndrome affecting her ability to be a typical teenage girl will disappear. She loves fashion and jewelry (especially bracelets) and dreams of becoming a professional actress. She also loves babysitting, saying it's another of her dreams. Her hobbies include reading and she has bookshelves in her room so full she's stacking books in front of other books. She's "friends" with all her favorite celebrities – Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Taylor Lautner, Hannah Montana/ Miley Cyrus, the band One Direction and others, their photos, purchased as posters or ripped from the teen magazines she collects, taped all over her bedroom wall. Her boyfriend? Justin Bieber. "I love Justin Bieber," she said, grinning broadly at one of the posters taped to her wall beside her closet. She also loves her pets – two beagles and her cat, Starz – and takes pride in her creative side, painting the pencil sketches her mother draws for her, including one painting of her dogs and cat that hangs on her wall. "They're very special to me," she said. "I'm a friend to all animals." Gabby also has her own business, selling homemade dog treats for $2 a bag. Her mother, Karen Campbell, said she earned about $300 last year. Her dreams of becoming an actress led her to get involved with school theater – she performed in a Halloween play at Eastern – and she's been involved in cheerleading and was a member of the student council last year. This is her first year of high school at Eastern and she loves it. She likes her classes, specifically her career education class, and spending time with friends, but above all, she likes one group of people in particular. "To be honest, because Write that down: She's got big dreams and a bigger heart For complete story, see www.hspafoundation.org. Click on "Contests." Brian Smith The Corydon Democrat From the start of the fourth quarter on, a seat was easy to find on the Lanesville side of the Borden gymnasium Saturday night. That's because everyone was standing, even into an overtime to settle the score between Lanesville and Rock Creek Academy for the Class A Borden Sectional. Back and forth was the theme of the overtime until the Eagles came through with a key turnover and rebound in the final minute to score the program's fourth sectional title with a 68-65 triumph over Rock Creek. "It feels so amazing," Lanesville senior Jack Ferree said. "Last year, we were here in the same spot, and we lost to the state champs (Borden). Then to come back in the championship to win, it feels so amazing. As a senior, to get a sectional champion is great, but we have to prepare for next week." In the overtime, it was a struggle for the lead. Ferree gave the Eagles a 60-59 lead with a pair of freebies. Throughout the game, Rock Creek was a load on the glass for the Eagles. They scored twice on put-backs in the overtime, one each from 6-foot-8 Gedeon Nzombi and 6-6 Ronald Karenzi. Buckets by Lanesville's Matthew Husband and Ryan Fulkerson helped offset points by the Lions. To come up with the win, the Eagles knew they needed stops. With 46 seconds left, Husband toed the charity stripe to put his team up 66-65. During a time out, Lanesville coach Mikel Miller, attempting to communicate with his team in a hostile environment, echoed "rebound, rebound, rebound." Out of the break, Fulkerson eased the coach's desire, picking off a lob pass near the baseline. "All night we couldn't rebound because they are so lengthy," Fulkerson said. "We ended up getting steals at the end to make up for it." Down the stretch, Eagles, 'BPN' rise to top One small town, one crazy coach: Story of 1963 Ireland Spuds For complete story, see www.hspafoundation.org. Click on "Contests." Ed Cahill The Press-Dispatch (Petersburg) Mike Roos had just turned 11 years old when the Ireland High School boys' basketball team won the school's first and only sectional and regional titles in 1963. In 2003, his father, Jim – who was principal of Ireland High School from 1961-63 – asked him if he was interesting in attending a 40th-year anniversary celebration of the Spuds' accomplishment. "They were going to have a golf outing and dinner, and a ceremony over at the gym on Sunday, Jack Butcher will speak, and people like that were going to show up," Roos recalled. "So I said, yeah, I would really like that." Roos, a professor of English at University of Cincinnati Blue Ash since 1976, said that he still has vivid memories of the Spuds' postseason run, especially from their 20-19 win over Springs Valley in the finals of the Huntingburg Sectional. "Like the winning free throws hit by Joe Lents and what Red Keusch did at the end of the game," Roos said. "He just held the ball out of bounds for the last three seconds and then threw it up into the rafters. I can still visualize that." Then, during a celebration held later the same night in the Ireland High School gymnasium, first-year head coach Pete Gill – following through on a promise he made to his team if they won the sectional title – removed his trousers and threw them into the crowd. (Gill, after realizing that the rear seam of his pants had come apart when two students hoisted him on For complete story, see www.hspafoundation.org. Click on "Contests."