Hoosier State Press Association - The Indiana Publisher - Better Newspaper Contest
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/425501
Page 24 Division 2 Headline Writing/Category 7 First place American got Byrne'd; Tommy gun buries NH; Seitz set on state Brian Smith The Corydon Democrat Comments: Nice, all clever and humorous; thoughtful work. Second place Kid's DentisTree takes root from Mortenson; Propane shortage has some fuming; Corydon fit to be 'Tied Up in Knotts' Staff The Corydon Democrat Comments: Nice overall; creative thinking going on. Third place Running on empty: Water availability a concern for county fire departments; Slow flow: Infrastructure woes hamper economic development; Brown County Courthouse: Jury's still out; committee presents pros, cons of options Staff Brown County Democrat (Nashville) Comments: Especially liked the "Running on empty" head; nice imagery. Best Short Feature Story/Category 8 First place Losing faith? Area churches see membership decline Sara Clifford & Ben Skirvin Brown County Democrat (Nashville) Comments: Very strong feature. Excellent graphic, solid variety of sources, clear explanation of issues facing these churches and how finding new ways of attracting worship- pers is essential. Extremely well-done. Second place 'A great guy to work for' Sara Clifford Brown County Democrat (Nashville) Comments: Feature captured the essence of this "great guy;" it was easy to get a sense of who he is and how he has been as a superintendent. Enjoyed the "Smokeyisms" sidebar and also thought the photograph was interesting; not the usual posed fare too often seen. Good all-around feature. Third place Braunie's Bar retains original atmosphere Kevin Koelling Perry County News (Tell City) Comments: Detailed, well-researched history of Braunie's Bar and why it has been an important business in the com- munity. Nice use of old photographs. Especially liked the interpolation of the "Andy Griffith Show" snippets; very clever and entertaining and helped capture the ambience of this establishment. Best Profile Feature/Category 9 First place Tackling cancer with Hearts for Trinity Kate Wehlann The Salem Leader Comments: Story was written from the heart. Good use of bold quotes. Sub-deck immediately gave clear and concise information about the subject. Second place Seeing double: Hedrick twins reach milestone Kate Wehlann The Salem Leader Comments: A good use of timeline photos. Excellent use of comments and testimony from friends of the twins. Third place 'She's an angel too soon' Sara Clifford Brown County Democrat (Nashville) Comments: Sad, but compelling story. Losing faith? Area churches see membership decline • American got Byrne'd • Tommy gun buries NH • Seitz set on state Brian Smith The Corydon Democrat Tackling cancer with Hearts for Trinity Sara Clifford & Ben Skirvin Brown County Democrat (Nashville) In Gnaw Bone, just past the closed-down flea markets and RV parks, there's a squat, white building with a cross and steeple. It's the Country Gospel Music Church, an American Baptist congregation where on Thursdays a few people gather for prayer and a little testimony. But mostly, these people are here to sing and listen to the gospel in country music. They sing about the Blood of the Lamb and how they'll fly away. They sing Johnny Cash songs and well-covered hymns from two centuries past. On stage, Roxie Waggoner strums at a bass, while a few churchgoers back her up on mandolin and guitar. She started the church with her husband, Charlie, in the early 1990s as a tourist mission. It was founded in a rented building at the now-defunct Ski World, and they played revivals at the fairgrounds. But these days, there are fewer members and fewer people attending services. The Association of Religion Data Archives has been collecting data on church membership for more than two decades, sending out surveys asking about membership and attendance. According to its statistics, almost all faiths have seen a gradual decease in the number of people regularly attending. Between 2000 and 2010, Brown County churches lost about 1,000 members and regular attendees. The biggest losses were reported by the Catholic Church and the Christian churches. The Catholic Church remains the largest single congregation in Brown County. The only groups reporting an increase were the three local congregations of the Southern Baptist Conference. The report does not include data about all congregations in Brown County. Some on which it reports no data include the Episcopal/Anglican Church, Christian Scientists and Jehovah's Witnesses. During the period covered by the survey, the total population of Brown County increased by about 250 people. Church choice Brown County is home to a wide variety of denominations: from charismatic evangelical groups, like the Pentecostal churches, to traditional Kate Wehlann The Salem Leader In most ways, Trinity Goodson is a typical tween. She works hard to maintain her grades in school (her favorite subject is math), likes arts and crafts, Channing Tatum ("He's my boyfriend!" she said) and, get her together with her sisters and cousin, Cerenity, 13, Autumn, 6, and Morgan Farris, 11, just about every other sound you hear is a giggle. "She's definitely a joker," said Trinity's mother, Laura. The girls gather in the living room of Trinity's Pekin home, dragging posters they worked on well into the night, covered in hearts and feathers and color, gasping and giggling from time to time when a Luke Bryan music video pops up on the TV screen, quietly singing along. From time to time, something reminds them of a joke or some dare a friend or family member tried to do and giggles break out again. To look at Trinity, she seems like a perfectly ordinary, happy kid. 'We broke our record' However, there's something about 12-year- old Trinity that sets her apart from other girls her age. On June 21, 2012, she was diagnosed with non- Hodgkin's lymphoma T-cell, a blood cancer affecting her white blood cells. This, in turn affects the immune system, making Trinity more susceptible to other illnesses. Along with the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, she was also found to have cells with the precursor to leukemia, another blood cancer affecting white blood cells. Fortunately for Trinity, after a year and four months, in October 2013, her doctors told her she was in remission. She continued having chemotherapy treatments and routine checks to monitor her treatment. In August she started having vision troubles and headaches. During an appointment for a routine checkup and chemo treatment, the nurse practitioner asked her how she was feeling. "Trinity said, 'I can't see out of my left eye,'" said Laura. "The doctor came in, cancelled chemo and sent her to Kosair [Children's Hospital] for a brain MRI." Her doctors told her she had relapsed on Nov. 21, 2013, and gave her family the news she would need to stay in the hospital for the next month. "Sadly, we broke our record," said Trinity. Her record for longest hospital stay up until that point was 18 days. "Both times she was in the hospital, the hardest thing for her has been losing her hair and being away from her friends," said Laura. "She left school on Nov. 19, assuming she'd be back on Nov. 21, so she didn't say goodbye to her friends For complete story, see www.hspafoundation.org. Click on "Contests." For complete story, see www.hspafoundation.org. Click on "Contests."