Better Newspaper Contest

Best News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure/Category 1 First Justin Kiel The Regional News (LaCrosse) A Burning Need for Change Enterprising coverage. The paper took a breaking news story and quickly turned it into a critical investigation of emergency services. Second Linda Lipp & Lucretia Cardenas The Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly Team effort Wonderful package of coverage of news that's important to the community. Third Kelly Lynch Advance-Leader (Ligonier) Saved on second base Compelling coverage of a local story with good quote from those on the scene. Best News Coverage with No Deadline pressure/Category 2 First Doug LeDuc The Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly It's about supply and demand A thorough set of stories that give readers more than one angle of the Opioid crisis. Well done, well researched and hard- hitting even off deadline. Second Debbie Blank The Herald-Tribune (Batesville) Sting operation nets heroin dealer Third Joe Awad, Denise Freitag Burdette & Chris McHenry The Journal-Press (Aurora) Cities, county scramble to address cell legislation Best Ongoing News Coverage/ Category 3 First Debbie Blank and Diane Raver The Herald-Tribune (Batesville) Schooler murder trial and sentencing Very good coverage of a difficult trial. This series was difficult to read, not because it wasn't written well- because it was. It was difficult to read because of the nature of the crime commit- ted. Very well written and readers were given the details they needed. Also liked the coverage of the press conference. Second Kelly Lynch & Barry Rochford Advance-Leader (Ligonier) West Noble busts weed ring Good job reporting on a serious issue. Good use of related story in December 15 issue Third Bridgett Hernandez The Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly Lutheran Health Network saga Good job! The articles shows community support, also does a good job explaining how changes effect the community. Straightforward facts, no bias. Good use of timelines. Division 1 A Burning Need for Change Justin Kiel The Regional News (LaCrosse) It was Monday evening on January 30th, and Frank Swartz had just returned home from Knox. As he drove up to his garage he looked over to see bright flames licking the side of his neighbor's house and their car still parked in the driveway. He quickly called 911 and took off running to the burning home, fearful that his neighbor might still be trapped inside. Frank screamed his neighbor's name as loud as he could, desperately waiting for a response. Nothing. He approached the front door and kicked it into the burning building. Again, he yelled out for those inside. Nothing. Boldly determined to save the occupants, he attempted to make his way into the inferno. The smoke and heat were just too strong. His beard singed and lungs filled with smoke, he retreated to fresh air. In a final act of desperation, he threw a flower pot into the window and screamed again for his neighbor "Where was the fire department?" he worried to himself. Swartz told his wife, Sheila, to call dispatchers again. His neighbors might be on the brink of perishing and he had no way to save them. The first firemen arrived on scene roughly six minutes later and it was determined that the home- owners were not inside the burning building. What he would come to learn later that evening was that while the property at 8120 W 400 S, not far from San Pierre, was fast ablaze, the roughly 37 square miles that make up Railroad Town-ship was protected by a fire department that was just a few hours old and had only around four firemen. Mean- while, the fire department that had been serving Rail-road Township for decades now found itself locked out of the fire station. EARLIER THAT DAY…Since December the San Pierre Volunteer Fire Department along with two members of the Railroad Township Board, have been entrenched in a bitter battle against Township Trustee Mandy Thomason. In late 2016 Thomason alleged that the San Pierre Fire Department had breached its contract with the township numerous times in the past several years. According to Thomason, it failed to report its finances to the township per its contract, members were supposedly drinking during fish fries and then responding to calls, and had illegally removed medicine from a department vehicle. She also alleged that the fire chief had not attended the required percentage of calls in the contract, ghost employees were on the roster, they had failed to properly deposit funds into the correct accounts, new and existing members lacked EMR and CPR training, and they had failed to complete necessary truck and equipment maintenance. Prescription crackdown connected to rise in local overdose deaths Doug Leduc Fort Wayne Business Weekly More prescription medication abusers in Allen County are switching to harder drugs at a time when a powerful synthetic opiates boom makes that risky move even more dangerous. Almost all of the accidental overdose deaths resulted from drug addiction, and many of the addictions began with the abuse of opioid prescription painkillers. More people abuse opioid prescription painkiller medications than all other drugs combined. They are more widespread and easily available than harder illegal narcotics and they seem safer because they are made by pharmaceutical companies. There are cases where patients with a legitimate need for them have become addicted, but abuse increased as the recreational drug market exploded. Impacting workforce The mean age of an individual who died from an overdose was 43, and 69 percent were employed. A look at the largest demographic categories of the overdose deaths showed 60 percent were male, 88 percent were white, 50 percent finished their education at high school graduation, and 38 percent had never married. Findings released in September of an Indiana University study conducted for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce showed 80 percent of the state's employers have observed prescription drug misuse by employees, and 64 percent consider prescription drugs a greater workplace challenge than illegal substances. They came from all walks of life. Some individuals addicted to painkillers move to harder drugs for a stronger kick, and some addicts turn to drugs such as heroin when they have trouble finding prescription opioids such as Vicodin, OxyContin and Percocet. "The issue with opioids is a person builds up tolerance. So, if I take opioids for a month and I take the same amount every day, at some point that's not going to get me high or help me feel good, so I'm going to have to take more," said Kevin Hunter, a captain with the Fort Wayne Police Department Vice and Narcotics Division. Opioid addicts can get "dope sick" if they go too long without a fix. Because dope sickness is like a very, very bad case of the flu, they are motivated to seek drugs to avoid feeling horrible, he said. Death spike The scenario has contributed to a spike in accidental overdose deaths in the county. From 2008 through 2015, Allen County saw 418 overdose deaths. It's all about supply and demand For the complete story, visit hspa.com. For the complete story, visit hspa.com. Debbie Blank The Herald-Tribune VERSAILLES – The jury deliberated just over four hours before finding defendant Jennifer Schooler, 34, Batesville, guilty on all counts – murder, aggravated battery causing death and neglect of a dependent causing death, reported Ripley County Prosecutor Ric Hertel. Sentencing will take place March 20. "Schooler faces a range of imprisonment of 45-65 years," he noted. "Importantly, I'd like to thank the jury, members of our community, for their service. This sort of case is mentally and emotionally draining for all involved. The testimony and images that were presented at trial were difficult and not something that will likely ever be forgotten. These jurors gave their time and attention to a difficult case. As prosecuting attorney and on behalf of the state, I applaud them for their willingness to serve. Justice was served this week. I believe the state presented the evidence in a manner that could be understood and followed. Much effort and countless hours of preparation were necessary to present this scientific and medical testimony." Earlier Jan. 18, jurors listened carefully as Hertel and defense attorney John Watson presented their closing statements in the murder trial in Ripley Circuit Court. "Battered, broken, bruised and beaten to death. That's what this case has always been about, Bradyn Chadwell," Hertel stressed. "It could have been prevented, and it was due to her (Schooler's) actions and her actions alone. She did it .... "You know who was there with Bradyn as he breathed his last breath, the defendant and no one else. Bradyn died of abusive head trauma, and there were bruises all over his body." He asked the jurors, "Who should you believe? What is reasonable?" He wanted them to recall the testimony from various witnesses. "April Jarrett, a trained paramedic, gets to the house after the 911 call was made. When she walked in, she (Schooler, the live-in girlfriend of the toddler's dad, Thomas) was not performing CPR" on the child. Jarrett testified that Schooler then started blaming Bradyn's mother for what happened. Batesville Police Department Detective Blake Roope talked to the defendant at Margaret Mary Health within one hour of her calling 911. He asked who the primary caregiver was, and Schooler said she was. However, Hertel noted that her story kept changing over other details. For the complete story, visit hspa.com. Batesville murder trial begins Page 12

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