Better Newspaper Contest

Page 51 Division 5 Best In-depth Feature or Feature Package/Category 10 First Dave Bangert Journal & Courier (Lafayette) Texting/driving widow: Just 'a traffic ticket?' A solid dive into a troubling and perplexing topic: a man is killed while a drive apparently was texting. This piece has outrage, poignancy and the depth of investigating the law and how it is applied. Nice job. Second Mark Bennett Tribune-Star (Terre Haute) Vigo County: America's Bellwether Really liked the idea, which was founded in people', numbers, history and trends. It had every element of basic reporting. The writing was solid, if sometimes situationally repetitive. I sort of wished there were more compression and fewer installments. But overall an excellent piece of in-depth storytelling. Third Sam King Journal & Courier (Lafayette) Targeting Trauma Very important piece that is thoroughly developed a great job of weaving together people and science to examine a problem made famous by men but brought with greater impact on boys. There's a lot of substance here. And a real commitment to devel- oping the issue. Best Sports Event Coverage/Category 11 First George Bremer & Staff The Herald Bulletin (Anderson) Frankton wins state basketball title George Bremer's clear and detailed game coverage is descriptive without getting too flowery. He emphasizes the right plays, gets the right quotes and puts it all together in a concise yet gripping gamer. Second Jon Blau The Herald-Times (Bloomington) Linton runs out clock on Pioneer in 1A final, 34-20 Third Sam King Journal & Courier (Lafayette) Late CC rally stuns West Lafayette Best Sports News or Feature Coverage/ Category 12 First Kelly Lafferty Gerber Kokomo Tribune Hayes the Brave Not your usual sports feature. Strong story about a strong child, told without being maudlin. Details are presented simply and reporter lets the subjects tell the story. Second Dakota Crawford The Star Press (Muncie) A sinking proposition: How Ball State swimmers compete without scholar- ships Good example of optimism and not giving up to defeat. More about what the sport can teach young people than winning. Third Ryan O'Gara The Star Press (Muncie) Dream chaser: Hazelbaker's big breakthrough Lots of heart. Engaging story about a hopeful player. Dave Bangert Journal & Courier (Lafayette LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The small packet of documents Linda Foster carried with her up three flights of stairs at the Tippecanoe County Courthouse contained all she felt she needed to know about how her husband, Paul, a driving instructor with Indiana All-Star Driving School who was killed on Jan. 16. On one sheet, she had a picture of a red 2007 Ford Focus, trunk folded in and sprawled the wrong way in a ditch along U.S. 52, where County Road 975 East cuts south to Clarks Hill, about 6 miles south of Lafayette. Paul Foster, 69, had been riding shotgun with William Reddoch, then a 16-year- old West Lafayette High School sophomore and his last student driver for that Saturday afternoon. A black 2005 Chevy pickup that rear-ended the student driver car is in the frame of the shot, aimed sideways in the U.S. 52 median. Another six pages she carried set the scene, in the words of Daniel McGrew, then a Tippecanoe County sheriff's lieutenant who investigated the crash. According to the report, police couldn't find signs of "brake marks or evasive maneuvers" — a witness told police she saw the truck "swerve to the right, the brake lights activate and an explosion of red car parts simultaneously." So they confronted Nick Salem, the 24-year-old Michigantown man behind the wheel of the pickup truck: Had he been texting and driving? Salem denied it but showed deputies his cellphone. "It appeared an ongoing conversation was being had … before impact," McGrew wrote in the report. "(Salem's) last message was sent out at 3:26 (p.m.). The crash was first reported at 3:27 (p.m.)." Police listed "cellphone usage" as a contributing circumstance in the crash. "It seemed so clear," Linda Foster said. "I had the police report right there in my hands. How Paul died. Why Paul died." So that day at the courthouse, nearly a month after her husband died in a Lafayette hospital of internal bleeding caused by the crash, Linda Foster said she couldn't understand the words coming from Tippecanoe County Prosecutor Pat Harrington's mouth. The prosecutor — apparently hamstrung by an Indiana texting and driving law that has been ripped by the courts as ineffective — didn't plan to file criminal charges Instead, Salem would get a traffic ticket. Salem — who declined to comment for this story other than to say he still maintains that he was not texting — faces a bench trial Monday afternoon in Tippecanoe Superior Court 6. The maximum fine for the infraction: $500. Texting/driving widow: Just 'a traffic ticket?' For the complete story, visit hspa.com. By Christopher Stephens The Herald Bulletin FRANKTON — As the state champion Frankton High School boys basketball team took a lap through town atop firetrucks with sirens blaring, there was hardly a lawn that wasn't filled with Eagles fans and signs celebrating the victory. The 14 young men were toasts of the town following a record- setting 60-32 rout of Crawford County Saturday to capture the Class 2A title. For a town that's followed the team through a rough early schedule and an uncertain postseason, a parade was only a small part of the work the community put in, said Dianne Harrison, a longtime Frankton resident who drove to Indianapolis on Saturday to cheer on the Eagles. "This is what a small town is all about, we are here to support them," Harrison said. Harrison was like many others, celebrating the Eagles' victory in Frankton after just hours earlier packing the stands at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, wearing gray and red T-shirts vowing "one team, one town, one dream." By the final buzzer, the Eagles had broken state championship game records for margin of victory, 28 points and most steals, 19; and had the fewest points allowed since 1998. Although the game became a blowout fairly early, Eagles fans screamed as each basket throughout the game, growing in intensity until the final buzzer, punctuated with one final chant of "Frankton, Frankton." Bringing home the win was a dream come true to Sherry Adams, mother of player Will Whatley. "I am just so excited and proud of all the boys," Adams said. She was also proud of the community for working to make signs, T-shirts and banners to help celebrate her son's team. "The community has been just awesome and supported the team at every turn," she said. "Even in the beginning when we didn't know how far we would go they showed up for every game." The fact that it seemed most of the town turned out to cheer on the Eagles was no surprise for Frankton High School sophomore Logan Peters, who painted his face red and white for the game. "We are used to this; we are a tight-knit community," he said. "But it's still an amazing experience and an opportunity for everyone to come together." Kelly Lafferty Gerber Kokomo Tribune On his good days, 9-year-old Hayes Purdy is there on game nights, eagerly running back and forth along the baseline of the basketball court, rebounding stray balls and tossing them back to the players as they warm up. On his bad days — the days when he's absolutely exhausted and feeling weak — he's still there, under the basket, passing the ball back to the players before retreating to the bleachers to rest his head on his mom's lap, barely able to stay awake. But even on those bad nights, when he can hardly lift his head, Hayes awakens for just a moment as the Maconaquah Braves return from the locker room and take the court. He smiles, then claps and waves to his favorite team in the world. On his bad nights, he might not be the loudest one cheering, but Hayes still inspires the team more than anyone else in the bleachers. That's because he's their friend, and they know it's a miracle that he's even there in the first place. Hayes was born with a rare chromosome disorder — so rare, in fact, that doctors haven't found anyone else in the world who has it. Mutations and abnormalities on two of his chromosomes have caused a number of health problems that Hayes has to deal with on a daily basis. He suffers from respiratory failure and has to undergo breathing treatments. He has epilepsy, which causes him to have seizures and forced him to wear a helmet for most of his life. He has mitochondrial disease, an energy-sapping condition that causes chronic fatigue. Hayes has to get a lot more sleep than the average eight hours to get through the day. It's also caused him to have weak trunk muscles that, until recently, required him to wear braces on his legs. During the day, Hayes wears a small backpack with a feeding pump inside, which pumps nutrients into his system through a feeding tube since he can't properly digest most foods. That tube runs through his stomach straight into his intestines, and he's had it since he was a baby. But the most dangerous of all is his immune deficiency. His immune system doesn't work properly, so for the past six years, Hayes has had to undergo monthly infusions of antibodies to boost it. Flying higher Hayes the brave For the complete story, visit hspa.com. For the complete story, visit hspa.com.

• Cover