Better Newspaper Contest

Page 60 Division 6 Best In-depth Feature or Feature Package/Category 10 First Robert King The Indianapolis Star Paula Cooper: The executioner within There aren't enought words to describe this wonderful piece of work. The tone, the depth, the insight, the gripping narrative, this was a perfect piece. I trust the editors entered it in even bigger contests, because this is worthy of many prizes -- and worth of being stitched with a spine and sandwiched between hard covers. Congratulations., Second Jeff Parrott South Bend Tribune Addiction's Grip: 2 Lives, Same End Now this is true depth. The idea and concept of the dual but intertwined story lines was excellent. You felt the two lives and understand the two very sad but similar paths. Great stuff. Third Madeline Buckley The Indianapolis Star Man seeks to have murder conviction overturned Very nicely told yarn, rich with details and perspective. Sensational reporting carries this piece. Writing is solid, better in the begin- ning than the end. But this grabs and sustains. Best Sports Event Coverage/Category 11 First Eric Hansen South Bend Tribune Searching for some fire Eric Hansen does a masterful job of using analysis, opinion and detail in an economical and well-written article that goes deeper than game action. Second Stephen Holder The Indianapolis Star As Stephen Holder sees it Third Mike Vorel South Bend Tribune Water logged Best Sports News or Feature Coverage/ Category 12 First Clifton Brown The Indianapolis Star James Hardy's mysterious death leaves his mother grieving. Reporter beautifully captures the humanity of this athlete's unexplained death. Shows compassion and an eye for detail. Second Zak Keefer The Indianapolis Star A day in the life of Doug Boles: 18 hours, from a prayer to a lap dance. A bright, compelling story of a man doing an almost impossible job. Makes the reader care about Boles. Third Kyle Neddenriep The Indianapolis Star Memory of her mom — murdered by her dad — fuels Ajanae' Thomas Great storytelling, though the story is more about Ajanae's grandmother. Robert King, robert.king@ indystar.com This 13-chapter story, told as a real-life novel, raises questions about race, justice, poverty and abuse. But it is also the story about the human capacity for forgiveness and a young woman's struggle to find peace. THE TREE Chapter 1 Still shrouded in darkness, she sat alone in her car, parked between night and day, between this world and the next. Behind her, a family of teddy bears sat strapped in by a seat belt. In the front seat next to her was a digital recorder. And a gun. She picked up the recorder and clicked it on. "This is Paula Cooper." A short introduction, a simple statement. Even though nothing had been simple about being Paula Cooper. "I believe today is the 26th; 5:15 will be my death." She saw it clearly now, even in the pre-dawn gloom. She'd spent so much of her life searching for peace. But early on the morning of May 26, 2015, the end was in sight. She would reach it before sunrise. She just had a few things left to say. "My sister. My queen. My everything." Every morning she spoke to Rhonda. Why should this morning be different? "My mother, I felt like you didn't love me. You didn't care about me. You cut me off. You judged me. You didn't want me at your church. You hurt me about the man I loved. But I still love you." Others had forgiven Paula. Yet she never felt it from the woman who mattered most. "To Monica, I'm so sorry. This pain that I feel every day. I walk around. I'm so miserable inside. I can't deal with this reality." Monica had been like a godmother in the fairy tales — someone to fill the void in the absence of a mother's love. "LeShon, I love you. … You showed me how to love. You showed me how to be a woman." LeShon looked beyond Paula's past. As if it had never occurred. "Michael, I'm so proud of you. And thank you for apologizing." Michael was her first love. She wanted a life with him; he wanted something else. "Meshia … you helped me when I was down, but I explained to you better than anybody how I feel." Meshia knew Paula's pain; she'd just been unable to stop it. Paula Cooper: The executioner within For the complete story, visit hspa.com. Eric Hansen South Bend Tribune SOUTH BEND — As DeShone Kizer's otherwise historic statistical day trailed off in a stunning whimper, the indignant chant that's been a mantra on message boards, Twitter responses and Facebook rants the past several weeks took root in the Notre Dame student section on Saturday. "Fire VanGorder." Clap. Clap. Clap, clap, clap. "Fire VanGorder." Clap, Clap. Clap, clap, clap — as the final 40 futile seconds ticked away after a fourth-and-three Kizer pass fluttered beyond Equanimeous St. Brown's considerable reach. Curiously, chronically critiqued ND defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder — whose defense bent, broke and regressed again — was about one of the few spared in Irish head coach Brian Kelly's passionate postmortem of 20-point underdog Duke's 38-35 unfrocking of the once-top 10-ranked Irish. Kelly declared all 22 starting positions open, with the incumbents having to win them back in the days before the Irish (1-3) clash with offensively resurgent Syracuse (2-2) next Saturday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. "We're not going to continue to go in this direction," Kelly said. "We'll have to re-evaluate what we're doing, who we're doing it with, and how we're doing it, all of those things. "There is no position that is untouchable on this football team. And that's the quarterback, all the way down to, maybe, the long snapper's OK. We're not going to touch him. But everybody else is vulnerable." Kizer, though, is probably the player whose four-game performance to date most separates this team's stunning free fall from the trajectory of deposed coach Charlie Weis' 2007 thud year that ended 3-9. The junior completed 22 of 37 passes against the Blue Devils (2-2) for a career-high 381 yards with two TDs and an interception. His 441 yards in total offense, which included ND's longest rush of the day (23 yards), is the eighth-best total ever for an ND quarterback. But after Duke rallied on a 64-yard pass from redshirt freshman Daniel Jones to Anthony Nash with 6:47 to tie the score at 35 and AJ Reed's first made field goal in four tries this season pulled Duke ahead at the 1:24 mark, Kizer didn't run out of time. Searching for some fire James Hardy's mysterious death leaves his mother grieving Clifton Brown The Indianapolis Star FORT WAYNE — The door opened, and James Hardy's mother stepped onto the porch. Would she talk about the shocking death of her son? What caused Hardy's nine-year plummet? From star Indiana University wide receiver and second-round NFL draft pick to former player with personal problems that became public? What led to Hardy being found dead at age 31 on June 7 in the Maumee River, just a few miles from where she stood? The questions seemed cold, almost cruel under the circumstances. Had she gone back inside and slammed the door, it would have been understandable. Instead, Jeanie Summerville took a seat on her mother's porch. "I would've never thought I'd be sitting here, going through any of this,'' said Summerville. "I would've never thought that in a million years." Summerville was wearing a Buffalo Bills jersey, representing the team that drafted her son in 2008. It was a gorgeous June afternoon, birds chirping, kids playing on the street. Talking about something so traumatic in such a peaceful setting didn't seem fitting. Or maybe it did. Hardy's life was both magnificent and tragic. The conflict was undeniable. His journey was complicated, and then suddenly it was over. Less than 48 hours after her son's body was dragged from the river, Hardy's mother was like many others — seeking answers and clinging to memories. She had reported him missing to Fort Wayne police May 30, but Summerville said the last time she saw or spoke to Hardy was May 25, when he came to this very house. Things were not right with him. He was agitated. "He had made mention that he had to hurry up and leave town because somebody was trying to kill him," Summerville said. "I said, 'Baby, where are you going to go?' He said, 'I don't know, but I got to get out of here.' And he left. "Lately, I would see him every day, or I would talk to him every day. Even if he was mad at me about something, whatever it was, I talked with him every day. After a few days, I knew something wasn't right." Police have said Hardy's car was found abandoned on Spy Run Avenue in Fort Wayne. The vehicle was in the same neighborhood For the complete story, visit hspa.com. For the complete story, visit hspa.com.

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