Hoosier State Press Association - The Indiana Publisher - Better Newspaper Contest
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/96748
Division 3 Best News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure/Category 1 First place Water rescue Nicole Ott, Columbia City Post & Mail Comments: This was a great story that was exciting to read as well as compassionate. The writer answered all of my questions regarding the event and put everything together in a concise article. Also great pics supported the story. Second place Local child saved from AC Andrea McCann, Washington Times-Herald Comments: This story was a good glimpse of life with children. The reporter used good quotes from people who are also parents and know what can happen all too quickly with kids. I like the fact that blame wasn���t cast, but common sense prevailed in the rescue and the story. Third place Parsons: Guilty of murder Rob Cox, Greensburg Daily News Comments: This piece was well-written and explained the tragedy to the reader. My heart was at my feet as I read this. It must have been very hard for the reporter to write. Best News Coverage With No Deadline Pressure/Category 2 First place Heart of darkness Matt Getts, The Star (Auburn) Comments: None given. Second place This stuff is killing our kids Evan Shields, The Madison Courier Comments: None given. Third place In GOP, a battle for the party���s soul Maribeth Vaughn, Daily Reporter (Greenfield) Comments: None given. Best Ongoing News Coverage/Category 3 First place Tornadoes devastate Henryville, northern Clark County Staff, The News & Tribune (Jeffersonville) Comments: Excellent local disaster coverage following the tornadoes that ravaged southern Indiana in early March. The News & Tribune put together a number of comprehensive news packages with timely, well-written stories, good use of photos and layout techniques that made it easy for readers to find the information they needed. The community was well-served by this newspaper in very difficult times. Second place Bridge closing Braden Lammers, The News & Tribune (Jeffersonville) Comments: Good series of stories on the impact of a major bridge being suddenly closed for several months. In-depth, well-sourced articles explained the problem and looked at its impact on businesses and commuters. The stories were enhanced through good use of photos and layout. Third place County coroner arrested Noelle Steele, Daily Reporter (Greenfield) Comments: Good job of reporting all aspects of a controversial story. One of two strong entries by the Daily Reporter in this category. Water rescue Nicole Ott Columbia City Post & Mail After sitting stranded on top of their water-filled cars for more than an hour, five people, including a 3-year-old and two pregnant women, were rescued from frigid water by the Thorncreek Dive Team Wednesday night. A vehicle was traveling northbound on CR 550 E and in the area of 3998 north. The road was flooded. The driver attempted to pass through the water, but the vehicle became disabled and floated into a four-foot deep flooded field. A passer-by in a truck and the truck driver���s passenger attempted to pull the car, containing a three-year-old and two other occupants, but drifted into the water as well, leaving five people stranded, with icy water rushing into their vehicles. En route to assist the nowhelpless people, Whitley County Sheriff Deputy Tony Helfrich and Conservation Officer Darren Reed hit an unexpected patch of flooded road on CR 550 E, stalling both of their vehicles just a quarter of a mile away from the scene. ���Tony has worked those roads for over 20 years and he has never seen that part of the road flooded,��� WCSD Chief of Deputies Mark Gatton said. ���The priority was high, they were in a hurry. With a threeyear-old and water rushing in the vehicle, our guys had to move fast.��� But the pair was as close as the other emergency responders could get from the north side, as the ���pond��� was nearly a half mile long and too deep for a wrecker or truck to reach them. With temperatures in the lower 30s, paramedics on the scene said they were concerned with hypothermia and frost bite. Thorncreek Township���s dive team was expedited to the scene and quickly put on their ice rescue suits, blew up their ���banana boat��� and plunged into the water. With the same suits used by Alaskan dive teams, the group was able to stay warm while breaking through ice and chesthigh water to get to the people. ���We trained for this. We knew what to expect,��� Water Rescue Captain Mike Pulver said. ���We knew what we were going to do before we even got there. Everything went real smooth.��� The group that went in the water Wednesday night consisted of three divers and three captains. For complete story, see www.hspafoundation.org Click on ���Contests.��� Heart of darkness Matt Getts The Star (Auburn) When prompted, Gloria Ford presents her son���s life story like a quilt. One hand holds the first squares, and these seem almost like new. The other hand holds a stark contrast, newer squares fading to gray, then disintegrating in her fingertips at the end. The middle of the quilt is a patchwork of her son���s own words and snippets gleaned from schools and faraway relatives. Somewhere amid this patchwork, perhaps in the gaps she hasn���t been able to fill, Ralph Hardiek���s life unraveled. And a mother mourns. Hardiek, 41, was killed Dec. 15 after pointing a gun at police officers in Waterloo. His companion, Julie M. King, 33, was also shot behind a residence in the 200 block of South Center Street. She is hospitalized in intensive care. Police believe either Hardiek or King shot Waterloo Deputy Marshal Stephen Brady, 47, in the left cheek below the eye. Brady remains hospitalized in serious condition in an area hospital. ���I pray he has a really good recovery,��� Ford said this week. A manhunt ensued after the 3 a.m. shooting, and police eventually discovered Hardiek and King hiding under a deck. When neither responded to police commands, police used a Taser electronic stun device in an attempt to make Hardiek comply. According to police, Hardiek rolled over and pointed a gun at police. The officers defended themselves by shooting, and Hardiek was struck multiple times. Ford said she has no doubt this is how it happened ��� how her first-born son died. ���I think he made the choice ��� today is my day,��� Ford said. ���I don���t think it was an accident he rolled over and pointed a gun. He knew he would never be a free man again. The choice was better than living the rest of his life in prison.��� She said she has no ill feelings for the police who shot her son, saying they were just doing their jobs and making the community safe again. Hardiek had skipped a Dec. 8 sentencing hearing in Noble County that would have sent him to prison for 12 years on a charge of manufacturing methamphetamine. A warrant was issued for his arrest. Hardiek had been in and out of youth detention centers and prisons pretty much his whole life, Ford said. He knew what prison was like. Ford said Monday that the funeral home where her son���s body was taken allowed her to see his face. ���He looked like he was at peace,��� Ford said. ���That was nice.��� Ford grew up a happy child, according to his mother. For complete story, see www.hspafoundation.org Click on ���Contests.��� ���Terrible tragedy��� Staff The News & Tribune (Jeffersonville) Brenda Hall sat in a rocking chair Friday evening with a blanket over her knees, inside her home that stood directly in front of Henryville High School. But the window she was sitting in front of, and the school that was behind her home, were no longer there. A tornado tore through Henryville on Friday afternoon causing massive damage and killed at least one person in the town. Fourteen fatalities have been confirmed in Indiana and 10 in Kentucky from the wave of storms as of press deadline. Many of the deaths were in counties adjacent to or near Clark County and four serious injuries were reported in Pekin. Homes were flattened, businesses were lost and vehicles tossed around like Hot Wheels cars. Damage is likely to climb into the millions of dollars. ���The rocking chair, that���s where it was sitting when it hit, that���s where it���s at now,��� said Ernie Hall, Brenda���s husband. ���We heard it on the radio ... ���there���s a tornado touched down in Henryville,��� ��� said Brandy Burton, who is the Halls��� son���s girlfriend. ���They were back in the bedroom and I went back there and said, ���did you hear that?��� ��� Ernie Hall and Burton said they watched the weather reports on the TV and went out on the front porch when they saw the tornado coming. ���We stood here and watched it coming over the hill, and you could just see the debris swirling,��� Ernie Hall said. ���You can see it on TV, but that���s nothing compared to seeing it in real life,��� Burton said. For complete story, see www.hspafoundation.org Click on ���Contests.��� Page 31