Hoosier State Press Association - The Indiana Publisher - Better Newspaper Contest
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/96748
Division 5 Headline Writing/Category 7 First place White lightening; Company loves misery; They meet for spirits ��� Holy and otherwise Deb Sprong, The Truth (Elkhart) Comments: Clever twists made these headlines stand out. Easy to see a lot of thought went into every carefully chosen word. Good job! Second place Oh, deer; Giant night in Indy; Seeds of self-sufficiency Bob Bloom, Journal & Courier (Lafayette) Comments: ���Oh deer��� was brilliant: Captures both the incident and the feelings described by some of the people involved. Tight, accurate and compelling. Great job. Third place WL burger, Indy sandwich go bun-to-bun; Design, determination and plenty of glue; Dentist���s license removal slow, painful David Smith & Sarah Woody, Journal & Courier (Lafayette) Comments: This entry was fun to read! Your sense of humor shows through! What a delight! Congratulations! Best Short Feature Story/Category 8 First place A day for sweethearts Dann Denny, The Herald-Times (Bloomington) Comments: None given. Second place You���ve got a friend, nearly 40 years later Ivy Farguheson, The Star Press (Muncie) Comments: None given. Third place Died ... and lived to tell Dorothy Schneider, Journal & Courier (Lafayette) Comments: None given. Best Profile Feature/Category 9 First place Running for refuge Sam Wilson, The Star Press (Muncie) Comments: Great job at capturing emotions and depth of the person profiled, consistent theme throughout, strong writing, great details. Second place ���Thankful for a fresh start��� Dann Denny, The Herald-Times (Bloomington) Comments: Great job bringing out the personality and lives of the subjects and their relationship; colorful writing really captures the scene. Third place ���We want to know what happened��� Abby Tonsing, The Herald-Times (Bloomington) Comments: Excellent job capturing parents��� emotional journey and determination. ��� White lightening ��� Company loves misery ��� They meet for spirits ��� Holy and otherwise Deb Sprong The Truth (Elkhart) A day for sweethearts Dann Denny The Herald-Times (Bloomington) When Jody Deckard began working at Stone Belt alongside Betsy Higgins, he was mesmerized by her sparkling smile and perky personality. There was only one problem. Higgins was dating another man. But just when things seemed hopeless, fate flashed its sweet smile on Deckard. Higgins��� boyfriend unexpectedly ended their relationship. ���He broke my heart,��� said the 38-year-old Higgins, referring to her former beau. ���He left me for someone prettier.��� Deckard saw her sobbing shortly after the split, and wasted no time making his move. ���He comforted me,��� Higgins said. ���He asked me what I was crying about and I told him. Then he gave me a hug.��� That was a year ago. Today, the two love birds are dating up a storm, refusing to let their developmental disabilities ��� each has Down syndrome ��� impede their red-hot romance. They hold hands, gaze dreamily into one another���s eyes, and use pet names for one another. He calls her ���Baby Cakes��� or ���Hot Mama.��� She calls him ���Sweetie Pie.��� Deckard, a consummate gentleman, routinely opens doors for her, and usually picks up the check when they go out to eat. He���s also a selfconfessed romantic who often serenades the petite Higgins with his voice and banjo. And Deckard, 44, is no cheapskate. He���s already bought Higgins a ring and bracelet. If he���s smart, he���ll keep the jewelry coming. ���I���m hoping he buys me earrings,��� Higgins confessed. ���But my ears are not pierced, so they���ll have to be clip-ons.��� Just a few months into their dating relationship, Deckard mustered up enough courage to give Higgins a kiss, deftly delivering the smooch in the College Mall food court. Apparently, he did it quite well. ���Wow,��� Higgins said, rolling her sky blue eyes. ���I felt butterflies.��� Running for refuge Sam Wilson The Star Press (Muncie) Malary Raef would have loved to have been like any other runner at last Tuesday���s Southside girls track sectional ��� single-minded and focused on an upcoming race. After learning during the early stages of the meet that her family home in Selma was on fire, however, she was anything but. Unsure of how to handle the emotions rushing through her, Malary, a junior runner at Wapahani, darted around the Southside grounds looking for refuge, for comfort. As details emerged of what was unfolding some seven or so miles away, it became clear that the home she had lived in nearly her entire life would be lost. As the minutes passed and Malary struggled with what to do and how to cope, a seasonlong commitment inched closer: She was scheduled to run the 400 relay. Despite newfound uncer�� tainty in her life, Malary refused to walk away from that commitment, from her teammates. Instead, in the face of agonizing news, Malary accomplished one of her biggest athletic achievements. She and her teammates banded together and finished fourth, good enough to qualify for this Tuesday���s Ben Davis Regional. Their 54.28-second time was the group���s best time by about a second. It���s the first time Malary, who also runs cross country, has advanced beyond sectionals in any running event. ���It was probably the most awesome thing I���ve seen all year,��� Raiders coach Jacob Shortt said. ���I told her she could go. I���m not going to make her stay in a situation like that. But she wanted to stay for the team. And that team���s worked hard all year to get to regional. That was awesome. They worked extra hard for her because she stayed for them.��� Malary learned that night the home would be lost, but she was uncertain at the time about the fate of the family pets. She later learned at the meet that the family���s dog, Mia, survived the fire. One of the family���s cats was later found dead in the rubble. Another cat is missing, and Malary���s pet fish, Alpha, died. They both have assembly jobs at Stone Belt, where they spend time together each day during their breaks and eat lunch together once a week. They also hang out nearly every weekend ��� going out to eat, seeing a movie, or heading over to Higgins��� group home to order pizza and watch TV. He likes sports, particularly WWE wrestling. She prefers movies, such as ���Twilight��� or any film featuring her favorite actress, Selena Gomez. ���I don���t like wrestling, because it���s too bloody,��� she said, her face scrunching up into a wince. ���And I don���t like sports as much as he does. But sometimes we���ll be watching a movie and he���ll flip to a sports channel.��� She���s more tolerant of his remote control antics if he switches the channel to IU basketball, the one sport she truly enjoys watching. One day, the 4-foot-8-inch Higgins met IU basketball coach Tom Crean and some of For complete story, see www.hspafoundation.org. Click on ���Contests.��� Malary missed school on Wednesday because of the fire, but she returned to classes and track practice Thursday. It was a difficult experience. Malary usually stays close to a small group of friends, and she maintained that routine Thursday during the early part of the school day. The group laughed and joked, and she said she was able to think about other things for much of the time. Lunch time, though, was a different story as some schoolmates had set up a table collecting donations for her family. The Raefs have received a variety of donations from the Selma community, including clothing and a voucher for a hotel stay. Malary is quick to mention how appreciative she is, saying Selma is the best place for such a tragic event to occur because of the generosity her family has received. But despite her appreciation, Malary doesn���t like to see the generosity herself. She spends her days looking for moments For complete story, see www.hspafoundation.org. Click on ���Contests.��� Page 51