Category 1 - Best Editorial

First Place - Flemingsburg Gazette, Guy Townsend

I love the way he takes on the righteous religious right.

Second Place - Flemingsburg Gazette, Chuck Hamilton

It took courage to write his views on the war in Iraq with a son serving there.

Third Place - Flemingsburg Gazette, Charles Maddox

Honorable Mention - McLean County News, Jonna Spelbring Priester

Category 2 - Best Spot News Coverage

First Place - McLean County News, Joshua Brown

Lightning strikes 911 dispatcher at courthouse. That’s a story you don’t find often here, and calls came to the center during the ordeal. Reporter use of quotes are good. Good story all together. The victim truly faced a close call to death.

Second Place - Leitchfield Record, Stephanie Hornback

Solid lede, pharmacist shot during a good deed is a good story. Reporter uses quotes ok and tells the story unfolding in a direct forth coming manner.

Honorable Mention - Grayson Journal Enquirer, T.D. Kiger

Raging water overturns vehicle and kills girl is a solid story to report on. Well done.

Category 3 - Best General News Story

First Place - McLean County News, Jessica Bratcher

Details, background and numbers are laid out in understandable fashion. Quotes add heart to the news story.

Second Place - McLean County News, Jonna Spelbring Priester

Story explains a health department program by showing how it works, not relying on government talking-heads. Good balance of background and quotes from real people.

Third Place - Leitchfield Record, DeAnna Lasley

Personalized and informative without resorting to emotionally charged phrases. A nice remembrance.

Honorable Mention - McLean County News, Jessica Bratcher

Well-written, good organization, good use of quotes, but only one source. A second opinion would’ve been welcome.

Category 4 - Best Feature Story

First Place - Hickman County Gazette, Gaye Bencini

Reporter’s ability to get inside the head of a man with bipolar is uncanny. Good colorful lede and decent quotes throughout.

Second Place - McLean County News, Jonna Spelbring Priester

The subject is truly one that standouts from the rest. Good find. Good story!

Third Place - McLean County News, Jonna Spelbring Priester

Good story and ability to relate the struggles of living with lupus to the reader. Reporter has great ability to get inside of head of subject!

Honorable Mention - McLean County News, Jessica Bratcher

Colorful lede. Predictable, but still good. Good story of a complex family.

Category 5 - Best Column

First Place - Flemingsburg Gazette, Charles Maddox

Although his articles are fraught with mistakes, I find his columns riveting.

Second Place - McLean County News, Joshua Brown

Third Place - Bourbon County Citizen, Kevin Garrison

Honorable Mention - Breathitt County Voice, D. A. Collier

Category 6 - Best Sports Column

First Place - Campbell County Recorder, James Weber

Second Place - McLean County News, Jessica Bratcher

Third Place - Breathitt County Voice, James David Fugate

Honorable Mention - Flemingsburg Gazette, Chuck Hamilton

Category 7 - Best Sports Story

First Place - Bourbon County Citizen, Ivan K. Rice

Writer spends too long setting the stage in a story which didn’t need a forced emotion. But it was worth the read to find out what happened.

Second Place - Menifee County News, Denver Brown

Feel good story written with an obvious appreciation for the subject matter.

Third Place - Edmonton Herald News, Craig Duncan

A fitting tribute to a great accomplishment. Writer doesn’t hide the fact he admires the subject.

Category 8 - Best Sports Feature Story

First Place - McLean County News, Jonna Spelbring Priester

Loved the way the writer contrasted a look at a retiring coach on the court and at the banquet. Well done. Good man, good story.

Second Place - Leitchfield Record, Angelia Hawkins

Interesting subject matter. Good quotes.

Third Place - McLean County News, Joshua Brown

Category 9 - Best Enterprise or Analytical Story

First Place - McLean County News, Jonna Spelbring Priester

What an original lead paragraph!! The dilemma of this fire department was thoroughly explored. This was quite an original story about a very serious issue.

Second Place - McLean County News, Jessica Bratcher

A very down-to-earth story of how teachers go beyond mere teaching to improve opportunities for students. This writer lures readers into this paradox of what is expected of teachers.

Third Place - Beattyville Enterprise, Edmund Shelby

I loved this revealing factual story explaining the nuances and staff excesses.

Category 10 - Best Investigative Story or Series

First Place - Leitchfield Record, Stephanie Hornback, Lorie Love

Mind-blowing stories on meth. Staff went above and beyond to tell the story of an ongoing drug problem that is detriment to both a town and its users.

Second Place - Campbell County Recorder, Staff

Reporters examined perhaps all angles that arise when dealing with controversial topic of sex offenders. Nice story and continued series.

Third Place - Beattyville Enterprise, Edmund Shelby

I enjoy the way the reporter stared out danger to tell the story of drug case. Then, there is a relationship with drug use and town officials. Wow!!

Honorable Mention - Breathitt County Voice, James David Fugate, D.A. Collier

Lots of work to write this series, but judge a bit overwhelmed by the amount of entries.

Honorable Mention - Edmonton Herald News, Judy Wright

Good stories. That it could happen to your child was a good story.

Category 11 - Best On-Going/Extended Coverage Story

First Place - Campbell County Recorder, Liz Carey

A gripping story that sounds like a plot for a movie. The writer remembers to inform readers of the motivation behind the financial problems of this church. This was a delicate situation to write about, but the style of the writer addressed it succinctly.

Second Place - McLean County News, Jessica Bratcher

This was an endearing story series. This writer revealed details such as the dog with wax in his ears. What a hoot!! I like the personalized writing and how Ms. Bratcher obtains ordinary, but interesting revelations from people.

Third Place - Leitchfield Record, Stephanie Hornback

This writer uses very descriptive verbs peppered with facts to draw readers into this tragedy, and how a crime may occur when you least expect it. I read very work from the lead to the story ending.

Category 12 - Best Business/Agribusiness Story

First Place - McLean County News, Jessica Bratcher

Good lead. Fun little story.

Second Place - Campbell County Recorder, Jordan Kellogg

Nice job showing potential growth of wine business in northern Kentucky.

Third Place - Menifee County News, Denver Brown

Good detail and explanation of an important project.

Category 13 - Best Headline

First Place - Edmonton Herald News, Craig Duncan

Unlike most of category entries this headline was clever, stuck to a theme and made sense. Well crafted.

Second Place - Flemingsburg Gazette, Carolyn Schwartz

Perfectly placed and logical in relation to the event. Pleasant play on words. It just fit.

Third Place - McLean County News, Keith Bratcher

Catchy and very playful. Liked it immediately.

Category 14 - Best Spot News Picture

First Place - McLean County News, Jessica Bratcher

Good moment. Photographer willing to get into the middle of it.

Second Place - Edmonton Herald News, Craig Duncan

Making the best of what you have. A great shot with less than great equipment.

Third Place - Beattyville Enterprise, Edmund Shelby

Inmates riot! Good story. Could have used some quotes for added color.

Third Place - Grayson Journal Enquirer, Myra Hogan

Great moment. Took guts to run on page one!

Category 15 - Best General News Picture

First Place - Leitchfield Record, Jason Simpson

Nice moment, right place, strong emotion!

Second Place - McLean County News, Jonna Spelbring Priester

Could have been first with a tighter crop on right side.

Third Place - Leitchfield Record, Stephanie Hornback

Well-executed photo of a somber moment.

Category 16 - Best Feature Picture

First Place - McLean County News, Jonna Spelbring Priester

Great moment, nice focus, good framing.

Second Place - Menifee County News, Denver Brown

Nice feature, clean background.

Third Place - McLean County News, Jonna Spelbring Priester

Honorable Mention - Grayson Journal Enquirer, Denver Brown

Clean photo, good knowledge of light!

Category 17 - Best Picture Essay (Spot, General or Feature)

First Place - McLean County News, Jonna Spelbring Priester

Good lead photo. Several strong secondary images.

Second Place - McLean County News, Jessica Bratcher

Some strong images, needs tighter edit and one dominant image.

Category 18 - Best Sports Picture

First Place - Menifee County News, Denver Brown

Second Place - McLean County News, Jonna Spelbring Priester

Third Place - Menifee County News, Denver Brown

Category 19 - Best Sports Picture Essay

First Place - McLean County News, Jonna Spelbring Priester

Head and shoulders above the competition in this category. Good layout and variety of photos.

Second Place - McLean County News, Jonna Spelbring Priester

Nice layout.

Third Place - Campbell County Recorder, James Weber

Too many photos. Decent variety.

Category 20 - Special Sections

First Place - Hickman County Gazette, Staff

A very clean winner in this category. A very entertaining publication detailing its 150-year history along with the evolution of the communities it serves. Wonderful historic photographs and interesting editorial content made this one stand out.

Second Place - McLean County News, Jessica Bratcher

An interesting and locally relevant section that shows another side of the folks who wear a badge, fireman’s hat or stethoscope. Nice clean design and layout lets reader move effortlessly through section. Nicely done.

Third Place - McLean County News, Jessica Bratcher

Nice section with a good crop of design elements and colors that draw readers’ attention. Nice mix of editorial content, as well. A little something for everyone with an interest in gardening.

Category 21 - Best Graphic

First Place - McLean County News, Jonna Spelbring Priester

A nice lighthearted take on a feel-good story. Color draws readers attention.

Second Place - Beattyville Enterprise, Edmund Shelby

Dramatic, eye-catching photo illustration draws reader into story immediately. Cannot help but read this story once you see the graphic.

Third Place - Beattyville Enterprise, Edmund Shelby

Simple bar graph does what story alone could not hope to do as effectively. Demonstrates drop-off in registration numbers.

Category 22 - Best Sports Page/Section

First Place - McLean County News, Jessica Bratcher

Clean, well-balanced pages that are easy to navigate. The schedule and calendar are nice breakouts that give readers a quick hit on information. The photographers brought some really nice pics to the pages. All in all, these are just elegant eye-catching pages.

Second Place - Leitchfield Record, Angelia Hawkins

Pages are consistent, making good use of just a few photos. Stories are interesting. Angelia does a terrific job balancing photos on the page, sizing and placing them well.

Third Place - Grayson Journal Enquirer, Staff

These section fronts pack a whole lot. I enjoyed the variety and liveliness that went into the pages. The screen on the West, East story was a little heavy since you’ve got the two photos as visual hooks. I liked the feel of all three section fronts. Imagine fans really look forward to these sections. More variety in photos sizes might better help guide readers through the page.

Category 23 - Best Business/Agribusiness Page

Certificate of Merit - McLean County News, Jessica Bratcher

Category 24 - Best Lifestyle Page

No Entries

Category 25 - Best Editorial Page

First Place - McLean County News, Jessica Bratcher

Nice layout and variety of stories, pictures and local flavor.

Second Place - Flemingsburg Gazette, Guy Townsend

Good local articles. I like the local cartoon in each issue. Could use more white space on page and maybe more photos.

Third Place - Leitchfield Record, Stephanie Hornback

Nice page layout. Good local content.

Category 26 - Best Front Page

First Place - Flemingsburg Gazette, Guy Townsend

Most interesting writing and content of all the papers. Visually it’s a bit too tight, but consistent in type size and leading, and easy to read. Good choice of images. I imagine this paper is a real asset.

Second Place - Bourbon County Citizen, Rebecca Lawyer

Good layout and use of white space. Good use of images, even though black and white. It’s visually attractive. Interesting stories. Good local coverage.

Third Place - Leitchfield Record, Stephanie Hornback

Visually very clean. Good use of white space. Stories are very dry for most part.

© Kentucky Press Association