2009 Weekly Newspaper Award Winners

GENERAL EXCELLENCE – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Boise Weekly
2nd    The Star-News
3rd     Idaho Mountain Express

GENERAL NEWS STORY – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Michael Wells – The Star-News – “Tamarack:  After the Fall”
2nd    Terry Smith – Idaho Mountain Express – “Fired worker wants justice”
3rd    Lisa Nyren – Teton Valley News – “Tragedy turns triumph for one dog and nine lucky pups”

SPOT NEWS COVERAGE – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Stacy Simonet – Teton Valley News – “First Bank of the Tetons fails”
2nd    Tony Evans – Idaho Mountain Express – “The long haul begins”
3rd    Staff – The Star-News – “Adams deputy dies in collision”

WATCHDOG/ INVESTIGATIVE REPORT – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Tom Grote – The Star-News – “Fatigue cited in wreck that killed Adams deputy, Mtn. Home airman”
2nd    Mike Polhamus – Teton Valley News – “Burnt remains smell fishy to officials”
3rd    Jeannette Boner – Valley Citizen – “Hospital settles doc’s pay”

SERIOUS FEATURE REPORT – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Deanna Darr – Boise Weekly – “Birds, bunnies and power”
2nd    Jeannette Boner – Valley Citizen – “A path less traveled”
3rd    Trevon Milliard – Idaho Mountain Express – “An honorable man”

LIGHT FEATURE REPORT – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Amy Atkins – Boise Weekly – “Up in Smoke”
2nd    Tony Evans – Idaho Mountain Express – “A walk in the wild”
3rd    Tara Morgan – Boise Weekly –  “What the cluck?”

SERIES – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Kate Reynolds Yaskot – Teton Valley News – “How Teton Valley Grows”
2nd    Jeannette Boner & Hope Strong – Valley Citizen – “Series on stimulus”
3rd    Erika Harmon – Messenger Index  – “A rare breed”

OUTDOOR FEATURE – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Mark Steele – Caribou County Sun – “Rock Art”
2nd     Deanna Darr – Boise Weekly – “Home Slope Advantage”

SPORTS NEWS COVERAGE – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Rachael Horne – Teton Valley News – “Sumo in Idaho”
2nd    Kelly Taylor – Messenger Index – “Huskies softball falls to Tigers at state”

SPORTS FEATURE STORY – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Jeff  Cordes – Idaho Mountain Express – “Running makes a difference in Brad Mitchell’s life”
2nd     Jeff Cordes – Idaho Mountain Express – “Don Felder brings ‘Hotel California’ concert to pavilion”
3rd     Philip A. Janquart – Eagle Independent – “Eagle’s Van Hemlryck Family Forges Path for Challenged Athletes”

GENERAL COLUMN – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Pat Murphy – Idaho Mountain Express – “Other views – Another vanishing U.S. trait: common sense; ‘Empathy’ on Supreme Court?  Let’s hope so; Neurotics, psychotics, sociopaths, egocentrics forge U.S. image”
2nd    Bill Cope – Boise Weekly  – “No No Nadya; Theory of Everything; Whoo-hoo! Val!”
3rd    Anna Eaton-Merkle – Eagle Independent – “A Teacher’s perspective- Oh yea; Not-quite
spring; Chasing Mona Lisa”

SPECIALTY COLUMN – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Stephen Dyer – Valley Citizen – “The Novice – The Trout Slayer; The Full Monty; Glory Days”
2nd    Jima Rice, Ph.D – Theweeklypaper – “Ahead of the curve:  It’s time to learn some economics; What things motivate you?; Gift-giving – Is it about money or magic?”  
3rd    Bruce Smithhammer – Teton Valley News – “Off the Hook”

EDITORIAL – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Pam Morris – Idaho Mountain Express – “Why no outrage about corporate cubicles of death?: Take your children; Rescue healthcare reform from scare slogans”
2nd    Pat Murphy – Idaho Mountain Express – “No one’s laughing; No place for culture war; Facts not fiction please”
3rd    Pam Morris – Idaho Mountain Express – “Sun Valley mayor and council need a group hug;    In the dark; Get a grip on leg-hold traps”

HEADLINES – WEEKLY PRINT

1ST    Staff – Idaho Mountain Express – “Mountain Do; Much ado in a recession; Seasons collide; Mood at skate park does a 180; Gardeners plot a revolution; Poultry project ruffles feathers”

PAGE DESIGN  – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    TIE
Amy Birch – Teton Valley News – “Halloween and All Saints Day celebrations; Wild crafting               in the Tetons; The Pulse Health:  Wellness in the Teton Valley”
Amy Birch – Teton Valley News – “Willie LeClair Shoshone Lecturer, Storyteller and Spiritual Dancer; Valley unicyclist joins the Circus; Inventing in Victor: The MixKwix”
2nd    Tomi Grote – The Star-News – “Fright life; Mardi Hardy; Heart & Soul”
3rd    Barbara Gibson – Teton Valley News – “For the dogs; It’s time for back to school; Where the beads are”

SPOT NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY  – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Lauren Hall – Teton Valley News – “House Fire”
2nd    Willy Cook – Idaho Mountain Express – “Seasons Collide”
3rd    Willy Cook – Idaho Mountain Express – “Charges Dismissed”

FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Jeannette Boner – Valley Citizen – “High Heel Sheriff”
2nd    Willy Cook – Idaho Mountain Express – “Boogie ‘til the cows come home”
3rd    Gary Ertter – The Star-News – “Just Hang On”
Honorable Mention
Jeannette Boner – Valley Citizen – “4-H Lamb”

GENERAL NEWS  PHOTOGRAPHY – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Willy Cook – Idaho Mountain Express – “Baldy Views Now Available”
2nd    Willy Cook  – Idaho Mountain Express – “Hundreds of Sockeye Return Home”
3rd     Michael Wells – The Star-News – “Payette Lake Kokanee Nearly Disappear”

SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Matt Moehr – The Star-News – “Flight of Stares”
2nd     Stacy Simonet – Teton Valley News – “Pin at State”
3rd    Lauren Hall – Teton Valley News – “Rodeo”

PHOTO ESSAY – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Bradly J. Boner – Valley Citizen – “Bee-lieve”
2nd    Jeannette Boner – Valley Citizen – “A Day of Remembrance”
3rd    Lauren Hall – Teton Valley News – “Cliff Fall”

GRAPHICS – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Amy Birch – Teton Valley News – “Dinner not impossible”
2nd    Barbara Gibson – Teton Valley News – “At a Glance – Meeting notes”

ARTS / ENTERTAINMENT REPORTING – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Amy Atkins – Boise Weekly – “Just Because You Can,  Doesn’t Mean You Should…. Without some help”
2nd    Jeremiah Robert Wierenga – Boise Weekly – “A Provincial Production”
3rd    Jeremiah Robert Wierenga – Boise Weekly – “The New Era of Opera”

POLITICAL REPORTING – WEEKLY PRINT

1st     Trevon Milliard – Idaho Mountain Express – “Councilor ends term with poor attendance”
2nd     Tom Grote – The Star-News – “Roberts felt the harsh reality of high-level politics”
3rd    Mike Polhamus – Teton Valley News – “Mayors: It’s not about the money”

EDUCATION REPORTING – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Mike Polhamus – Teton Valley News – “Parents protest Obama speech to students”
2nd    Terry Smith – Idaho Mountain Express – “Percentage of Hispanics on rise at Woodside school”
3rd    Lucia V. Knudson – The Star-News – “They Cleared Their Hurdles”

BUSINESS REPORTING – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Trevon Milliard – Idaho Mountain Express – “Was Cash for Clunkers a success?”
2nd    Tom Grote – The Star-News – “Big Dream Gone Bad”
3rd    Carol Ryan Dumas – Capital Press – “Lease vs. buy:  Specific goals help decide”

AGRICULTURE REPORTING – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Carol Ryan Dumas – Capital Press – “Alfalfa growers belittle official crop estimates”
2nd    Carol Ryan Dumas – Capital Press – “Lenders say they’ll keep banking in dairy recovery”
3rd     Carol Ryan Dumas – Capital Press – “Milk prices take toll on hay market”

CRIME / COURTS REPORTING  – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Hope Strong – Valley Citizen – “Drug bust scores big cash for county”
2nd    Terry Smith – Idaho Mountain Express – “Sheriff  rebuts claim of evidence tampering”
3rd    Terry Smith – Idaho Mountain Express – “High court considers Hanks’ home dispute”

RELIGION REPORTING – WEEKLY PRINT

No entries

ENVIRONMENT REPORTING – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Deanna Darr – Boise Weekly – “Unlikely Allies”
2nd    Mark Steele – Caribou County Sun – “Selenium Poisoning”
3rd    Carol Ryan Dumas – Capital Press – “ISDA looks into pathogen drift issue”

HEALTH/MEDICAL REPORTING – WEEKLY PRINT

1st     Carissa Wolf – Boise Weekly – “The forgotten epidemic”
2nd    Tom Grote & Lucia V. Knudsen – The Star-News – “Standoff in the ER”
3rd    Trevon Milliard – Idaho Mountain Express – “Making hospital cuisine green”
Honorable Mention
Sabina Dana Plaase – Idaho Mountain Express – “Soldiers seek a new beginning”

SPECIAL SECTION – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Gregory Foley – Idaho Mountain Express – “Wagon Days 2009”
2nd    Gregory Foley – Idaho Mountain Express – “Christmas 2009”
3rd    Staff – Valley Citizen – “Off-Peak guide”

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – WEEKLY PRINT

1st    Trevon Milliard – Idaho Mountain Express
2nd     Carissa Sindon – The Star-News