Commonwealth Journal wins nine KPA awards

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January 26, 2009

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Anonymous The Commonwealth Journal Mon Jan 26, 2009, 08:42 AM EST

Nearly every member of the Commonwealth Journal newsroom took home something from the 2008 Kentucky Press Association “Excellence in Kentucky Newspapers” contest, using a strong mix of stories, photos and page design to earn recognition from their industry peers.

News editor Jeff Neal, sports editor Steve Cornelius, and reporters Tricia Neal and Susan Wheeldon all placed in the top three in a number of the contest’s categories, while reporters Chris Harris and Heather Pyles and editor emeritus Bill Mardis earned “honorable mention” status for their outstanding submissions.

Cornelius achieved a first place standing in the “Best Sports Picture Essay” category for a series of photographs capturing Oak Hill student Jill Collier, a fifth-grade cross country runner, in motion. One singles her out, capturing her alone in stride looking like any other athlete; another shot showed her diminutive size in proportion to the older runners around her, and a third captured a whimsical side of this youth known as one of the state’s best harriers.

“Great composition,” read the comments by the judge who scored Cornelius’ work. “Very eye-catching.”

Cornelius also won third place for “Best Sports Story,” telling the tale of Pulaski County girls basketball coach Larry Hurt’s last game on the sideline in February. “A great story about a tough coach,” said Cornelius’ judge. “A great lead, gives the readers insight into the man’s passion, talent and impact he has had on so many young lives. Wonderful job!”

Cornelius wasn’t the only CJ staffer to do well in a sports category. Wheeldon, a photography ace, claimed third place in “Best Sports Picture” for her shot of local youth gymnast Katie Dalton doing a backflip in mid-air, resulting in the KPA judges’ praise: “Great composition, very nice image captured under difficult circumstances.”

Tricia Neal showed her stuff with three awards this year. Annually a contender in the “Best Column” category, Neal again picked up a third place ranking for opinion pieces on the local animal shelter controversy, the smoking ban debate, and why love songs today don’t match up to the radio hits of yesteryear. “‘Just an Old-Fashioned Love Song,’ I get that!” said the judge.

Neal also won second place in “Best On-Going/Extended Coverage Story” for her October, 2007 account of century-old bones discovered near Boat Dock Road — “I really liked this story,” said the judge. “The reporter thoroughly engaged me in this local mystery.” Neal received an Honorable Mention for her “Best General News Story” in October, 2007, detailing Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler’s use of an SUV bought with gas department money. “Good public service story, draws a good idea to remind government officials whose money they are spending,” read the judges’ comments.

Mardis also did well in the “On-Going/Extended Coverage” selections, with an Honorable Mention for his coverage of the Wolf Creek Dam Crisis. “An important local story thoroughly covered,” said the judge.

Jeff Neal won second place for “Best Editorial Page,” for entries featuring opinions on the animal shelter, county road supervisor Steven Johnson, the Ferguson dissolution vote, Pulaski County’s history, and an example of local youth football scouting run amok (as compared to New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick).

“Denotes plenty of space to community comments and sticks mostly to local issues, with a nice, clean layout,” said the judge.

Harris and Pyles shared an Honorable Mention for “Best Spot News Story,” referring to news coverage of unplanned events. The March incident told in the story involved a local inmate who escaped his work detail with the help of his mother.

“Using details and quotes, the strong narrative provides a different glimpse into what could have been a straight news story,” said the judge. “The comments by police, the descriptives and photos bring this jail break gone awry to life.”

The contest considered entries from October of 2007 to September of 2008, and was judged by members of the press from out-of-state.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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