SECOND PLACE WINNERS

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1 State Press Contests Awards Special section September 2012 Front row, from left: Baily Darrow and Amy Davis, Herald-Citizen, Cookeville; Shirley Nanney, Carroll County News-Leader, Huntingdon; Rick Norton, Cleveland Daily Banner; Mary Mount Dunbar, Chester County Independent, Henderson; Sadie Fowler and David Melson, Shelbyville Times-Gazette; Sonya Thompson, The Portland Leader; Tony Stinnett, Cannon Courier, Woodbury; Lynn Richardson, Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough; and Echo Day, The Leader, Covington Second row, from left: John Molley, Johnson City Press; Mark Kennedy, Chattanooga Times Free Press; Michael Baker and Keith Whitson, The Erwin Record; Cheri Reeves, Robertson County Times, Springfield; Eddie West, Carthage Courier; Tracy Ayers, Pulaski Citizen; Frank Trexler, The Daily Times, Maryville; Josh Peterson, Manchester Times; Heidi Hall, The FIRST PLACE WINNERS DONN JONES DONN JONES PHOTOGRAPHY, NASHVILLE Tennessean, Nashville; Terri Likens, Roane County News, Kingston; Dan Morris, The Jackson Sun; and Phil Fernandez, Bristol Herald Courier Third row, from left: David Critchlow Jr., Union City Daily Messenger; Jennifer Bush, Carthage Courier; Susan Thurman, The Daily Herald, Columbia; Richard Stevens and Chris Smith, The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville; Scarlet Elliott, Melanie Day and Victor Parkins, The Milan Mirror- Exchange; Joel Spears, The Rogersville Review; Mike Towle and Sarah Kingsbury, Gallatin News Examiner; Stephen Crass, Cleveland Daily Banner; Tena Lee and Melissa McDonald, Gallatin News Examiner; Susan Campbell, The Tullahoma News; and Jeffery Simmons, Southern Standard, McMinnville First row, from left: John Carney, Shelbyville Times-Gazette; David Critchlow Jr., Union City Daily Messenger; Rick Norton, Cleveland Daily Banner; Mary Mount Dunbar, Chester County Independent, Henderson; Sadie Fowler and David Melson, Shelbyville Times-Gazette; Sonya Thompson, The Portland Leader; Tony Stinnett, Cannon Courier, Woodbury; Lynn Richardson, Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough; and Kelsey Cochran, The Daily Herald, Columbia SECOND PLACE WINNERS DONN JONES DONN JONES PHOTOGRAPHY, NASHVILLE Second row, from left: Brad Martin, Hickman County Times, Centerville; Mark Kennedy, Chattanooga Times Free Press; Keith Whitson, The Erwin Record; Cheri Reeves, Robertson County Times, Springfield; Eddie West, Carthage Courier; Sandy Dodson, The Bledsonian- Banner, Pikeville; Amanda Greever and Frank Trexler, The Daily Times, Maryville; Josh Peterson, Manchester Times; Ann Cason, Grainger Today, Bean Station; Dan Morris, The Jackson Sun; and Tim Hodge, The Daily Herald, Columbia

2 2 - Awards SEPTEMBER 2012 UT, TPA announce SPC winners Winners of the 2012 University of Tennessee-Tennessee Press Association State Press Contests received awards July 13 at a luncheon at the Embassy Suites Hotel, Nashville. Twenty-three contests spotlighted the best work of reporters, editors, publishers, photographers and designers. The Tennessean, Nashville, The Jackson Sun, the Southern Standard, McMinnville, Grainger Today, Bean Station, the Gallatin News Examiner and the Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough, won the top General Excellence Awards. General Excellence honors are determined by total points accumulated in five groups based on total weekly circulation, as follows:, combined weekly circulation of 5,000 or less I, combined weekly circulation of 5,001-15,000, combined weekly circulation of 15,001-50,000 V, combined weekly circulation of 50, ,000, combined weekly circulation of 200,001 and more The winning newspapers points were as follows: The Herald & Tribune, 44; the Gallatin News Examiner and Grainger Today, 37; Southern Standard, 63; The Jackson Sun, 43; and The Tennessean, 87. This marks the fourth time in five years that the Southern Standard has won the General Excellence Award. It is the 10th time the newspaper has won the General Excellence Award since the points-based system was begun in This also marks the third year in a row that The Jackson Sun has won in its category. This year s results also produced a rare tie, with Grainger Today and the Gallatin News Examiner sharing the General Excellence Award in the same division. The Texas Press Association judged a total of 1,401 entries from 73 of the association s 122 member newspapers. UT has co-sponsored the annual contest since Other highlights: The Tennessean received nine first place honors in its circulation category, for best single feature, sports writing, editorials, best spot news coverage, best news reporting, best education reporting, investigative reporting, best special issue or section and best website. The Shelbyville Times-Gazette and Southern Standard each received six first place awards. The Times-Gazette won for make-up and appearance, best personal column, investigative reporting, headline writing, public service and best special issue or section. The Southern Standard won for best single feature, editorials, best personal humor column, best spot news coverage, best news reporting and promotion of newspapers. The university s Edward J. Meeman Foundation honored newspapers for their accomplishments in editorial writing and public service journalism with $250 awards in the categories of editorials, best single editorial and public service. Newspapers receiving Meeman awards: The Tennessean, The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville, Southern Standard, Memphis Business Journal and The Portland Leader, editorials; The News Sentinel, Knoxville, The Daily Herald, Columbia, The Mountain Press, Sevierville, Grainger Today and the Herald & Tribune, best single editorial; and The News Sentinel, The Leaf-Chronicle, the Shelbyville Times-Gazette, the Gallatin News Examiner and Chester County Independent, Henderson, public service. The foundation was established in 1968 to fund the contests, provide professional critiques of journalists work and support journalism students and faculty. Additional top winners in the overall contest are as follows: Terri Likens, chairman of the TPA Contests Committee, comments on the 2012 contests. Chattanooga Times Free Press, for local features, best personal column, best news photograph, best sports photograph and promotion of newspapers; Gallatin News Examiner, for best personal column, best news reporting, investigative reporting, public service TPA President Michael B. Williams welcomed staff members from 46 newspapers to the luncheon and awards event. and best special issue or section; and News Sentinel, for make-up and appearance, Sunday editions, best graphics and/or illustrations, best single editorial and public service. The complete list of winners begins on page 3. Tennessee Press Association thanks the following: The University of Tennessee Offi ce of Public Relations and members of the staff Dr. Keith Carver, Gina ord, Amy Blakely, Charles Primm, Whitney Heins and Erica Jenkins The College of Communication and Information The School of Journalism and Electronic Media for the excellent relationship that has existed for 72 years. UT has participated in the implementing of the UT-TPA State Press Contests and has provided plaques and certifi cates and assisted in various other facets of the awards event. Terri Likens, Roane County News, Kingston, Contests Committee chairman Members of the TPA Contests Committee for their contributions, guidance and support of the contests. Four staff members receive first place awards for their newspapers from Dr. Keith Carver, executive assistant to UT President Dr. Joe DiPietro. Clockwise from top right: Josh Peterson, Manchester Times; Amy Davis, Herald- Citizen, Cookeville; Patrick Hall, The Wilson Post, Lebanon; and Echo Day, The Leader, Covington PHOTOS BY DONN JONES DONN JONES PHOTOGRAPHY, NASHVILLE

3 SEPTEMBER 2012 Awards - 3 Here are the 2012 SPC winners MAKE-UP AND APPEARANCE 1. The Erwin Record Great strong packages. Eye catching. 2. The Bledsonian-Banner, Pikeville Becky Pendergrass, Sandy Dodson, Janna London 3. The Portland Leader Sonya Thompson, Fritz Louis, David Blackburn 4. The News Leader, Parsons Danny Haynes, Christian Anglin, Pam McGaha, Mark Trimmer 5. Independent Herald, Oneida I 1. The Leader, Covington Tyler Lindsey, Echo Day I like to give papers something to improve on, but with this paper it was difficult. Love the page design and photos. Only suggestion... work on mast head so it s more current. Pages made me smile... thank you. Congrats and keep up the good work. Your name is truly poignant and you guys are very much leaders in your division. 2. The Standard Banner, Jefferson City Dale Gentry, Kim Cook, Darren Reese 3. The Courier, Savannah Ron Schaming, Thad Mitchell 4. The Herald-News, Dayton Michael Reneau, Reed Johnson, Cathy Barnes, Rachel Jones 5. The Rogersville Review Jesse Lindsey, Joel Spears, Bill Grubb, Emily Robertson, Jim Beller Luncheon factoids 152 registrants 28 non-dailies, with 73 registrants 18 dailies, with 55 registrants Paper with most registrants: Gallatin News Examiner, with 8 Contests factoids 73 newspapers entered, with 1,401 entries 49 non-dailies, with 823 entries 24 dailies, with 578 entries Most entered category, Best Single Feature, with 123 entries 511 awards presented Newspapers with most awards: Chattanooga Times Free Press, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, and The Tennessean, Nashville, each with 24 Newspaper with most first place awards: The Tennessean, Nashville, with 9 1. Shelbyville Times-Gazette Mary Cook, David Melson, Carol Spray This is one of my favorite papers. The headlines were all eye catching. I think the name of the newspaper would look really good in an Old English font. I think it would really pop. Maybe make the banner with the price, date and website a different color to help separate the headings and the articles. I like the special sections but would have liked to have seen the Father s Day section. All of the pictures were great and I love how each of them were finished with a fine line box around them. Layout, ads, pictures, the whole paper amazing. 2. Southern Standard, McMinnville 3. The Herald Chronicle, Winchester 4. The Paris Post-Intelligencer Ken Walker, Gay Francisco, Leslie Sensing 5. The Wilson Post, Lebanon V 1. Johnson City Press Sandra Ross I d love to be a subscriber to your paper. I d love to work on your paper -- what a news hole! The bedsheet-sized pages take one aback, but you get used to them. Fine stories, heads, etc. A major recommendation run shorter wire stories. Higher story count would take away grayness of inside pages. Great job! 2. The Jackson Sun 3. The Daily Times, Maryville 4. Bristol Herald Courier 5. The Greeneville Sun 1. News Sentinel, Knoxville This newspaper had the best and most consistent reproduction of the four entries, and made the most of it with clean, readable page layouts, excellent typography, and ample use of visually compelling, well-composed staff photos in both advertising and editorial content. The use of color throughout the paper was both tasteful and sparing. On only one occasion did we notice an ad that suffered from an unfortunate case of poor color registration and type that was too small to be legible. The editorial pages were especially appealing, with ample white space and the addition of color cartoons and head shots of columnists that broke up the page and kept it from being too gray. There were plenty of nice touches that set this newspaper apart, including the use of the day of the week in color above the mast and the very nicely produced Knoxville. com. Happenings seems, in contrast, a bit jumpled and haphazard, and the use of bold-face to highlight each local name was a bit distracting to our taste. Every section front was marked by great photos (particular kudos to Adam Brimer, whose hula hoop photo just flat made us grin). We were disappointed, though, by the absence of any action sports photos in what was otherwise an outstanding example of make-up and appearance. 2. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis 3. Chattanooga Times Free Press 4. The Tennessean, Nashville ELENORA E. EDWARDS TPS From left, Chris Ladd, Sonya Thompson and Bonnie Fussell of The Portland Leader talk in the display area after the awards luncheon. LOCAL FEATURES 1. The Erwin Record Rebekah Harris, Brian Reese Fantastic feature stories in all issues submitted. Displayed very well. Thoroughly enjoyed all stories and loved the layouts. What I think a feature story should be. 2. Mt. Juliet News Laurie Everett 3. Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough Kristen Swing, Charlie Mauk, Karen Sells, Lynn Richardson, Jeanne Cope 4. The Millington Star Thomas Sellers Jr. 5. The Portland Leader Sonya Thompson, Frank Empson, Chris Ladd, Katie Willis I 1. The Leader, Covington Echo Day, Sherri Onorati You do an awesome job in all areas. Love the photos. Writing/selection of stories well done. Very appealing. 2. Memphis Business Journal 3. The Standard Banner, Jefferson City Dale Gentry, Steve Marion, Darren Reese, Gayle Page 4. Gallatin News Examiner Sarah Kingsbury, Jennifer Easton, Dessislava Yankova, Deb Pinger 5. Grainger Today, Bean Station Tracey Wilson, Jim Zachary, Elmer Smith, Barbara Womack 1. The Tullahoma News Good commitment to using features and displaying them prominently with good photos and design. Good writing. 2. Shelbyville Times-Gazette Sadie Fowler, John Carney, Tracy Simmons, Brian Mosley 3. The Newport Plain Talk Katie Pittser, David Popiel, Duay O Neil 4. Southern Standard, McMinnville 5. Crossville Chronicle V 1. Cleveland Daily Banner Lucie R. Willsie, Joyanna Weber Great composition, use of color, variety. Totally compelling. 2. Johnson City Press 3. The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro Samantha E. Williams, Scott Broden 4. Bristol Herald Courier 5. The Jackson Sun 1. Chattanooga Times Free Press Beth Burger, Chris Carroll, John Frierson, Holly Leber, Patrick Brown, Kate Harrison, Cliff Hightower, Clint Cooper Really good photography. Crisp shots that draw your eye. Overall layout is nice, but I found Chatty Crafty layout a bit busy. Nice feature though. Good mix of features sports, crafts, outdoors, people. Writing put you into first. 2. The Tennessean, Nashville 3. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis BEST SINGLE FEATURE 1. Macon County Times, Lafayette Classroom technology means opportunity for students Love the detail and the information gathered from the teacher. Way to dig, way to put it on paper! 2. The Erwin Record Baked with Love Keeli Parkey 3. Independent Herald, Oneida After Hours 4. Chester County Independent, Henderson From humble origins to lady warrior Mary Mount Dunbar 5. The Tomahawk, Mountain City Mrs. Evelyn Cook I 1. The Daily News, Memphis New Song Sarah Baker Love the clean layout. Creative feature writing well done. Structure of story enjoyable. 2. The LaFollette Press Train wreck survivor returns to Jellico 3. Gallatin News Examiner Gallatin pastor has passion for jousting Dessislava Yankova 4. The Standard Banner, Jefferson City Hank Williams, the night he died Steve Marion 5. The Courier, Savannah Extreme Mustang Makeover Thad Mitchell 1. Southern Standard, McMinnville Roundhouse Street Gang reunites Charlie Johnson Great story told with wit and sincerity. Compelling. Pleasure to read. 2. The Lebanon Democrat The house that made hits Sabrina Garrett 3. The Herald Chronicle, Winchester Taking a break from the heat 4. Roane County News, Kingston llove of llamas Cindy Simpson 5. The Mountain Press, Sevierville Pain of Addiction Jeff Farrell V 1. Herald-Citizen, Cookeville Livingston soldier first casualty of Vietnam Amy Davis 2. The Daily Herald, Columbia Road to Redemption Chris Graham 3. Bristol Herald Courier Slip-slidin around Joe Tennis 4. Johnson City Press October Game lives on Pat Everheart 5. The Daily Herald, Columbia Healing note: Music soothes patients, staff at hospital Skyler Swisher SEE, PAGE 4 ELENORA E. EDWARDS TPS Checking out something in a newspaper, from left, Susan Campbell, The Tullahoma News; Jeff Ireland and Echo Day, The Leader, Covington; and John Coffelt, Manchester Times

4 4 - Awards SEPTEMBER 2012 FROM PAGE 3 1. The Tennessean, Nashville Hope carries Tuders case through 8 years Erin Quinn This heart-wrenching story makes you want to cry. Great idea to go from the angle of those left behind. 2. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis 10 seconds of terror Kristina Goetz, Alan Spearman 3. Chattanooga Times Free Press Saving Mary Pam Sohn 4. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Forgotten history Linda A. Moore 5. The Tennessean, Nashville The Life and Death of Jacob Rogers Tony Gonzalez COMMUNITY LIFESTYLES 1. The Erwin Record Clean pages, clean layout without overdoing it. Great stories appropriate for the season. Great composition. Great! Great! Great! Love the contest for the scarecrows. Way to pull in readers to the information. 2. Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough Lynn Richardson, Charlie Mauk, Elizabeth Cloyd, Jeanne Cope, Kristen Swing, John Kiener, Karen Sells 3. Carroll County News-Leader, Huntingdon Shirley Nanney, Gerilyn Burnett, Lorna Jablonski, Patsy Anthony 4. Independent Herald, Oneida Cora Queener 5. Chester County Independent, Henderson I 1. The Leader, Covington Echo Day, Tyler Lindsey A lot of things good! Lots of color. Lots of photos. Liked the local church news and column. Lots of names, faces and local events. Layout was easy to follow, good read. 2. Carthage Courier 3. Pulaski Citizen Cary Jane Malone, Scott Stewart, Pierre Billard, Tracy Ayers, Margaret Campbell, Kermit Smith 4. Grainger Today, Bean Station Tracy Wilson, Elmer Smith, Jim Zachary 5. The Elk Valley Times, Fayetteville Lucy Carter Williams, Laurie Pearson, Sandy Williams, Paul Henry 1. The Mountain Press, Sevierville Gail Crutchfield Great coverage! Very informative! And the layout is very eye-catching! Good job! The Mountain Press reminds their readers regularly why community newspapers play such an important role in their lives, and will continue to do so far into the future! 2. Shelbyville Times-Gazette Sadie Fowler 3. The Wilson Post, Lebanon Zack Owensby, Ken Beck 4. The Daily Post-Athenian, Athens Greg Moses, Andy Brusseau 5. Southern Standard, McMinnville Margaret Hobbs V 1. The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville Best layouts I ve seen here; consistent titles, good organization of sub-groups of stories. Eye catching colorful photos, could use a bit more variety for PI s Angles. Although some pre-purchased materials, majority of stories are either staff written or written by local contributing writers. Great job!!! 2. The Daily Times, Maryville 3. Cleveland Daily Banner William Wright, Bettie Marlowe 4. Citizen Tribune, Morristown Jessica Yankee, Glenna Howington, John Gullion 5. The Daily Herald, Columbia Marvine Sugg 1. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Emily Keplinger, Matt Woo, Kim Odom This entry stood well above the rest. Everything from content, to photos, to layout was great! Keep up the excellent work. 2. The Tennessean, Nashville 3. News Sentinel, Knoxville 4. Chattanooga Times Free Press SPORTS WRITING 1. The Portland Leader Curtis Marlin, Chris Ladd, Adam Brown, Rich Cook Good mix of stories and profiles. Would have liked more names and details on the Driving Force story, but what a cool idea. Liked the profiles on former area athletes, SEE, PAGE 5 BY JOHN L. KIENER Associate editor The filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings by the International Storytelling Center (ISC) will have both economic and social effects on Jonesborough. Kiener Town Mayor Kelly Wolfe said himself that our identity as a town is closely associated with the National Storytelling Festival. Wolfe went on to say that there is no question about the tremendous economic impact on our region from storytelling. ISC President and founder Jimmy Neil Smith in response to the bankruptcy filing told the Herald & Tribune there were no plans to diminish the ISC s product. In fact, he said, we will probably expand our product with more local and regional programming in order to encourage more attendance. Smith admits that he became concerned about the economic future of storytelling as early as 2008, after seeing festival revenues in 2007 plummet by 16 percent. So whom did Smith tell and consult Short Best single editorial Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough Best news photo The Milan Mirror-Exchange about the financial reverses of the organization? And when did he tell them? Chapter 11 allows a debtor to continue in possession of property with the goal of reorganization consistent with claims of creditors. The debt that the ISC faces according to the bankruptcy filing in the Eastern District of Tennessee in Greeneville exceeds $3.8 million. Despite this dire fiscal situation, the ISC issued a press release that says it is committed to a successful reorganization that will enable it to continue its contribution to the educational, cultural and economic enhancement of this region for many years to come. Smith called the filing essential to maintain our viability as an organization. He went on to say that projections indicate we can, with certain changes in operations, survive Chapter 11 and emerge stronger than ever. It seems that Smith should have alerted several groups, including the STEVE SHORT THE MILAN MIRROR-EXCHANGE MILAN LOOKED LIKE A WAR ZONE. Linda Lantz stood near the giant tree that crashed into her house on Jackson Street the night of April 19. The tree fell directly through the roof of a bedroom, pinning her 17-year-old son, Ben, in his bed. Lantz credited a four-poster, antique bed for bracing the weight of the tree and allowing Ben to escape serious injury. The National Weather Service believes winds in excess of 90 mph ripped through Milan about 11:30 p.m. (April 26, 2011) Should we have known sooner about ISC s financial woes? public, about the fiscal challenges faced by the ISC. Would the banks and other major creditors have been able to help the ISC beginning as early as 2008? What if the people who attend the annual festival had been told that the Storytelling Center needed assistance? Certainly, the town of Jonesborough, proved through a branding study, is committed to storytelling as its central tourism selling point. What should be the reaction of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to the setbacks currently facing storytelling? Why should the hundreds of volunteers who help with the annual Storytelling Festival continue to serve an organization that is now highly indebted to many of their employers, friends and neighbors? Bankruptcy proceedings are open to the public and will be reported on by this newspaper. One of the first things the present ISC Board of Governors should consider is public notification and presence at all of their meetings. According to Smith, face-to-face meetings of the Board will occur in late February or early March. The majority of the residents of Jonesborough want to see storytelling remain as an important part of the community. However, a vigorous examination of the policies and procedures being advanced to support the ISC is in order. In addition, Smith needs to speak with candor at a public forum with residents of Jonesborough concerning his future role in the administration and management of the ISC. Should someone who has led an organization into bankruptcy continue to be at the helm? It is a question that should come with much consideration and contemplation by the ISC s Board of Governors. The storytellers who come to Jonesborough for the annual October festival need also to speak up in support of maintaining the ISC. Many of the tellers can trace the beginning of their careers to telling tales in the tents in Tennessee s oldest town. And we can t help but think that, had some of these storytellers known the dire financial straits of their beloved ISC, they might have jumped on board to find a way to save storytelling in Jonesborough before it came to filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This is an event that is pivotal in Jonesborough s future planning. Readers are encouraged to express their reactions to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings by submitting letters to the editor. (Jan. 11, 2011)

5 SEPTEMBER 2012 Awards - 5 BMA worth$27,600/hr? Only in Rogersville BY JIM ZACHARY Editor $2,300 for five minutes! If you do the math, that comes to about $27,600 per hour. The October meeting of the Rogersville Board of Mayor and Zachary Aldermen lasted five minutes. The November meeting lasted 10 minutes. That five-minute meeting could come to about $3,600 per hour per alderman or about $6,000 per hour for the mayor. The 10-minute meeting might be more of a bargain for taxpayers; it would come in at about $1,800 per hour for each alderman and $3,000 for the mayor. Perhaps it is a good thing that Rogersville s elected officials do not get paid by the hour. Go ahead, we can already hear the objection, There is a lot more to being an alderman than just going to the meetings. Now, that just begs the question, doesn t it? What city business is going on outside of public meetings? About the only business going on lately in Rogersville BMA meetings is the announcement of the city s Beautification Award, and that really is no business at all. Best single editorial I Grainger Today, Bean Station There is nothing to vote on, nothing to deliberate, basically nothing to do. So, is there really nothing to do? Think about it. Board of Mayor and Aldermen meetings in Church Hill and Mount Carmel generally last at least an hour, sometimes longer. Of course, those are bigger cities. Despite the fact the cities are greater in population, however, neither of them has a budget the size of Rogersville s total budget. Surgoinsville and Bulls Gap have significantly longer meetings, transacting city business, approving resolutions and ordinances, hearing from citizens, dealing with personnel issues, reviewing contracts and proposals, approving budget transfers and reviewing day to day city operations when necessary. Yet, both towns are significantly smaller than Rogersville with city budgets that are a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of money that pours through the Rogersville coffers. In neighboring Grainger County, the cities of Bean Station, Rutledge and Blaine are all significantly smaller in population, collect no property taxes, have very small city hall staffs, no fire department to oversee, no dispatch service, budgets of less than a half-million dollars and very small police departments and street departments by comparison. Yet in all three municipalities, the mayor and aldermen have official city business to conduct every month with meetings lasting on average about an hour. Obviously, it s not about the length of the meetings. It is, however, about the nature of city business, along with when and how it is being conducted. It is the law of the State of Tennessee that all public business be conducted in public. In public does not mean in the city recorder s office prior to a meeting. In public does not mean on the front porch of city hall before the press walks up and everyone hushes. In public does not mean in the office of the city attorney. In public does not mean on the telephone. In public does not mean via . In public means in a public meeting. Perhaps, aldermen and the mayor are under the impression that city business can be discussed and the details of city business can be hammered out in private or by individuals outside of an open public meeting, just so long as no actual voting takes place outside of the meetings. If that is what they think, they are wrong. Hawkins County officials were just busted by the Tennessee Office of Open Records after Hawkins Today reported violations of the state s open meetings act and have had to reconsider legislation because of the violation. There was no voting outside of meetings, but the public s business was discussed by two or more elected officials. Maybe aldermen think that any two of them can discuss city business, just so long as it is just two of them and not three or more. That is a common misnomer, but once again, it is not what the law says. The law says it is the policy of this state that the formation of public policy and decisions is public business and shall not be conducted in secret (Tennessee Code Annotated ). Telephone calls, s, hallway meetings and even whispering to one another at the table can all be violations of the state s open meetings law. It only takes two elected officials to violate Tennessee s sunshine law. In fact, the law says that any deliberations toward a decision cannot take place in private (TCA ). In some ways, maybe the press is to blame for the rampant violations of the Sunshine Law. When the press looks the other way for so long, officials begin to think there is nothing wrong with what they are doing. Of course, those elected to office may complain they are under attack now. Expect to hear it. This is not persecution, however; it is education. The mere fact that people have done something for a long time and done it with impunity does not make it right, ethical or legal. Even if you shoot the messenger, the impropriety of not fully vetting the public s business in open public meetings is still a violation of the public trust. Government does not belong to the governing. It belongs to the governed. For example, during budget negotiations it is not uncommon to hear these same officials talk about all the hours, heartaches and headaches they pour into drafting their budget. The budget, however, is not city government s budget, it is the budget of city citizens. The business that is supposed to be conducted each month at these meetings is not the business of elected officials it is the public s business. Will elected officials ever understand that they work for citizens? Can the public s business really be conducted in five or 10 minutes per month? Apparently, only in Rogersville. (Nov. 16, 2011) FROM PAGE 4 game stories were tight and well done. 2. Ashland City Times 3. Cannon Courier, Woodbury 4. Carroll County News-Leader, Huntingdon Russell Bush, Shirley Nanney, Lorna Jablonski, Steve McCamdams, Jim EDITOR S NOTE Again, is printing the first place winners from five circulation groups in the following categories: Best Single Editorial, Best Personal Column, Best Personal Humor Column, Best News Photograph, Best Feature Photograph and Best Sports Photograph. We wish we could print all photos in color, but we can t. We know readers will understand the impact of them anyway. Thanks to the many staff members who provided their work for this section. And, congratulations on your fine work. Elenora E. Edwards Managing editor Easterwood 5. Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough Chris Shields I 1. Pulaski Citizen Scott Stewart, Johnny Phelps 2. The Standard Banner, Jefferson City Darren Reese 3. The Dickson Herald 4. Independent Appeal, Selmer Amanda Lowrance, Andrew Alexander 5. Weakley County Press, Martin Mike Hutchens, Kevin Weaks 1. The Mountain Press, Sevierville Jason Davis Good subjects. 2. The Newport Plain Talk Seth Butler 3. Union City Daily Messenger Mike Hutchens, Kevin Weaks 4. Southern Standard, McMinnville Jeffery Simmons 5. The Tullahoma News Robert Holman V 1. The Greeneville Sun Wayne Phillips, Joe Byrd Loved the features, columns and coverage. Loved it all! SEE, PAGE 6 Reeves Best news photo I Robertson County Times, Springfield CHERI REEVES ROBERTSON COUNTY TIMES, SPRINGFIELD SPRINGFIELD SCHOOLS. Elementary school children are entitled to 13 inches of seat space, according to state officials. On Aug. 24, bus aides at Cheatham Park were squeezing four students into a seat, when the seats were designed to carry three. (Aug. 31, 2011)

6 6 - Awards SEPTEMBER 2012 FROM PAGE 5 2. The Daily Herald, Columbia Justin Lamb, Marion Wilhoite 3. The Jackson Sun Brandon Shields, Matt Vines, David Thomas 4. Johnson City Press Kelly Hodge, Joe Avento, Trey Williams, Jeff Birchfield, Doug Fritz 5. Cleveland Daily Banner Richard Roberts, Reece Rutland, Joe Cannon 1. The Tennessean, Nashville a. Texans Dump Young Lots of quotes, emotional story. Great presentation of overall picture with all sides represented and reported well. b. Fisher opts to duck out Good column gives behind the scenes knowledge to reader. c. The collision between team rules and a player s appearance is often up to the coach s discretion A touchy subject handled and explained well hair and dress rules for high school athletes. Presented different philosophies and resulting rules in state s high schools. d. Rutherford booster clubs paid coaches Well-handled, not overblown. Probably made some enemies but also made a lot of friends. e. Tracks ills stall NASCAR hopes Another delicate subject dealing with area pride, at same time dealing with dark side potential as well as the hopes and wishes. f. Lionhearted spirit motivates this team There seems to be no story like a young athlete dying and becoming an inspiration for team achievement. Well done. g. Southern Revival Contrast between attitudes and social mores made Matt Hasselbeck story much more entertaining than writing about game heroics and jock talk. h. What s the big deal? Story examines the impact of the two African-American coaches for Vandy and UK facing off a first in the state but no big deal. Great angle. Well-written. i. To Finnegan, she s the titan Another heart-tugger about athletes and ill children. Contrasts pro-player s on-field demeanor ( nasty ) with off-field good deeds and devotion to young people in need. j. Season ends with Vol Ball shattered at Dooley s feet Outstanding writing, assessing a young coach s progress at U of Tenn. He must fix the team s attitude... Good analysis. Balanced and fair. 2. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Ron Higgins, Kyle Veazey, Geoff Calkins, Phil Stukenborg 3. Chattanooga Times Free Press Stephen Hargis, Mark Wiedmer 4. News Sentinel, Knoxville SUNDAY EDITIONS Dailies 1. News Sentinel, Knoxville Glad I don t live in Knoxville. I would never get anything accomplished on Sunday. What an appealing package of interesting stories, variety, great design. Lead feature packages are backed up with strong Ballard has to go: SCUD could overcome image problem, pattern of abuse BY STAN VOIT Editor Expensive meals. Clothing allowances for managers and board members. Boxes of steaks and $500 gift cards for board members. Unmarked company vehicles. Free labor to install a gas grill Voit and fire pit burner at the president s house. The hits just keep coming for the Sevier County Utility District. The latest audit lists a dozen misdeeds and questionable practices. An audit last year showed managers were taking exotic trips at company expense to be with contractors who installed gas appliances. Now we have a laundry list of irresponsible and unethical practices by the president and his board. Something ought to be done about it. We may be waiting a long time for that to happen. The three-member board appoints itself; no government agency has a role in who sits on the board. The board supports president Matt Ballard. Even worse, board members have shared in the questionable spending of customers money for their own amusement and entertainment. They features throughout the sections. I love the look and feel of this paper. 2. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis 3. The Tennessean, Nashville 4. Chattanooga Times Free Press Times Free Press 5. Bristol Herald Courier BEST GRAPHICS AND/OR ILLUSTRATIONS s I, II and III 1. The Standard Banner, Jefferson City Darren Reese, Kim Cook Nice design work! Very informative! The Standard Banner reminds their readers regularly why community newspapers play such an important role in their lives, and will continue to do so far into the future! These stories and artwork will be hanging on the refrigerators for decades to come. Clearly, lots of work went into collecting the information and packaging it in an exciting layout. Good job! 2. Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough Kristen Swing, Lynn Richardson 3. Southern Standard, McMinnville Seth Wright 4. Independent Appeal, Selmer Christen Coulon, Andrew Alexander, Amber Hamm, Sandy Whitaker 5. Pulaski Citizen Cary Jane Malone, Tracy Ayers SEE, PAGE 7 Best single editorial The Mountain Press, Sevierville defend the audit by saying it merely reflects an absence of policy, as if common sense and good judgment requires a policy to follow. Actions don t have to be illegal to be wrong. Board member David Ogle was serving during the audit period of 2007 to Board members Jerry Hays and George Seaton were there for a smaller part of the audit period. To expect these three men to fire Ballard and rein in their own roles in the lavish spending seems unlikely, especially since they don t think they did anything terribly wrong. There is simply no accountability when it comes to the gas company. Except for the occasional state audit that exposes bad practices, the utility can and does operate as it sees fit, which means excessive spending for entertainment and personal gain, under the guise of agency promotion. SCUD is a public utility, something its managers and board seem to forget. Its meetings are open to the public, and it is subject to being audited from time to time by the state, which is how we know Hogin Best news photo Roane County News, Kingston for sure about all the shenanigans. The one alleged criminal activity reported in the latest audit, involving vice president Jeff McCarter making money off the sale of a utility vehicle, so upset Ballard and the board that McCarter remains on the payroll, was on the utility website until the audit came out last week, and is signed up to attend a conference in Atlanta representing SCUD. Fortunately, District Attorney Jimmy Dunn has turned that matter over to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The tragedy, the frustration, in all of this is that Ballard and the board don t think what was exposed was so bad. Ballard, speaking for the agency and the board, seemed relieved at the finding. Obviously neither he nor the board has any shame or embarrassment at revelations of lavish spending of other people s money. Promotion and marketing of the agency? That s a lame explanation for the kind of indulgence the audit exposed. If SCUD were a private business, nobody would question the spending, Ballard says. That s the point. Sevier County Utility District is not a private agency, and it was not created for managers and the board to use like their own bank account. The leadership at SCUD obviously expects this all to blow over so they can go back to running things the way they want to, without the sunlight of an audit to get in the way. For a change, guys, how about doing what s right by customers and customers money, instead of merely reacting to public exposure of wrongdoing. The best maybe only chance for SCUD to overcome this harmful image problem is to have the three board members come to their senses, relocate their suppressed sense of honor and duty, and fire the man who runs things on a daily basis. Matt Ballard is tied to almost all of the misdeeds and personally benefitted from most of them, from the clothing allowance to the lavish meals and trips to his own gas grill to his personal negligence in not having proper policies in place and enforced. Besides, there is no reason to think a change in policy will improve what remains an inherent, pervasive philosophy by management to operate as if public responsibility were for somebody else s agency, not theirs. The 12,000 customers of SCUD are the stockholders, so to speak. If their indignation matches that of the general public, then maybe, just maybe, enough of them will rise up against this abuse of public trust and try to right this ship. It seems obvious that nobody else will. (April 3, 2011) KATIE HOGIN ROANE COUNTY NEWS, KINGSTON WRECK KILLS MOTHER, THREE SONS. Emergency responders deal with the gut-wrenching scene of Tuesday s fatal accident. Stephanie Brown and her children, Gage, Jackson and Grason, all were killed. (Sept. 2, 2011)

7 SEPTEMBER 2012 GENERAL EXCELLENCE - FRONT PAGES 1B 6A Herald&Tribune 50 cents Volume 138, Number 10 Week of March 8, 2011 Former NBA basketball team owner George Shinn has expressed interest in saving storytelling. But leaders of the International Storytelling Center aren t buying it. Serving Grainger and Surrounding East Tennessee Counties FRIDAY» NOVEMBER 25, 2011» GALLATIN, TENNESSEE» SERVING SUMNER COUNTY SINCE 1840 Knife and bullets found at school By Tracey Wilson GT Reporter LOOK INSIDE Pictured (l-r) Officer Brandon Smith and K9 Drago, along with K9 Rik and Officer Tony Williams searched Washburn School during a drug sweep held Tuesday morning. WASHBURN A drug sweep of Washburn School Tuesday morning led to the discovery of several.22 caliber rounds and a pocketknife, according to Grainger County Sheriff Scott Layel. The Grainger County Sheriff s Department s two K9s, Drago and Rik, performed the search along with their handlers, Brandon Smith and Tony Williams. Sheriff Scott Layel and School Resource Officer Tom Sawyer were also present during the search.? QUAD-COUNTIES Courtesy photo See School page GT9 SHERIFF S DEPARTMENTS WANTED By Barbara Womack GT Correspondent PHOTO BY CHARLIE MAUK Possible Shinn takeover not welcome news at Storytelling Center Grainger, Hamblen, Hawkins, Jefferson RUTLEDGE The first degree murder and methamphetamine trials of a Bean Station man have been postponed until Sept. 14. Mark Hill, 46, 617 Rocky Summit Road, is accused of killing Adam Kelly, 23, whose body was found at 1212 Rocky Summit Road June 15, He had extensive stab wounds, authorities said. Kelly reportedly lived at 167 Peninsula Pointe, Bean Station. He was originally scheduled to go to trial today. But Circuit Court Judge Richard Vance announced Monday following a brief conference at the bench with prosecutor Steve Hawkins and Public Defender Jim Deaton that the trial will be delayed for good cause shown. Briefly speaking... Chamber of Commerce The Grainger County Chamber of Commerce will begin Leadership Grainger, an eight-month program with the goal of developing leaders who give life to community dreams. Applications may be obtained at the Grainger County Chamber of Commerce Office or may be faxed or ed. The deadline is March 31. The class will meet once per month beginning in April. For more information call the Chamber of Commerce at (865) or Harold Frazier at (865) See Murder page GT9 ISC leaders calling Shinnʼs involvement a threat to ʻcultural integrityʼ of National Storytelling Festival S dent Jimmy Neil Smith and the organization s Board of Directors are making it clear that Shinn s offer, which may sound too good to be true, is not a welcome one. The ISC Board accuses Shinn of offering to help the organization out of its financial woes with significant strings attached. Rather than the savior position outlined in a recent newspaper headline, Smith says, Mr. Shinn made it unequivocally clear that any proposal from him would be conditional upon his assuming full and complete control of ISC, in- Countermine changes tune about compensation By KRISTEN SWING Executive Editor kswing@heraldandtribune.com wo weeks after saying he would never vote for compensation of elected officials in Jonesborough, Alderman Terry Countermine changed his tune at a called meeting held Feb. 28. Countermine said he now was willing to vote for the compensation of Board of Mayor and Aldermen members because he believed adjustments made to the original resolution were a fair compromise. I feel compromise worked. I feel this is not hurting the citizens and it s fair, Countermine said. I still hope that people do it out of service and not for any financial benefit. On Feb. 14, Mayor Kelly Wolfe cast the tie-breaking vote to approve the compensation of BMA members at $100 per month for members who take part in the BMA meeting and at least one committee meeting per month. The compensation would be $200 for members taking part in more committee meetings than just one per month. At the time, Countermine and Alderman Jerome Fitzgerald both objected to the resolution, which was tied into other changes being made to the Town s charter. While it passed 3-2 at the BMA level, the state must approve the proposed charter changes and then return them to the BMA, where they must be passed by a twothirds majority, meaning either Countermine or Fitzgerald would have to change his mind on the issue. After your last meeting, there was some discussion, said Town Attorney Jim Wheeler at the called meeting. We wanted to make sure that everyone could support this. With the changes, the compensation plan will not go T See Compensation on Page 2A cluding the production of its annual festival. Mr. Shinn intends to put into place his own leadership team, staff and board. Furthermore Mr. Shinn stated that he offered to pay creditors pennies on the dollar. Mr. Shinn s involvement may also threaten the cultural integrity of the festival. When Shinn appeared before the ISC Board of Directors recently to express his interest in the financially-troubled ISC, he indicated he was interested in acquiring the assets of the organization, according to Smith. Officials torn on possible return of paper ballots By KAREN SELLS Assistant Editor ksells@heraldandtribune.com ashington County officials are debating the merits versus the costs of changing to paper ballots for the 2012 elections. The Tennessee Voter Confidence Act of 2008 requires the state s 95 counties to discard electronic voting machines in favor of paper ballots. The act is designed to eliminate the hazards of paperless, unverified electronic voting. In Tennessee, 93 of the 95 counties use touch-screen machines with no paper trail to verify results. The Voter Confidence Act calls for replacing these with paper ballots to be marked by voters and then read by optical scanners, a system that allows for recounts and audits of the actual tallies. Pickett and Hamilton counties are the only Tennessee counties currently using the optical scan process. Originally, the legislation required the conversion for the 2010 elections, but the Tennessee Association of County Election Officials requested and received a delay until 2012 due to the lack of certified vendors to produce the equipment. In a recommendation from the Budget Committee, Commissioners were asked during the Feb. 28 meeting to support a resolution urging the Tennessee General Assembly to repeal the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act of 2008 due to the financial impact it will have on Washington County. We can get state and federal money to buy the machines, that s not the issue; but buying the ballots for every election will be a recurring expense, said County Attorney John Rambo, speaking on behalf of Administrator of Elections Connie Sinks who was unable to be present. Sinks addressed the Budget Committee during its Feb. 16 meeting to voice her objection to the change to paper ballots. She said the current electronic voting system has proven reliable and userfriendly. According to Sinks, the optical scanners do not pick up the infor- W Currently, Smith says, no formal written proposal has been made by Shinn. The two verbally agreed that since any public statement concerning the discussions would be premature, no public comments would be given. Since then, Smith says, Shinn has worked with his publicist to promote himself and his ideas about his plan for the ISC to at least one media outlet. There is a concern among local businesses, donors and others close to the Storytelling See Storytelling on Page 2A County accused of judge shopping in Sneyd suit By KAREN SELLS Assistant Editor ksells@heraldandtribune.com ashington County was accused of judge shopping during the March 1 hearing in Greeneville Chancery Court for its first motion in the case against Clerk and Master Brenda Sneyd. Attorney Erick Herrin, of Herrin, Booze and McPeak in Johnson City, filed a motion on Jan. 14 for the recusal of Chancellor Thomas R. Frierson II, the judge assigned to the lawsuit initiated by Sneyd, who is suing the county for a 10 percent pay increase. Sneyd contends the work she does is equal that of her counterpart in Circuit Court, Karen Guinn, and her salary should be raised to the same level. The case is being heard in Greene County because Sneyd s immediate supervisor, Chancellor Richard Johnson, appointed her clerk and master. Johnson recused himself, but did not see fit to include our proviso requesting a judge who does not appoint the clerk and master, Herrin said in his address to Frierson. This (proviso) was not an afterthought, it was a forethought, Herrin said. Your Honor, they re judge shopping, and this should not be allowed, said Sneyd s counsel, Arthur M. Fowler, of Fowler & Fowler in Johnson City. They want a judge who won t allow the clerk and master to serve as special commissioner, and it would probably be impossible to find one, he said. Herrin denied judge shopping. We re simply asking for a judge who has not been involved in appointing clerks as special commissioners because we believe it would bring neutrality to the case, he said. The matter at hand is Sneyd s demand for a 10 percent W See Ballots on Page 2A Seventh Grade Night School system should not need tax hike Photo by Tracey Wilson By Barbara Womack GT Correspondent Pictured (l-r) Allison, Parker and Faye Noe picked up garbage on the roadside March 26 as part of the Grainger County Cleanup. Additional pictures on page GT5. RUTLEDGE Grainger County Schools anticipate being able to get a budget for without a local tax increase, Director of Schools Edwin Jarnagin says. Jarnagin has already been notified of a four percent increase in utility costs for next year. And the General Assembly is contemplating a pay raise for teachers that would require a local match. Still the director remains optimistic. If the state does what it says it will do, we should be okay, he said Tuesday in an interview with Grainger Today. Addressing the pay raises, Jarnagin said, We don t have a lot of people that will fall back on. And it s only two percent. He said the mandatory pay raise that would take effect July 1, would have a greater impact on large school districts, such as Nashville and Memphis. Asked if he might need to request a property tax increase, Jarnagin said, My opinion is no. If we get the regular money from the state, we won t have to ask for more money. County cleanup called a success By Tracey Wilson GT Reporter RUTLEDGE Dozens of Grainger County citizens pitched in to pick up trash left on county roadsides Saturday. Several teams worked in each district of the county and officers of the Sheriff s Department accompanied prisoners from the Grainger County Jail who volunteered to assist with the cleanup. Participants gathered at Grainger County Park for a picnic following the cleanup event. The Sheriff s Department brought crews of prison volunteers to assist in the effort. Grainger County Mayor Mark Hipsher and Parks and Recreation Director Lee Elkins planted a dogwood tree at the Grainger County Park in honor of Tony Kaufmann, founder of the Grainger County Cleanup. Due to illness, Kaufmann was unable to attend this year s event. However, other citizens stepped in to fill the shoes of the event organizer. According to Elkins, he and Donna Kitts raised over $2,600 and worked to have most of the picnic supplies donated in less than three days and sponsors Citizens Bank & Trust Co. of Grainger County, Clayton Homes, Norris Homes, Filmtech, Dual-Tech, David Holt of Holt's IGA, Rick Wright of Cox and Wright IGA, Greg Corum of Blaine IGA, Delbert Morgan of NKC, Appalachian Electric Cooperative, Liberty Power, Darell and Doris Stratton, Jeff Kyle of K-Chemicals and Pepsi Beverage Company of Morristown contributed to the event. Elkins said, This year's event was a success, with participants in all areas of the county working to remove harmful and unsightly waste from our county's roadsides. Congressman supports sewer By Jim Zachary GT Editor BEAN STATION United States Congressman Chuck Fleischman (R), voiced his support for the Eastern Grainger County Sewer Project and told Bean Station Mayor Terry Wolfe last week that public sewer is an important part of a community's infrastructure. Fleischman also informed the mayor that federal earmarks are drying up and Public Records GT3 Opinion GT4 Obituaries GT6 Celebrations GT4 Weekly Planner GT8 See Congressman page GT9 Fleischman. Grainger Sports GS1 Education GS2 Super Crossword GS4 Wanted Today WT1 Hawkins Today HT1 Hawkins Sports HT4 Rutledge Middle School will host sixth grade night for upcoming seventh graders and their parents who will be attending Rutledge Middle School next school year, beginning at 6 p.m. March 31, in the gym. For more information call (865) Little League Grainger County Little League (Rutledge Division) will host a Special Games Little League Coach Pitch Baseball Tournament starting April 1 for ages 6-8. Entry fee for the tournament will be $50 per team with proceeds going toward facility improvements. The deadline to enter is March 19. For more information call Mike Byrd at (865) or (865) Benefit Supper 50 Voters to decide on higher wheel tax By Sherry Mitchell Gallatin News Examiner Sumner County voters just got another reason to hit the polls in March It will be up to them to decide whether they are willing to pay an additional $25 on the county wheel tax to provide more funding for schools. Members of the Sumner County Commission voted 21-1 Monday to add a referendum to the March 6 Presidential Preference Primary ballot, letting voters decide the fate of a wheel tax increase that would generate an additional $3 million for Sumner County schools. We ve had people come to this commission and tell us they would be willing to pay more taxes, Com. Joe Matthews said. What we are doing is giving people the opportunity to tell us what they want. Matthews said an increase in the wheel tax would distribute the responsibility of supporting schools more evenly than a tax increase on homeowners. We ve got to stop putting everything on property owners in Sumner County, Matthews said. Some of these people are not property owners, but they all drive automobiles. Com. Jerry Stone, who sponsored the resolution, agreed. There are new apartment complexes in the works in the Hendersonville and Gallatin Autism Awareness In His Hands Child Care will celebrate Autism Awareness in April. April 1, staff, students, families, and community members are invited to attend and participate in activities and to celebrate. At 2 p.m. an invocation will be given, followed by a release of blue balloons by students. Everyone is asked to wear blue on this day. The Grainger County Democratic Party will hold a county convention for reorganization April 4 at 7 p.m. at the Justice Center. All democratic Grainger County residents are encouraged to attend. For more information contact Bill Howerton at (865) American Legion American Legion post 119, and Legion Auxiliary will be holding a general membership meeting April 4 at 6 pm at the post, 7812 Rutledge Pike, Rutledge. No inspections on record after fire killed 3 in May By Sarah Kingsbury Gallatin News Examiner Despite a long history of emergency response calls to Hoeganaes Airport Road facility, the Gallatin Fire Department failed to enforce its own fire code and conduct ongoing inspections related to combustible dust-producing operations at the plant, records show. The City of Gallatin has adopted the 2006 International Fire Code as the standard it enforces. Chapter 13 of that code is a one-page document that outlines in general terms how fire departments should handle facilities that produce combustible dust, such as Hoeganaes. The chapter says two things: that open flames or the use of spark-producing equipment is prohibited in areas where combustible dust is stored, manufactured, or handled; and that accumulation of combustible dust in buildings should be kept to a minimum, and removed in such a way that would not cause it to be suspended in the air. Fire code expert Bruce E. Johnson, who works for the International Code Council, the membership-based organization that distributes the International Fire Code, said those two parts of chapter 13 were meant to be enforced. We did not envision that to be voluntary, we envisioned that to be mandatory, he said. And fire inspections are a key way to ensure the mandates are obeyed. They play a very critical role, Johnson said. County to strip constables power By Sherry Mitchell In a vote of 16-5, county commissioners voted on first reading to take all law enforcement powers away from Sumner County constables at their Nov. 21 meeting. Officials say the liability of constables, who currently hold powers to arrest and issue tickets and citations, is too much of a risk. They have improved over the years, but they are not nearly as qualified as our certified officers, who are constantly being trained, said Sumner County District Attorney Ray Whitley. We ve had constables get into high speed chases at miles per hour. That would never happen with the sheriff s department. This county is running a terrific risk of getting into a lawsuit because there is no policy they have to adhere to. Sumner Sheriff Sonny Weatherford said he too believed the time for constables in Sumner County should come to an end. I will support whatever you» CONSTABLES, 5A McMinnville, Tennessee 6 sections 46 pages She is unrepentant and unremorseful. Prosecutor Gary Humble Inspection failed to identify dust accumulation Judge sends Campbell to federal prison The fire department last conducted an inspection of Hoeganaes on May 12, the first in nine years, according to city documents. Incident reports for the plant s 1315 Airport Road address showed that Gallatin firefighters had responded to about 36 fire, medical or other emergency response calls in the past 15 years. Vehicle accidents were» FIRE CODES, 5A She gets 41 months for stealing $219K from Stewart Pharmacy RECIPES AMONG FRIENDS _ó=ar^kb peboofii Reporter for the Southern Standard (McMinnville, Tenn.) Sgt. Chaz Allen takes steps with prosthetic legs at Walter Reed Hospital where he is receiving treatment for the loss of both legs. A local woman has started a Team Allen drive to provide encouragement and raise money for the family. While Sgt. Allen recovers, Hale starts campaign _ó=ar^kb peboofii Reporter for the Southern Standard (McMinnville, Tenn.) About 150 members of the Sumner s Family & Community Education clubs that offered more than 30 dishes at the Gallatin Civic Center on Friday, Nov. 18. PHOTOS BY DESSISLAVA YANKOVA/GALLATIN NEWS EXAMINER SUMNER FCE CLUBS HOLD HOLIDAY SAMPLER LEARN MORE By Dessislava Yankova» To join one of Sumner s Family and Community Education clubs, which are open to women and men, call Theresa Allan at the University of Tennessee s Sumner County Extension Office in Gallatin at » See some of the recipes from the holiday sampler on page 6C in the Hometown Holidays section.» To learn more about Amy Parker, visit amyparkerbooks.com. Gallatin News Examiner About 150 people gathered for the annual sampler of Sumner s Family & Community Education clubs that offered more than 30 dishes at the Gallatin Civic Center on Friday, Nov. 18. This is an annual tradition for us to share recipes and decorating tablescape ideas just before the holidays, said Theresa Allan, Family and Consumer Sciences agent at the University of Tennessee s Sumner County Extension Office in Gallatin that works with the clubs. Gallatin resident and recipe guru Kitty Kulakowski judged each club s tablescape of dishes. First, second and third place went to the Portland Homemakers, Number One of Gallatin and Upper Sumner of Portland respectively. All dishes from Friday s feast will be compiled into a cookbook that will be given free to everyone who had a recipe in it. The cookbook will be available for» FCE, 4A 75 I was found guilty of a crime I did not commit. Glenna Campbell, at left» WHEEL TAX, 4A A local woman is spearheading an effort to show support for Army Sgt. Chaz Allen and his family after the soldier stepped on an explosive device while serving in Afghanistan. Allen lost both his legs earlier this year while on a routine patrol. The local resident, Demetria Hale, is a childhood friend of Allen s wife, Jessica, who is the former Jessica Collins. Hale s effort has reached around the globe. I wanted to do something to show how thankful I am for everything they do for us, said Hale of the concept which led to what is now Team Allen. When I saw on Facebook he had been wounded, I talked to Jessica and that s when the idea of Team Allen came up. Jessica, the daughter of Mike and Kathy Collins, grew up in Warren County and graduated from Warren County High School. She married Allen, who hails from Oklahoma, 10 years ago with the couple living in Clarksville at the time of his most recent deployment. Jessica and I grew up together in Morrison and we used to play together, Hale recalled, noting she graduated a year before Jessica and the two lost touch until about two years ago when they reunited on Facebook. That s when the two childhood friends became close again, leading to Hale s one meeting with Chaz and his family when she, as a professional photographer, went to make their family photograph just before his deployment to Afghanistan. Sgt. Allen is a veteran of numerous combat zones having served in South Korea, Kosovo, and Iraq before his deployment to Afghanistan. `çåíáåìéç=çå=é~öé=tj^ School Board to rethink calendar on Thursday _ó=ifp^=el p the only day some children get to go to the fair. A joint Education Committee and School Board meeting is The decision to remove Fair scheduled for Thursday mornday from the school cal- ing at 7:30 a.m. to discuss the school calendar. endar could be short lived. I m sure Fair Day Last week, the School will be brought up, Board removed the day said Director of off for students in an Schools Dr. Jerry Hale. effort to push the start of I ve had more people school back to Aug. 15. calling concerned In order to make a about the day before change now that the calthanksgiving being endar has been set, the removed than missing W arren County Fair Day. Education Association Lawrence will be must be in agreement. out of town and Since the decision was LAWRENCE unable to attend made, Warren County tomorrow s meeting. Fair Association president Kevin Lawrence says his However, he has been told the W C E A and the School Board phone has not stopped ringing. People are definitely upset will put Fair Day back in the calby this decision, Lawrence endar. said. Weoffer numerous activi`çåíáåìéç=çå=é~öé=tj^ ties and discount rides. This is Reporter for the Southern Standard (McMinnville, Tenn.) Upper Sumner FCE Club members Joan Briley, Elizabeth Brown and Carole Morgan show their festively decorated table at the holiday sampler Friday, Nov. 18. For more photos, see page 4A. Chaz Allen is pictured with his daughters Deryn, 8, and Ryann, 5, in their first visit since his accident in Afghanistan. Collapsing in tears in the courtroom after learning she will serve three-and-a-half years in federal prison, longtime Stewart Pharmacy manager Glenna Campbell was sentenced Monday for stealing over $200,000 from her former employer. Campbell, 56, wept as the federal judge handed down the 41month sentence for her conviction by a jury late last year for stealing $219,000 from Stewart Pharmacy where she had worked for 32 years much of her time as the t rusted manager where prosecutors say she had full access to the company s money and financial books. Moments after receiving sentence Mrs. Campbell collapsed at the back door of the courtroom, loudly sobbing and moaning. It prompted the court to take a break while she was assisted by friends and relatives from the courtroom. Prosecutors came up with the $219,000 figure for money they say she stole from 2005 to 2009, but they believe the thefts had been going on since at least The federal case was circumstantial aside from a surveillance tape which appeared to show Campbell putting money in her pocketbook while sitting at her desk. She was fired shortly after the tape was discovered. During his testimony at sentencing, IRS agent Scott Kennedy said there was no way the Campbells could have lived their extravagant lifestyle on their income. Kennedy said the couple outspent their income by $288,827 from buying houses, vehicles, an RV and jewelry. The Campbells say they had lived frugally and saved the money over the years. Kennedy disagreed, noting after Mr. Campbell lost his job at Carrier in 2005 their spending increased. It is like it is with most embezzlements, Kennedy said. It starts out small but gets bigger as time goes on. Kennedy went on to point out jewelry purchased by Mrs. Campbell as an example, noting the jewelry store owner told IRS agents Campbell would come look at jewelry on her lunch break and then come back after work with cash and buy the pieces. Campbell spent over $35,000 on jewelry from a McMinnville jewelerfrom Given the fact her mother was looking at a minimum of 41 months, her only daughter, Monica McFarlan, took the stand and begged Judge Harry Mattice Jr., for mercy, telling the judge her father is very ill and that she herself, at age 37, is suffering fro m congestive heart failure and will need a heart transplant. She pointed out her parents live in an RV a short distance from where she lives and her mother is vital in helping her. `çåíáåìéç=çå=é~öé=sj^ Drinking involved as truck flips GallatinNewsExaminer.com GRA NGER TODAY Bean Stat on ERIN HATLEY MAKES FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE SINCE PAGEANT WIN. 05 Chevy Trailblazer MOTORCYCLE RUN TO AID MISSING WOMAN S FAMILY. IN LOCAL, B1 IN LOCAL, B1 State trooper Gary Myers says alcohol was involved in a Monday afternoon crash on Jacksboro Road that has led to the third DUI arrest for the man behind the wheel. McMinnville resident Isreal Gutierrez is charged with third-offense DUI and secondoffense driving on a revoked license. He told me he had been drinking all day and had a beer in one hand as he was driving, said Myers. The passengers in the vehicle said he was driving fast and reckless. He couldn t negotiate a curve, hit a utility pole, and flipped. Myers said Gutierrez was traveling down Jacksboro Road toward Morrison when the accident occurred near the intersection of Old Shelbyville Road around 3:30 p.m. Despite the high-speed collision, the two passengers in the 2002 Ford Explorer four-door pickup were able to run away. Ruben Collins and Wayne Lotu were picked up by deputies a short distance away and returned to the scene. They do not face charges. Gutierrez was transported to River Park for what is believed to be non-serious injuries. Selling noise-makers, helping to entertain fans They spent the Southern League All-Star Game on Tuesday walking up and down the lower concourse at the stadium selling vuvuzelas, the trumpet-like noise-makers made famous during the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament in South Africa. enjoy coming to work. The kids really love these They re part of the gameday crew at Pringles Park selling things, but the parents are kind Jonathan Hunt, Rachel Jordan merchandise and taking part in of annoyed by them, Nick Hall and brothers Nick and Ray Hall between-inning entertainment at said. We first got them shipped in last Friday and we sold out of have a job in which they say they Jackson Generals games. By Brandon Shields bjshields@jacksonsun.com Gibson panel discusses budget Plan includes 3 percent raise for county employees By Lauren Foreman lforeman@jacksonsun.com The Gibson County Commission discussed a fiscal year budget that would include a 3 percent raise for county employees and a $200,000 industrial development project in a Monday night meeting. County officials promised sweeping raises for the 325 Gibson County employees three years ago, Budget Director LaNita VanDyke said. But when asked why those planned raises were just surfacing, VanDyke said money, a lack of funds. Rising fuel costs, storm damage and associated storm costs like overtime for emergency workers drove financial limitations in what VanDyke said was a budget of about the same appropriations this year. Officials proposed approximate expenditures at $15 million, a $2 million fund balance and $1,247,907 toward debt services for the upcoming fiscal year. They plan for the June 30, 2012 debt service fund balance to be near $3 million, with the $1.2 million deduction. VanDyke said this year county officials were trying to plan for unexpected costs. We re trying to work those issues out before they happen, she said. But bringing industry to the county is still a priority. Van Dyke said officials plan to invest $200,000 in an industrial development project that will include a new county website and seek to drive development in Gibson County. KENNETH CUMMINGS / THE JACKSON SUN A fire claimed the life of an autistic teenager last week at this home on Union Way in Medon, Tenn Grandma: Teenage fire victim loved books, his baby sister By Priya Narapareddy A fire claimed the life of an autistic teenager last week at this home on Union Way in Medon, Tenn. KENNETH CUMMINGS SEE FIRE, PAGE A2 WEATHER A8 90 We Specialize in you Dedicated to Personal Service This 2002 Ford Explorer four-dour pickup driven by Isreal Gutierrrez is overturned in a ditch on Jacksboro Road after striking a utility pole and flipping Monday. Customer Satisfaction Is Our #1 Priority SEE BUDGET, PAGE A2 / THE JACKSON SUN INDEX > ADVICE C2 > CLASSIFIED C5 > COMICS C9 > CROSSWORD C6 > LOTTERIES A2 > OBITUARIES A4 > OPINION A7 65 James Clark photo NOW IN STOCK TEST DRIVE ONE TODAY STK# 13PA Price includes $ proc. fee. Plus T.T.L. enough to try to return a vuvuzela. INSIDE Unfortunately, we don t do remore on the Southern funds, Ray Hall said. League All-Star Game, D1, D4 Jordan does not normally take part in merchandise selling as the first batch the first night we she s usually manning the Fun sold them. Zone at the end of the stands on Ray Hall, whose first two days the first base side. on the job were the Southern We didn t have a lot of kids League Home Run Derby on coming in, so they sent me down Monday and Tuesday s game, said a parent was annoyed SEE CREW, PAGE A2 FATAL FIRE T.J. Hill loved books and his baby sister and was pretty unassuming for a teenager. Hill s step-grandmother on Tuesday said he was, a good boy. He was autistic but he always knew what he was talking about, said Sharron Rickman. He was much more well-behaved than the other kids. He did things on his own and he didn t bother anyone. You never had to tell him to do anything. Hill died in a fire last Friday morning that destroyed his family s ALL NEW 2011 CHEVY CRUZE $8,751 Gameday crew loves their work pnarapareddy@jacksonsun.com Editor for the Southern Standard (McMinnville, Tenn.) (731) IT S RUFF OUT HERE Beginning September 2012, each pack of cigarettes will serve as a vivid reminder of the real public health effects of smoking. Stark images and bold messaging will now graphically illustrate --- on every ad and every pack of cigarettes --- the painful and deadly reality of tobacco use. A diseased lung. A man who needs an oxygen mask to breathe. Health warnings on cigarette packs in the United States have not changed in more than 25 years. People are continuing to smoke at the same rate, leading to premature and preventable death in the United States, i.e., 443,000 people each year. Everyday, nearly 4,000 young people under 18 try their first cigarette, and approximately 1,000 become daily smokers. Smokeless tobacco use among youth is also a major problem. African-Americans bear the greatest burden of tobaccocaused cancer. Thirty-one percent of persons living in poverty smoke, and the challenges continue to be greatest among adults with low educational attainment. Tobacco use exerts a huge toll on persons with mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders. Significant tobacco-related disparities exist by geographic area, states with few smoke-free protections, lower tobacco taxes, and limited tobacco control program funding. Among the highest exposed are: 71% of African-Americans; 63% of lowincome individuals; and 61% of children age 4-11 years. 455 W. Main Street, Committed to community banking since Member FDIC goldencircleford.com BOBO BENEFIT SATURDAY DEBUT Join us for our 12 Days of Christmas beginning December 9th. Classifieds CT1 Pet of the Week CT2 W E D N E S D AY, J U N E 2 2, JACKSONSUN.COM _ó=g^jbp=`i^oh 1600 SPARTA ST. MCMINNVILLE, TN Shop Sumner County First! 50 cents MISS TENNESSEE Vol. 133 No. 35 Officials failed to enforce fire code TN ,000 people in Sumner County read our newspapers and use our websites every week. HERALD & TR BUNE Jonesborough ONLINE For the latest in local news and updates, visit GallatinNewsExaminer.com Gallatin News Examiner There will be a benefit pie supper for Adam (Harlis) Bolden to help with expenses after being diagnosed with lung cancer in September. The benefit will be April 2 at Washburn School cafeteria at 6:30 p.m. For more information call Tammy at (865) Democratic Party large grants for projects like Phase II of the Eastern Grainger County Sewer project will be difficult to come by in the future. "It is becoming clear this $1.5 million grant we have to do this project now is pretty much a one shot deal," Wolfe said. The mayor is currently assembling informational packets Courtesy photo and support materials requested Bean Station Mayor Terry Wolfe (l) discusses the city's by Fleischman as his office need for public sewer with Congressman Chuck See Sneyd on Page 2A Published in Jonesborough, TN Since 1869 CMYK 74 SALUTE TO VIETNAM VETERANS INSIDE TODAY March 30, 2011 B.S. murder trial delayed By LYNN RICHARDSON Publisher lrichardson@heraldandtribune.com topping just short of accusing the former New Orleans Hornets owner of mounting a form of hostile takeover, International Storytelling Center leaders are telling George Shinn they don t want his help. In a strong response to recent news of Shinn s interest in and potential involvement with getting the ISC out of financial trouble, ISC Presi- LADY PIONEERS SHUT OUT GRUNDY COUNTY PAGE 1-B March 23, 2011 TN A Wednesday Your Coupon Headquarters Check inside weekly for Valuable Coupons TN A Crockett s Birthday Canonizado party goes earns state championship to the dogs School board Plans for spends Day County archive on the Hill take shape COPYRIGHT 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED A GANNETT NEWSPAPER PAGE EDITORS: JOHN SEMIEN AND TIM DAVISON VOL. 171 NO GANNETT CO., INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED SUBSCRIBE: MetroMix.com GALLAT N NEWS EXAM NER SOUTHERN STANDARD McM nnv e THE JACKSON SUN MAKE-UP AND APPEARANCE - FRONT PAGES SEPTEMBER 2012 FROM PAGE 6 s IV and V V 1. News Sentinel, Knoxville Excellent production values, wide range of graphic and illustration types utilized. Clever thinking with superior execution. 2. Chattanooga Times Free Press Clay Bennett, Sara Jackson, Laura McNutt 3. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Richard Robbins, Nikki Boertman, Jim Weber, Alan Spearman, Mike Brown 4. The Tennessean, Nashville 5. The Daily Times, Maryville Frank Trexler, Amanda Greever, Marcus Fitzsimmons 1. The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville Richard V. Stevens Very well written editorials. Obviously, you all had some power co. issues. These editorials did your community a service informing the public and jumping on officials to do the right thing. Great job! 2. The Daily Herald, Columbia Chris Fletcher 3. The Jackson Sun Tom Bohs, Steve Coffman 4. Cleveland Daily Banner Rick Norton 5. Elizabethton Star Rozella Hardin EDITORIALS 1. The Portland Leader Between the Lines Sonya Thompson Thompson s subject matter is not varied; perhaps that s the purpose of her editorials, or just this set. Her pieces are well written, however, and the subject matter is very relevant in today s world. The Sept. 14 piece is weak in the persuasiveness category, but the other two pieces are strong. Overall, very good editorial entry. 2. Independent Herald, Oneida If we must be taxed 3. Carroll County News-Leader, Huntingdon School board Shirley Nanney, Lorna Jablonski, Dennis Richardson 4. The Milan Mirror-Exchange Is too much emphasis placed on TCAP? 5. Chester County Independent, Henderson Words hurt Mary Mount Dunbar I HOME OF THE OIL CHANGE Up to 6qts. Includes Tire Rotation 7 ` `> Good Morning! Friday COUNTRY CHEVROLET CHEVROLET & CADILLAC INC To market Penguins pops June 17, 2011 Erwin s Farmers Market returns Saturday./5A Reviewer praises Jim Carrey s performance in Mr. Popper s Penguins. /3B Volume 91-Number 301 Tri-Cities, Tennessee * Excludes diesels & synthetics plus tax & environmental fees THE LEADER COVINGTONLEADER.COM ڰ THURSDAY, MAR. 10, 2011 ڰ VO L , N O. 1 8 ڰ T H E VO I C E O F TIPTON COUNTY S I N C E ڰ Design discussion $1 WALKER MURDERS High Officials, public discuss future I-69 SEE DESIGN, PAGE A3 HOOPS AND HOPE Grizzlies, Kroger support Relay for Life event By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com With less than two months before the big event, Relay for Life of Tipton County is kicking its fundraising into high-gear. Walkers will go around the clock in the battle against cancer when the American Cancer Society Relay for Life of Tipton County gets underway with teams of residents gathering at CobbParr Park at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 6. Relay for Life events are held overnight as individuals and teams camp out at the park with the goal of keeping at least one team member on the track or pathway at all times throughout the evening. Teams do most of their fundraising prior to the event, but some teams also hold creative fundraisers at their campsites during Relay. The annual event brings together friends, families, businesses, hospitals, schools, faith-based groups, people from all walks of life aimed at furthering the American Cancer Society s efforts to save lives by helping people stay well, by helping them get well, by finding cures and by fighting back. Relay is a unique opportunity for our community to come together to celebrate people who have battled cancer, remember those we ve lost and fight back against the disease, said event chair Heather Ziegler, whose son Roman battled Hodgkins Lymphoma. Many of the participants are cancer survivors, which serves as a reminder that Tipton County is not immune to this disease. By participating in SEE RELAY, PAGE A Low a ma e o me o ng y ap u e By TYLER LINDSEY tlindsey@covingtonleader.com On Tuesday evening, a public meeting was held at the Chamber Center on Covington s Court Square to discuss the Interstate 69 project. Representatives from Tennessee Department of Transportation as well as from Palmer Engineering provided information about the project while summarizing the project s design as it relates to Tipton County citizens. Issues were particularly discussed with respect to citizens who will be directly affected by the construction of I-69 by regarding relocation assistance procedures and a right-of-way study. The overall goal for I-69 is to improve both international and interstate travel of freight and people. By doing this, the state government hopes to enhance outlying and connecting local transportation systems and facilitate economic growth and development. TDOT reported that some existing facilities will be upgraded and will be used as I-69, directly connecting urban areas along the corridor. The I-69 Corridor Project as a whole is separated into different sections. The area discussed on Tuesday night was Section 5 which will run from Leigh s Chapel Road at Highway 51 to Highway 59 at the area of Dawson Road and Clowes Road. The TDOT project manager of Section 5, Steve Chipman, explained the project s overall design. The proposed road will consist of two travel lanes in each direction divided by a median. Bride and Leigh s Chapel Road will bridge over I-69 while dual bridges will be constructed over Ervin Lane. An interchange will be constructed BRIEFING Theres no c osure Sme cers watch wa t By BECKY CAMPBELL Press Writer bcampbell@johnsoncitypress.com Sponsored by: S PORTS Elizabethton Mayor Curt Alexander didn t ask for any favors and didn t receive any in pleading guilty Thursday to Weiner resigns in sex scandal THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Riot/1C Nearly 150 were injured and 100 arrested in riots in Vancouver following the Stanley Cup final. COMPETENT Jacob Paco Brown, the 16-year-old who confessed to killing James and Bertha Walker in January, was ruled mentally competent to stand trial Thursday, March 3. He will be tried as an adult in Tipton County Circuit Court. Photo by Christy Scott I just didn t stop B USINESS New details revealed in Walker murders Economy/5C By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com New data shows the economy may be improving after hitting a slump in the spring. D isturbing new details regarding the murder of an elderly couple were released in court March 3 during a transfer hearing for confessed killer Jacob Paco Brown. Court proceedings to determine Brown s eligibility to be tried as an adult revealed not only that the 16-year-old is mentally competent to stand trial but also the events surrounding the deaths of James and Bertha Walker. According to testimony from Tennessee Bureau of Investigations Special Agent Mark Reynolds, Brown initially claimed no involvement in the gruesome double murder. However, once he was informed the TBI could possibly collect forensic evidence from a hotel room in which Brown was staying, he changed his statement. We discussed forensics, Reynolds said. He dropped his head and his whole body language. I told him, It s going to be okay, and he said, It s not going to be okay; I did this. Reading Brown s statement, Reynolds testified Brown said he d left Munford High School during lunch, walking past Centennial Park, Helen Crigger Cemetery on Beaver, to the skate park near Poplar Park and then to Wylie Drive, the home of both the Walker and Locke families. Brown told Reynolds he sat outside the home of his friend Scott Locke located directly across the street from the Walkers for awhile, then asked to use the bathroom at the Walker residence. James Walker allegedly asked Brown if he was locked out of the house, Reynolds said, and Brown became angry. ALSO INSIDE News Briefs/5A Local/4A Lottery/2A M BOOKED Though he will be tried as an adult, Jacob Paco Brown, 16, will be housed in a facility in Shelby County specialized in caring for juveniles whose cases have been transferred to circuit court. m m By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com The Tipton County Board of Education this week announced the Class of 2011 s top 10 students from area high schools. Of these 30 students, none has a grade point average lower than 3.8 and in Brighton, only.075 points separated first and tenth places. Nine students listed have perfect 4.0 GPAs. Scoring from the ACT test is what ultimately determined ranking in many cases. Brighton High School 1. Matthew James Bentley 4.0, ACT 34, son of Timm and Donna Bentley of Brighton 2. Brooke Genevieve Bierdz 4.0, ACT 33, daughter of Shawn and Yvonne Bierdz of Millington 3. Charity Lee Dunn 4.0, ACT 33, daughter of Cliff and Joanne Dunn of Brighton 4. Aimee Korin Rovane 4.0, ACT 31, daughter of Paul and Kim Rovane of Atoka 5. Ashley Caitlyn Pearson 3.964, ACT 27, daughter of Larry and Laura Pearson of Atoka 6. Ginger Anteedum Guin 3.962, ACT 29, daughter of James Guin of Munford 7. Jonathan Eli Hawkins 3.960, ACT 30, son of Conrad and Sylvia Auto racing/1c Baseball/4C Golf/1C Abby/6C Astrology/6C Bridge/6C Classified/1D Comics/7C Diner/1B On Air/2C Scores/2C Tennis/3C Editorial/6A Puzzles/6C Soaps/3B Stocks/5C Tempo/7A TV listing/6c NEW YORK Defiant and combative no longer, New York Rep. Anthony Weiner soberly announced his resignation from Congress on Thursday, bowing to the furor caused by his sexually charged online dalliances with a former porn actress and other women. Democratic Party leaders, concerned that Weiner could weigh the party down in the 2012 elections, welcomed the announcement after days spent trying to coax, push and finally coerce the wayward 46-year-old into quitting. Known as brash, liberal and ambitious, Weiner had run for mayor of New York in 2005 and had been expected to do so again. He was in his seventh term in Congress. At an appearance in Brooklyn that drew hecklers as well as supporters, Weiner apologized for the personal mistakes I have made and the embarrassment I have caused, particularly to his wife, Huma Abedin. Pregnant with the couple s first child, she was absent as she had been 10 days ago when Weiner first admitted sending inappropriate messages and photos to women online after earlier denying emphatically he had done so. In his brief farewell appearance, Weiner said he initially hoped the controversy would fade but then realized the distraction that I have created has made that impossible. That conclusion echoed party officials who had become worried that the intense public focus on Weiner and the Republican political rhetoric sure to follow would complicate their campaign efforts in patronizing prostitution, his attorney said after the hearing. Attorney Stacy Street also indicated Alexander will not resign from being mayor because of the conviction. He wishes to put this behind him, go on with his life, go on with his job, go on with his position as mayor of Elizabethton. That s why he wanted it over with today and that s why we took care of it on the first appearance, said Street. Alexander entered the guilty plea under judicial diversion in Washington County Sessions Court. That means when his six months of supervised probation is completed successfully, the charge will be expunged from his criminal record. Alexander was cited by Johnson City police May 20 during a prostitution investigation at the Red Roof Inn at 210 Broyles Drive. According to a police report, Alexander did pay a known prostitute $80 Alexander for sex. Alexander never denied the Storm damage prompts officials to re-examine By GARY B. GRAY Press Writer ggray@johnsoncitypress.com It s time to get realistic about Optimist Park. A few months have passed since a tornado hit parts of Johnson City and Washington County, slamming the park as it went on its way. The Press recorded the damage at the park, which included wrecked fences, damaged light poles, utility poles and other parts and pieces that lay strewn across two ball fields. At that time, the Johnson City Parks and Recreation Department had been planning for about two years to decommission the old park and find new land on which to establish new programs. Today, the park remains in dire need of roughly $50,000 in improvements. Its spring activities the ones that could be held during daylight have now concluded. Can activities proceed at the park? Yes, as long as they can be held in the day. Will activities continue in perpetuity? No, that s not likely. Because we received grant money to make improvements at the park, and the fact that some of those were federal, requires us to acquire new park land of charge. His attorney said the only reason the case was newsworthy was because of Alexander s position in the community. It s a B misdemeanor. He d been in more trouble if he d written a bad check or had stolen a 10-cent item from Walmart. It s hardly newsworthy except for the position he holds. Because of that, FRONT.indd 1 THE ERW N RECORD $! 5 By GARY B. GRAY ggray@johnsoncitypress.com Newly seated Johnson City Commissioners Ralph Van Brocklin and Clayton Stout unexpectedly rejected the first reading of a proposed ordinance to put in place the city s nearly $217 million 2012 fiscal budget. Though the budget did move forward with a 3-2 vote, both commissioners asked for further examination of specific, bottomline projections, especially in regards to funding for special appropriations, such as Frontier Health and other nonprofit organizations that count on local matches to continue operations. But talk about a number crunch. The City Commission already is facing a state-mandated July 1 deadline by which time they must have an approved budget. The vote did not shorten that time span, but it did create a situation in which loads of information will now be introduced for review, making the process a more painstaking task. Now, commissioners will hold two early morning special called meetings to get the job done. The City Commission will meet at 7 a.m. Monday and again at 7 a.m. M TODAY S WEATHER Partly sunny. High, 50. Low, 33. INSIDE Opinion A4 Faith A6 Obituaries A8 Events A8 Education B9 Lifestyles B1 Sports A9 Outdoors A10 Classifieds A12 Puzzles A11 :A n Aåe n å A n TOWN HALL MEETING Rep. Barrett Rich will host a town hall meeting at Munford City Hall on Friday, March 11 at 9 a.m. f ç Front Page Design/Sandra Ross H nd o h p n m on d m The Associated Press U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner announces his resignation from Congress in New York on Thursday. To suggest a story, call HOW TO REACH US Call news@covingtonleader.com Visit us at 2001 Hwy. 51 South, Covington, TN To subscribe, call To purchase a classified ad, call For Display Advertising call /17/11 3/20/11 The Froggie Princess by R. Eugene Jackson Ruffin Theatre Court Square Covington 3/9/11 5:10:49 PM THE LEADER Cov ngton SHELBYV LLE T MES GAZETTE JOHNSON C TY PRESS 1. Memphis Business Journal Jane Donahoe, Terry Hollahan Well-written, clear pieces. 2. Manchester Times Josh Peterson, Janet Galyen, Weldon Payne 3. Grainger Today, Bean Station Jim Zachary 4. The LaFollette Press Susan Sharp, Jennifer Caldwell, Peter Sawyer 5. The Rogersville Review Jesse Lindsey DEATHS/2A Area events Turn to Page A7 for details 2$! Press Writer AREA EVENTS Leighs Chapel U.M.C Turn to Page A7 for details City budget moves forward SEE SENIORS, PAGE A2 This featured church: Thisweek s week s Featured Church: Covington Barretville Millington Collierville South Tipton South Covington Mortgage Offices: South Tipton Millington South Covington Collierville "ç o îbô o obfof 3 JOHNSON CITY Richard Gregg Steve Grindstaff Dennis Hammer BLUFF CITY Linda Stewart CAMDEN, S.C. Dr. Robert Davis Jr. ELIZABETHTON Kevin Hylton James Rouse ROAN MOUNTAIN Charles Wooten Reader s Guide EDUCATION Sports Elsewhere SEE BROWN, PAGE A3 Board announces top seniors Nation/4B Weather/3A World/3A 75 Mayor convicted, sentenced to probation A t-storm forecast, Page 3A ETSU celebrated its 75th anniversary for an entire year, , with the theme 75 Years of Tradition and Vision. 7/ NEWS SENT NEL Knoxv e Awards Southern Standard, McMinnville I admit being uncomfortable about the WCHS editorial. That being said, a head coach is a public figure and should be held accountable for his actions. Shame on the Gov.! And the city! A clear winner in this categor y. (I know many are doing it now, but ragged right is a bit disconcerting.) 2. Shelbyville Times-Gazette John Carney, David Melson, Sadie Fowler 3. The Paris Post-Intelligencer Bill Williams, Ernest Williams, Christine Barr, Larry Moore, Michael Yanuck, Kert Blackwood 4. The Daily Post-Athenian, Athens Doug Headrick 5. The Wilson Post, Lebanon Sam Hatcher 1. The Tennessean, Nashville Ted Rayburn, Dwight Lewis, Mark Silverman Ted Rayburn teacher collective bargaining Well-written, good call for moderation and compromise. Line length was distracting. Dwight Lewis Bank foreclosure notice -- Clear, concise, strong and with a call to action. Slightly narrower line length made a big difference in readability. Ted Rayburn Clean air act No Chicken Little here! Just the facts and a call for unity in doing what s right for folks on both sides of the aisle. Line length long but larger type made the difference. (No, I m not old!) 2. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Chris Peck, Jerome Wright, Michael Kelley 3. Chattanooga Times Free Press Harry Austin 4. Kingsport Times-News Stan Whitlock BEST SINGLE EDITORIAL 1. Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough Storytelling (ISC s) Financial Woes John Kiener Great local editorial! Good call to action and good explanation of what it means to community and thus why readers should care. 2. Independent Herald, Oneida Moving public notices online serves the best interests of no one 3. Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough Charter Violation John Kiener 4. The News Leader, Parsons Community gathers to remember the life of Emma White Danny Haynes 5. The Portland Leader Facebook is problem for some teachers Sonya Thompson I 1. Grainger Today, Bean Station BMA worth $27,000/hr.? Jim Zachary Great editorial. Excellent use of numbers and examples and information to back up the facts. Nice, strong opinion. 2. Grainger Today, Bean Station Under attack: Legislators targeting citizens with Sunshine Law changes Jim Zachary 3. Memphis Business Journal Too much riding on USPS for agency to SUSAN W. THURMAN THE DAILY HERALD, COLUMBIA Best news photo V The Daily Herald, Columbia Thurman TOWN MOURNS TWO TEENS KILLED IN CRASH. Jennifer Graham, mother of Sarah Graham, who died in a car crash Wednesday, comforts one of her daughter s Summertown High School basketball teammates at a vigil Thursday evening in downtown Mt. Pleasant. Other friends look on in tears. (July 1, 2011) Punch the clock, not the taxpayers BY CHRIS FLETCHER Editor Employees have f o r ye a r s b e e n g e t t i n g ch e at e d out of their hardearned pay, and we can t afford to stop cheating them. That s essentially the most recent Fletcher excuse being offered for why the county should junk a never-implemented, automated payroll system it purchased nearly two years ago, squandering as much as $58,000 in the process. Some commissioners said this week that since the new ADP payroll system went into testing, they ve gotten phone calls and s from department heads who don t like the way it s working. Commissioner June Beckum warned that the tests show the system may increase county expenses, because it tracks employees time to the minute, rather than approximating as employees do now on hand-written time sheets. This raises a disturbing prospect. Wage and hour laws are clear that employees must be paid for time worked, and the penalties for willful violators can be severe. If it is true that county shutter operations Terry Hollahan, Jane Donahoe 4. Manchester Times Change necessary for fair to move forward Josh Peterson 5. The Courier, Savannah F rst p ace award Best s ng e ed tor a The Da y Hera d Co umb a employees are routinely working off the clock, the county s taxpayers could be on the hook for millions of dollars in back pay and fines. Department heads who knowingly allowed or enforced such unfair practices should be fired or recalled immediately. And now that this travesty has been revealed, some commissioners, including Mrs. Beckum, apparently plan to sanction the dangerous status quo by voting on Monday to terminate the contract with ADP. Frankly, we don t buy it. We think if large numbers of county employees were routinely being shorted on their pay we d have heard about it before. There would have been numerous formal complaints filed. We also believe that if there was evidence this new system would uniformly boost employees pay, the employees would be clamoring for its installation. We suspect there are other reasons why county leaders are opposing this new software, such as politics and control. The county s budget director Investigate or continue feelings of disenfranchisement Ron Schaming 1. The Mountain Press, Sevierville Ballard has to go Stan Voit estimates that the new system could save the county $400,000 per year by eliminating mistakes and inefficiencies. It will allow a reduction in budget office employees. It will save a great deal of time spent by employees manually tracking their hours and by department heads who must redundantly check and sign off on time sheets. And it would make falsifying hours or cooking the books a lot tougher, should anyone ever attempt it. The system is not perfect, and some changes will no doubt have to be made to accommodate it. Change is always difficult. But are we really supposed to believe that in the year 2011, when nearly every significant financial transaction in the world is tracked electronically, the only payroll system that will work for our county is a pen-and-paper process straight out of the 1800s? ADP is the nation s largest payroll processor, used by hundreds of thousands of businesses. Would all those customers use ADP s systems if they raised expenses? This new system will ensure the county s citizens that their tax dollars are being used efficiently, but it will ensure the county s employees that a minute worked is a minute paid. And a vote against that would be nothing short of immoral. (Dec. 18, 2011) Wow! Great job of taking on board members who obviously violated the public trust. The Mountain Press defends the public interest by exposing to the light of day people who would prefer to operate in secret. SEE, PAGE 8 CMYK 22 - Awards

8 8 - Awards SEPTEMBER 2012 FROM PAGE 7 2. The Daily Post-Athenian, Athens Do what s right: Install signal at TWC crosswalk Doug Headrick 3. The Mountain Press, Sevierville A leadership vacuum Stan Voit 4. Shelbyville Times-Gazette New bypass needs immediate changes 5. Southern Standard, McMinnville WCHS shouldn t quit when going gets tough V 1. The Daily Herald, Columbia Punch the clock, not the taxpayers Chris Fletcher 2. The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro Sheriff s extraditions unnecessary power trips Sam Stockard 3. The Jackson Sun Drug task force audit demands accountability Tom Bohs 4. The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro Shariah bill an attack on faith Sam Stockard 5. The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville Piper should resign Richard V. Stevens 1. News Sentinel, Knoxville Anti-Muslim bill a threat to values Scott Barker Clear, concise writing with good supporting evidence for position. Great job exposing the problems behind proposed legislation. 2. The Tennessean, Nashville Smear tactics behind terror bill Ted Rayburn 3. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Making pre-k a top priority Michael Kelley 4. News Sentinel, Knoxville Utility districts Scott Barker 5. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Costly culture of entitlement Jerome Wright BEST PERSONAL COLUMN 1. The Tomahawk, Mountain City Grammy s Garden Angie Gambill This article was very personal and had great quality. When I started reading this article it captivated me and I could find it relateable. 2. Chester County Independent, Henderson Forgotten notebook reveals family connection Mary Mount Dunbar 3. The Tomahawk, Mountain City Silver lining of storm clouds Paula Walter 4. Independent Herald, Oneida On faith, how much separation is too much? Ben Garrett 5. The Erwin Record Best gifts don t come with price tag Keith Whitson I 1. Gallatin News Examiner In grief, a community unites Tena Lee Your column is an asset to your community. Keep up the good work. Tough topic handled well. 2. The Advocate & Democrat, Sweetwater Can men and women be just friends? Jessica Cross 3. The LaFollette Press Everything is going to be just fine Susan Sharp 4. The Leader, Covington No longer in search of true Christians and patriots Echo Day 5. The LaFollette Press Appreciation of one s family comes with age Jennifer Caldwell 1. Shelbyville Times-Gazette Dancing Before the Lord Tracy Simmons What a wonderful message of acceptance. I m not a regular churchgoer but loved this column anyway. 2. The Daily Post-Athenian, Athens Yes, that s a power tool in my hand Greg Moses 3. Shelbyville Times-Gazette Another October, another attempt to heal Tracy Simmons 4. Roane County News, Kingston Allen s life was short, but he continued to make a big impact Cheryl Duncan 5. Crossville Chronicle Honor lives of those who ve passed Gary Nelson V 1. Cleveland Daily Banner Walking with dad in a Veterans Day dream Rick Norton Your column brought tears to my eyes. Nice work! 2. The Daily Herald, Columbia One little girl s story of Christmas charity Kelsey Cochran 3. Bristol Herald Courier Breaking up really is hard to do Joe Tennis 4. The Daily Times, Maryville Little change Amanda Greever 5. The Jackson Sun Fincher s finances Steve Coffman 1. Chattanooga Times Free Press Kids with homeless heartache Mark Kennedy Heartbreaking with a gut-punch. Very well written. 2. Chattanooga Times Free Press You re so very, very grounded Mark Kennedy 3. News Sentinel, Knoxville Tailgating not academic John Adams 4. News Sentinel, Knoxville SEE, PAGE 9 BY SCOTT BARKER Editorial page editor A bill in the T e n n e s s e e Legislature that would basically outlaw Islam is obviously unconstitutional and an embarrassment to the entire state. Barker State Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, the legislation s sponsor, should withdraw the odious bill and issue an apology to all state residents, Muslims in particular. The bill ostensibly addresses terrorism but in reality outlaws a religion. That s unacceptable, unsupportable and unconscionable. It s also unconstitutional on a variety of fronts. Ketron s bill would require the state attorney general to label any organization that advocates adherence to Shariah, the Muslim religious and legal proscriptions, as a terrorist group. The organization s finances would be frozen immediately and members could face felony charges that could result in as many as 15 years in prison. Employees, presumably including school teachers and administrative assistants, are specifically targeted for Lewis Anti-Muslim bill a threat to values Best news photo Chattanooga Times Free Press Best single editorial News Sentinel, Knoxville possible prosecution. A disclaimer that the law doesn t apply to peaceful followers of Islam is laughable. Based on the Quran, examples drawn from the life of Muhammad and a long history of scholarly thought, Shariah is more than a set of laws. It also instructs Muslims how to practice their faith. All Muslims follow Shariah which, like Christian and Jewish traditions, has conservative, moderate, liberal and fundamentalist interpretations to some degree. Every Muslim organization can be construed as a Shariah organization, so the bill would outlaw Islam. The bill also would set up the state attorney general as a grand inquisitor, giving the office sole authority to designate an outlaw organization using secret evidence out of the scrutiny of the public. Organizations wouldn t be able to appeal the designation for two years. Jailing Tennessee residents for practicing a religion is terrible to contemplate. The bill is repugnant and runs counter to America s tolerance of all religious faiths. The Constitution forbids the enactment of a law that would interfere with the free exercise of religion, and Islam is one of the world s oldest faiths. The bill didn t originate in Tennessee. According to the Associated Press, the Tennessee Eagle Forum gave the bill s text to Ketron and House Speaker Pro Tempore Judd Matheny, R-Tullahoma. Eagle Forum state President Bobbie Patray told the AP it was drafted by David Yerushalmi, an Arizona-based attorney who runs the Society of Americans for National Existence, a nonprofit that claims following Shariah is treasonous. If the bill does become law, a court challenge is all but certain. Gadeir Abbas, a staff attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, was quoted in The Tennessean as saying at an interfaith protest rally in Nashville on (March 1) that his organization would file a lawsuit the instant the governor signs the bill. Christians, Jews and followers of other religious faiths, plus those who follow no religion, should join in denouncing this bill. Legislators should condemn it, too. Gov. Bill Haslam should announce plans to veto the legislation should lawmakers pass it. Religious liberty is at the core of American values. Ketron s bill poses a threat to those values and must be defeated. (March 3, 2011) ANGELA LEWIS CHATTANOOGA TIMES FREE PRESS SAVING MARY. Walk on by. That s what most people do. But Nancy Rus couldn t. And that changed everything for a woman more used to misery than mercy. She helps Mary Cody from the car on Market St. (Sept. 18, 2011)

9 SEPTEMBER 2012 Awards - 9 FROM PAGE 8 Memories still fresh 5. The Tennessean, Nashville A season of blessings Knight Stivender BEST PERSONAL HUMOR COLUMN 1. Carroll County News-Leader, Huntingdon Southern language brings laughs Shirley Nanney Made me giggle. The writer seems to know her audience well and has a great grasp of what makes southerners chuckle. 2. The Erwin Record Alarm not loud enough to wake the dead Keith Whitson 3. The Milan Mirror-Exchange My cat hates my dog 4. Chester County Independent, Henderson Vintage etiquette makes being a modern woman difficult Mary Mount Dunbar 5. The Milan Mirror-Exchange That ain t how we do it I 1. Grainger Today, Bean Station County Punk d? Nope, it was a real meeting Jim Zachary Wow! Love it! It is good to know I m not alone in the fight against incompetent county commissioners. There is no doubt where Mr. Zachary stands on this topic. Way to go on telling things the way they are. 2. The Advocate & Democrat, Sweetwater Study claims men like to look at women Michael Thomason 3. Memphis Business Journal Only one word for Prussian teapot: Timber Bill Wellborn 4. The LaFollette Press The yard that couldn t get mowed 5. Hickman County Times, Centerville Sharp-stick poking Donna S. Wallace 1. Southern Standard, McMinnville At the tone, use your sick voice You made me laugh out loud. Ruthless and totally compelling. Nice writing style that moves right along carrying me with it laughing. 2. The Daily Post-Athenian, Athens Love advice from a child prodigy Greg Moses 3. The Newport Plain Talk Growing up in a divided household Duay O Neil SEE, PAGE 10 Stinnett Best feature photo Cannon Courier, Woodbury TONY STINNETT CANNON COURIER, WOODBURY JUST SHOOT ME! Members of the CCHS girls basketball team surround Alan Loveless, photographer for Loveless Fine Photography, to check out their photo during the annual photo/media day at Cannon County High School Thursday (Oct. 13). Players, pictured from left, are Jordan Hollis, Abbey Sissom, Abby Jakes, Lindsey Reed, Joanna Young, Ashley Basham and Emily Pemberton. Back row, from left, Macy Clements, Hannah Hughes, Macy Williams, Madison Walkup and Rebekah Faulkner. (Oct. 18, 2011) They will remember you in Grammy s Garden BY ANGIE A. GAMBILL Editor Anyone that says you marry an individual not their family obviously has never been married, or at least their spouse has no ties to relatives. Immediately bad implications of Gambill interfering in-laws come to mind, but this is not always the case. Many positive and endearing relationships form when families children join in marriage. Our lives were forever enriched when my daughter, Brittany, and Jake Dorman tied the proverbial knot almost six years ago. Not only have we grown to love our son-in-law as one of our own, but his family has touched us and become a part of us, too. Especially his mother, Leta. Although I knew Leta slightly through her part ownership in Cook s Cafeteria which we frequented often and where my daughter was a waitress during her high school years, it was not until our kids started dating that we became well acquainted. We joked as time went on about Jake hanging around the restaurant in the evenings offering to help clean up after hours without pay. He was working at that time at Best personal column The Tomahawk, Mountain City Harris Teeter and Brittany suddenly became quite concerned that we might not have enough milk for breakfast or bread for sandwiches. It took two rather oblivious mothers weeks to see a romance brewing. In the meantime, Leta s staff budget at Cook s was in the black and my fridge and pantry were well stocked. Eventually our offspring overcame their shyness and the two were together constantly. If Jake was not at our house, they were both at his home or at least on the phone together. With Brittany s senior prom coming up, she wanted both Leta and me to go with her shopping for her dress. That day I began to realize how much I had in common with this woman I came to respect and admire. We exchanged stories of our kids childhoods, shared our dreams for their futures and talked about our mutual faith and love of God. We laughed together when the lady in the dress shop asked Brittany if she wanted something slinky and sexy or fairy tale princess. We laughed again when we both heard the other breathe a loud sigh of relief as Brittany went for fairy tale style. As it has a tendency to do, time sped on and we found ourselves on another shopping trip, this time for a wedding dress. Our conversation turned to our babies leaving home, how well suited Jake and Brittany were for each other, and, of course, future grandchildren. This time we cried together when she stood before us in the perfect dress. Leta s words of, That s the one, summed up all our feelings. While our families planned a wedding, both Leta and her mother began a long battle with cancer, Leta with breast cancer; her mother with a terminal brain tumor. The wedding date was moved from the following spring to just a few weeks away in November in hopes that Jake s grandmother could attend and share in the joy of their day. God had other plans, however, and she passed away shortly before their wedding. His grandfather attended their household shower in his wife s absence to honor her desire to be there. Brittany s papaw joined him so he wouldn t be alone in a roomful of women. Their conspicuous male presence surrounded by chattering females was a touching show of genuine respect unlike any I ve witnessed. If not for the telltale signs of the chemotherapy that were taking a toll on her body, one would have never known of Leta s own struggle with cancer during the wedding festivities. Not allowing anything to divert attention from the happy couple, she insisted this was their time and their spotlight. I marveled at her strength and determination to safeguard her family s joy. I gave her hugs and tried to say all the right things that never came out of my mouth the way they were supposed to. I did my best to be supportive and encouraging, all the while silently wondering if I had it in me to be so selfless in the face of suffering. We talked and we prayed and we cried together. And my own faith grew as I found myself leaning on this amazing woman I had come to love like a sister. A couple years went by and once again Leta and I were sharing an experience with our children. Tears ran down our faces as we caught the first glimpses of our grandson via ultrasound. We both walked into the doctor s office as Mom but came out a short time later as Grammy and Nina. Our lives were forever transformed in a way that only fellow grandparents can comprehend. And the little fellow that had instantly captured our hearts strengthened the bond that we already shared. Three years and another grandson later brought the devastating news that Leta, like her mother before her, had developed a brain tumor. Always an optimist, but also a realist, she would not subject her family to surgeries and treatments that would only prolong everyone s agony. Leta died last spring exactly as she had lived. Courageous. Dignified. Selfless. Deeply committed to and embedded in her faith in Jesus Christ. One of the many things that Leta and I shared was a love for gardening. And one of the big things we shared was our love for our grandsons, Nathaniel and Carson. When springtime s sun breathes new life into the earth, I will be there, my friend, with our grandchildren. We will dig our bare fingers into the cool, rich mountain soil. We will watch in wonder as daffodils push their way into the fresh April air and unfold their nodding, yellow heads in the sunlight. We will dance in the rain and bury our faces in the sweet aroma of lilacs blooming in the yard. And you will be there with us, because while we play and while we work, I will tell them stories of Grammy and your love for them. I will fill their minds with memories of you and I will lead them on the path of faith that you walked and plant and nurture the seeds that will mark their way Home some day. I will keep you alive in their hearts. They will remember you... in Grammy s Garden. (Oct. 12, 2011)

10 10 - Awards SEPTEMBER 2012 FROM PAGE 9 In grief, a community unites 4. Southern Standard, McMinnville When yard rollers forget a little girl 5. Union City Daily Messenger Scrabbling for a word? V 1. The Greeneville Sun Happy 2sday Allison Adams Love this!!! Original, funny and readerfriendly. 2. The Jackson Sun Trip to site of Oscars takes dramatic turn Dan Morris 3. The Greeneville Sun Birthright Allison Adams 4. The Daily Times, Maryville Halloween 2011: A day in the life of a zombie Steve Wildsmith 5. The Daily Herald, Columbia Chili con blarney: A best-kept secret ingredient Chris Fletcher 1. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis 23 s a crowd Geoff Calkins After reading this column, I had absolutely no question how many county-wide school board members Shelby County has. I also had not one shred of doubt that it was too darn many. Calkins ably convinced me of that -- and gave me a good laugh, to boot. Well said. Well done. 2. The Tennessean, Nashville State s official Blue Book ignores useful critters Gail Kerr 3. The Tennessean, Nashville Turning 50 is nifty Gail Kerr 4. Chattanooga Times Free Press Talking about birds and the bees Mark Kennedy 5. Chattanooga Times Free Press Ann Taylor, please don t arrest me Mark Kennedy BEST SPOT NEWS COVERAGE 1. Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough Send a dog to jail Karen Sells I really liked opening paragraph. Not a long story, but very good. Didn t need four legs to jump to the top. 2. Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough Concerns arise about local youth and synthetic marijuana Kristen Swing 3. The Portland Leader Pastor: Faith will rebuild this church Sonya Thompson 4. Ashland City Times CCCHS mourns loss of senior 5. Mt. Juliet News Mark sentenced to life in prison Laurie Everett I 1. Manchester Times Elderly Woman Killed Josh Peterson 2. The Daily News, Memphis Yes We Can Andy Meek 3. The Standard Banner, Jefferson City It all came down at once Steve Marion 4. Pulaski Citizen Suspicious Container Found Near Courthouse Tracy Ayers 5. The Leader, Covington Carjacker killed in shoot-out with police Echo Day 1. Southern Standard, McMinnville Children leap for lives from burning apartment Excellent on-the-spot coverage! Nice lede and writing style. Good quotes from victims and officials. Nice job! 2. The Mountain Press, Sevierville State audit cites SCUD again Derek Hodges 3. The Newport Plain Talk Storms rip Newport 4. Shelbyville Times-Gazette One stormy night David Melson, Tracy Simmons, John Carney 5. The Tullahoma News Killer storm Marian Galbraith V 1. Bristol Herald Courier Tornadoes: So fast, so sudden Great coverage, reporting and story telling with great editing. Perfect example of how to cover a major disaster, mixing personal situations with the overall scope of the situation. Every story written, or edited, with short sentences and descriptive wording. Every story in thorough coverage was written so well that I wanted to keep reading just to see if the quality continued. It did! The entire staff is to be congratulated for a job well done. 2. The Jackson Sun It was just a big boom 3. The Greeneville Sun Storms kill at least six Ken Little, Amy Rose, Lisa Warren, Kathy Knight 4. The Daily Herald, Columbia Teen murderers get life Chris Graham 5. The Jackson Sun Harassment led to double shooting Jordan Buie, Lauren Foreman, Aaron Hardin 1. The Tennessean, Nashville Occupy Nashville Spot news at its internet finest up all night to chronicle the shenanigans at Legislative Plaza. Good, solid coverage. 2. Chattanooga Times Free Press Catastrophic tornadoes Times Free Press 3. News Sentinel, Knoxville Hamilton done 4. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis 3 walk free Marc Perrusquia, Richard Morgan, Clay Bailey SEE, PAGE 11 BY TENA LEE Reporter As long as I continue to report the news in my small corner of the world, I will never get used to tragedy. When I heard of a 50-car pileup on my usual route to work, I dropped my Lee daughter off at school and headed that way. Each day I head to Gallatin I m thankful I m not fighting the rush to Nashville, thankful for the idyllic pastures and clear highway. That wasn t the case on this foggy Thursday morning when one driver slid on what s now been called freezing fog, and others failed to stop in time before crashing into one another. I parked at Thornton s and walked up the Saundersville Road exit, hitched a ride with a TDOT truck and arrived at the tail end of the wreck. When I stepped out of the truck, I was directed to HPD Lt. Jim Lawson, a familiar sight at such scenes. How s your day going? he asked. I know Lawson well enough to know his attempt to lighten the mood was in no way reflective of his true feelings. We both had our jobs to do and for the moment we would put in the back of our minds the horror of what we were seeing. However, my throat caught as West Best feature photo I Carthage Courier Best personal column I Gallatin News Examiner I looked behind Lawson and saw that now-familiar scene a Toyota Corolla lodged into the back of an 18-wheeler mail truck. I knew that a life had been lost, I just didn t know at the time whose life it was or how far it reached into so many different corners of our tightknit community. Lawson offered to show me the rest of the scene, and we walked for another mile, surveying the destruction. Cars littered Vietnam Veterans Boulevard for over a mile. Nearly two hours after the impact of the first wreck a mile or so east of the mangled Toyota people were still in their cars, waiting patiently for other cars to be cleared, and in many cases to be told they could abandon their vehicles to be towed away. Many seemed dazed and in shock. I don t doubt most left that scene with a greater appreciation for life itself. I couldn t believe that the bypass was cleared and open by 12:30 p.m. that day. By the time the national news had heard of our tragedy, our local heroes had already cleaned up the destruction. When I arrived in the office later that morning to download the photos I had taken, news of who had been driving that gray Toyota had begun to spread. A beloved member of Rotary Club, 28-year-old Paul Warren had only been married for less than two months. I remembered typing in the engagement announcement and pausing at the photo of this young couple so full of love and promise. I ve known the bride s family for more than a decade, and I thought, When did she grow up? I remember smiling when I read the future groom was the son of Mrs. Warren who always gave my daughter her forgotten lunch at Ellis Middle School with a sincere smile. Such a tight community, I thought. It s funny how people s lives are still so interwoven in a city of 51,000 people. And really, that s one of the things I love best about living here. How we share each other s joy. And how we shoulder each other s pain and grief. We have since reported that another life has been lost as a result of the crash. Police say 62-year-old James Zeigler of Old Hickory died the next day from injuries he sustained that day. I know this community well enough to know that the families of these victims will not soon be forgotten. As we all grapple with the whys and what ifs tragedies like this invariably elicit, we will either reach out to openly offer comfort, or at the very least, keep them in our prayers. (Dec. 9, 2011) EDDIE WEST CARTHAGE COURIER COUNTY FAIR UNDER WAY. Youths seize the moment at this year s county fair on a carnival ride that swings back and forth to extended heights. The ride is one of several adult rides. (July 28, 2011)

11 SEPTEMBER 2012 Awards - 11 FROM PAGE News Sentinel, Knoxville Thrown out News Sentinel BEST NEWS REPORTING 1. The Milan Mirror-Exchange Family of Charlie Reagan coping with loss I think you and your staff are to be commended on dealing with what was obviously a difficult time in Milan history. Great coverage and very comprehensive. Nice writing. On photo package, June 21 edition, I would not have inset the photo in the top right. It would be better and more dramatic without it. I love the ad that ran June Independent Herald, Oneida Seeking a Higher Power Ben Garrett 3. Mt. Juliet News Child abuse murder Laurie Everett 4. Ashland City Times Flood of 2010: One year later 5. The Milan Mirror-Exchange 90 MPH winds rip Milan I 1. Gallatin News Examiner Hoeganaes industrial flash fires Sarah Kingsbury Good work! Very informative! From what I can see and tell, the Gallatin News Examiner s entry was one of the only ones with true enterprise reporting. That is to say, the News Examiner took extra measures to get information about the issue to readers. Other contest entries were required reporting, school board, city council, crime and court actions that reporters are required to cover as part of their weekly news reporting routines. This kind of reporting done by the News Examiner reminds your readers why your newspaper plays such an important part of their lives, and will continue far into the future. Going beyond required reporting beyond official announcements and digging for more useful information is what will keep newspapers a viable industry for decades to come. Keep up the good work! 2. Grainger Today, Bean Station Judge Taylor probe Jim Zachary 3. The Dickson Herald Landfill Lawsuit D. Frank Smith, Chris Gadd 4. The Standard Banner, Jefferson City Downtown Revitalization Steve Marion, Dave Gentry, Gayle Page 5. Grainger Today, Bean Station Sunshine Laws Jim Zachary 1. Southern Standard, McMinnville Stories on dog raid Strong emotion and informative stories. Surprisingly well-rounded set of stories that is fair and compassionate to both sides of the story. 2. Shelbyville Times-Gazette Missing Tracy Simmons, David Melson 3. The Newport Plain Talk Road to recovery after dog attack Nelson Morais, Rick Hooper, Gilbert Soesbee, Duay O Neil 4. The Lebanon Democrat Child abuse murder trial of local pediatrician Laurie Everett 5. Union City Daily Messenger Goodyear closing V 1. The Greeneville Sun Severe weather Rich Jones, Bob Hurley, Ken Little, John M. Jones Jr. Fantastic, comprehensive coverage from the forecast to recovery! Use of a columnist puts faces to the survivors and portrays the emotions and determination. Good, strong reporting and writing. Excellent team effort! 2. The Daily Herald, Columbia GM/Spring Hill plant reopening Richard Conn 3. Citizen Tribune, Morristown Human Trafficking Robert Moore 4. The Jackson Sun Search for Holly Lauren Foreman, Jordan Buie, Stanley Dunlap 5. The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro As American as everyone else Scott Broden 1. The Tennessean, Nashville Tennessee s obesity epidemic Wow! Thorough reporting covering multiple angles of obesity in Tennessee. Writing lively, concise made it a breeze to read. Stories just the right length and packed with information. Good job! 2. Chattanooga Times Free Press Tornadoes Times Free Press 3. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis BY TRACY SIMMONS Features writer In Bible Study last week one of my classmates said something which amazed me: I love watching Margie dance during worship. Another lady quickly agreed: they see the joy and Simmons purity in the way my daughter participates within our church family. I get tears in my eyes watching her. For me, Sunday worship is tempered by my wanting to let Margie worship in her own way, but having the type of upbringing which makes me too aware that she might be a distraction to others. I grew up being pinched into good behavior during church. Mother could outwardly make it look like a loving gesture, even while she was delivering It All Stax Up, The Next Generation Bob Mehr 4. News Sentinel, Knoxville Thrown Out 5. Kingsport Times-News Child abuse death Jeff Bobo BEST EDUCATION REPORTING 1. The Erwin Record Rebekah Harris, Derek Smallwood, Dustin Street, Michael Baker This package of stories really stood out from the rest. Nice overall job. Photos and stories are really good. The only suggestion I have is to maybe use subheads or pull-out quotes to break up the text on jumps. Keep up the great work in Erwin. 2. Chester County Independent, Henderson Mary Mount Dunbar 3. The Portland Leader Sonya Thompson, Bonnie Fussell 4. Ashland City Times 5. The Bartlett Express Cynthia Bullion I 1. Pulaski Citizen Tracy Ayers A nice variety of articles covering many aspects of education! Good writing, although lede paragraphs seem really long. Excellent use of sources and quotes. Nice job! Very interesting. 2. Robertson County Times, Springfield Cheri Reeves 3. The Advocate & Democrat, Sweetwater Jessica Cross, Michael Thomason, Tommy Millsaps 4. Manchester Times Josh Peterson, John Coffelt SEE, PAGE 12 Best personal column Shelbyville Times-Gazette a squeeze to that soft bit of skin just above the elbow. That, plus an arched eyebrow, could bring me into quick compliance. I carried on the tradition with my own children until Margie outed me with an indignant Ow! The sound bounced off the acoustics in the sanctuary, and was far more distracting than her squirminess could ever be. Eventually I let her be. Now an eighth grader, we are in a loving church home where some folks have known her since she was in the nursery. In our church, some Sundays our praise time becomes a bit spirited. Margie likes to dance in the aisles, and I allow it. Lately, she s been slipping off from our seat to join a friend at the back of the church. Dake Dancing before the Lord Each time I turn to check on her, Lynn gives me a thumbs up Mom sign language for she s fine, turn back around. There s a bit of a corner in the shape of our sanctuary s back wall. I ve investigated this week, and I ve found that those two are having an even bigger praise party than I had imagined. Mostly out of sight, they clap and dance and raise their hands. There are some flags tucked away in that corner. If they haven t been waved about already, it s only a matter of time. Worship was never meant to be prettified and polite. My own spiritual journey has been so personalized, so extraordinary, frankly I should be dancing and shouting far more often than I do. There s a story in 2 Samuel about David having gone to Obed-Edom to fetch the ark. David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of ANTHONY DAKE THE DAILY POST-ATHENIAN, ATHENS SPRING BREAK CHASE. Students at Kids Connection at City Park spent part of their spring break chasing butterflies on Tuesday. Jayden Moats, Rebecca Bailey, Jordan Kauffin and Will Hooper chase after one here. (March 23, 2011) Best feature photo The Daily Post-Athenian, Athens the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets. Michal, Saul s daughter, was watching all this from a window. One version says,... she despised him in her heart. She sneered at David, called the display vulgar. David made no apologies. It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord s people Israel I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. God gave me the gift of a lifetime when he gave me my Margie. Whatever skills or ability she lacks due to a genetic glitch are compensated by a pure spirit full of joy and love. And as it turns out all the really important lessons in life, I ve learned from knowing and watching her. Shout if you want, girl. I won t pinch you. (Sept. 2, 2011)

12 12 - Awards SEPTEMBER 2012 Walking with Dad in a Veterans Day dream BY RICK NORTON Associate editor/news In war, there are no unwounded soldiers. Jose Narosky Argentine writer (b. 1930) Several nights ago I dreamt of my father, an ordinary man whose individual role in the fight against the atrocious Adolph Hitler, his Nazi henchmen and The Third Reich in World War II went Norton unsung in most corners of America. But that was fine with him because he was a quiet man who never sought the limelight. My father came out of that war physically unscathed, but still very much wounded. He got better off and on but he never fully recovered. Bad memories etched at his soul the rest of his life. They affected his health. They tortured his mind. They weighed on his family relationships. They gave birth to demons that he fought for most of my FROM PAGE Gallatin News Examiner Jennifer Easton, Hollie Deese, Dessislava Yankova 1. Union City Daily Messenger Wonderful job covering all aspects of education for your community. Overall, a terrific job! 2. Southern Standard, McMinnville 3. The Daily Post-Athenian, Athens Greg Moses 4. The Wilson Post, Lebanon Patrick Hall, Ken Beck 5. The Tullahoma News V 1. Herald-Citizen, Cookeville Bailey Darrow 2. The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro Mealand Ragland-Hudgins 3. The Jackson Sun Tajuana Cheshier 4. Johnson City Press 5. Cleveland Daily Banner Joyanna Weber 1. The Tennessean, Nashville Julie Hubbard, Michael Cass, Nancy DeVille, Jennifer Brooks Really enjoyed reading these entries. Lots of depth and texture in these stories. The breadth of coverage was remarkable as well. Your readers are fortunate to have such great reporters working on their behalf. 2. Chattanooga Times Free Press 3. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Richard Morgan INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING 1. Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough Best personal column V Cleveland Daily Banner growing years. As a boy, I didn t always understand what was going through his head or the images that clung to his heavy heart. That too was fine with him. Boys don t always have to know everything, he once told me in my adolescence. Then I m pretty sure he told me to... go peddle your oats. It was always Dad s way of telling me in a loving and fatherly way that I was getting underfoot and I needed to leave him at peace. Oddly enough, it didn t trouble me then. It does now, but that s because I m older. And I understand. In some part, it s because over the years I ve pieced things together. In others, it s information I gleaned from Mom in the latter years of her life before a second fight with cancer stole her from us six years ago. Last Jan. 15 marked the 20th year since Dad s passing. It was a family Medicare Mess Lynn Richardson Great job on these stories. Excellent coverage across the board. Timely topics of interest to readers. 2. The Portland Leader Top cops fired Sonya Thompson, Josh Nelson 3. Mt. Juliet News At Hope s End: Tackling society s taboo Laurie Everett 4. Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough County attorney controversy Karen Sells 5. The Tomahawk, Mountain City Pesticide problems in Shady Valley Paula Walter I 1. Gallatin News Examiner Hoeganaes fire investigation Sarah Kingsbury Excellent stories -- factual and thoroughly researched. Good use of quotes. Excellent fact finding. I can tell Kingsbury put a ton of time into this story. 2. Gallatin News Examiner Investigation of police chief John Tisdale Sarah Kingsbury 3. Hickman County Times, Centerville 8 officials past due on waste 4. The Herald-News, Dayton Commission violates ethics? Michael Reneau 5. Grainger Today, Bean Station Judge Taylor probe Jim Zachary 1. Shelbyville Times-Gazette Racial discrimination denied by city, SEE, PAGE 13 loss to us all. But his poor quality of life those last few years earned him victory in death. It was tough on my mom, my two older siblings and me. But it was for the better. Everybody knew it. In time, we even said it. For two decades I ve felt it sounds nonloving, perhaps unappreciative and even callous, for a grown son to feel that way about his father. But if heaven has newspaper racks and I pray it does then I m sure Dad is up there right now on some puffy cloud nodding in contentment at his new life while turning to the comic pages. Dad used to read the original version of this column in the late 70s and 80s when I first broke into newspaper work. When my wife and I would cross the state for a long weekend visit, he d always chuckle and ask, Where do you get some of those ideas you write about? They come from life, Dad, I once assured him. Life can be a pretty funny thing. You taught me that yourself. You just don t remember. I guess so, he sighed while absentmindedly moving his pipe to the other corner of his mouth. I guess so was another of his favorite expressions, especially when he didn t fully understand or agree with the other person s opinion. He used it on Mom a lot. The man loved his pipe. It was a 40-year habit that eventually led to emphysema and an oxygen tank in his later years. It was a life-taking vice and he probably knew it although his defense with us kids was that he wasn t inhaling. To this day I can still smell the sweet aroma of that Sir Walter Raleigh tobacco from the red tin he kept in his shirt pocket. I m not one to spend much time Large Best feature photo V The Daily Times, Maryville analyzing dreams, but I ve had some doozies. Dad must have as well. After a fitful night of perplexing nightmares, the next morning at the breakfast table he would use the same expression: I had some of the craziest dreams last night. You ve never heard such! Probably not, Dad. But the one I had the other night is one I hope to repeat. Because for once in my life I finally said something I should have been saying throughout my growing years, especially when I was old enough for it to hold a personal meaning... for us both. In the dream, Dad and I were casually strolling through the woods of north Mississippi just like we used to do when my brother and I were kids. Dad was young enough then that he still had his full mobility. In his latter years only a few steps exhausted him. In our walk, it was only Dad and me. I was grown, no longer the carefree boy who used to love those Sunday afternoon romps in the bottomlands. It must have been autumn because we wore long sleeves and our feet shuffled noisily through layers of fallen leaves. I love these woods, Dad told me in the dream. They re quiet. A man can think better out here. I like the earthy smells, I told him. There s no air like autumn air. He nodded. You still enjoyin your work? he asked. Yes sir, I answered. Even as a grown man, I called my Dad sir. It was just a part of our upbringing always Yes sir and No sir. You comin home for Christmas? Dad sought. I m not sure, I said. It s tough to get away from work, and it s a long drive. Your mother sure hopes you can be here, he added. It was Dad s way. What he wanted for himself was often credited to Mom s needs. I ll see what I can do, I assured him. I believe we re gonna get snow this winter, Dad told me. You always liked snow when you were a boy. I still do, and so do you. He chuckled. I guess so. Dad, you doing OK? I asked. Fair to middlin, he answered. Legs always hurt. Sometimes hard to breathe. But I m makin it. Just gettin old, I guess. Why do you ask? No reason, I said. I guess we re all getting older. Maybe that s why I m asking. Gettin older s just a part of life, he said. Pensively, Dad then told me, Son, there s something I ve been wantin to talk to you about. I have for years now, but it s never been the right time. His voice trailed. I looked at my Dad. His words weren t coming easily. Before you do, Dad, there s something I ve been wanting to say to you. OK, he complied. You first. We stopped. I looked him in the eyes. They were tired eyes, almost somber and all too melancholy. Each told a story. Both held my gaze. Like tiny mirrors, they reflected a knowing image from a day gone by. I looked down, then looked up again.... I love you, Dad, I said. As his eyes watered, I awoke. Not a Veterans Day goes by that I don t think of my father. This one is the sweetest of all... because I finally told him. Even if just in a dream. (Nov. 10, 2011) MARK A. LARGE THE DAILY TIMES, MARYVILLE BALLET-MANIA. ABC s annual Bluejeans production to meet the British Invasion (Sept. 22, 2011)

13 SEPTEMBER 2012 Awards - 13 FROM PAGE 12 county authorities Brian Mosely Dig deeper. So many unanswered questions. 2. The Wilson Post, Lebanon Nursing home Patrick Hall V 1. The Jackson Sun Short on justice Dan Morris, Aaron Hardin Good job examining a serious issue which affects many states. Everything about this series was stellar -- the idea, source choices, and even the layout. 2. The Daily Times, Maryville Tame the Dragon 3. Elizabethton Star Combat drug abuse Jason Mullins 4. The Jackson Sun Deadly Consequences Dan Morris 5. The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro Vampire blood/synthetic drugs Mark Bell 1. The Tennessean, Nashville New Life Lodge Nate Rau, Walter Roche Strongest entry from a very strong field. The crowning achievement for this fine effort: It brought needed change. Congratulations. 2. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Landing Electrolux Daniel Connolly, Amos Maki 3. News Sentinel, Knoxville Down the drain Josh Flory 4. The Tennessean, Nashville Soles4Souls Bob Smietana, Heidi Hall, Walter Roche Jr. 5. News Sentinel, Knoxville Debt-uty Crisis Mike Donila HEADLINE WRITING 1. Cannon Courier, Woodbury Fire Smokes BBQ Place Kevin Halpern Clear winner, no close second. Great way to make a guy at the counter take a second look! 2. The Portland Leader Proposed rock quarry leaves residents stonefaced Sonya Thompson 3. The Camden Chronicle Poof! Some library services may be disappearing Dennis Richardson, Janet Higdon, Karen Weathers 4. The Erwin Record Find not as grave as feared Brian Reese 5. Chester County Independent, Henderson Snake Eyes Holly Roeder, Mary Mount Dunbar I 1. The Rogersville Review What the HAIL? You re doing something right if you make me throw my head back in laughter. The BY MARK KENNEDY Features editor One Friday afternoon in late January, my wife and I had our regular, 5 o clock phone chat. It s the point in the day when we touch base and rehearse our evening duties. Kennedy Remember, tonight is the night we ve got the thing at church, she said. What thing at church? I said, exasperated. In my mind, I had already made a date with ESPN. The thing with the homeless families, she said. Oh, yeah, I said, embarrassed by my low energy. A few times a year, my wife and I and our two sons sign up for a night volunteering with the Interfaith Homeless Network (IHN). About 50 churches in Hamilton County, including ours, take turns hosting homeless families for a week. Church members work in shifts, making meals and socializing with the families. Our church has a house adjacent to the main church campus where the puns. The visuals they conjure. Terse use of language packs a punch. I laughed out loud. Good job. 2. The Courier, Savannah School director dodges bullet Ron Schaming, Thad Mitchell 3. Independent Appeal, Selmer No Payne, No Gain Christen Coulon, Amanda Lowrance, Andrew Alexander 4. Grainger Today, Bean Station Sheriff has gas problem Tracey Wilson, Jim Zachary 5. Pulaski Citizen Curtains! Tracy Ayers 1. Shelbyville Times-Gazette Star Mangled Banner David Melson The throwback to the old Brylcreem commercial elicited a groan, but otherwise a delightful collection. Well done! Loved the Star Spangled Mangled headline. The clear #1. 2. Union City Daily Messenger Rainey forecast swamps Vols again 3. The Lebanon Democrat Aflockalypse Now? Marie Corhern, Mary Hinds 4. The Wilson Post, Lebanon Black flag Tommy Bryan, Ken Beck 5. Southern Standard, McMinnville Putting Butt on line V 1. Johnson City Press iquit Apple CEO Jobs resigns Don Armstrong Clearly the winner. Creative, clever, appropriate heads for stories. iquit especially good. SEE, PAGE 16 Kids with homeless heartache families stay. There s usually a bit of inertia to overcome with the Kennedy crew on the way to our IHN night, but we always walk away better for the experience. I m struck by the different faces of homelessness in Chattanooga. The Times Free Press building is downtown on 11th Street. It s a major pedestrian route for homeless people. All day, a stream of homeless adults passes in front of our building leading to and from the Chattanooga Community Kitchen. There are lots of beards and backpacks. Some folks wave greetings when you cross their path. Others carry on energetic conversations with themselves. All seem to be working hard at getting through the day. The homeless families at church are different. They are generally mothers with school-age children. The kids are often dressed in nice (second-hand?) clothes and are bubbling with stories about school. The moms often seem slightly detached, adrift in uncertainty, perhaps. It takes us a few minutes to warm up to a new group of families, but each of us Kennedys falls into a predictable pattern. My older son, age 9, finds the most athletic boys to play with, and they plunge into a game of hoops. Spearman Goetz Best personal column Chattanooga Times Free Press My wife, a school teacher, falls easily into conversation with one of the mothers. By the end of two hours, they are on the verge of friendship. My 4-year-old son settles in with another quiet kid, and together they work a puzzle. Then there s me. I always end up bonding with a child who is heartstarved for adult attention. (It took my intuitive wife to point this out to me.) Last month, I noticed a young girl, maybe 11 or 12, striking a small stuffed football with a plastic golf club. Here, I said, forming a V with my New Balance sneakers, putt the ball between my shoes. She lined up the shot from about 10 feet away and rolled it right between my feet. Yes, I said, raising both fists in the air. Great shot. Here, it s my turn. She made a target with her feet, and I missed to the left. I dropped my shoulders in exaggerated disappointment. For the next 30 minutes or so, this is how it went. She made a shot I Best feature photo The Commercial Appeal, Memphis cheered. I made a shot she cheered. We graduated to larger distances, with dogleg shots around the island in the kitchen and fairway shots down the length of the hall. I noticed she was beginning to smile from ear to ear. I ll bet you re good at miniature golf, I said. She shrugged. Never played, huh? I said. That s OK. This is more fun. Later, when it was time to put our coats on and leave, she followed me onto the front porch, the only child in the house to brave the cold. Is that your car? she said, pointing to my station wagon. Yep, I said. Looks like a good car, she said, resting her elbows on a handrail and cupping her chin in her hands. It ll do, I said. I realized she was making conversation to prolong the moment. As we drove out of the driveway, I turned to my older son in the back seat. Roll down your window and tell her goodbye again, I said. He obliged, and I watched the little girl get smaller and smaller in my rearview mirror, never lifting her chin from her hands until we were completely out of sight. (Feb. 13, 2011) ALAN SPEARMAN, KRISTINA GOETZ THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL, MEMPHIS 10 SECONDS OF TERROR. Time stood still, Smithville Police Chief Darwin Hathcock said about looking at the devastated town immediately after the storm. Horror and heroism emerge in Smithville as tornado survivors face lifetime of recovery. (Oct. 23, 2011)

14 14 - Awards SEPTEMBER 2012 SEPTEMBER 2012 Awards - 15 GENERAL EXCELLENCE HERALD & TRIBUNE, JONESBOROUGH HERALD & TRIBUNE, JONESBOROUGH points Members of the staff of the Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough, with their first place and General Excellence plaques: From left: Amber Hughes, Karen Sells, John L. Kiener, Charlie Mauk, Lynn J. Richardson, Ted Obrecht, Kristen Swing, Bea Casey and Marcy Hawley. (Not pictured: Chris Shields) GRAINGER TODAY BEAN STATION GRAINGER TODAY, BEAN STATION - I - 37 points From left, standing, Donna Campbell, Juanita Rubright, Barbara Womack, Robert Turner, Wade Littleton, Jim Zachary, Krista Etter, Dennis Acuff, Gloria Slaughter, Wayne Coffey and Ann Cason; seated, Tracey Wilson and Ashley Miller. TIM WOODLEE SOUTHERN STANDARD, McMINNVILLE SOUTHERN STANDARD, McMINNVILLE points From left, front row, Jeffery Simmons and Duane Sherrill; second row, James Clark and Lisa Hobbs; third row, Seth Wright and Donna Anderson. Not pictured, Margaret Hobbs. THE TENNESSEAN, NASHVILLE points TOM STANFORD THE TENNESSEAN, NASHVILLE TOM STANFORD THE TENNESSEAN, NASHVILLE SUSAN SHARP SUMNER COUNTY PUBLICATIONS, GALLATIN GALLATIN NEWS EXAMINER - I - 37 points From left, Tena Lee, Dessislava Yankova, Alexander Quinones, Sherry Mitchell, Mike Towle, Sarah Kingsbury, Jennifer Easton and Melissa McDonald THE JACKSON SUN - V - 43 points THE JACKSON SUN From left, front row, Priya Narapareddy, Kelly South, Amy McDaniel, Tajuana Cheshier, Craig Thomas and Michelle Gachet; back row, Jordan Buie, Tom Bohs, John Semien, Steve Coffman and Kenneth Cummings

15 16 - Awards SEPTEMBER 2012 FROM PAGE The Daily Times, Maryville A HOPE-less Moment Marcus Fitzsimmons 3. The Greeneville Sun Asphalt debate sometimes hot, sticky Rich Jones 4. Bristol Herald Courier Just Bead It Heidi Pierson 5. The Daily Herald, Columbia Unbe-weave-able Samantha Ballard, Alex Miller 1. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Field of Streams Reg Garrett, Beth Gooch Goes really nicely with the visual Field of Streams. The twist on Jailhouse Frock is worthy of first place status as well.... cracks whip is a headline made somewhere in heaven leading to fetishfor-a-fee (not part of the official entry, but a screamer on its own). Three top-notch entries. 2. Chattanooga Times Free Press Life, Death & Third Grade Dan Woods, Mark Kennedy, Lisa Denton 3. News Sentinel, Knoxville Ex-scream Makeover Will Woodbery 4. Kingsport Times-News Would you raise a miniature horse/of course 5. The Tennessean, Nashville Better Burgers are Beefing Up Jeff Walter, Mark Silverman, Karen Grigsby PUBLIC SERVICE 1. Chester County Independent, Henderson RAM Clinic and Recycling Mary Mount Dunbar These two projects obviously affected locals/readers in a very positive way. The newspaper s involvement in providing information and celebrating the success of the projects is clear and admirable. Excellent work. 2. The Tomahawk, Mountain City Tornado relief efforts; Animal rescue Angie Gambill, Paula Walter, Jill Penley, Jonathan Pleasant 3. Mt. Juliet News At Hope s End; Giving in the Golden Years Laurie Everett 4. Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough Talk of the Town; Cancer Kristen Swing, Charlie Mauk, Nick Shepherd 5. The Millington Star Millington Crisis Center reaches out, the public responds Thomas Sellers Jr. I 1. Gallatin News Examiner ACLU vs. schools Sarah Kingsbury, Jennifer Easton, Mike Towle, Sherry Mitchell, Eric Miller, Dessislava Yankova I especially enjoyed the variety of projects submitted. Your news editor and reporters obviously are very talented and unafraid to follow a story to its conclusion. Great job! 2. Hickman County Times, Centerville Domestic violence Bradley A. Martin 3. Grainger Today, Bean Station Sunshine Laws Jim Zachary 4. The Standard Banner, Jefferson City Downtown Revitalization Steve Marion, Dave Gentry, Gayle Page 5. The Rogersville Review New Recreation League Joel Spears, Jesse Lindsey 1. Shelbyville Times-Gazette Recovered Memories, Shelbyville Missing, Boys & Girls David Melson, Sadie Fowler, Tracy Simmons, Kent Flanagan a. Serving as a clearinghouse for items found following a natural disaster is a wonderful public service. Stories and graphics were pertinent and interesting. Good job! b. What a tough subject! Missing persons cases are the worst and the Times-Gazette handled it well. The photo in the March 18 edition speaks volumes about the difficulty of searching for a body. More first person interviews with family and a little more follow-up on the cases would have added to this already comprehensive coverage. Great job! c. Traditional public service coverage of B&G Club. Weakest of three entries. All of these projects would have benefited from editorial input, which is the heart and soul of a newspaper. 2. Southern Standard, McMinnville Vietnam Veteran s Salute; Back to 60s Bash 3. The Newport Plain Talk Dogbite Victim Brandon Williams Nelson Morais, Rick Hooper, Duay O Neil, Betty McMillan 4. The Wilson Post, Lebanon Nursing Home Patrick Hall 5. The Lebanon Democrat Identity Theft V 1. The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville The Jobs Project Brian Eason, Karen Parr-Moody, Richard V. Stevens 2. Cleveland Daily Banner Tornado Recovery Greg Kaylor, Rick Norton, Donna Kaylor, David Davis, Larry Bowers, Joyanna Weber, Lucie R. Willsie 3. The Greeneville Sun Storms; Code 4. The Daily Herald, Columbia People Helping People Together Richard Conn, Christine Seiber, Kelsey Cochran, Tim Hodge, Samantha Ballard, Chris Fletcher 5. The Daily Times, Maryville Animal Shelter; Homelessness 1. News Sentinel, Knoxville Pill Sick Jamie Satterfield, Mike Donila, Matt Lakin Outstanding work on all three entries. Each displays thoughtful, SEE, PAGE 17 Moomaw Southern language brings laughs BY SHIRLEY NANNEY Editor Best sports photo Ashland City Times It seems that the federal government is attempting to gut the gobbledygook from language. President Obama signed the Plain Writing Act last fall that will take effect this October. Nanney It means that federal agencies must start writing plainly in all new and revised documents produced for the public. The new act emphasizes that agencies should communicate with the public in a way that is clear, simple, meaningful and jargon-free. By the time you finish reading some of this legal jargon, you really don t know what it s said. So I believe this is a good thing. In other words: Keep it simple stupid. Speaking of language, we Southerners have a language all our own that is sometimes difficult to understand. The other night at Wendy s here in Huntingdon, I encountered Luis and Best personal humor column Carroll County News-Leader, Huntingdon RANDY MOOMAW ASHLAND CITY TIMES DOWN AND DIRTY. Dos Dirt Daubers was the first team to cross the finish line in this year s Columbia Muddy Buddy race, registering a time of 45 minutes and 4.7 seconds. The team is made up of Michael Edens of Kingston Springs and Charles Reeves of Nashville. More than 600 teams competed in the Muddy Buddy race on Saturday. This is the third year the race has been held at the Cheatham Wildlife Management Area in the Petway community. The founder of Muddy Buddy, Bob Babbitt, said the location, which utilizes the natural environment, is one of the most challenging courses for the 19-city event. (May 25, 2011) Andrea Salazar. It seems that Luis, who is from Peru, has a difficult time interpreting our Southern slang. We were discussing the recent storm and the damages to property. He was showing me photos of the damage that happened to the couple s house and barn on Maytown Rd. outside Huntingdon. Now, Luis is a commercial pilot for Continental and is a world traveler. I asked if the storm killed any of his horses. He said that when his brother, Dr. Sergio Salazar, moved to Florida that they sold them. I proceeded to tell him that I heard that Don Rich s horse was killed in the storm when it received a LICK on the head by some timbers. All of a sudden he began laughing. What in the world does it mean to get killed by a lick? he laughed. I advised him that any good Southerner knows that it means you were hit by something that caused your demise. Between laughs, he said he would try to understand. I can just hear him now as he tells his co-pilot while flying over Spain the Southern meaning of lick. I once heard about a Russian girl who came to work at a bank here in the county. One day she told her supervisor: I understand the English language pretty well, but I m having a problem knowing where yonder is. Sometimes you say it s up yonder, over yonder and down yonder. What about the word smart? I was visiting a school several years ago when a mother kissed her daughter goodbye and said: Now you be smart while I m gone. After she left, a woman standing near me, who was from a different locale, asked me: What did she mean? She meant for her daughter to be nice, mind the teacher and not get in any trouble while she was gone, I replied. The woman broke into laughter. That s not what smart means, she said. It means you re intelligent. Well, as any good Southerner would say when closing out a column: Bye until next week! (May 25, 2011)

16 SEPTEMBER 2012 Awards - 17 FROM PAGE 16 tenacious public service reporting. The Pill Sick series stands out as an example of best practices in the breadth and depth of reporting that puts a human face on this growing problem. The presentation -- art, graphics, photos -- compelling and well done. Matt Lakin deserves a raise. Jamie Satterfield dug deeply and exposed corruption at the highest level in Knox County s criminal justice system. She held up a mirror reflecting a community problem many observers seemed content to ignore. Good FOI and budget-crunching reporting by Mike Donila. 2. The Tennessean, Nashville New Life Lodge; Soles4Souls; Obesity 3. Chattanooga Times Free Press Tornadoes Times Free Press 4. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis School Merger BEST NEWS PHOTOGRAPH 1. The Milan Mirror-Exchange Milan looked like a War Zone Steve Short There were several newspapers who submitted similar pictures and collages of storm damage. The Milan Mirror-Exchange was chosen for the picture content. The cropping was excellent. Capturing people in action during clean up, etc. added to the emotional impact of the storm s damage. Some of the photos were dark, but overall it was a great job. 2. Cannon Courier, Woodbury Fire Smokes BBQ Place Tony Stinnett 3. Independent Herald, Oneida Flood Rescue 4. Lake County Banner, Tiptonville Ice Sculptures Evan Jones 5. Lake County Banner, Tiptonville River wins battle in the bend Evan Jones I 1. Robertson County Times, Springfield Springfield Schools Cheri Reeves This is priceless! This category was very hard to judge. This picture captures so much and tells a story of its own. I m so glad they got more buses. 2. The Courier, Savannah Firefighters join forces Thad Mitchell 3. Pulaski Citizen They walked away Tracy Ayers 4. Carthage Courier Hot Eddie West 5. Manchester Times Warrior Splash Josh Peterson 1. Roane County News, Kingston Wreck kills mother, 3 sons Katie Hogin This photo stood heads-and-shoulders above the others in this category. The photographer went beyond just being there to capture the emotion and essence of a tragic event. In general, this category consisted almost entirely of fire and tornado photos. Sometimes it s difficult for a camera to see the extent of a situation. This type of photography requires dramatic angles and viewpoints to tell the story adequately. 2. Southern Standard, McMinnville Historic Disaster 3. Roane County News, Kingston Team effort in Interstate 40 rescue Katie Hogin 4. The Newport Plain Talk EF1 tornado confirmed Tina Pierson, Katie Pittser, Duay O Neil 5. Southern Standard, McMinnville Children leap for lives from burning apartment V 1. The Daily Herald, Columbia Town mourns two teens killed in crash Susan W. Thurman The sadness leaps off the page. Nice job framing the shot, with the other friends to the side. 2. The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville Family accepts Silver Star Greg Williamson 3. Bristol Herald Courier Family Bible Found David Crigger 4. The Jackson Sun Double shooting Aaron Hardin 5. The Daily Times, Maryville The Day After Daryl Sullivan 1. Chattanooga Times Free Press Saving Mary Angela Lewis This one just blew me away. From lying on the sidewalk under her walker to pedicure, hairdo, food, friendship and dancing, the photos tell a story just as dramatically as the words. Loved the angles, the cropping, the variety in size -- not afraid to go big on A8. Super job in a tight, tight category. 2. Chattanooga Times Free Press Deadly day of storms Times Free Press 3. News Sentinel, Knoxville Pill Sick Michael Patrick 4. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Near miss Mike Brown, Stan Carroll, Jim Weber, Karen Focht 5. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Obama speaks at Booker T. Washington High School graduation Jim Weber, Mike Brown, Alan Spearman, Karen Focht, Dave Darnell, Brandon Dill BEST FEATURE PHOTOGRAPH 1. Cannon Courier, Woodbury Just (Photo) Shoot Me! Great photo, good job looking for a shot that is not the normal perspective. 2. The Erwin Record Ready to Roll Brenda Sparks 3. The Portland Leader Dancing Panthers SEE, PAGE 18 County punk d? Nope, it was a real meeting Bush BY JIM ZACHARY Editor Okay, you vote to do something. Then, the very next month you vote to undo what you just did. A couple of years later you vote to do something else. Deja vu all over again then Zachary the following month, you guessed it, you undo what you just did, again. Then, to beat all, you decide to redo the thing you did, then undid two years before. Sound like a comedy of errors? Actually, it sounds more like the Grainger County Commission. If it weren t so serious, it would actually be comical. No, it is comical, nevertheless. You have to wonder how the Grainger County Commission can even take itself seriously. It s a joke, but the sad part is the punch line is at the expense of the future of Grainger County. We know there are some good people on the county commission. In fact, we d Best sports photo I Carthage Courier Best personal humor column I Grainger Today, Bean Station be open to the suggestion they are all good people, so far as people go. As a group however, somehow or another, that goodness gets gone. There was nothing particularly good about Monday s meeting. We know these words are going to make commissioners mad, but we are not the ones that make the commission look how it looks. Sometimes we are urged, Now, don t make us look bad. Ladies and gentlemen, surely you can see, we are not making the commission look bad. It simply looks bad. It was hard to sit there and not think that Ashton Kutcher or for another generation Allen Funt would suddenly reveal the hidden camera. Those of you on the commission who are ashamed and embarrassed, please let your colleagues on the commission know how you feel. It does no good to simply sit there and think, I can t believe this bunch. You have every bit as much say on this legislative body as every other member, even if this is your first term to elected office. You were elected by the same county and, in fact, in some cases garnered more votes than those who have been sitting on the commission for years. This week the commission voted to un-enact the hotel/motel tax it en-acted last month. Then, the commission voted to levy a mineral tax, that it enacted then un-enacted a couple of years ago. And, it would be no surprise if the same tax is put back on the table next month and the vote turns out another way. Ladies and gentlemen of the commission, please try to read the news coverage and consider these words as if this was something happening somewhere else and you were not party to it. Then what would you think? You would probably be saying what we heard citizens saying Monday evening after the meeting What a joke. (March 16, 2011) JENNIFER BUSH CARTHAGE COURIER CHAMPIONSHIP EXCITEMENT. The Smith County Red 10-under All-Stars celebrate their championship baseball win last Saturday with a cooler full of cold water. From left: Ethan Dennis, Ben Reid, Cade Gregory, Eli Hackett and Cody Kemp. (July 21, 2011)

17 18 - Awards SEPTEMBER 2012 FROM PAGE 17 Honour McLeod 4. Carroll County News-Leader, Huntingdon Local kids bring attention to Child Abuse Prevention Month Shirley Nanney 5. The Milan Mirror-Exchange Hands on the Plow I 1. Carthage Courier County Fair Underway Eddie West Great photo! Lots of action, faces and local interest. Great job! 2. Grainger Today, Bean Station Feels like home: Canada Geese also like Grainger County Ann Cason 3. The Rogersville Review Summer fun in Mount Carmel Joel Spears 4. Gallatin News Examiner County fair holds excitement Dessislava Yankova 5. The Standard Banner, Jefferson City Creamed for Relay 1. The Daily Post-Athenian, Athens Spring break chase Anthony Dake The elements just come together in this one. Good composition, catches your eye, movement, excitement on multiple faces, dash of color. Would like to have seen a bit better crispness in printing. 2. Union City Daily Messenger Easy slider 3. The Wilson Post, Lebanon All Aboard Ken Beck 4. Southern Standard, McMinnville Cute and fruit Charlie Johnson 5. Southern Standard, McMinnville Frolicking into the Fourth James Clark V 1. The Daily Times, Maryville Ballet-Mania Mark A. Large Very creative Abbey Road connection! Nice composition no doubt about the upcoming event with the blue jeans, ballet slippers and Beatles reference. Great job even down to the spirit fingers. You really captured the character of the event. 2. The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville Ashley Durhan uses a bottle to clean snow off her car Greg Williamson 3. Elizabethton Star Last Day of School Brandon Hicks 4. The Jackson Sun The blessing of Alissa Katie Brake 5. Herald-Citizen, Cookeville Heat wave Ty Kernea 1. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis 10 Seconds of Terror Alan Spearman, Kristina Goetz Emotion, lighting, angles. You took first place because you captured all of these elements with your photos. Great work. 2. Kingsport Times-News Boy Scout David Grace 3. The Tennessean, Nashville A little off the top, please Jeanne Reasonover 4. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis From McLemore to Manhattan Karen Focht 5. Chattanooga Times Free Press Hidden Appeal Angela Lewis BEST SPORTS PHOTOGRAPH 1. Ashland City Times Down and dirty Not the usual sports photo. Very crisp and by far the best. 2. The Erwin Record Hunter Goddard Adam Campbell 3. The News Leader, Parsons It Ends Here Christian Anglin 4. The Camden Chronicle Teamwork Sam Hayes 5. Chester County Independent, Henderson Wow, what a catch! James A. Webb I 1. Carthage Courier Championship Excitement Jennifer Bush Love it! Mix kids, water and smiles... you get a winning photo! 2. The Advocate & Democrat, Sweetwater Champions: Sweetwater wins district title Corbitt Hollingsworth 3. The Dickson Herald Lady Red Hawks Marty Allison 4. The Standard Banner, Jefferson City Championship Celebration Darren Reese 5. The LaFollette Press Crowd shot at high school basketball game Dwane A. Wilder 1. The Lebanon Democrat Battle for the Ball Dallus Whitfield Great close-up action. The facial expressions enhance this entry greatly. Very good cropping clinched it. 2. The Mountain Press, Sevierville Sevier County junior receiver Jason Davis 3. The Newport Plain Talk Eyes on State Seth Butler 4. The Daily Post-Athenian, Athens Tennessee Wesleyan College s Jordan Scott Power 5. Shelbyville Times-Gazette Chase Hullett makes the catch Chris Siers V 1. Cleveland Daily Banner Where d he go? Joe Cannon Capturing this type of action at night is SEE, PAGE 19 Whitfield Best sports photo The Lebanon Democrat DALLUS WHITFIELD THE LEBANON DEMOCRAT BATTLE FOR THE BALL. Watertown High School s #34, Bay Cole, left, battles Mt. Juliet Christian s #15 Jessica Melvin for possession during third period action Friday night as the Purple Tigers hosted the county rival for contest. (Dec. 10, 2011) At the tone, use your sick voice BY JAMES CLARK Editor Yes, it s supposed to be Duane Sherrill s day to write a column, but it s my face here at the top of the page. For all the folks who flock to Duane s column every Wednesday, Clark you have my condolences. I thought about trying to mimic Duane s unique writing style and talking about some mundane incident that happened to one of my kids, but I can t recall anything neat that s happened. I haven t misplaced the TV remote, which is always good for a column when it happens to Duane. I try to fix stuff around the house all the time so I don t know if I can really milk 12 more paragraphs about the time I replaced some pipes under the sink. I will tell you Duane is out of action because he s been diagnosed with kidney stones. For anyone wondering what Duane may write about next week (and this is a spoiler alert) my guess is it will be kidney stones. And I m going out on a limb to predict Duane will say this kidney stone hurts, thus his Best personal humor column Southern Standard, McMinnville absence from work. When it comes to calling in sick, Duane and several employees have turned to the new technology of text messaging me to let me know they won t be reporting to work. This has taken away one of my great joys here at the paper, that being recording their message in full sick voice on my voic . That s because our receptionist, Holly Cantrell, is adept at letting me know if it s one of the newsroom employees calling me at around 10 a.m. Here in the editorial department, that s the prime time to call in sick. If it s 10 a.m. and it s Charlie Johnson, Lisa Hobbs or Duane Sherrill on the other end of the phone, you can take $100 and run to Vegas because you can bet they are calling in sick. If Holly alerts me that they re calling, and it s that magical 10 a.m. hour, I won t answer the phone. Then they are forced to leave a message. It s great to hear the sniffles and whimpers on the other end of the line because it just wouldn t be right to call in sick in a nice, happy voice. Example: Hey James (cough, cough), I m feeling pretty bad today (achoooo!). I don t think I ll be able to (cough, cough) make it in to work today. I m sorry but I just can t leave the house. When I receive one of these voice messages, the first thing I do is round up an audience in my office and replay the message three or four times. We all laugh and joke and then eventually get back to writing stories. But with the soaring popularity of texting, and the ingenuity of newspaper employees, they have figured out they can send me a text message and avoid the embarrassment of having their sick voice played to the entire office. It really spoils the fun, especially when the caller slips out of their sick voice momentarily before realizing what they re doing and returning to form. As for me, I can take this time to proudly boast that I ve never had to call in to Publisher Pat Zechman using my sick voice. In 16 years here at the paper, I ve only used one sick day and that was last year when I had all four wisdom teeth removed in a planned procedure. But if I ever get to the point where I have to call in sick, I m going to use a sick voice for the ages. I may even drop the phone out of weakness. Since I just jinxed myself, that day will probably be today. (May 18, 2011)

18 SEPTEMBER 2012 FROM PAGE 18 Happy 2sday Awards - 19 so difficult. Great job. The only way to have improved it is if the player was looking at you and smiling. 2. Elizabethton Star Justin Tubbs, Danny Davis 3. Johnson City Press Science Hill s Johnathan Colson Dave Boyd 4. Herald-Citizen, Cookeville Purple reign Craig Delk 5. The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville Monte Burney has his shot blocked Robert Smith 1. Chattanooga Times Free Press Dade salvages split with Fannin Angela Lewis Great angle and precision on this shot. Absolutely love it. I wouldn t change a thing. 2. The Tennessean, Nashville Titans receiver Damian Williams Jae Lee 3. News Sentinel, Knoxville Offensive Ineptitude Adam Brimer, Amy Smotherman Burgess, Michael Patrick 4. Kingsport Times-News The ball - Hat trick Ned Jilton 5. Kingsport Times-News Dobyns-Bennett BEST SPECIAL ISSUE OR SECTION 1. The Courier News, Clinton A Place Called Home Awesome! Good work! Lots of effort went into this special section, and it shows. Bet your readers loved it! Very informative! This kind of work reminds your readers why The Courier News plays such an important part of their lives, and will far into the future. These stories and artwork will be hanging on the refrigerators for decades to come. Good job! 2. The Tomahawk, Mountain City Mountains, Memories & Making Ourselves at Home 3. The News Leader, Parsons Together... Again Danny Haynes 4. The Portland Leader Guide to Portland Sonya Thompson, Chris Ladd, Jamie Johnson, John Shelton 5. The Erwin Record The Home Place Rebekah Harris, Brenda Sparks, Brian Reese, Donna Rea I 1. Gallatin News Examiner Most Influential Mike Towle, Hollie Deese, Dessislava Yankova, Matthew Diggs, Sarah Kingsbury, Sherry Mitchell, Tena Lee, Eric Miller Brilliant idea to make it all-encompassing -- not just 30-under-30. Nice, brief, wellwritten writeups. Broad group of people featured. Well laid out -- just a very good idea packaged very well. 2. The Standard Banner, Jefferson City Community 2011 Dale Gentry, Steve Marion, Darren Reese, Gayle Page BY ALLISON ADAMS Columnist Happy Tuesday, honey! happy 2sday mom What s up? head n 2 class Great! How s the weather? windy It s lovely at home. Adams I miss you. miss u 2 Let me tell you a story. no time It s a short story. Once upon a time there was a prematurely gray-haired momma who lived in a quaint, small town. mom She was married to a handsome, hard-working daddy-bird, and they lived in an empty nest. r u really gonna do this now Yes, I am. o boy Anyway their last baby bird had recently left the nest for college, far, far away. did they let him take a car No. i can relate They missed their baby bird very much, but they pledged to give him some space so he could spread his wings. dfine space I mean they didn t constantly call their baby bird on his cell phone or pester him with trivial text or messages. dfine trivial They refrained from initiating contact with him unless they needed to pass along important info. 3. Manchester Times Bonnaroo Josh Peterson, Rachel Vickrey, Amanda Boswell, Jack Owens Jr. 4. The Herald-News, Dayton We Are Rhea County Michael Reneau, Reed Johnson, Cathy Barnes, Elisabeth Hollingsworth 5. The Leader, Covington Football Preview 2011 Jeff Ireland, Echo Day 1. Shelbyville Times-Gazette Power of Pink Sadie Fowler, Carol Spray, Mary Cook Love the pink paper! Great over-all job! 2. Union City Daily Messenger Get Ready Mike Hutchens, Kevin Weaks, David Fuzzell, Allison Hollowell 3. Crossville Chronicle Pride Heather Mullinix, Caroline Selby, Michael R. Moser, Missy Wattenbarger, Gary Nelson 4. The Lebanon Democrat Our Home Mary E. Hinds, Laurie Everett, Dallus Best personal humor column V The Greeneville Sun dfine import They sent occasional s or text messages about life altering details. we had lasagna for supper is NOT life altering detail They really tried. neither is i found ur missing shoestring under ur bed The momma bird had a harder time with this arrangement than the daddy bird. u got that rite After a while, the momma bird began to crave communication from her baby bird. so she stepped up the txting Yes, she did. And she coveted any response she received from her baby bird, no matter how brief the reply. baby bird is vry vry busy The momma bird knew her little bird was very, very busy, but it was hard for her to think he was too busy to share his life with her. calculus & german r killing baby bird There was no depth to their conversations. Their contact became nothing but a series of short messages. txt msgs r supposed 2 b short She knows that. then why is she txting complete sentences She can t help herself. she needs 2 get wit da program Anyway, momma and daddy bird scheduled weekly Skype calls with their baby bird. That way they could converse and see his sweet face and Whitfield, Sandy Campbell, Kimberly Jordan 5. The Newport Plain Talk Broken Lives in a Broken County Duay O Neil, Tina Pierson, Janene Bradley, Janie Holt, Travis Fox V 1. Cleveland Daily Banner Road to Recovery: The first 30 days Front page strong impact. Great coverage of devastation and relief efforts. Aerial shots are impressive. 2. Elizabethton Star Outdoor Life Spring Summer 2011 Bryan Stevens, Missy Hale, Ashley Rader, Robert Sorrell, Brandon Hicks, Danny Davis 3. The Jackson Sun World War II Dan Morris, Steve Coffman, Tim Davison 4. The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro Sept. 11 Ten years later Gary Frazier & 5. The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville SEE, PAGE 20 pretend they were sitting across the table from him. skype is good Not really. The connection was horrible, and the Skype sessions were more frustrating than fulfilling. 2 bad So the momma bird began to make notes. huh She began to make notes about things she wanted to talk to her baby bird about so she would remember to include those things when the day came that they could have a REAL conversation. ur joking No joke. You see, text messaging and s are NOT substitutes for face time. i no So the momma bird started to count the days until her little bird would Cannon JOE CANNON CLEVELAND DAILY BANNER WHERE D HE GO? Bradley Central senior Rue Goldston leap-frogs over Cleveland senior Shun Qualls as Qualls tries to tackle him during Friday night s nationallytelevised game at Benny Monroe Stadium. The eighthranked Bears blanked the Blue Raiders 18-0 setting up a battle with McMinn County Friday night for the District 5-AAA championship. (Oct. 23, 2011) Best sports photo V Cleveland Daily Banner come back to the nest for a visit. r u serious She realized that while there are benefits to text messages and , there is no greater treasure than good, old-fashioned, face-to-face conversation. my battry is dying rap it up Ok. So, the momma bird is patiently waiting for the day when she can perch next to her baby bird, and they can tweet about the things happening in their lives. wait r u on twitter No, son. Pay attention. This is a story about birds. o right Wait. If I was on Twitter, would you follow me? no Just checking. (Nov. 15, 2011)

19 20 - Awards SEPTEMBER 2012 BY GEOFF CALKINS Columnist DIANE GEORGE, a member of the Shelby County Schools board, had a question about logistics. Where will we be meeting? she asked. FedExForum will Calkins be available, said board chairman David Pickler, wryly. Yes, but is it big enough? Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses and, er, put them all on the new countywide school board? George also wanted to know what happened if someone resigned from the board. Would there be a new appointment to the 27? she asked. Twenty-three, Pickler corrected, but who can possibly keep track? A super committee of a dozen is supposed to solve the country s budget issues. Nine Justices sit on the Supreme Court. But 23 men and women are going to have to jam themselves into a room and figure out how to combine the city and county school districts. It s going to require a big room, said Shelby County Supt. John Aitken. I haven t seen an elected body this bloated since New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Wasn t the number 23 retired when Michael Jordan called it quits? New trick for falling asleep: Count school board members. At the end of each meeting, the chairman will say, Twenty-three skidoo! FROM PAGE s a crowd for new board Best personal humor column The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Not that there aren t economic opportunities in all this. R.C. Johnson would suggest selling seat licenses. The school district could also make money off new bumper stickers: Honk if you re on the school board! I remember people saying that consolidation would bring the entire community together, but I didn t realize they meant, like, in the same room. I do think the 23-member board is sizable, maybe too big, said Shelby County Mayor Mark Lutrell. Experts on decision-making seem to agree. Both Toyota and Honda recently slashed the size of their boards to enhance their ability to make efficient decisions. The prevailing feeling right now is that you don t want to get much above 12, said Robert Taylor, a professor at the Fogelman College of Business and Economics. If you get much above 11 or 12 then people start fading out, they branch into their little factions. Gee. That certainly bodes well. And yet, it was striking to watch the Shelby County School board meeting Thursday, to listen to the remarks of men and women who had previously fought consolidation with everything they could muster. We have to come together to enable the community to come together, said Pickler, and he didn t even have his fingers crossed behind his back. Too much is riding on this. Too much of our community s future is at stake. Against all odds, we have somehow managed to knock down one of the walls that separated us. Maybe the new spirit of cooperation will carry the day. Nashville has flourished with a 40- member Metro Council, after all. New Hampshire has 400 members in its House of Representatives and seems to have done OK. Besides, it s not like the 23-member board is permanent. It shrinks to just 7 members with the opportunity to expand to as many as 13 two years from now. In the meantime, the board will have to figure out how to conduct its business with 23 members, and never mind the unwieldy eeriness of it all. A religion called Discordianism considers 23 to be its holy number. Caesar was stabbed 23 times. The bomb was dropped on Hiroshima at 8:15 a.m. ( = 23). John Forbes Nash, the inspiration for A Beautiful Mind, was obsessed with the number 23. In the theatrical adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities, the old woman who counts as heads roll off the guillotine says 23 as Sidney Carton is executed. The Big Lebowski bowled only in lane 23. In Airport, the bomber sat in seat 23. If you re looking for signs of the apocalypse, they are certainly there. But why look for the apocalypse? Why not look for hope instead? If Pickler is preaching unity, all things are possible. At least, if they can find a room. (Aug. 26, 2011) Lewis ANGELA LEWIS CHATTANOOGA TIMES FREE PRESS DADE SALVAGES SPLIT WITH FANNIN. Fannin County catcher Kelley Watkins waits for the ball as Dade County s Sydney Vaughn slides into home Wednesday at Dade County High School. Vaughn was out on the play. (Oct. 13, 2011) Best sports photo Chattanooga Times Free Press Salute to Fort Campbell 1. The Tennessean, Nashville 9/11: A decade later Really appreciated the intimately local view of something that affected us all. Well rounded. Well laid out. Well thought out. 2. Chattanooga Times Free Press Chattanooga Now 3. News Sentinel, Knoxville Start the Presses 4. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Memphis Most PROMOTION OF NEWSPAPERS s I, II and III 1. Southern Standard, McMinnville Back to 60 s Bash How fun! You built a self promotion that enticed the community to play along! New subscribers, tribute to veterans and lots of fun! 2. Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough Promotions Kristen Swing, Ted Obrecht, Lynn Richardson, Charlie Mauk 3. Shelbyville Times-Gazette Celebrating the news Sadie Fowler, Doug Dezotell 4. Grainger Today, Bean Station Greenbean Ann Cason 5. Carthage Courier Where s Scoop? Scott Winfree, Bob Stangenberg s IV and V 1. Chattanooga Times Free Press News Revolution Steven Ratajczyk, Shannon York Good layout, nice use of text bubbles to tie into the smart phone, great consistency throughout the campaign. 2. The Daily Times, Maryville Times Change 3. Elizabethton Star New way to read an old friend Nathan Goodwin, Phyllis Davis 4. The Daily Herald, Columbia Cool deals 5. The Greeneville Sun We miss you and want you back BEST WEBSITE 1. Independent Herald, Oneida Very nice design and background. Great ease of navigation. Love all the different elements, including social media and information in the paper. Great job! 2. Ashland City Times 3. The Portland Leader Sonya Thompson, Jamie, Johnson, Chris Ladd, Katrice Williams 4. Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough Ted Obrecht, Kristen Swing 5. Lake County Banner, Tiptonville Evan Jones I 1. Manchester Times Josh Peterson, John Coffelt, Nick Trail Wonderful comprehensive coverage, very interactive, and easy to navigate. Local videos are a huge plus, as are the multiple Your News categories offered. I m sure your readers feel a true ownership in this product. The lead story I read is an excellent example of watchdog reporting. Kudos to Josh Peterson. Ad links are great. Obits are well-organized (you d be surprised how many aren t). Only complaint is your site has tons of pop-ups I didn t encounter anywhere else. Other than that, this is an excellent website with lots of extras. 2. The Daily News, Memphis 3. Carthage Courier Bob Stangenberg 4. Memphis Business Journal 5. The Rogersville Review 1. The Wilson Post, Lebanon Lots of good content, easy to navigate. Strong lifestyle and opinion content, which a lot of other sites are lacking. My only constructive criticism is that there is almost too much on the home page. Overall very good. 2. Shelbyville Times-Gazette John Carney 3. Union City Daily Messenger 4. Roane County News, Kingston 5. Southern Standard, McMinnville V 1. Elizabethton Star Nathan Goodwin, Jason Mullins, Brian Freeman Slow load, but one of most visuallyappealing sites in this group. My experience is that photo slide-shows and galleries take a toll on performance. 2. Johnson City Press Sam Watson, Alan Broyles 3. The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville 4. The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro 5. The Daily Herald, Columbia SEE, PAGE 21

20 SEPTEMBER 2012 Awards - 21 FROM PAGE The Tennessean, Nashville Newest content is less than four hours old at 7 am (central time). Overall feel of the site is nice and clean, but twenty-six menu items at the top of the front page is a little excessive. On the page /section/ NEWS under the headings Education, Environment and Faith & Values the same picture and cut line is displayed three times. The menu tab What s New on the main navigation bar links to the page /online and the content is from last week. Content is well written, concise and informative. 2. Chattanooga Times Free Press 3. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Michael Erskine, Gary Robinson 4. News Sentinel, Knoxville Gannett taps Tennessean, Jackson Sun for awards BY MARK SILVERMAN News executive Aggressive watchdog reporting and comprehensive community leadership efforts highlighted the 2011 Gannett Co. Awards of Excellence. Many of those packages brought results changes in leadership, new fiscal or management approaches and a murder arrest. Other entries highlighted the human spirit seen when communities come together and when an individual faces death with dignity. A total of 42 information centers (newsrooms) were recognized for their outstanding work. The judges were impressed by the creative approaches taken by a number of newsrooms; for example, at The Tennessean, Nashville, which launched Brainstorm Nashville, an ongoing community brainstorming site where residents can identify problems, propose solutions, rate the options and connect with others to offer assistance. (Adapted) The Tennessee winners follow: BREAKING NEWS Division III APSE presents awards at annual convention The Associated Press Sports Editors presented awards during the 39th Annual Convention held June 20 through 23 in Chicago. The co-host was the Association for Women in Sports Media. The winners are as follows: BEST WRITING OF , ,000 circulation COLUMNS 1st place Geoff Calkins, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis EXPLANATORY 5th place Andrew Gribble, News Sentinel, Knoxville FEATURES 2nd place Andrew Gribble, News Finalists The Jackson Sun, Jordan Buie and Lauren Foreman, reporters; Aaron Hardin, photographer For comprehensive coverage of a murder, carjacking and shooting that occurred in three separate locations. Judges said: Extensive digital coverage with texts, online and social media engaged The Jackson Sun s audience. The staff adopted a digital-first approach and positioned the next-day print edition as second-cycle coverage, focusing on reaction and emotion. Community leadership Division I Finalists The Tennessean, Nashville, staff For Brainstorm Nashville, a collaboration with partners and the community to solve problems. Judges said: The Tennessean built a digital community forum that encourages residents to collaboratively identify problems and suggest solutions. Residents interact in digital space to pinpoint concerns and collectively flush out possible approaches. The first effort tackled is obesity, and assistance linking people with solutions already is under way. Sentinel, Knoxville PROJECTS Honorable mention Kyle Veazey, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis 30,000-75,000 circulation BEAT WRITING Honorable mention Stephen Hargis, Chattanooga Times Free Press SUNDAY SECTION Honorable mention Chattanooga Times Free Press BEST SECTIONS OF 2011 MULTIMEDIA Under 2 million unique monthly visitors Two websites ranked in the top 10 News Sentinel, Knoxville Sweepstakes history The UT-TPA State Press Contests began many years ago, in During a period at about the mid-20th century, a sweepstakes award was established. Later it was abandoned. Then the Sweepstakes Award was reestablished in 1999 as a points-based award. At that time, points were assigned as follows: first place (6 points), second place (5 points), third place (4 points), fourth place (3 points), fifth place (2 points), sixth place (1 point). The newspaper in each of the four contests divisions 1999 Sweepstakes Award winners : Chester County Independent, Henderson I: The Review Appeal, Franklin : The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro V: The Tennessean, Nashville 2000 Sweepstakes Award winners : Chester County Independent, Henderson I: Southern Standard, McMinnville : The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro V: The Tennessean, Nashville 2001 Sweepstakes Award winners : The Rutherford Courier, Smyrna I: Southern Standard, McMinnville : The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville V: The Tennessean, Nashville 2002 Sweepstakes Award winners : Chester County Independent, Henderson I: Southern Standard, McMinnville : The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro V: Chattanooga Times Free Press 2003 Sweepstakes Award winners : The Erwin Record I: Southern Standard, McMinnville : The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro V: The Tennessean, Nashville 2004 Sweepstakes Award winners : The Erwin Record I: Southern Standard, McMinnville : The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro V: The Tennessean, Nashville 2005 Sweepstakes Award winners : The Erwin Record I: Southern Standard, McMinnville : The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro V: The Commercial Appeal, Memphis 2006 General Excellence Award winners : The Erwin Record I: LaFollette Press : The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville V: The Tennessean, Nashville 2007 General Excellence Award winners : The Erwin Record I: The Standard Banner, Jefferson City : The Daily Herald, Columbia V: The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Note: A fifth division was added for All divisions are based upon total weekly paid circulation, which ( One, Two, Three and Four) with the highest total points in its group received the Sweepstakes Award. In 2006, the category of General Excellence replaced the Sweepstakes Award. Since 2007, only five places are awarded per division in each category, with points as follows: first place (5 points), second place (4 points), third place (3 points), fourth place (2 points) and fifth place (1 point). meant some dailies and non-dailies competed in the same division. The divisions are as follows: : Combined weekly circulation of 5,000 or less I: Combined weekly circulation of 5,001-15,000 : Combined weekly circulation of 15,001-50,000 V: Combined weekly circulation of 50, ,000; : Combined weekly circulation of 200,001 and above 2008 General Excellence Awards winners : The Erwin Record I: Memphis Business Journal : Southern Standard, McMinnville V: The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville : The Tennessean, Nashville 2009 General Excellence Awards winners : The Erwin Record I: The Standard Banner, Jefferson City : Southern Standard, McMinnville V: The Daily Herald, Columbia : The Commercial Appeal, Memphis 2010 General Excellence Awards winners : The Erwin Record I: The Standard Banner, Jefferson City : Shelbyville Times-Gazette V: The Jackson Sun : The Commercial Appeal, Memphis 2011 General Excellence Awards winners : The Erwin Record I: The Standard Banner, Jefferson City : Southern Standard, McMinnville V: The Jackson Sun : The Tennessean, Nashville 2012 General Excellence Awards winners : Herald & Tribune, Jonesborough I: Grainger Today, Bean Station Gallatin News Examiner : Southern Standard, McMinnville V: The Jackson Sun : The Tennessean, Nashville Note: The Erwin Record has won the top award nine consecutive years, while the Southern Standard, McMinnville, has won 10 years but not consecutively. The Tennessean, Nashville, has won nine total General Excellence Awards.