Delaware State News celebrates MDDC editorial awards
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DOVER — Some notes and quotes between headlines and deadlines... 
As the lead of his story read, “The moment will probably last forever in Smyrna High football legend.” Former Delaware State News photographer Dave Chambers won first-place awards for photo series and sports photo. The photo series was coverage of the Dancing with the Delaware Stars which featured our own Tonda Parks (Vice President/Advertising) starring as Lady Gaga in a fun dance routine. The sports photo featured Polytech’s Juwan Gray soaring toward the basket in a state playoff win against Dover High. Reporter Craig Anderson won second place in the education reporting division with an in-depth look at the issue of sex abuse in schools. It was headlined, “Keeping sex out of education.” Former Delaware State News reporter Arshon Howard won a second place award in local government reporting with a story on the county planning office’s approval of the Silo Speedway dirt track in Felton. The track’s neighbor, Pizzadili Vineyard and Winery, is currently in court with its opposition to the track. Glenn Rolfe, editor of our sister paper the Sussex County Post, was a first-place winner in the feature category for his story “Baby Alana — the little girl who touched our hearts.” Alana Prettyman, of Frankford, was just a little over a year old when she died of complications of a neurodegenerative disease in December. We’re also proud to report that our sister publication, the Salisbury Independent, was winner of a public service award for “Opiates Scourge” and received three other honors.
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The Delaware State News is celebrating five awards announced Friday at the 2015 Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association editorial luncheon in Baltimore. Andy Walter, our sports editor and member of the Delaware State News staff for 30 years, won first place for best sports story for his coverage of Smyrna High School’s incredible state football championship, a 32-26 win against Salesianum at Delaware Stadium in Newark.As the lead of his story read, “The moment will probably last forever in Smyrna High football legend.” Former Delaware State News photographer Dave Chambers won first-place awards for photo series and sports photo. The photo series was coverage of the Dancing with the Delaware Stars which featured our own Tonda Parks (Vice President/Advertising) starring as Lady Gaga in a fun dance routine. The sports photo featured Polytech’s Juwan Gray soaring toward the basket in a state playoff win against Dover High. Reporter Craig Anderson won second place in the education reporting division with an in-depth look at the issue of sex abuse in schools. It was headlined, “Keeping sex out of education.” Former Delaware State News reporter Arshon Howard won a second place award in local government reporting with a story on the county planning office’s approval of the Silo Speedway dirt track in Felton. The track’s neighbor, Pizzadili Vineyard and Winery, is currently in court with its opposition to the track. Glenn Rolfe, editor of our sister paper the Sussex County Post, was a first-place winner in the feature category for his story “Baby Alana — the little girl who touched our hearts.” Alana Prettyman, of Frankford, was just a little over a year old when she died of complications of a neurodegenerative disease in December. We’re also proud to report that our sister publication, the Salisbury Independent, was winner of a public service award for “Opiates Scourge” and received three other honors. ***
The Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association represents newspapers of all sizes — weeklies and dailies — in the region and its 114 members collectively have more than 5.1 million readers. The contest, judged by our counterparts in New Jersey, had 1,900 entries. Among the big winners was the Baltimore Sun, whose work on the Freddie Gray case was among the most celebrated. Gray’s death resulted in violence and riots in the city.***
A Cape Henlopen High School senior was among the finalists for the MDDC Journalist of the Year. Marissa McCloy is the editor-in-chief of the Viking Ventures student newspaper at Cape Henlopen and leads a group of 33 student journalists who produce content for a website — www.capevikingventures.com — and six print editions. Her teacher, Amie King, says Marissa “takes action and inspires others to help make Cape Publications the best it can be.” The judges said “she can cover a wide range of topics, not only pertaining to her school, but her generation.” The winner of the honor was Richard Montgomery High School (Rockville, Maryland) senior Andrew Kostka. The student journalist award is named in honor of the late Frederick News-Post managing editor Michael S. Powell, who died of cancer in 2004. Andrew received a $1,500 scholarship.***
It’s almost summer. We’re just two weekends away from the long Memorial Day weekend. In the works in the Delaware State News advertising department and newsroom is a special section we’re calling “100 Things to Do This Summer.” You likely already have some ideas of what you want to do for the first time or enjoy as annual rites of summer. If you have something you think should be included among the 100 things, feel free to email it to us at newsroom@newszap.com. The section will appear in our Tuesday, May 31, edition.
