Young journalists win honors in state contest

Student journalists at Flathead and Glacier high schools scooped up several awards recently from the Montana Journalism Education Association.

An eight-page section on drug, alcohol and marijuana use in Flathead’s monthly newspaper, The Arrow, won first place for public service reporting.

It’s the second year in a row The Arrow has won in that category.

Senior Madison “Maddy” Evans, who this year edited both The Arrow and the Flathead High annual, was named Montana Yearbook Journalist of the Year. She will receive a $500 scholarship from Walsworth Publishing Co., which specializes in yearbook publishing.

Evans plans to major in journalism at the University of Montana.

“Maddy has put in countless hours to make both publications stand out,” said Vicky Hyde, the yearbook and newspaper adviser. “I’m really looking forward to next year’s competition, where I think this year’s book will really shine.”

Because the contest deadline is in March, schools enter yearbooks from the preceding school year, Hyde explained. This year’s annuals don’t ship until late May.

In the newspaper division, stories and editions from the current school year are judged.

Junior Ashley Crevier, who will be the editor of The Arrow next year, took third place in opinion writing for a piece on people who “dine and dash.”

Senior photographer Katherine Ohlson won second-place awards for sports and news photographs in the contest’s newspaper division. She also took second for feature and sports photos in the yearbook division.

Glacier High’s yearbook, only in its second year, finished second in theme development and cover design.

The competition level was “very high” in this year’s contest, Hyde said. Ted Burnham, the Glacier publications adviser, agreed.

“The Great Falls and [C.M. Russell high school] newspapers continue to dominate. They remain great examples to follow, but we are catching up,” he said.

Burnham praised the work by Glacier’s newspaper and annual staff. The 2009 yearbook editors-in-chief were Kristie Funk, Emily Madieros and Amanda Keller, who graduated last year.

The editors of The Howl, Glacier’s student newspaper, are graduating seniors Breezy Warneke and Montana Ziglar.

Burnham said many improvements have been made since last year, and he expects both the Howl newspaper and the Glacier yearbook to continue improving and to receive more awards in years to come.

All awards were in Class AA.