BILOXI — Veteran Meridian Star photographer Paula Merritt took home a first place award at Saturday’s Mississippi Press Association annual Better Newspaper Contest.
Merritt was recognized with a first place award in the sports action category for a photograph she took of a golfer hitting the ball out of the water. She beat out photographers from Mississippi’s largest newspapers — including the Clarion-Ledger and Sun Herald — in the Daily Division A competition.
This was the first time the Star competed in Daily Division A since 2001.
“We wanted to compete against the best,” said Meridian Star Executive Editor Fredie Carmichael. “We were on the borderline of divisions with our circulation and we opted to compete against the largest in the state.
“That makes this honor all the more special for Paula. She’s an outstanding photographer. We are extremely honored and proud of her.”
The Clarion-Ledger won the Mississippi Press Association’s general excellence award for the largest circulation daily newspapers in the state.
The Vicksburg Post and Greenwood Commonwealth won general excellence awards in their circulation categories.
The awards for the MPA’s annual Better Newspaper Contest were presented during the group’s convention in Biloxi.
Tim Kalich, editor of the Greenwood Commonwealth, won the J. Oliver Emmerich Editorial Excellence Award.
The Daniel M. Phillips Freedom of Information Award went to Waid Prather of The Carthaginian.
The Best Editorial Cartoon award was presented to Tim Lockley of The Sun Herald.
The Aimee Herschovici Photo of the Year award went to Bruce Newman of the Oxford Eagle.
The Bill Minor prize for Best Investigative Reporting went to Robin Fitzgerald of The Sun Herald.
The Bill Minor Prize for General News Reporting went to Rachel Leifer of the Hattiesburg American.
Local News
Merritt lands top award for sports photo
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City cuts payment to Watkins
The Meridian City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to cut their monthly payment to David Watkins, project developer of Meridian's new police station, by $9,999 until work resumes on the project.
The order, made during the Meridian City Council meeting Tuesday morning, included a mutual agreement between the councilmen and Watkins to reduce the project developer's monthly consultant fee of $10,000 to $1, effective Tuesday. -
Crews work on gasoline pipeline
If you hear a loud, booming sound early today, between 4 a.m.-10 a.m., there is no cause for alarm.
Workers with Plantation Pipeline will be performing maintenance work on their 30-foot gasoline pipeline in the Meridian area to accommodate the widening of Highway 493. The location of the work activity will be at Highway 493 North and Oak Hill Baptist Church, just inside the city limits. -
Team Spirit
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High Honor
The flowers and balloons Crestwood Elementary School Principal Kimberly Kendrick received at school Monday were not an early Valentines' Day gift.
Kendrick has been named Meridian Public School District's 2012 Administrator of the Year – an announcement that both surprised and wowed the 17-year veteran educator when made by MPSD Superintendent Dr. Alvin Taylor. -
Master Dance Class
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Digital system promises better communication
Hopefully in the near future you won't hear someone in the emergency services ask over the radio, "Can you hear me now?"
A digital communications system, one which is being pushed by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), is a few months away and, in some cases, is already in the testing phase in Lauderdale County. -
Inmate escapes custody
Mississippi Department of Corrections officials said Monday afternoon an inmate escaped from custody Friday and is still being sought.
Officials said Johnny Hall Jr. escaped from two Wilkinson County Correctional Facility officers’ custody while being escorted from his father’s wake at the Picayune Funeral Home in Picayune. Preliminary information indicates Hall left the officers and jumped into a waiting black vehicle with a white female driver. -
Citizen’s Police Academy begins today
The work law enforcement conducts on a daily basis is often misunderstood by the general public.
Officials at the Meridian Police Department developed a program to inform and educate citizens on what police do in serving and protecting the population. The program, The Citizen's Police Academy, has been gaining speed for a couple of years since it was first offered. Officials said it shows residents are interested in police work and how it is conducted. - Woman: decongestant brought meth charge in Alabama
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Star Of The Week: Dominique Goodwin-Jenkins
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