Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 25/02) - Yellowknifer feature writers have won high praise from Alberta newspaper association judges.

Reporter Mike W. Bryant and former arts editor Michele LeTourneau won first place prizes at a recent Alberta Weekly Newspaper Association conference. They were two of six awards won by Northern News Services writers.

Bryant was honoured for his four-part series, The Survivors, about long-time city businesses that have grown with Yellowknife. He won first prize for Best Column or Feature Article on a Business Topic.

He also won second-place for Best Feature Column by a local writer. His Fishin' Technician 'The Prince of Prosperous Lake' left the judge "convinced that (when the weather is sunny and warm) Tom Sawyer is still out there."

Deh Cho Drum columnist Bill Laferte won the column category with his piece, 'Watching for the steamboat.' It took readers "for a morning excursion through his memories of life along the Mackenzie River."

LeTourneau worked with photographer Robert Dall to produce the Best Feature Story. 'Feeling the Heat' combined "crisp and descriptive writing ... supported by an array of story-telling photographs" to document a five-hour firewalking experience.

Deh Cho Drum editor Derek Neary also won two AWNA awards, third place for Best Local Editorial on a Business Topic and Best Local Editorial.

His business editorial supported Deh Cho First Nations efforts to negotiate an agreement on a pipeline project that would include job guarantees.

In 'Sound the alarm' Neary addressed the "serious problem of dwindling volunteer firefighters in the towns of Fort Providence and Wrigley, a situation that could have tragic consequences," said the judge. "This piece addresses the causes and consequences of the shortage in some depth."

Former Slave River Journal editor Paul Bickford, now News/North South Slave bureau chief, won second prize for his editorial focusing on the "controversial appointment of a former MLA and territorial minister as warden of the Territorial Women's Corrections Centre in Fort Smith."

Hay River Hub also won an award, first place for Excellence in Creative Advertising.