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Lightning wins top award for Alpine Woods coverage


The Hendersonville Lightning won the top award for public service for small weeklies during the North Carolina Press Association’s Winter Institute last month in Chapel Hill.


Judges of the 2015 NCPA News, Editorial and Photojournalism recognized the Lightning for its coverage of Alpine Woods Resort, a rundown trailer park off Howard Gap Road. The Lightning broke the story in March 2014 of the 80-unit park containing homes with no running water and furnaces. The newspaper followed the story throughout the year, chronicling efforts by city and county officials and law enforcement agencies to crack down on crime, evict trouble-making tenants, fix the water problems and make the dwellings livable.
In stories and editorials, the newspaper pointed out that, as bad as conditions were, Alpine Woods represented one of the few forms of affordable housing in the county. “Great series,” a judge wrote. “I enjoyed reading all the different angles, and I felt it informed readers well of the plight of the residents. Without it, residents may have never known what was actually going on in this community. It was impressive the way the paper stayed with the story for six months while still keeping the story fresh!”
The NCPA awards also recognized the Lightning with these other awards:
• News Enterprise Reporting, 1st place, Alpine Woods.
• News Enterprise Reporting, 2nd place, Duke Power.
• Special Section, 2nd place, staff, Election Guide 2014. “An election is serious business and the Guide treats this one that way,” judges said. “Nicely done … and very important.”
• Special Section, 3rd place, staff, 69th Annual North Carolina Apple Festival Guide.
The Lightning’s advertising director, Paula Roberts, won three design awards for her work:
• Best Use of Color, 1st place, Sycamore Cycle.
• Best Apparel, Jewelry & Accessories Ad, 2nd place, Shelley’s Jewelry.
• Best Advertising Campaign, 3rd place, Rick Wood for Senate.
“We were pleased to be recognized for our work in 2015,” said Bill Moss, editor and publisher. “As always the larger reward for us is that the community wins when a locally owned locally operated newspaper like ours delivers coverage of the most important stories of the year that goes beyond the routine and digs below the surface.”