Published: March 29, 2008 10:56 pm         

Enid News earns honors from state AP

The Enid News & Eagle received eight awards Saturday night at the annual Carl Rogan Awards program sponsored by The Associated Press/Oklahoma News Executives.

The awards banquet was at DoubleTree Warren Place in Tulsa.

Chief photographer Billy Hefton placed first in photo package for a series of photographs documenting efforts to recover the body of a teenage boy who drowned in Kingfisher in June 2007.

Sports Editor Mark Rountree placed second in the spot sports story category for his coverage of a Northern Oklahoma College Enid baseball game.

The News & Eagle also had four third-place awards:

• Staff writer Cass Rains was honored in spot news coverage for his story about a collision between Enid Police Department cruiser and an Oklahoma Bible Academy school bus in December.

• Rains and staff writer Robert Barron were honored for their March 2007 story about the collapse of a bridge on West Randolph.

• News Editor Violet Hassler was honored for her design of Page A1.

• Barron also was honored in a special Centennial story category for his story on several Enid men who built a covered wagon to participate in a covered wagon and chuck wagon rendezvous.

Receiving honorable mentions were senior writer Jeff Mullin for personal columns and graphics director Pam Gumaer for graphics/illustrations.

The News & Eagle competed with the Daily Oklahoman, Tulsa World, Muskogee Phoenix as well as newspapers in Fort Smith, Ark., Wichita Falls, Texas, and Lawton.

Associate Editor Kevin Hassler, as president of AP/ONE, assisted with presentation of the awards and was honored for his service leading the organization.