By LEONARD GRAY

Managing Editor

LAFAYETTE – L’Observateur received 17 awards in the Louisiana Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest last weekend, including a second place in the General Excellence category and a second place for Community Service for the Food For Families campaign.

The awards also included five first-place plaques, presented at the organization’s annual convention, held in Lafayette.

Under the news-editorial section of the awards, L’Observateur received both a first and second place awards for Best Feature Photos, for former staff reporter Sue Ellen Ross’s photo of Amari-Victoria Jones, awaiting the homecoming of her soldier-mom, Hadassa Jones, and also a

photo of David Smith and daughter, Barbara, at the Destrehan Plantation Spring Heritage Festival.

Former reporter Vickie Jambon won a first-place award for Best News Story for her article on the homicide of Esmeralda “Chachi” Valdez.

Also presented was a first place award for Leonard Gray’s photo feature on Whitney Plantation.

Additionally, honorable mention certificates were presented for best front page, a third place for best editorial page, an honorable mention for best sports coverage, a second place for best lifestyle coverage, a third place for best continuing coverage of a governmental issue, an honorable mention for best investigative reporting, an honorable mention for best graphic design.

Under the advertising category, L’Observateur received a first place award for Best Advertising Idea or Promotion for the Most Wanted Pages and a first place award for best classified pages.

Also, certificates were presented for third place for best in-paper promotion and a third place for best multiple-advertiser page.

This year’s contest included 93 newspapers, special-interest magazines and college publications with 4,839 entries.

News-editorial sweepstakes awards went to the Times-Picayune, the Lake Charles American Press, the Houma Courier, the Slidell Sentry-News, the Livingston Parish News, the Ascension Citizen and the West Side Journal of Port Allen.

Advertising sweepstakes awards went to the Baton Rouge Advocate, the Lafayette Advertiser, the Daily Iberian, the Ruston Daily Leader, the Covington News-Banner, the Jackson Independent and the West Side Journal.

Newspapers of the Year were the Advocate, the Advertiser, the Courier, the Sentry-News, the News-Banner, the Ascension Citizen and the West Side Journal.