MORGANTOWN, W.Va. The Shepherdstown Chronicle was among several newspapers that received top honors at the recent West Virginia Press Association Better Newspaper Contest held in Morgantown last weekend.

For General Excellence, the West Virginia Press Association recognized three places in each division. The newspapers recognized for General Excellence in editorial coverage in 2016 were as follows:

Division I (Dailies over 16,000 circulations): First place, The Charleston Gazette-Mail; second place, The Herald Dispatch, Huntington; third place, Parkersburg News and Sentinel.

Division II (Dailies 16,000 and under): First place, The Journal of Martinsburg; second place, The The Bluefield Daily Telegraph; and third place, Times West Virginian of Fairmont.

Division III (Weeklies over 4,000): First place, Hampshire Review, Romney; second place, The Times Record & Roane County Reporter, Spencer; and third place, The Spirit of Jefferson, Charles Town.

Division IV (Weeklies 4,000 and under): First place, The Record Delta, Buckhannon; second place, The Moorefield Examiner; and third place, The Shepherdstown Chronicle.

For General Excellence, the West Virginia Press Association recognized three places in each division. The newspapers recognized for General Excellence in advertising in 2016 were as follows:

Division I (Dailies over 16,000 circulations): First place, The Charleston Gazette-Mail; second place, Parkersburg News and Sentinel; and third place, The Herald Dispatch of Huntington.

Division II (Dailies 16,000 and under): First place, The Exponent Telegram, Clarksburg; second place, The Inter-Mountain of Elkins; and third place, The Times West Virginian, Fairmont.

Division III (Weeklies over 4,000): First place, The Times Record & Roane County Reporter, Spencer; second place, The Spirit of Jefferson, Charles Town; and third place, The Wetzel Chronicle, News Martinsville.

Division IV (Weeklies 4,000 and under): First place, The Moorefield Examiner; second place, The Princeton Times, and third place, The Tyler Star News.

To achieve top placement, papers earn point values per each winning editorial and advertising entry. Their totals then determine their placement within their division across the state.

To earn the third place nod, the Chronicle brought home several individual awards.

In advertising, recognition went to the following:

First Place; Best Spot Color Ad, Kim McDonald for DOT Foods

First Place Best Theme Pages Retail, Todd Beard for Pumpkin Patch

Second Place Best Theme Pages Retail, Kim McDonald for Tax Time

Third Place Best Theme Pages Retail, Kim McDonald for Here for You

In editorial, the winning entries were as follows:

First Place In-depth or Investigative Reporting, Kelly Cambrel, for “In the Spotlight: How safe is Shepherd’s Campus?”

First Place Best Newspaper Design, credit to the Staff for May 29, 2015 issue

First Place, Editorial Page, credit to the staff for the July 3, 2015 issue

Second Place Best News Feature, Toni Milbourne for Americorps VISTA member honors veterans

Second Place Best Lifestyles Feature, Toni Milbourne for The Magic of Disney: Marching band performs in Orlando

Third Place Best Lifestyles Feature, Vanessa McGuigan for Chasing a ballet dream en pointe

Third Place Best Sports Feature, Bob Madison for Almost hallowed ground at Fairfax Field

Third Place Best Sports News Reporting, Bob Madison for Colbert masters course, competition

Third Place Best Editorial, Toni Milbourne for Little League action swift and just

Third Place Best Lifestyle Columnist, Maggie Wolff Peterson for Miss Robin’s Dilemma and How to be thrifty

During Saturday evening’s festivities, David Corcoran, Sr., editor and publisher of the Glenville Democrat, won the Adam R. Kelly Premier Journalist Award, the WVPA’s top individual honor.

For the second year in a row, The Times Record & Roane County Reporter, owned by the Hedges family of Spencer Newspapers, won the West Virginia Press Association’s top newspaper honor: Newspaper of the Year.

“Our annual newspaper competition always brings out the best our state’s newspapers and journalists have to offer,” said Don Smith, executive director of the West Virginia Press Association. “From the largest daily newspaper to the smallest weekly newspaper, West Virginia residents benefit from the outstanding and dedicated work of journalists throughout the state. Community journalism remains the centerpiece of the newspaper industry in the Mountain State. The West Virginia Press Association is proud to recognize and honor the excellent work produced by West Virginia’s terrific newspapers and journalists.”

Newspapers across the state compete in four circulation groups, two each for daily and weekly newspapers. The contest has 28 categories, ranging from Coverage of Government Affairs to Best Sports Feature Writing and Best Editorial Page. In 2016, 35 newspapers submitted more than 2,000 entries.

For more information on the ad contest of the WVPA, contact Smith at 304-550-0454