SCHULTZ PAPER COLLECTS NUMEROUS HONORS; QUILL AND SCROLL, STATE AWARDS ARE EARNED BY STAFF OF THE PAW

The staff of the L.J. Schultz Middle School newspaper, The Paw, won a record number of awards in competition this year.

The paper earned honors from the National Beta Club, and won nine national Quill and Scroll awards and 14 state awards, including the prestigious All-Missouri Award.

Only 13 student newspapers earned the All-Missouri Award this year, and The Paw was the only middle school paper to receive this distinction. The other recipients were high school papers.

The Paw staff earned a plaque in recognition of excellence in content and presentation from the National Beta Club.

In the Quill and Scroll national contest, judges select the best entry in each story or photo division to receive a National Sweepstakes Prize. Two Paw writers were awarded Sweepstakes prizes this year.

Melissa Renard won Best Junior High News Story for her story about the opening of the Cape Girardeau Teen Center last year.

John Hearnes was awarded the prize for Best National Junior High Regular Column for his entry, "Earth Day, bah humbug."

In the Quill and Scroll national contest, judges also present Gold Key awards to writers of top stories and photos from around the country.

Both Renard and Hearnes also earned Gold Keys for their entries. Renard won a second Gold Key for her editorial, "Area needs Capaha Falls."

Other national Gold Key winners were Jeremy Freeman for his sports column, "Speaking of Fitness, Powercise"; David Haycraft for his general column, "The Search for Gifts"; Stephanie Slaten for her feature story, "From Saudi sands to Schultz hands"; and Nathan Zygmund for his photography feature "Shawn Retherford and Pat Glueck perform."

In the MIPA state contest, first place honors for individuals went to Betsy Martin for her sports feature, "Rider loves contest arena"; Nikki Seabaugh for her photo, "Dissecting an earthworm"; and Laura Sheets for her feature story on Norman Puckett.

Earning second place in the state in general column writing was Diana Bartosik for her column, "Clicking ... it's contagious."

Earning third place in the state were Michelle Bennett for her photo, "As a Mirliton," Matt Jones for his general column, "Quake predicting, very shaky," and the team of Betsy Martin, Stephanie Slaten and Teresa Welker for their in-depth series about the Gulf War.

Earning state honorable mentions were Michelle Bennett for an editorial, "Troops need Schultz support"; Courtney Boren for her photo, "Spelling bee finalists"; David Haycraft for his cartoon, "Saddam's underground fort," and Stephanie Slaten for her sports column, "No records ... but lots of fun."

The 24 awards mark a record for The Paw, which has completed its sixth year of publication.

The paper is sponsored by the Schultz Adopt-A-School partner, the Southeast Missourian.

Members of The Paw staff this year are Jeff Banks, Diana Bartosik, Tiffany Biggerstaff, Courtney Boren, Alisa Branum, Christy Brueckner, Meridith Chambers, Casey Cook, Gabe Hart, David Haycraft, Matt Jones, Ankita Kadakia, Becky Long, Betsy Martin, Todd Matzat, Tina McCloskey, Pat Moon, Matt Payne, Sara Pedigo, Sven Rainey, Temper Revelle, Greg Sadler, Erinn Schermann, Nikki Seabaugh, Laura Sheets, Stephanie Slaten, Laura Wagoner, and Teresa Welker.

The adviser is Pat Heckert.