The Seward County Independent earned one first, two seconds and two third places and The Milford Times picked up 13 awards at the annual Nebraska Press Association convention April 18 and 19.
     Entries were judged by the Tennessee Press Association and are divided by circulation numbers. The SCI is in the largest circulation class.
     It won first place in Single Retail Advertising Idea, black and white, for an ad for the annual Health Fair done by Patti Danbom and Lynn Dance.
     Comments were: "Attractive mix of art/graphics. Lots of copy, but well arranged."
     The SCI earned second in Youth Coverage for its classroom of the week pages and in Newspaper Promotion for the price freeze.
    
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    Judges' comments for the youth coverage read: "Your dedication to the youth is noted. A full page dedicated to them is admirable. Good balance with a different school each week. Nice!"
     The price freeze was created by Rachelle Hinrichs and Tammy Leff. Judges' comments read: "Clever concept; gives people enought time to respond but still creates a sense of urgency. Works well as B/W."
     The Independent placed third in the Small Ad and Agricultural Advertisment competitions.
     The small ad was for Fashions by Barb and was created by Pat Daehling and Patti Danbom. The judges said: "Cute idea. Use of artwork and white space draws your eye to ad. Conveys message in a witty way."
     The agricultural ad was done for Cattle National Bank by Patti Danbom and Lynn Dance. No comments were given.
     The Milford Times won first place in Reader Interaction and Lifestyle reporting. Youth Coverage and Use of Color took second place. In third place was an editorial page and specialty page.
     Reporter Nancy Swarts won a first place in Feature Series: "Historian Uncovers WWII Crashes." Swarts also won third place for Personal Column, Sportswriting: "Whitewater Rafting," and Feature Series, "Uncommonly Good."
     Editor Nancy McGill took first place for the Pleasant Dale editorial "Throw 'Em a Bone-Not This Time" and third place in Spot News: "Woman Stumbles into Big Blue." McGill also won third place for a Single Feature Story: "Wang pleas to city for doves."
     Also during the weekend, Mark Rhoades, owner of the SCI and The Milford Times, was installed as president of the Nebraska Press Association. Rhoades lives in Blair.