Feature - 1st placeCourtney Jankovic, the snow queen, dances with Henry Seth as ballerinas float around them like snowflakes during the snow scene in dress rehearsal for Ohio Dance Theatre's "The Nutcracker" at the Stocker Arts Center at Lorain County Community College in Elyria. (Lisa DeJong / The Plain Dealer)
Feature - 2nd place Ballerinas, dressed as "flowers" start to run onstage for the Waltz of the Flowers scene during dress rehearsal for Ohio Dance Theatre's "The Nutcracker" at the Stocker Arts Center at Lorain County Community College in Elyria. (Lisa DeJong / The Plain Dealer)
Feature - 3rd placeDressed as a Wise Man, Dwayne Felger of Greenford, gets a kiss from his six-year-old camel "Herbie" as they greet people just before the Christmas Pageant at Christ Episcopal Church in Shaker Heights. This is the 20th year for the pageant on Christmas eve that tells the story of Joesph, Mary and baby Jesus. (Lisa DeJong / The Plain Dealer)
General News - 1st placeLorraine Fleming, an Army veteran and member of the Delaware County Veterans Association, bows her head as Reverend Dwight Cimino delivers the invocation during Wreaths Across America event at Oak Grove Cemetery. The event was presented by V.F.W Post 3297, and in addition to the formal ceremony honoring veterans, wreaths were placed on graves of veterans. (Lorrie Cecil / ThisWeek Newspapers)
General News - 2nd placeRonald Lipo eats a hot lunch at Kathy's Kitchen, which is part of the Akron Bible Church Baskets of Love Ministry. (Phil Masturzo / Akron Beacon Journal)
General News - 3rd placeLori Ballman, mother of Deanna Ballman, reads her victim impact state during Ali Salim sentencing in Delaware Country Common Pleas Court. Salim pleaded guilty in October to killing 23-year-old Deanna Ballman and her unborn daughter in the summer of 2012. (Kyle Robertson / The Columbus Dispatch)
Illustration - 1st placeA sushi plate of salmon, mackerel, and tuna at Otani Japanese Restaurant. Otani went through hard financial times recently, but once Rick Honda, the owner's son, started posting their story on Facebook the restaurant and karaoke bar has been able to stage a comeback. (Eamon Queeney / The Columbus Dispatch)
Illustration - 2nd placeSeared scallop, saffron rissotto with green onions and spinach at Latitude 41 in Columbus,. (Joshua A. Bickel / ThisWeek Newspapers)
Illustration - 3rd placeWhite-chocolate mousse from G. Michael's Bistro & Bar. (Fred Squillante / The Columbus Dispatch)
Illustration - HMScott Prajzner, a graduate student at the OSU Agricultural Research and Development Center, pulls his tweezers away from a bumble bee after attaching a tag that acts as a receiver and transmitter on the bee. The tag is helping in a study on bumble bee behavior. (Eric Albrecht / The Columbus Dispatch)
Portrait - 1st placeJohn J. Cesear Cesear, 89, of Parma, attended a Christmas Eve mass in Maastricht, The Netherlands, in 1943, with about 300 other soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge during World War II. Only 50 of those who attended the mass survived the battle. (Lisa DeJong / The Plain Dealer)
Portrait - 2nd placeA Honduras native, Luis Bardelang, 15, poses for a photograph with his newly adopted family (from left) sister Britney Peck, 21, mom Julie and dad Bill, in their Gahanna home. This will be Luis' first Christmas with his new family but they are far from strangers. The Bardelangs have a history of volunteering in Honduras and have been working hard for more than 7 years to adopt Luis. (Eamon Queeney / The Columbus Dispatch)
Portrait - 3rd placeMary Dohn sits in the group session room at Maryhaven where she was a patient in the women's program 37 years ago when most of the clients were alcoholic. Now the typical patient was an opiate addict. (Chris Russell / The Columbus Dispatch )
Sports Feature - 1st placeOhio State football players wait to enter the field prior to the first quarter of the Big Ten championship football game against the Michigan State Spartans at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch)
Sports Feature - 2nd placeChicago Bears linebacker Jerry Franklin runs through a flock of pigeons during a s kick return at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland. (Phil Masturzo / Akron Beacon Journal)
Sports Feature - 3rd placeFan Kevin Schroeder dances with his shirt off in the second period of the NHL game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the St. Louis Blues at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. (Eamon Queeney / The Columbus Dispatch)
Spot News - 1st placeA couple sits stranded in high water on top of their truck on West First Street in Springfield Township. Firefighters arrived and were able to rescue the couple, who were unharmed. (Marshall Gorby / Dayton Daily News)
Spot News - 2nd placeJennifer Pendleton, (left) and her sister-in-law Edna Pendleton (right) pull a rowboat full of their children, along with groceries and supplies in to the front porch of Edna's home on Chestnut Street in La Rue, Ohio. Severe flooding submerged the family's entire front yard in more than four inches of water, as well as filling the crawl space underneath their home. (Sam Greene / The Columbus Dispatch)
Spot News - 3rd placeFirefighters from Columbiana and Leetonia work at knocking down a fire at the home of Joe and Ruth Zarnosky. (Patricia Schaeffer / The (Lisbon) Morning Journal)
Sports - 1st placeOhio State wide receiver Philly Brown (10) can't make the catch against Michigan State Spartans safety Isaiah Lewis (9) during the first half of the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (Jonathan Quilter / The Columbus Dispatch)
Sports - 2nd placeUniversity of Michigan player Devin Funchess (87) leaps over Ohio State's Doran Grant (12) on his way to a first down during the second quarter of their football game in Ann Arbor. (Andy Morrison / The (Toledo) Blade)
Sports - 3rd placeDelaware's Brandon Dydek (left) wrestles with Hilliard Darby's Quentin Thatcher during their 138-pound match at Hilliard Darby High School.. (Joshua A. Bickel / ThisWeek Newspapers)
Story - 1st placeBexely Wallace works on her jump shot during a practice with her father, Chris, in front of her house in Pickerington. What sets Bexley apart from other 6-2 players at her age is her ball handing skills. Some scouts have already labeled Bexley the number one recruit in the class of 2018. (Kyle Robertson / The Columbus Dispatch)
Story - 2nd place(From left) Willie Russell, Clyde Williams and Cecil Howard wait for the start of the program during the Holiday Celebration at the Marion Franklin Recreation Center in Columbus. The men are members of the "Men in Black" performance group, an all-male, synchronized dance team for senior citizens who meet twice a week at the rec center to practice. The group was performing as part of the program, they specialize in a form of line dancing that is low impact. The oldest member of the group is 87 years old. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
Story - 3rd placeOhio quarterback Darius Vick waits in the dugout prior to the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. The East Carolina Pirates defeated the Ohio Bobcats 37-20. (Daniel Kubus / Ohio University)
