First Place, Feature Picture Story - Eustacio Humphrey / The Plain Dealer
First Place, Feature Picture Story - Eustacio Humphrey / The Plain DealerSeventeen-year-old Justin Allshouse and 15-year-old Chelsey Keep have been dating for about two years. A year ago, Justin was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Chelsey was by his side. He remembers Chelsey being stoic and reserved at the news. She remembers sobbing as she sat next to him. "I want to be with my friends. I want to dress up in a tux. And I want to dance with my girlfriend in my arms." Justin and Chelsey sit inside the limousine on their way to the prom.
First Place, Feature Picture Story - Eustacio Humphrey / The Plain DealerJustin Allshouse was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia one year ago. "I could not believe it when I heard I had cancer. I cried and felt angry," he said. "Chelsey helps me a lot by just being a friend to me." Teresa Smucker, RN carries the IV with chemotherapy to transfer Justin to another room.
First Place, Feature Picture Story - Eustacio Humphrey / The Plain DealerTeresa Smucker, RN and Kathy Allshouse, Justin's mother talk about his condition while Chelsey entertains him while he is receiving chemotherapy. "Chelsey helps me forget that I have this disease. She makes me laugh and feel good about myself. She is the only one, besides my mother, who understands how important it is for me to feel and be treated normal."
First Place, Feature Picture Story - Eustacio Humphrey / The Plain Dealer"I'd rather have Chelsey shave my head, because I can miss some spots," said Justin. "I like to shave his head," said Chelsey. Lately, Justin's hair has fallen out because of the chemotherapy. He prefers to have hair but has grown use to the bald look. "I shaving it for the prom. It is going to look better than having bald spots on my head," he said.
First Place, Feature Picture Story - Eustacio Humphrey / The Plain Dealer"I like to go with him when he gets his spinal," said Chelsey. "My parents understand how important it is for me to be there with Justin." Chelsey takes days off from school on days as important as this to be with Justin. Chelsey and Kathy [Justin's mother] hold him and gently rub their hands on his back and head while they whisper comforting words of love, "good job Justin, you are doing great, I love you." "It helps a lot when they are here with me and it makes things go a lot faster."
First Place, Feature Picture Story - Eustacio Humphrey / The Plain Dealer"I helped her pick the dress," said Justin. On a Sunday afternoon, they go to the mall near Mentor to shop for Chelsey's prom dress which she found at JC Penney.The price was just right for Chelsey. "I really don't like to go out shopping that much and I don't want to spend a lot of money on a dress," she said. She paid $102.50. "Hey, you are suppose to help me," said Chelsey while Justin takes a small break on the floor of Kaufman's department store.
First Place, Feature Picture Story - Eustacio Humphrey / The Plain DealerKathy Allshouse (left) makes sure that her son, Justin, looks his best before he leaves for the prom with his girlfriend of two years, Chelsey Keep.
First Place, Feature Picture Story - Eustacio Humphrey / The Plain DealerJustin Allshouse and Chelsey Keep look at one another before leaving for their junior prom. Chelsey dressed inside Justin's bedroom and he dressed inside his brother's. "We looked at each other and smiled and we were both saying I love you, but not really saying it," said Chelsey. "I am glad that Justin got to go to the prom because there was always that chance that he could not go," she said.
First Place, Feature Picture Story - Eustacio Humphrey / The Plain DealerAt their high school prom, Justin Allshouse wraps his arms around his girlfriend of two years, Chelsey Keep as they dance to the last song of Edgewood High School's Junior prom. "I felt really close to her," said Justin "because we've been going out for two years. The love we have is really good. I am glad to be with her right now," he said.
Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Dale Omori / The Plain Dealer
Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Dale Omori / The Plain DealerThe southern shore of Lake Erie is along a major migratory route for many species of birds. A group of state and local wildlife officials as well as dedicated volunteers count and band the birds each spring. Black Swamp volunteers as well as personnel from Ottawa Wildlife Refuge and Crane Creek State Park paddle ashore to the beach on West Sister Island, in the western basin of Lake Erie. The island is a designated bird sanctuary, off limits to the public.
Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Dale Omori / The Plain DealerA herring gull hovers over Ohio Division of Wildlife intern Chris Riddle as he walks the gravel beach on West Sister Island in the western basin of Lake Erie. He is looking to catch young herring gulls for banding.
Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Dale Omori / The Plain DealerA young great white egret peers down from its nest on West Sister Island in the western basin of Lake Erie.
Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Dale Omori / The Plain DealerBlack Swamp volunteer Julie Shieldcastle, grabs a young great white egret by the legs as it is perched on its nest on West Sister Island in the western basin of Lake Erie. She was part of a team that went to the island to capture and band young egrets, herons and seagulls.
Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Dale Omori / The Plain DealerA feather lights atop the cap of Black Swamp volunteer Kim Fredritz, of Carey, Ohio on West Sister Island in the western basin of Lake Erie.
Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Dale Omori / The Plain DealerBlack Swamp volunteer Julie Shieldcastle holds vour warblers just taken from the nets. They will be tagged, weighed and measured and released.
Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Dale Omori / The Plain DealerBill Rinehart, of Bloomdale, Ohio, holds a bag of birds taken from the nets May 13, 2002, in Ottawa County.
Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Dale Omori / The Plain DealerBlack Swamp volunteer Mark Shieldcastle records the vital statistics of the warbler he holds in his hand May 13, 2002, in Ottawa County.
Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Dale Omori / The Plain DealerBlack Swamp volunteers hike back to camp after checking nets in Ottawa County.
Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Greg Ruffing / Kent State University
Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Greg Ruffing / Kent State UniversityBryan Halverson wanders the streets searching--searching for a way of life despite suffering from schizophrenia, searching for acceptance in a society that tends to isolate and stigmatize the mentally ill.
Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Greg Ruffing / Kent State UniversityBryan takes a cigarette break with other patients at a residential care center where he was involuntarily committed. For those affected by mental illness, this rehabilitation facility serves as a middle ground between a lockdown institution and independent living.
Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Greg Ruffing / Kent State UniversityThe symptoms of Bryan's schizophrenic condition include hallucinations, paranoia and hearing voices, often making him unable to distinguish between reality and non-reality.
Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Greg Ruffing / Kent State UniversityBryan marvels at a piece of horror film memorabilia he found while sorting through materials during his work at a recycling plant. The work is intended to aid Bryan in his rehabilitation by giving him responsibility and a sense of independence. Bryan's hard work recently earned him a promotion and pay raise.
Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Greg Ruffing / Kent State UniversityBryan chats with his work supervisor, Bobbie Williams, who Bryan also considers to be one of his best friends. While Bryan has consistently tried to make new friends, many of his relationships have been superficial--for example, people have taken advantage of him in his eagerness to be accepted, his case worker said.
Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Greg Ruffing / Kent State UniversityBryan and his girlfriend, Sharon Cuno, who is also a patient at the care center, pass a pair of joggers as they walk down the street to a coffee shop, a trip which has become a near-daily routine for the pair.
Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Greg Ruffing / Kent State UniversityMedication time at the care center: a nurse gives Bryan his daily dose of medication in hopes of controlling the often intrusive and disruptive symptoms of his condition.
Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Greg Ruffing / Kent State UniversityAlthough he is trying to take control of his life, Bryan is often hindered by a fear of possible relapse--a common problem for those with mental illnesses.
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Bill Kennedy / The Plain Dealer
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Bill Kennedy / The Plain DealerHaving bought my first camera, it was unusual for June Kennedy not to see her son without a camera draped around his neck. It was with a camera that I documented a small part of her institutional stays and the final days of her life. The most important things in Juney's life were her Roman Catholic beliefs and her only child, whose baby shoes rest atop a television in her room at the Holyoke Soldiers Home in Massachusetts.
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Bill Kennedy / The Plain DealerJuney waits at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut for her plane that will take her to Ohio, leaving Holyoke, MA, where she lived most of her life.
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Bill Kennedy / The Plain DealerAfter a bout of dehydration just days before, Juney bounced back mentally sharp with a sparkle in her eye. These moments of lucidity became less frequent as time passed.
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Bill Kennedy / The Plain DealerHolidays were especially tough on all of us as we said our goodbyes leaving Juney alone in her nursing home room.
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Bill Kennedy / The Plain DealerThe boys taught their grandmother the only bit of sign language they knew, the sign for "I love you". They used it often and Juney, sidelined after a tumble from her wheelchair resulting in 6 stitches in her head, wouldn't let her injury keep her from telling us how much she loved us.
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Bill Kennedy / The Plain DealerMany times the visits were conversationalless. We sat or laid on the bed, like grandson Dave, and sometimes watched TV and then left.
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Bill Kennedy / The Plain DealerThe night that Juney died, despite the fact she was unresponsive, she was comforted and surrounded by her family. Her daughter-in-law, Megan, holds Juney's hand as her life dwindled to minutes.
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Bill Kennedy / The Plain DealerReturning to Massachusetts for her funeral and burial in a family plot, the hearse bears not only Juney's body but a flag, signifying her military service.
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Bill Kennedy / The Plain DealerDave, the younger of Juney's grandson's, picks up a "special stone" to take back to Ohio while visiting his grandmother's gravesite the day after the funeral. With no close family left in Massachusetts, we may never return to Juney's grave site.
![First Place, Feature Picture Story - Eustacio Humphrey / The Plain Dealer"I like to go with him when he gets his spinal," said Chelsey. "My parents understand how important it is for me to be there with Justin." Chelsey takes days off from school on days as important as this to be with Justin. Chelsey and Kathy [Justin's mother] hold him and gently rub their hands on his back and head while they whisper comforting words of love, "good job Justin, you are doing great, I love you." "It helps a lot when they are here with me and it makes things go a lot faster."](images/IMG_6.jpg)
