First Place, General News - Dave Zapotosky / The BladeTears stream down the cheeks of Joseph Okeke, a first grader at Harvard School, as students struggle to sing a song called Soldier's Heart, during a special event to install and dedicate a memorial brick (paver) in honor of Toledo Police Detective Keith Dressel, who was killed on Feruary 21, 2007. Danielle Dressel, the slain Detective's wife, and their son Noah, attended the event.
Second Place, General News - Doral Chenoweth III / The Columbus DispatchThrough thick glass, Sunny Bryant tries to touch the hand of his wife Bernice. She is currently in jail in northern Kentucky because of visa problems that are seemingly never resolved. Bernice served three months in jail, then was summarily released without any explanation.
Third Place, General News - Ben French / Suburban News PublicationsSophie Sheridan, 8, looks out of the window at her home on Wexford Road at friends and neighbors upon her return home last Thursday after getting a heart transplant.
Award of Excellence, General News - Ed Suba Jr / Akron Beacon JournalMary Domer of Springfield Township, Jene Michalek of Canton, and Kim Shoup of Uniontown, stand with a group of around 250 friends and neighbors who gathered to honor the memory of Jessie Marie Davis during a candlelight vigil at the Davis home. Davis' disappearance and the discovery of her body buried in park 3 days later after her boyfriend, Canton, Ohio police officer Bobby Cutts Jr. confessed, was national news for nearly two weeks.
Award of Excellence, General News - Gus Chan / The Plain DealerShawn Bell, of Bell Properties, goes through the window of a foreclosed home under the watchful eye of deputy Rob Kole.
Award of Excellence, General News - Lisa DeJong / The Plain DealerKim Elliot, mother of Asteve' "Cookie" Thomas, releases a dove near her daughter's grave site at Evergreen Memorial Park Cemetery. “It could have been your little sister, it could have been your baby, it could have been anybody, " Elliot said.
Award of Excellence, General News - Lew Stamp / Akron Beacon JournalFriends of Shawrica Lester offer her a last kiss during the funeral of the 18 year old at the Macedonia Baptist Church on Jan. 31, 2007. Police suspect she was caught in between rival gangs and gunned down leaving a teen night club.
Award of Excellence, General News - Tracy Boulian / The Plain DealerGenet Saeger (left) and her daughter Brielle, 10 months, of Norton, welcome Saeger's brother Specialist John Saeger, 21, of Clinton, home as he got off of the bus at a church in Green, on Nov. 5, 2007. Saeger, a member of Company D, 1st Battalion, 148th Infantry Regiment of the Ohio National Guard, just returned home with the group after being stationed in Kosovo for a year and a half. This was their first chance to see their families since their return.
Award of Excellence, General News - Tom Dodge / The Columbus DispatchFranklin County Common Pleas Judge Julie M.Lynch tells German Village robber Louis Hairston "This is not Kmart, there are no Blue Light specials" before sentencing him to 39 years.Hairston is standing with his attorney Stanlee E. Culbreath (right) and surrounded by Franklin County Sheriff deputies.
