2014 ONPA Pictures of the Year

First Place, Feature Picture Story - Jessica Phelps / Newark Advocate

First Place, Feature Picture Story - Jessica Phelps / Newark Advocate

Michele Dobos is an addict – one who has stolen, taken drugs to a drug screening and broken other laws. But she is not alone. In fact, she is one of thousands across Ohio struggling with addiction. She faced many struggles in her first weeks of being sober, but she did not let them deter her. Michele Dobos kisses her son Syncere before leaving home to meet with her parole officer for the first time. She was worried about being sent back to jail and further traumatizing her son because she had missed two court ordered narcotics anonymous meetings.

First Place, Feature Picture Story - Jessica Phelps / Newark Advocate

Michele Dobos nervously waits for her first meeting with her parole officer, Chad Smith. She was worried about being sent back to jail because she had missed two court ordered narcotics anonymous meetings. As part of her early release from jail Michele has to participate in meetings for addiction, daily NA or AA meetings and was required to pass drug test every morning. This strict regiment has helped her stay clean, but wears her down and occupies a good part of her day each day.

First Place, Feature Picture Story - Jessica Phelps / Newark Advocate

Michele Dobos smokes and talks with other addict friends before entering a court ordered AA meeting.

First Place, Feature Picture Story - Jessica Phelps / Newark Advocate

Michele's younger brother, Carl, plays music on his cell phone, while Michele's boyfriend Travis playfully kisses her behind him. All three are recovering methamphetamine addicts.

First Place, Feature Picture Story - Jessica Phelps / Newark Advocate

Michele hugs her boyfriend Travis before leaving for her daily trip to be drug tested. Michele and Travis met each other two days after her release from jail. Her son, Syncere, quickly became attached to Travis calling him daddy after a couple of weeks.

First Place, Feature Picture Story - Jessica Phelps / Newark Advocate

Travis holds Syncere to try and calm him down while Michele gets ready for her drug test. Travis began dating Michele two days after her release from jail, both are recovering from a methamphetamine addiction.

First Place, Feature Picture Story - Jessica Phelps / Newark Advocate

Carl smokes on his bed while listening to music and reading old texts from his ex. Carl had moved in with Michele to escape trouble at home. While Michele was using methamphetamine he began to use it as well and is now fighting off his own addiction.

First Place, Feature Picture Story - Jessica Phelps / Newark Advocate

Michele embraces her son and walks angrily away from her boyfriend, Travis, who had been watching her son during a narcotics anonymous meeting. The couple were both in the meeting but Travis who is also a recovering addict took her son outside because he was disrupting the meeting. Michele in turn had become very worried when she could not find them right away.

First Place, Feature Picture Story - Jessica Phelps / Newark Advocate

Court appointed attorney, Bryan Bowen, explains the felony 3 charge Michele is facing and the possible outcomes before entering her plea of not guilty. Michele was charged with possession for 3.2 grams of methamphetamine that fell from her pants in May in front of her parole officer. This occurred before she had committed to her recovery from addiction.

First Place, Feature Picture Story - Jessica Phelps / Newark Advocate

Standing in from of the magistrate with her court appointed attorney, Michele enters her plea of not guilty at her arraignment on a felony 3 drug charge. Michele was charged with possession for 3.2 grams of methamphetamine that fell from her pants in May in front of her parole officer. This occurred before she had committed to her recovery from addiction.

First Place, Feature Picture Story - Jessica Phelps / Newark Advocate

After returning from her court hearing, Michele, exhausted and stressed from the day, gives her son, Syncere, a bath. Michele just keeps reminding herself its one day at a time, repeating the mantra from her NA meetings "just for today".

First Place, Feature Picture Story - Jessica Phelps / Newark Advocate

"Just for today" is the mantra helping Michele (left and front) through her recovery. Michele and her friend Angie (top right) began using Methamphetamine together when Michele's son, Syncere, was month old. Her brother Carl also began using when he moved in with Michele. Angie had moved in with the other two saying "we started this together, now we're gonna finish it together. "

Second Place, Feature Picture Story - /

Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Isaac Hale / Ohio University

The Southeastern Probation Treatment Alternative (SEPTA) correctional facility is a community-based residental center, located in Nelsonville, Ohio. It houses approximately 106 adult felony offenders and was created in response to the severe overcrowding of the state prison system. Deputy Sheriff Lacey Casto unlocks Thomas Browning's, left, handcuffs as Charles Guess, right, waits for his handcuffs to be removed just after being admitted to intake at SEPTA.

Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Isaac Hale / Ohio University

Resident monitor Roger Taylor calls in the number of residents unaccounted for in the west wing of the facility during a daily head count at SEPTA. The facility takes only non-violent offenders and offers residents a variety of classes and activities that run from a few days to six months.

Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Isaac Hale / Ohio University

Thomas Browning has a meal in a holding cell soon after being admitted to the facility. Depending on the program they're put in, residents are incarcerated for five months, six months, or ninety days.

Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Isaac Hale / Ohio University

Charles Guess makes his one phone call soon after being brought in to the correctional facility to his wife to tell her to bring clothes to the facility.

Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Isaac Hale / Ohio University

Michael Hall, left, folds laundry as Mark Bouillion, right, sleeps in their living quarters in the east wing of the facility. The wings of the facility split residents into two groups according to scores on a facility entrance exam.

Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Isaac Hale / Ohio University

All residents are given a locker to secure their personal possessions Photographs of Bryan Hopkins' wife and child cover the inside of his locker. Inmates are allowed one thirty-minute visit from their family each week.

Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Isaac Hale / Ohio University

Once a month, the facility brings in a stylist to cut residents' hair. Inmate Kevin "Turtle" Busch gets his hair cut by Jennifer Moleski. Once a month, the facility brings in a stylist to cut residents' hair.

Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Isaac Hale / Ohio University

Bradley Bartlett writes something he could improve upon when interacting with his family as other residents wait their turn during a parenting-skills class. Residents were asked to write what skills they could improve upon on the left side of the board and things they had learned from the course on the right side.

Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Isaac Hale / Ohio University

David Jenkins, bottom left, hands William Holtzapfel, top left, play money as Jeff Swick, top right, rolls the dice and Frankie Sinco, bottom right, observes the game of Monopoly in the indoor recreational area of the west wing. Residents can play board games, watch television and exercise outside during their down time.

Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Isaac Hale / Ohio University

Lucas Reed, center, shoots the basketball during a game of Horse as Phil Stemble, right, and Jared Shumway, left, await the rebound. Troy Jones, foreground, smokes a cigarette, which is a form of currency between the residents.

Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Isaac Hale / Ohio University

Larenzo Fisher does pull-ups on the recreational yard's only piece of workout equipment. A former Ohio University football player, Fisher pleaded guilty to felony drug trafficing and is serving his sentence at SEPTA.

Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Isaac Hale / Ohio University

Lucas Reed, right, looks off after reading forms allowing for his early release from the SEPTA Correctional Facility.

Third Place, Feature Picture Story - /

Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Logan Riely / Ohio University

This is a story about the life of being a resident at O’Blenness hospital in Athens, Ohio. A resident is a man or woman training to become a full-time doctor.

The story is centered around three female residents, Sarah, Emily, and Andrea who are in the process of becoming OB/GYN’s. The exhaustion of being on call and sleeping at the hospital every night as well as the joy you bring life into the world are what these women must go through in order to do something miraculous.

Residency life affects your physical health, mental health, family life, and social life. Spending 120 hours a week working on the labor and delivery floor takes a certain amount of determination and love, which is what it takes to become an OB/GYN.

Dr. Sarah Gerlach enters the labor and delivery floor while on call. Residents are rotated to being on call every three days and must perform at their best ability at any given time of the night.

Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Logan Riely / Ohio University

Dr. Gerlach gives an ultrasound on Jessica Cooper prior to her delivery making sure that the baby is facing in the right direction.

Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Logan Riely / Ohio University

Dr. Burnette washes her hands in preparation for a C-section.

Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Logan Riely / Ohio University

Dr. Burnette takes a look at the attending physician, Dr. Broecker, with medical student Maria Rodionova listening in the background.

Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Logan Riely / Ohio University

Attending physician, Dr. Broecker, lifts Samantha Smith's 9 lb. 1 oz. baby boy over the curtain and shown to her for the first time.

Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Logan Riely / Ohio University

Doctors tend to Samantha Smith after delivering her 9 lb. 1 oz. baby boy via C-section. This was Mrs. Smith's second child.

Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Logan Riely / Ohio University

Resident Dr. Emily Burnette holds a pair of scissors in preparation to sew Semantha Smith's stomach closed after they delivered the baby boy.

Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Logan Riely / Ohio University

Blood soaked cloths lay on the ground awaiting to be thrown away after the C-section. The blue tags are made with radioactive particles so they can be seen under an x-ray just in case one was accidentally left inside of a patient.

Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Logan Riely / Ohio University

Dr. Gerlach comforts 6 week old baby girl Kameron Colwell while on break. Kameron is the daughter of one of the attending nurses on the labor and delivery floor.

Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Logan Riely / Ohio University

Dr. Berry cares for a restless two day-old infant while also checking on patients charts while on call. Dr. Berry says, "I chose to do this because it makes me happy. And I haven't found anything else that makes me happier."

Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Logan Riely / Ohio University

Dr. Emily Burnette looks over paper work before starting her evening rounds while on call one night. Dr. Burnette says, "without coffee I would not survive."

Third Place, Feature Picture Story - Logan Riely / Ohio University

Dr. Andria Berry finally gets a moment to sleep at 2:00 am after a grueling 20 hour work day. Though she is sleeping, if anything problematic occurs, Dr. Berry may be called at any point in the night. On average, residents sleep no more than 5 hours a night while on call.

Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - /

Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Lisa DeJong / The Plain Dealer

Mother Mary Thomas, 81, says she has been blessed by good light inside the Adoration Monastery where she has lived for 55 years. No more than five feet tall, Mother Thomas is a member of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, a cloistered order tracing its origins to the early 13th century. These days, she toils cheerfully on a mural many times her size. Currently, Mother Thomas, 81, spends hours on her knees painting a 30 x16-foot mural that she hopes to present to the pope when he arrives in Philadelphia in September. "Art is chiefly a prayer for me, an expression of my love for God and His people," she said. Mother Mary Thomas has painted in vivid colors for over 60 years, influenced by studying mural painting in Mexico in her early 20s. A teacher encouraged her to go to the Chicago Institute of Art because, she was told, her work already reflected the influence of Diego Rivera, the famed Mexican muralist. Later, she would work with David Alfaro Siqueiros, a muralist in Mexico. After World War I, the Mexican Muralism style evolved with the intent of creating public art as visual narrative, especially as a means of social commentary and historical perspective. In 1958, at the age of 25, she went to Rome to further study and paint. During an Easter prayer vigil at St. Peter's Basilica, she said, she was overcome with an intense sense of joy and knew then that joining a religious order was her vocation. "If you told me then that I would end up in a cloistered order of nuns, I would not have believed it," she said.

Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Lisa DeJong / The Plain Dealer

A pink smock with kittens on it protects her vestments from the acrylic paint. Mother Mary Thomas, 81, spends hours on her knees painting a mural titled "Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and the Communion of Saints" inside the Adoration Monastery where she has lived for 55 years. No more than five feet tall, Mother Thomas is a member of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, a silent cloistered order tracing its origins to the early 13th century. These days, she toils cheerfully on a mural many times her size. Currently, Mother Thomas, 81, spends hours on her knees painting a 30 x16-foot mural that she hopes to present to the pope when he arrives in Philadelphia in September. "Art is chiefly a prayer for me, an expression of my love for God and His people," she said. Mother Mary Thomas has painted in vivid colors for over 60 years, influenced by studying mural painting in Mexico in her early 20s. A teacher encouraged her to go to the Chicago Institute of Art because, she was told, her work already reflected the influence of Diego Rivera, the famed Mexican muralist. Later, she would work with David Alfaro Siqueiros, a muralist in Mexico. After World War I, the Mexican Muralism style evolved with the intent of creating public art as visual narrative, especially as a means of social commentary and historical perspective. In 1958, at the age of 25, she went to Rome to further study and paint. During an Easter prayer vigil at St. Peter's Basilica, she said, she was overcome with an intense sense of joy and knew then that joining a religious order was her vocation. "If you told me then that I would end up in a cloistered order of nuns, I would not have believed it," she said.

Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Lisa DeJong / The Plain Dealer

Mother Mary Thomas is heavily influenced by Mexican Muralism and cubism. This is a portion of the vivid mural titled "Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and the Communion of Saints". After World War I, the Mexican Muralism style evolved with the intent of creating public art as visual narrative, especially as a means of social commentary and historical perspective.

Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Lisa DeJong / The Plain Dealer

Mother Mary Thomas, 81, has painted in vivid colors for over 60 years, influenced by studying mural painting in Mexico in her early 20s. A teacher encouraged her to go to the Chicago Institute of Art because, she was told, her work already reflected the influence of Diego Rivera, the famed Mexican muralist. Later, she would work with David Alfaro Siqueiros, another great muralist in Mexico.

Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Lisa DeJong / The Plain Dealer

Mother Mary Thomas, 81, points to where "God's light" comes into her favorite workroom behind the upper chapel. Behind her is a painting she completed in the 1950s. She actually gave up painting for about 12 years, after she joined the order, until 1972 when she started painting religious themes for the church.

Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Lisa DeJong / The Plain Dealer

Mother Mary Thomas, 81, left, visits with Sister Mary Joseph, 51, in the garden of the Adoration Monastery at The Church of the Conversion of St. Paul. Mother Mary Thomas, 81, has lived here as a cloistered nun of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration for 55 years. She is one of the 18 nuns that live here in silence. Speaking is only allowed at certain times of day.

Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Lisa DeJong / The Plain Dealer

Mother Mary Thomas, 81, kneels as she prays in the private, cloistered chapel of The Church of the Conversion of St. Paul. One of the 18 sisters is perpetually praying here, 24 hours a day. She actually gave up painting for about 12 years, after she joined the order, until 1972 when she started painting religious themes for the church.

Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Lisa DeJong / The Plain Dealer

Mother Mary Thomas, a painter, says she hasn't missed much from the outside world and feels very fulfilled living in a cloistered monastery for the last 55 years. Mother Mary Thomas, 81, right, laughs with Sister Mary Catherina Yu, 35, left, as they visit together in one of the few moments when speaking is allowed in the monastery. Sister Mary Catherina is kidding Mother Mary Thomas about her cooking and smelling her spicy South Korean food on the days that she cooks for the 18 sisters living at the monastery. Mother Thomas is a painter and is currently working on a huge religious mural. She has painted in vivid colors for over 60 years, influenced by studying mural painting in Mexico in her early 20s.

Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Lisa DeJong / The Plain Dealer

Mother Mary Thomas, 81, spends hours on her knees painting in silence. She has decided to paint Pope Francis into her 30 x16 mural that she has titled "Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and the Communion of Saints". Mother Thomas was commissioned to do the mural for a church in Philadelphia. Her hope is to present the mural to Pope Francis when he comes to Philadelphia in September.

Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Lisa DeJong / The Plain Dealer

Mother Mary Thomas, 81, has always thought she has the world's greatest art studio. She works alone and in silence inside the upper chapel at the Church of the Conversion of St. Paul, a Gothic marvel originally built for an Episcopalian congregation in 1875. It is also the only spot where she could work on her 30 x16 mural that she has titled "Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and the Communion of Saints".