Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerMarcellus "MJ" Whitehead, 8, sits in his wheelchair at his grandma's house in Evanston on Friday, November 12, 2021. In July, MJ was shot in the head and leg while leaving his neighborhood corner store with his older brother. For months, MJ has been receiving treatment at Cincinnati Children's Hospital for a severe brain injury. MJ left the hospital earlier this week, but still requires constant care from his grandmother and mother.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerCincinnati Police Detective Takia Smith sits for a portrait inside the offices of the Cincinnati Police Department's Criminal Investigation Section on Tuesday, November 23, 2021 in Queensgate. Det. Smith works in the violent crimes unit and investigates homicides. In 2021 in Hamilton County, 15 juveniles were charged with murder, more than the last four years combined. Det. Smith, a Cincinnati native who grew up in English Woods and West Price Hill, she’s familiar with the neighborhoods where the violence she investigates occurs. She’s the mother of a 14-year-old girl. Det. Smith said, "Last year, we saw young people, but not teenagers. This year, it’s the teenagers. They don’t know how to rationalize. They don’t know how to communicate. They are driven by their anger. It’s like a toddler. If an adult slaps a 2-year-old on the hand and tells them ‘no,’ the 2-year-old will hit you right back. Because that’s what they’re reacting to. They don’t think. They don’t rationalize." She continued, "When I interviewed my first 14-year-old (homicide suspect), I’m thinking to myself, he don’t even understand what he did to his life. Consequences? What are consequences? They don’t know. They don’t understand.”
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerCincinnati Reds shortstop Kyle Farmer (17) closes his eyes between plays stands in the outfield during the seventh inning of the baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, May 1, 2021, at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerA farmer plows a field as the sun sets on Tuesday, June 15, 2021 in Brookville, Indiana.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerDave Schmitt, Executive Director of the Mill Creek Alliance, walks his boat to the bank of the Mill Creek to pick up trash and debris during a clean-up in Evendale on Friday, April 16, 2021. In 1997, more than two decades after the Clean Water Act, the Mill Creek was declared the most polluted and endangered urban stream in North America. Some thought it was a lost cause. But not everyone. The Mill Creek Yacht Club has been working to restore the creek since 1994. Now, dozens of species of fish call the Mill Creek home.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerZylon Abernathy looks up at his mom, Infinity, as she holds him tight outside their apartment in Walnut Hills on Friday, April 16, 2021. While the pandemic's effect upon the family and the workplace is still being written, those who gave birth over the long months of the pandemic already know they faced new challenges others had not. For them, it has made for months of isolation and perseverance. Abernathy says her heart has grown more this year than she could ever imagine. She was in high school when she learned she was pregnant. Abernathy didn't know if she could be a mom. It wasn't something she saw in her future. Shortly after giving birth, Abernathy graduated high school. She thought about taking a year off before starting college, but her mentor encouraged her to keep going. Abernathy applied and received a place at the Scholar House, which provides housing for single parents and support and resources to complete post-secondary education. She currently works as a home health aide and is pursuing a nursing degree through the University of Cincinnati Blue Ash. There are moments when juggling school, work, and single parenting feels overwhelming. But when she looks at him, and he gives her that grin, she melts. "I love everything about him."
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerTwo mixed breed rescue dogs play at the animal shelter at the Ion Center for Violence Prevention on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021, in Maysville, Ky. The dogs’ owner brought them to the shelter, part of a pet protection program for domestic violence survivors. The identity of the owner is being withheld for privacy and protection. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports that women without children are more likely to postpone seeking shelter out of concern for their pets’ safety.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerBugs, a 22-year-old macaque monkey, sits on Teresa Bullock's shoulder to groom her hair inside Bullock's home, part of her Misfitland Monkey Rescue in Moscow, Ohio, on Monday, November 22, 2021. Bullock has a dangerous animal license for her three macaque monkeys. Ohio enacted laws that generally prohibit keeping dangerous wild animals as pets after the owner of a private zoo in Zanesville released dozens of animals before killing himself in October 2011. The loss of life prompted national outrage, and, in June 2012, then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed a bill into law regulating the possession of dangerous wild animals as pets and rescues. It held that, in general, no one could possess a dangerous wild animal on or after Jan. 1, 2014. Exceptions were made for people who already were authorized by the state to possess the animals before that date and for people who would obtain a state rescue facility permit for dangerous wild animals after it.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerMarvin, a service dog, takes a rest during a match between Jill Teichmann (SUI) and Naomi Osaka (JPN) in the Western & Southern Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. Teichmann won 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerPresident Joe Biden visits the IBEW/NECA Electrical Training Center on Wednesday, July 21, 2021 in Cincinnati before a CNN town hall at Mount St. Joseph University.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerGarnetta "Garri" White, 92, reads letters from her pen pal Doreen Samuel in Liverpool, England, on Wednesday, June 30, 2021 in her home in Villa Hills, Ky. White started writing to Doreen when she was 11 in 1939 through her Girl Scout Troop. The pen pals have exchanged letters every other month for over 80 years.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerA truck parks on Pearl Street in Laurel, Indiana on Monday, June 7, 2021. Franklin County has 23,000 residents. Fear, distrust and politics still dominate conversations about the COVID-19 vaccine among Franklin County's residents, complicating the job of public health officials, who worry the growing gap in America between communities with high and low vaccination rates will keep the pandemic going for years.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerKendra Tucker loads a U-Haul truck with her boyfriend, Brandon Schuler after being evicted from their home at Westbrook Village Mobile Home Park in Cleves, Ohio, on Tuesday, October 19, 2021. The couple has until Friday to vacate their three-bedroom mobile home. Schuler has been renting at the Westbrook Village for the past two years. Westbrook's landlord has filed the highest number of eviction lawsuits against tenants since the pandemic began. Hamilton County has seen a wave of eviction filings since the CDC eviction moratorium was lifted.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerMarcella Thompson talks about her eight-year-old son, Marcellus "MJ" Whitehead, in her home in East Westwood. On June 12, 2021, Marcellus was shot in the head and leg while walking to his neighborhood corner store with his brother. He is receiving treatment at Cincinnati Children's Hospital for a serious brain injury. Thompson has slept at the hospital beside her son every night. "My baby is still fighting," she said. "Some days, I don't know if he's going to make it through the night, honestly...He may never walk again. He may never talk again. He may never be able to see us again, hear us again...We're dependent on God. That's all we can do."
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerCincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto (19) stands at first base in the baseball game against the New York Mets, Monday, July 19, 2021 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerYoung fans wait for autographs after the New York Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds 15-11 in 11 innings, Monday, July 19, 2021 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerMiami University students graduate from the College of Creative Arts at Yager Stadium on Friday, May 14, 2021 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The graduation was outside to accommodate COVID-19 protocols. It was the first ceremony Miami University held after canceling the 2020 commencement.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerTroy Bradford operates a hay baler on his farm in Harrison County, Ky., on Monday, August 9, 2021. Bradford is leasing 200 acres of his farm for solar panels. Solar energy represents a change for Kentucky, whose economic prospects have long been tied to labor-intensive industries like coal and tobacco. But that change is coming, through tax credits, infrastructure deals and climate change incentives. According to Reuters, the Biden administration hopes solar could power 40% of the U.S. by 2035. That means a massive transition world, nation and region-wide. Community solar projects have been authorized in 19 states, and farmers around the country are making the switch. In Harrison County, that vision of the future is not yet a reality. The solar future is more personal than money or energy for this community. No one wants to lose the land where they've invested their lives.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerTroy Bradford works on his hay baler on his farm in Harrison County, Ky., on Monday, August 9, 2021. Bradford is leasing 200 acres of his farm for solar panels. "People who have the opportunity to do this now will be the lucky ones," said Bradford.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerA field of sunflowers on Troy and Mary-Ware Bradford's farm is in full bloom on Monday, August 9, 2021, in Harrison County, Ky. “Mother Nature’s a gamble, but solar isn’t,” said Troy Bradford, who is leasing 200 acres of his farms for solar panels, including prime land on the ‘dream farm’ he just purchased a few years ago.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerPam McCauley drives around her farm in Harrison County, Ky., on Wednesday, August 25, 2021, to show what fields will be leased for solar panels as her husband mows the field. "I'm going to be 65," she said. "I don't have any heirs. I don't know what else I can do. I have got to find some way that we can keep the family farm...and still have it profitable."
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerPam McCauley drives around her farm in Harrison County, Ky., on Wednesday, August 25, 2021, to show what fields will be leased for solar panels as part of Recurrent Energy's Blue Moon project. McCauley says that nothing she’s produced in the past – corn, soybeans, tobacco, hay or cattle – could bring in as much money as solar energy. She is just one among dozens of farmers who have signed up for solar leases in Harrison County, Kentucky. Renewable energy companies began approaching the community as early as 2014, and there are three projects currently in different stages of development.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerCommunity members ask questions about a proposed solar facility during a Recurrent Energy information session at the Harrison County Cooperative Extension Office in Cynthiana, Ky., on Wednesday, August 25, 2021.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerSkip Kuster drives around his farm in Harrison County, Ky., on Sunday, August 8, 2021. In 2016, Sylvia and Skip Kuster signed a contract to put nearly all of their land, approximately 350 acres, into solar. The lines would have to cross a small piece of the neighbors' farm to connect to the electrical grid. Neighbors expressed resistance, and the Kusters lost their lease in 2021.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerPower lines stretch down East Pike Street in downtown Cynthiana, Ky., on Wednesday, August 25, 2021.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerSkip Kuster closes the gate to his farm in Harrison County, Ky., on Sunday, August 8, 2021. Skip and Sylvia Kuster currently lease most of their 400-acre property to tenant farmers, but the money hasn't been enough to cover the costs of repairs on barns, fences and fields. The Kusters hoped to lease their land for solar but were blocked by a neighbor, who did not permit the solar company to cross part of their land to connect to the electrical grid. Sylvia Kuster believes that without the funds from solar, she and Skip will eventually lose their farm. “It's been a heartbreaker.”
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerVehicles travel in Harrison County, Ky., as the sun sets on Wednesday, August 25, 2021. To stave off the worst effects of the climate emergency, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates the planet will need 85% of its energy to come from renewable sources by 2050.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerKim Neace, a nurse practitioner, administers the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to Lisa Walker at the Long Branch Tavern in Laurel, Indiana, on Monday, June 7, 2021. After Walker's 15 minute observation period, she took a shot of tequila as part of the "shot for a shot" promotion by the Franklin County Health Department. Four out of five people in Franklin County are unvaccinated – the lowest vaccination rate in Greater Cincinnati and the fourth-lowest among Indiana's 92 counties. Poor, rural towns like Laurel, where the median income is about half that of the rest of the nation, are a big reason why. Fear, distrust and politics still dominate conversations about the vaccine among Laurel's 500 residents, complicating the job of public health officials, who worry the growing gap in America between communities with high and low vaccination rates will keep the pandemic going for years.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerReid Health of Wayne County sets up a temporary vaccination clinic at White's Farm Flea Market on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 in Franklin County, Indiana. The team from Reid Health traveled south to set up clinics and boost vaccination numbers in Franklin County, which has the lowest vaccination rate in the region and fourth-lowest rate among Indiana's 92 counties.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerSarah Naltner looks at her son Urban, 3, after getting her second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the White's Farm Flea Market on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 in Brookville, Indiana. The team from Reid Health worked with community leaders to identify popular locations in the county to set-up temporary vaccine clinics, including the weekly flea market and 4-H fairs.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerJennifer Profitt, president of Franklin County's health board, speaks at an EMS meeting about vaccine hesitancy at the Franklin County EMS offices on Tuesday, June 16, 2021, in Brookville, Indiana. When Profitt talks to community members about the vaccine, she believes the best way to make a case for the vaccine is to avoid arguing and stick to the science. Her message is simple: Most vaccinated people experience mild side effects and appear to get a high degree of protection from COVID-19. Many of the paramedics questioned the need for vaccinations.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerDr. Thomas Huth, vice president of medical affairs for Reid Health, and Jonathan White, vice president of White's Farm and pharmacist, look at a map of Franklin County, Indiana and discuss the challenges of accessibility for the rural parts of the county on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 in Brookville, Indiana. White started to feel the pandemic's lasting impact when he saw his patients' names in the obituaries. He is working with the Franklin County Health Department to bring the vaccine to people, like his weekly flea market. Accessibility and trust are two challenges Franklin County is battling as vaccine rates remain low.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerThe Franklin County Health Department team packs up their vehicles in Brookville, Indiana, to travel to Laurel for the town's first temporary vaccination clinic on Monday, June 7, 2021. Laurel is a town of 500 people in the northwest corner of Franklin county.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerAngie Ruther, a registered nurse with the Franklin County Health Department, administers the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to Randel Blake at the Laurel Community Center on Monday, June 7, 2021.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerDeb Tibbetts, a registered nurse with the Franklin County Health Department, waits for patients at the temporary vaccination clinic at the Laurel Community Center on Monday, June 7, 2021. The team brought 99 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. They administered 15 shots throughout the evening.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerJennifer Profitt, president of Franklin County's health board, calls bars in the area to try and locate the BrokeAss Bikers motorcycle club to offer them COVID-19 vaccines in Laurel, Indiana on Monday, June 7, 2021. Profitt raced against the clock to find people willing to take vaccinations before the doses expired because the vials had been opened.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerA boy plays basketball outside his home down the street from a temporary vaccination clinic at the Laurel Community Center on Monday, June 7, 2021 in Laurel, Indiana. Franklin County has 23,000 residents. Fear, distrust and politics still dominate conversations about the vaccine among Franklin County's residents. The skeptics say they worry about the speed of vaccine development and the uncertainty of long-term health effects. Some repeat disproven conspiracy theories involving infertility, aborted fetal tissue and plots against former President Donald Trump.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerJennifer Profitt, president of Franklin County's health board, uses her cell phone as a flashlight after a squirrel chewed an electrical line and knocked out power at the temporary vaccination clinic at the Laurel Community Center on Monday, June 7, 2021 in Laurel, Indiana. Profitt wanted to keep the clinic running for another hour or two. They still had plenty of vaccine vials in the cooler, but they can’t give shots in the dark.
Second place, Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati EnquirerJennifer Profitt, president of Franklin County's health board, loads her car with signs from the temporary vaccination clinic at the Laurel Community Center on Monday, June 7, 2021 in Laurel, Indiana. After five hours, the team administered 15 shots. By the end of the evening, Profitt started to plan her next temporary clinic in another town.
