The Carrboro Citizen won six awards including two first-place awards in the 2008 North Carolina Press Association’s News, Editorial and Photojournalism contest.
The awards were presented Thursday evening at the press association’s banquet in Cary.

Contributing editor Taylor Sisk won first place for “A few moments with Beulah,” which profiled longtime Carrboro resident Beulah Hackney. Sisk also won first place in the News Enterprise reporting category for a series on environmental justice issues that focused on the Rogers Road neighborhood. He won second place in News Enterprise Reporting for the Breakdown series, which examined the local effects of the state’s mental health care crisis.

In photojournalism, Isaac Sandlin won second place in the General News Photography category for his photograph of the candlelight vigil on campus following the death of Eve Carson.

Citizen editor Kirk Ross received a third-place award for the paper’s editorial page and shared a third-place award for General Excellence In Newspaper Web Sites with Michelle Langston, Lucy Butcher and Jack Carley.

Citizen publisher Robert Dickson said he was pleased to see the paper recognized for its journalism.

“Our staff has worked hard to bring high-quality journalism to our community. It’s great to see them rewarded for their efforts,” he said.

Founded in 2007 and accepted into the press association a year later, this is the first year the newspaper was eligible to enter the contest.

— Staff Reports