Courier writers win Colorado Press Association awards - It doesn't get any better than this

Three writers for the Left Hand Valley Courier, Deborah Cameron, Vicky Dorvee, and Elise S. Marylander, were recognized at the Colorado Press Association (CPA) awards banquet for their articles from 2023 in the CPA's Better News Contest. Judging is conducted anonymously by journalists from another state, and awards are presented based upon size and type of publication. The Courier is a Class 5 publication as a weekly newspaper in a small community.

Cameron, who writes for the Courier as well as Yellow Scene magazine, won first place in the Best Business News/Feature Story category for her article, "Ukrainian couple receives a Niwot welcome" published March 29, 2023.

She wrote, "Earlier this month, Valerii Danylenko and Anna Bilous, a professional couple in their 30's from Kiev who were forced to leave Ukraine due to the war, found a place to live in Niwot. 'Eight or nine million left Ukraine,' said Danylenko. 'Our apartment was damaged and unfit to live in because of the Russians. For three days no power, no water, no anything in Kiev.'

"Before they left, the pair had previously held professional office jobs making airplane meals for a food manufacturer. He served as a food quality supervisor and she as a manager of more than 120 employees. The utility interruptions resulted from Russian bombing campaigns that targeted infrastructure. 'Every two weeks, no one could work due to lack of power, water,' recalled Dalylenko.

"The pair's path from their home country to Niwot started with identifying a financial sponsor that helped them with documents and funding to prepare for the trip. Actual travel took them first to Poland, then briefly to Oslo, Norway, and again, briefly to New York. By the time they reached Denver they hadn't slept well in several days.

"After arriving, they stayed with Ukrainian friends in Longmont, but knew they needed their own space elsewhere. An ad they placed in Nextdoor led them to Niwot resident Catherine McCall...."

Cameron also won second place in the Best Agricultural Story category for Class 8 for her article written for "Yellow Scene," "This is the Year to Join a Community Garden."

Dorvee, who has written for the Courier for many years, including a monthly column entitled "Home on the Grange," received a second-place award for her feature article, "Mann's music comes to the Grange." The category was Best Arts & Entertainment Column Writing, and the judges' comment was "Interesting profile and preview." Her article profiled another side of photographer Andy Mann, a Niwot resident, who is known around the world for his water and nature photography. Mann is also a musician, and Dorvee introduced him to Niwot music fans.

She wrote in the October 18, 2023 issue, "In his professional life as an award-winning National Geographic photographer/film director and co-founder of the non-profit SeaLegacy, Niwotian Andy Mann is on the road and in the water 200 days a year. His time away is a mix of adventurous photography expeditions, public speaking, and marine conservation efforts.

"The things he has seen and done are big - life-altering and world-changing - like being at this year's United Nations General Assembly where he was part of a team that compelled 68 world leaders to sign on to the first-ever international high seas treaty, a mechanism to put protective laws on international marine waters covering more than half of the earth's surface.

"So, when he has time to reflect, perhaps on a sailboat in the middle of the sea under the night sky, Mann's creative juices translate his free flowing thoughts into poetry....

"When Mann was 14, his dad gave him a guitar for Christmas and he fell in love with it. On stage performances began with his high school band, but this November he will be performing his own original music - what he endearingly characterizes as "maritime folk music" - to celebrate the release of his first EP, 'Full Moon Fight'."

Marylander, who writes a column entitled "Let's Talk About...." received second place in the Best Humorous Column Writing category for her column, "Let's Talk About...Time Zones." Marylander, who serves as Editor of the Courier, published the column in the August 2, 2023, edition of the Courier.

A judge wrote, "OK. If you regularly read Elise Marylander's column, you know what I mean. She has a knack for taking simple, mundane subjects and making them a fun part of our lives. I'm writing this from two time zones away, but we're in the same place. OK?"

Excerpts from Marylander's column include these gems:

"Ok. Have you ever traveled, called a friend across the country, watched the Olympics or the World Cup and realized figuring out the time difference can be a hefty math problem?

"I am talking about time zones.

"You may know the U.S. has six time zones (not including its territories). So, you may live in the same country as your east coast cousin, but you may be just getting off work when they are sound asleep for the night.

"And think about this: Why does the U.S. have six time zones, Russia has 11 and China just one? Look at a map. That makes no sense. If you were going to slice up the globe vertically like an apple into equal time zones, there is no way China would have one while Russia has 11. You don't need mad math skills to figure that out....

"But here's the thing: It is hard to wrap your head around being in one time zone one minute then walk 10 feet and be in another. You lose or gain an hour in a matter of steps. And how can Alexa or Siri keep up?....

"But what blew my little mind was that if you traveled east, you lost time and if you traveled west, you gained time. And, I learned, if you travel really really far west you cross the International Date Line and lose a whole day! That is crazy.

"Why should I lose a day just because I crossed an arbitrary line in the ocean? If I flew from San Francisco to Tokyo, have I really just lost a day? And if I later fly back to the U.S., do I then call it even?

"Moreover, does that mean you can then live that part of your life again? Erase whatever transgressions you did in Japan? But does that also mean that if you stay in the Far East, you lose a day forever?

"In other words, time travel is a real thing, and not just a math problem or a logistics issue or a sci-fi theme. All I know is that 'Back to the Future' is real. Bill and Ted knew it, Captain Kirk knew it and I know it."