The Belleville-Area Independent received four awards in the 2009 Better Newspaper Contest put on by the Michigan Press Association.

   Contest awards are being announced during National Newspaper Week, which began Oct. 4.

   Independent Editor Rosemary K. Otzman won a first-place award in Enterprise Reporting for the story, published Jan. 15, 2009: "VBT Police Officers take home big paychecks in 2008."

   Contest judges this year were from the Iowa Press Association, who considered thousands of Michigan entries.

   A judge wrote: "Great piece in the lost tradition of American journalism; especially hard to do in a small town. Great job! Resisting the pressure from the powerful and exposing the problem!"

   The Enterprise Reporting category is for "a story or series that demonstrates in-depth exploration of an issue with strong news value that helps the reader better understand a facet of life, the community, or issues surrounding news events. Strong writing, thorough research and good presentation are critical..."

   Independent Editor Otzman also won a first-place award in Editorial Writing, with the judge commenting: "Excellent work. Brief, effective and challenging; something we should all strive for."

   The editorials submitted were "Telling the truth is vital to our system," published April 3, 2008; "VBT Fire Chief suddenly disappears," concerning Fire Chief Mark Nicolai's departure, published April 17, 2008, and "VBT Supervisor's parting shot: Garage to Supreme Court," concerning one of Supervisor Cindy King's final actions after she was voted out of office in the primary, published Oct. 23, 2008.

   The awards were in the category for weekly newspapers with a circulation of 4,001 to 10,000. The Independent publishes 7,000 papers. The contest period was for work published between April 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009.

   In the advertising part of the contest, the Independent won a third-place award for its classifieds section and a third place for the promotional series "They're Reading the Independent Everywhere." Longtime office manager Jackie Garner is responsible for those sections of the Independent.

   A judge commented: "Using pictures of people with the newspaper in exotic locations provides a well-read promotion for subscriptions ..."

   Last year, Independent Editor Otzman also won a first-place award in Enterprise Reporting for a series called "City Manager Lies," detailing the problems of former Belleville City Manager Walter Mears.

   A judge wrote: "Getting a tip and running with it, seeking out the truth. Great reporting and follow through."

   Last year's judges were from the Pennsylvania Press Association.

   The Independent also won a 2008 award for first place in Best Classified Section and an honorable mention for design.

   This totals 18 awards the Independent has won in MPA competition with newspapers around the state since the Independent started publishing on Jan. 5, 1995.