The Daily News editorial and advertising staff earned eight awards from the North Carolina Press Association annual content.
Reporter Trevor Dunnell earned 1st place for investigative reporting for his story, Dog in Swansboro attacks fifth victim, reports show. The staff earned an additional 1st place award for use of photography.
The design and production of The Daily News ranked 2nd place in the category of appearance and design. Reporter Jannette Pippin took home a 2nd place win for breaking news coverage for the story, The Tornado victims feel blessed after the storm.
Tina Brooks earned a 2nd place finish for photo page for her photos from Onslow Memorial Hosptial of Covid 19 first responders. The Daily News staff also placed 2nd for use of social media.
Onslow Memorial Hospital has seen a drastic increase in COVID-19 positive inpatients over the last week and is encouraging the community to continue following precautions to help protect against spread of the virus.
The hospital reported Wednesday morning that they are caring for 46 COVID-19 patients, which is the highest number since the pandemic began.
Onslow Memorial Hospital started seeing an increase after averaging 23 COVID-19 positive inpatients per day during December until the middle of the month but hospital saw an average 32 per day during the last week of December.
On Jan. 5, the number spiked to 43 COVID positive inpatients and this week reached the highest volume.
The first meeting of the newly seated members of the Onslow County Board of Education began with the election of its leadership and a moment of silence in memory of former chairman Pam Thomas.
The newly elected members of the board – incumbent Ken Reddic and newcomers Melissa Oakley, Joseph Speranza and Eric Whitfield – were sworn into office in December but the business meeting was canceled due to health concerns among the board due to COVID-19, pushing the board’s first meeting to Jan. 5.
During the organizational start of the meeting, the board elected Bob Williams as chairman and Jeff Hudson as vice chairman.
Editor’s note: This story is No. 1 in a series looking at the top 10 stories of 2020 for The Daily News, counting down from 10 to 1 from Dec. 23 to Jan. 1.
March 12, 2020 was the day the global novel coronavirus pandemic arrived at Onslow County’s doorstep and brought with it a public health crisis full of challenges as well as a community that has stepped up to help those most in need.
During the nine months that have followed that first positive case of COVID-19 reported in Onslow County, there are few aspects of life that haven’t been impacted by the pandemic, from healthcare and education to business and the economy.