By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
Carter County was well represented at the Kentucky Press Association’s 2025 Annual Convention and Awards banquet. Our local paper brought home a total of ten awards in their weekly newspaper division; three first place, three second placed, three third place, and a certificate of merit. But it wasn’t just our paper there representing Carter County. Three West Carter graduates were also among the award winners at the event, bringing home awards for the Kentucky Lantern, Ashland Daily Independent, and Lexington Herald-Leader.
The Lantern’s McKenna Horsley brought home a second place win in the Best General News Story in a daily 2 category for her coverage of public access to legislative sessions in Frankfort. And in the best columnist category for a daily 1, the Ashland Daily Independent’s Mary Jane Epling brought home a second place win as well with a piece discussing her impending career change. Rounding out the West Carter alumni was the Herald-Leader’s Andrew Henderson, who took second place in the daily 2 category for Best Video with a piece on obtaining a Real ID.
The Carter County Times brought home first place wins in the weekly 1 category for Best Editorial Writer (Jeremy Wells) for pieces on the tariff, sunshine laws, and HB 368; Best Investigative Story or Series (Jeremy Wells) for a piece addressing accusations filed against the EMS medical director by Three Rivers Medical Center; and in the advertising category for weekly 1, Best Professional Services Ad (Nicole Wells) for her Mullholand Construction ad.
In addition to the first place win in Best Investigative Story or Series, the Times brought home a second place award in the category (Jeremy Wells – County tourism embezzlement); and for Best Feature Picture (Jeremy Wells – Shoes4Kids foot washing); and Best Headline Writer (Jeremy Wells – ComiCon). The papers third place awards were for Best General News Story (Jeremy Wells – Grayson RECC protests); Best Enterprise or Analytical Story (Jeremy Wells – Robin Webb’s party switch); and Best Lede (Jeremy Wells) for a trio of offerings on court hearings, ambulance news, and George Eklund’s Toward a Credo.
The paper also received a Certificate of Merit for the Best Editorial Page (Jeremy Wells, Keith Kappes, and Robert Dean), a category where they ran unopposed this year. The Carter County Times brought home first place awards in the same category for 2024 and 2023.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
A trio of silver cups. (Photo by Jeremy D. Wells, Carter County Times)
