Sun captures press club honors

Sun staff members claimed first- and third-place honors in the Arizona Press Club's newswriting, photography and design competition for 2007.

Sun news editor Roxanne Molenar placed first in the layout/design category for small and nondaily newspapers around the state.

She won the award for design of news pages that carried coverage of the Labor Day weekend storm that battered the Yuma area.

"Clearly an important news day, when showing more photographs was an essential element in reflecting the community back to itself the next day," the judges said in their critique of the design. "Very good under what must have been terrible conditions."

Also competing in the small and nondaily newspaper division, special projects designer Madalyn Otto won third place in magazine single story design for her layout of photographs and feature story of the summer solstice.

"Clean, simple design," the judges said.

The awards were announced last weekend at an awards ceremony in Phoenix.