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Newspaper staffers win recognition for work

By Staff | Nov 2, 2005

Two members of The Mirror newspaper staff recently were honored for their work.

Shawn Linenberger, who covers sports and news for The Mirror, earned a Media of the Year award on Saturday from the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association.

Linenberger, who has worked at The Mirror for the past four years, was nominated for the award by Tonganoxie High School wrestling coach Jeremy Goebel.

“He makes an appearance at pretty much every athletic event,” Goebel said of Linenberger. “He’s there all the time, he’s asking questions. He’s putting stuff in the paper that’s worthy and important to the kids. It’s all due to his hard work and efforts that he gets that accomplished. He works really hard at what he does, and he does a good job.”

Goebel, who is in his fourth year as a teacher and coach in the Tonganoxie district, said Linenberger’s reporting of student events is a motivator for them.

“I think, too, for me as a new coach in the community, he’s helped my program get some attention and accolades elsewhere in the state — due to the publicity that the team receives from his writing and his work,” Goebel said. “He’s done a good job on every article, and I know that he puts in a lot of time.

“I don’t think sometimes people realize how important it is to have a good sports reporter, especially in a small town. He covers every sport. I think we all need to be happy that we have somebody like that.”

In addition, The Mirror’s news editor, Lisa Scheller, recently earned a first-place award in Inland Press Association’s Local News Writing contest. Scheller, who has worked at The Mirror since September 1999, won the award in the Personality/Individual Profile division.

Scheller won for a series of historical stories about Nick Marel, who built numerous stone buildings in the Tonganoxie area.

Inland Press Association is based in Chicago, and the contest that Scheller won was for newspapers with circulations less than 10,000. Her work competed with both daily and non-daily entries.

“I’m really proud of these two members of The Mirror staff,” said Caroline Trowbridge, editor and publisher. “They both work extremely hard, and both of them are dedicated journalists. Their coverage of Tonganoxie is superior, and it’s terrific that others have recognized their efforts. And, on a personal note, I couldn’t ask for better folks to work with.”