The Itawamba County Times brought home five awards in the weekly division of the 2009 Mississippi Press Association editorial contest.

Awards were presented at the annual MPA Better Newspaper Contest luncheon held Saturday in Tunica.

A news series on bullying in schools was recognized as the first place winner in the Best Planned Series of Stories category, Weekly Division A, newspapers with circulation above 4,000. The judges noted that this was an “excellent and timely feature on all aspects of a societal.”

Also winning a first place award for Best Feature Story was “Indian Fever,” which focused on Adam Bridges’ contagious spirit at IAHS.

The Times’ editorial page won first place as Best Editorial Page or Section. Judges commented “excellent mix of writing and graphics with superior editorial content and very nice layout.”

Awards were also won for Best Sports Page or Section, second place, and Best Front Page, third place.

“I’m extremely proud of our staff and their accomplishments. I’m also glad other newspapers judging the contest recognized and appreciated the effort they put forth in producing these award-winning entries,” said Alisha Wilson, general manager.