Brown County Democrat staff brought home 31 awards from the Hoosier State Press Association Foundation’s Better Newspaper Contest Saturday in Indianapolis, including General Excellence in the large nondaily newspaper division, a finalist award for Photo of the Year and a finalist award for Nondaily Blue Ribbon Newspaper.

Democrat staff earned 12 first-place, eight second-place and 10 third-place awards for work from July 2011 to June 2012, ranging from news, feature and column writing, to photography, to newspaper design and use of graphics, to online features.

Reporter-photographer Megan O’Bryan’s photo of a house fire on Cabin Creek Lane, shot from inside the blackened building, was one of six finalists for Photo of the Year, an award judged across all circulation divisions. About the shot, the judges wrote: “Photographer worked to get a version you don’t see very often. The composition is just perfect …”

For the third year in a row, The Democrat also was named one of three finalists for the Nondaily Blue Ribbon, the highest award given by the HSPA. The Democrat last won the award in 2010.

The out-of-state Blue Ribbon judges wrote, “The Democrat is an attractive, ambitious local newspaper that uses its small staff to cover the community like a blanket.”

This year, the Nondaily Blue Ribbon went to the Corydon Democrat — its 15th win since 1970 — and the Daily Blue Ribbon went to the Indianapolis Star, for its fourth win.

Home News Enterprises papers — which include the Brown County Democrat, The Republic (Columbus), the Daily Journal (Franklin), the Daily Reporter (Greenfield), The Tribune (Seymour) and The Times-Post (Pendleton) — won a total of 113 awards.

BCD awards

Finalist: Megan O’Bryan, Photo of the Year, for a shot from a house fire on Cabin Creek Road (one of six finalists, among all Indiana newspapers)

First place: Staff, General Excellence

First place: Staff, Website, www.bcdemocrat.com

First place: Sara Clifford, Headline Writing

First place: Clifford, Best Newspaper Design

First place: Kevin Lilly, Best General News Photo, for a shot of Alice Merryman getting crowned homecoming queen

First place: O’Bryan, Best Spot News Photo, for a shot from a house fire on Cabin Creek Road

First place: Clifford and Lilly, Best Feature Section or Pages, for the Out There outdoors section

First place: Clifford, former HSPA Foundation Pulliam intern Suzannah Couch and O’Bryan, Best Business Section or Pages

First place: Clifford, Lilly and O’Bryan, Best Use of Graphics, for graphics about CEDIT funds, starting a business in Nashville and Schooner Valley Village plans

First place: Clifford and O’Bryan, Best Community Service, for the Now You Know salary series

First place: Couch and O’Bryan, Best Profile Feature, for the story, photos and video about John Franz and the Music in the Air series

First place: Irene Olds, Best Editorial Cartoonist (among all nondaily newspapers in the state)

Second place: Staff, Best Special Section, for the Brown County Holiday Almanack 2011

Second place: Lilly, Best General Commentary, for outdoors and personal columns

Second place: Lilly, Best Picture Story with Audio or Video Story, for a video from the antique tractor show

Second place: O’Bryan, Best Sports Action Photo, for a shot from a Bantam Football game

Second place: Clifford and O’Bryan, Best Community Service, for community wellness stories and column series

Second place: Clifford and Daily Journal reporter Joseph S. Pete, Best News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure, for story about local men surviving the crash of a small plane in the South

Second place: Couch, former BCD reporter Tom Lotshaw and O’Bryan, Best Business/Economic News Coverage, for “Nashville’s night life?”

Second place: Former Republic sports editor Lew Freedman, Best Sports Event Coverage, for story about a Brown County cross-country meet

Third place: Staff, Best Special Section, for the Pink Purpose breast cancer awareness section 2011

Third place: Staff, Nondaily Blue Ribbon (one of three finalists, among all nondaily newspapers in the state)

Third place: Clifford, Best Feature Section or Pages, for community events on page B1

Third place: Clifford, Best Community Service, for information presented about candidates for the 2012 primary election

Third place: Lilly, Best In-Depth Feature or Feature Package, for coverage of the Bill Monroe Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival

Third place: O’Bryan, Best Feature Photo, of a child fishing at Brown County State Park

Third place: Clifford and Lilly, Best Business/Economic News Coverage, for the Schooner Valley Village package

Third place: Clifford, Lilly and O’Bryan, Best Ongoing News Coverage, for reporting about the For Bare Feet factory fire and plans for the building

Third place: Clifford and O’Bryan, Best News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure, for immediate online and print coverage of the For Bare Feet factory fire

Third place: Clifford and O’Bryan, Headline Writing