1st PLACE FEATURE: JONATHON GRUENKE, DAILY PRESS–Jake Mann hugs Betsy Ferguson while working at Poquoson Middle School’s Cool Beans Cafe Thursday morning. Special needs students run all aspects of the coffee shop which help them get experience with job skills and social interactions outside a typical classroom environment.
2nd PLACE FEATURE: Matt McClain, Washington Post–Emily Barroso, 3, looks out a window of the Lily’s Storyland attraction while people on the Wave Swinger ride are reflected at a carnival that was part of the Celebrate Fairfax festival on Sunday June 10, 2018 in Fairfax, VA.
3rd Place Feature: Matt McClain, Washington Post–Guymon Fire Department firefighters, Alan Williams, left, captain Dennis Dudley and volunteer, Lupe Avalos, 20, work on cleaning up a vintage fire truck at Station 1 on Thursday May 03, 2018 in Guymon, OK. The truck was going to be used in the Pioneer Days parade. The department has had success finding volunteer firefighters.
HM Feature Matt McClain, Washington Post –A rodeo participant warms up a horse as the setting sun illuminates dust during an evening rodeo that was part of Pioneer Days on Saturday May 05, 2018 in Guymon, OK. This was the 86th year of the event.
HM Feature Jonathon Gruenke, Daily Press–Jaidon Lee takes cover under a plastic bag in front the parked Thunderbirds as heavy rain begins to fall during Saturday’s Air Power over Hampton Roads at Langley Air Force Base Saturday May 19, 2018.
1st PLACE NEWS: MATT MCCLAIN, WASHINGTON POST Christian Jacobs, 7, sits against the headstone of his father, U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Christopher James Jacobs as he visits in observance of Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday May 28, 2018 in Arlington, VA. Christopher died during a training exercise in 2011.
2nd PLACE NEWS: KRISTEN ZEIS, VIRGINIAN-PILOT–Sen. Mark Warner waits to take the stage while being introduced by Mayor Kenny Alexander at the 757 Launch event held at Selden Market in Norfolk, Va., on Friday, March 30, 2018.
3rd PLACE NEWS: SHELBY LUM, RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH–A worker begins to remove a tree in the rain that had fallen across Monument Avenue near Blacker Street after heavy rain on Friday May 18, 2018, blocking all eastbound traffic.
HM NEWS: JONATHON GRUENKE, DAILY PRESS–Margaret Wilkins disposes a piece of an American flag into a fire during a flag retirement ceremony on Fort Monroe Monday May 28, 2018. Hundreds of people, eight different Boy Scout Troops, the National Park Service and veterans gathered to retire close to 400 flags by burning them with dignity and respect.
1st PLACE PORTRAIT: JONATHON GRUENKE, DAILY PRESS–Pastor Andre Jefferson sits in reflection during the start of an event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of MLK’s death at Bethel AME Church Wednesday evening April 4, 2018. Over a hundred people attended the event which was hosted by the Hampton Chapter of the NAACP and Hampton University.
2nd PLACE PORTRAIT: SHELBY LUM, RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH–Princess Blanding, the sister of Marcus-David L. Peters, who was fatally shot while he was naked and behaving erratically along Interstate 95 on Monday, talks during a press conference on Thursday May 17, 2018.
3rd PLACE PORTRAIT: KAITLIN MCKEOWN, VIRGINIAN-PILOT–A drag performer prepares to take the stage at Hampton Roads PrideFest on June 30, 2018 in Norfolk’s Town Point Park.
1st PLACE SPORTS: SHELBY LUM, RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH–Deep Run’s Hayes Fallen dives to tag out Freeman’s Grey Pappas during the Region B semifinal game on Wednesday May 30, 2018.
2nd PLACE SPORTS: MATT MCCLAIN, WASHINGTON POST–Washington Capitals fan, Mackenzie Frazier and others react to the Capitals first goal during game 5 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals between the Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights near Capital One Arena on Thursday June 07, 2018 in Washington, DC.
3rd PLACE SPORTS: JONATHON GRUENKE, DAILY PRESS–Chancellor’s Jesse Ramirez, center, attempts to kick the ball away from Smithfield’s Brayden Bird, right, during Tuesday’s Class 4 state tournament quarterfinal game at Smithfield High School June 5, 2018.
HM SPORTS: JONATHON GRUENKE, DAILY PRESS–Cave Spring’s Taylor Lving, left, and Hannah Muncy collide and lose control of the ball during Saturday’s Class 3 state softball tournament championship at the Moyer Sports Complex June 9, 2018.
HM SPORTS: JONATHON GRUENKE, DAILY PRESS–Chancellor’s Daniel Garcia comforts Smithfield’s Devin Rotruck after Chancellor defeated Smithfield in penalty kicks during Tuesday’s Class 4 state tournament quarterfinal game at Smithfield High School June 5, 2018.
1st PLACE MULTIPLE: MATT MCCLAIN, WASHINGTON POST–Guymon Pioneer Days pays tribute to the spirit of those who settled an area once known at “No Man’s Land”. Located in the panhandle of Oklahoma, the region was the epicenter of the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. The annual event offers several rodeo performances, a carnival, and parade. Lauren Unerwood, left, of Meeker, OK and Ilyssa Glass, right, of Tatum, NM warm up their horses before competing in barrel racing during Pioneer Days on Friday May 04, 2018 in Guymon, OK. This was the 86th year of the event.
People wait in line for concessions prior to the start of an evening rodeo during Pioneer Days on Saturday May 05, 2018 in Guymon, OK. This was the 86th year of the event.
People line Main Street during the Pioneer Days parade on Saturday May 05, 2018 in Guymon, OK. This was the 86th year of the event that included four rodeo performances.
People watch the Pioneer Days parade along Main Street on Saturday May 05, 2018 in Guymon, OK. This was the 86th year of the event that included four rodeo performances.
Rodeo queens from around the country pose for photos in front of a longhorn steer before the start of the Pioneer Days parade on Saturday May 05, 2018 in Guymon, OK. This was the 86th year of the event.
Participants are seen through and reflected in a vehicle as they wait to compete in barrel racing during Pioneer Days on Friday May 04, 2018 in Guymon, OK. This was the 86th year of the event.
People stand for a prayer and national anthem during an afternoon rodeo that was part of Pioneer Days on Saturday May 05, 2018 in Guymon, OK. This was the 86th year of the event. This was the 86th year of the event.
People gather at Bob’s Cowboy Bar following an evening rodeo performance during Pioneer Days on Friday May 04, 2018 in Guymon, OK. This was the 86th year of the event. The bar was a gathering place for rodeo participants and others with live music and dancing.
Dona Kay Rule sits on horseback during an evening rodeo that was part of Pioneer Days on Friday May 04, 2018 in Guymon, OK. This was the 86th year of the event.
2nd PLACE MULTIPLE: JONATHON GRUENKE, DAILY PRESS–Huntington Middle School eighth grade students wait in the hallways before the start of the eighth grade awards and promotion ceremony during the last day of school Thursday afternoon June 14, 2018. For the foreseeable future, buses carrying Huntington Middle School students pulled out of the parking lot at 3401 Orcutt Ave. on Thursday afternoon, leaving behind the historic building which opened in 1932 as the city’s black high school. It was a “bittersweet” day, many staff members said, as possibly the last students to attend Huntington Middle School moved on from the school, which is to be closed June 28. It came to this point after the building fell into a state of disrepair that on any given day, several classrooms could lack heating or cooling, or a thunderstorm would mean that water would seep into classroom walls through the crumbling brick exterior. There is no certainty what will happen next for the historic school. Many of the students will be moved to Heritage High School as the fate of the building is decided.
Huntington Middle School students work in a classroom during the last day of school Thursday afternoon June 14, 2018. The first wing of the building, a three-story section of which only two stories are used due to safety concerns, opened in 1932 as the city’s black high school, with other additions completed in the ’50s and ’60s.
Huntington Middle School student Hezekiah Brown, center, hugs teacher Rhonda Ross while at the eighth grade awards and promotion ceremony during the last day of school Thursday afternoon June 14, 2018.
A Huntington Middle School student passes by stacked boxes to be moved to other locations during the last day of school Thursday afternoon June 14, 2018.
Brandon Driggins, center and other Huntington Middle School students listen in class during the last day of school Thursday afternoon June 14, 2018. It closed its doors as a high school in 1971 and reopened that fall as the desegregated Huntington Intermediate School, later switching to the middle school model in 1981.
Huntington Middle School eighth grade counselor Mukier Williams carries balloons off the stage following the eighth grade awards and promotion ceremony during the last day of school Thursday afternoon June 14, 2018.
A Huntington Middle School student walks through a hallway during the last day of school Thursday afternoon June 14, 2018.
Huntington Middle School students embrace before departing on buses during the last day of school Thursday afternoon June 14, 2018.
3rd PLACE MULTIPLE: KRISTEN ZEIS, VIRGINIAN-PILOT–Nervous about getting a sedative medication, Jackson Saville is comforted by his mom, Stacy and dad, Bill, prior to his first attempt at getting an injection of a new FDA approved drug for SMA patients called Spinraza at at ChildrenÕs Hospital of The KingÕs Daughter on Thursday, March, 2, 2017. Jackson’s medical team had a difficult time accessing the appropriate location to administer the drug into his spine and chose to make another attempt using special imaging technology a few days later. Spinraza is the first FDA approved drug for spinal muscular atrophy and a single injection of the drug, needed six times the first year and three times a year after that, costs $125,000 per injection. The Saville’s lost a daughter to SMA in 2005 and have continued the fight for a cure since their son Jackson was born.
Jackson Saville is taken back to surgery for his first attempt at injection of a drug for spinal muscular atrophy called Spinraza at at ChildrenÕs Hospital of The KingÕs Daughter on Thursday, March, 2, 2017.
Stacy and Bill Saville anxiously wait in the waiting room while their son Jackson was getting his first injection of Spinraza, the first FDA approved medicine to treat a genetic disorder called spinal muscular atrophy at at ChildrenÕs Hospital of The KingÕs Daughter on Thursday, March, 2, 2017. The procedure was taking longer than expected and Stacy was getting nervous that they hadn’t heard any updates.
Using special imaging technology, Dr. Crystal Proud, a pediatric neurologist at ChildrenÕs Hospital of The KingÕs Daughters in Norfolk, Va., guides an injection of Sprinraza into the spine of Jackson Saville at Norfolk General in Norfolk, Va., on Friday, May 5, 2017. A single injection of the drug, needed six times the first year and three times a year after that, costs $125,000 for the drug alone.
Special imaging technology in a “neurointerventional” surgery suite at Norfolk General allows doctors to see a clear path to where Spinraza is injected into the spine of Jackson Saville on Friday, May 5, 2017.
Dr. Crystal Proud, a pediatric neurologist at ChildrenÕs Hospital of The KingÕs Daughters in Norfolk, Va., center, and medical staff prepares Jackson Saville for his fourth Spinraza injection at Norfolk General in Norfolk, Va., on Friday, May 5, 2017.
Family pictures line the wall of the Saville family in Virginia Beach, Va., on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. Stacy and Bill Saville have had two children born with spinal muscular atrophy, a rare genetic condition. Their daughter, Morgan, passed away from the condition in 2005.
Bill Saville helps Jackson during an aqua therapy session led by Rebecca Gayle, physical therapist at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, at William Farm Recreation Center in Virginia Beach, Va., on Monday, May 16, 2017. Stacy Saville enrolled Jackson into the therapy to help continue to strengthen his body following the Spinraza injections. Since starting the injections his mom says his legs and arms more, he is sitting up so much straighter and his grip is so much tighter
8-year-old Jackson Saville and his mom Stacy in their home in Virginia Beach, Va., on Tuesday, January 31, 2017. Jackson lives with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a rare genetic condition that his sister, Morgan, died of when she was 3 years old in 2005. The FDA recently approved the first drug called Spinraza to treat it, and Jackson started receiving the medicine in March 2017.
Stacy and Bill watch on as Jackson Saville celebrates crossing the finish line with Big Blue at the Big Blue 1K Kids Race at Old Dominion University on Saturday April 14, 2018. Saville trained for the event through a program called Mighty Monarchs, a program for special needs children that introduces them to a variety of adapted sports. Prior to his Spinraza injects, the Saville family had ordered a motor to help Jackson navigate his chair as his body weakened, but his strength has grown and he was able to participate in a 1K, something his mother Stacy says she never thought would be possible for her son prior to his Spinraza injections.
VNPA 