Five stories from the Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal, all by editor Barbara Roden, have received Canadian Community Newspaper Awards for 2020 and 2021, including one first-place honour.
A story about Lytton published in the wake of the devastating 2021 fire that destroyed 90 per cent of the town has been named the Best Feature Story (circulation up to 3,999) of 2021. The story — “Amid the devastation in Lytton, some glimmers of hope remain” — described a visit to the town less than two weeks after the fire, weaving together elements from Lytton’s past with the aftermath of the June 30 fire.
“Lytton has been the beating heart of the Nlaka’pamux people for thousands of years, and there is no reason to think it will not continue to be that, as long as there are people who want to live where the rivers meet,” wrote Roden. “The newly-renovated Kumsheen school includes the Nlaka’pamux word ‘ShchEma-meet’, which means ‘children’. Perhaps it is a sign of hope for the community that the school — the place for children, the future of any community — has survived.”
The awards for 2020 and 2021 were announced on Nov. 14, and four other articles from the Journal earned awards mention, including two in one category. A story about the theft of the iconic jade boulder from outside the Cariboo Jade Shop in Cache Creek (“Dramatic chase after iconic jade boulder stolen in Cache Creek”) and one about the search for the final resting place of Chief Cexpe’nthlEm in Lytton (“Lytton archaeological survey answers one question, uncovers more”) placed second and third respectively in the 2020 Best News Story, circulation up to 9,999 category.
Another 2020 story — “Small communities can be a big help on Alzheimer’s journey” — about living with dementia placed third in the Best Feature Story, circulation up to 3,999 category.
In the 2021 Best Historical Story, circulation up to 9,999 category, the story “A brief history of Lytton, which might have been BC’s capital” placed second. The story — also written in the immediate aftermath of the 2021 Lytton fire — traced Lytton’s history over the millennia.
“The site at the confluence of the mighty Thompson and Fraser Rivers has long been considered the heart of the Nlaka’pamux territory,” wrote Roden. “In 1858, celebrated Indigenous leader and peace-maker Chief Cexpe’nthlEm said ‘At Lytton is my centre-post. It is the middle of my house and I sit there.’”
The Canadian Community Newspaper Awards celebrate the best in community publishing from across Canada. Newspapers of similar circulation size compete against each other and are judged by a panel of industry experts. The awards are open to all community newspapers published in Canada in English or French, and entries must have been published between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 of each year.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 competition was postponed. Newspapers were invited to make submissions for both 2020 and 2021 this year, with two sets of awards presented.
editorial@accjournal.ca
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