NORTHAMPTON — Several Gazette staff members were honored this weekend in the New England Newspaper & Press Association’s 2024 Better Newspaper Competition, which held its awards ceremony in Portland, Maine.

Three reporters each won first place in their respective categories: Emilee Klein, environmental reporting, for ”Tree wreckers causing havoc,” a report about the emerald ash borer and spongy moth destroying trees in Belchertown, Hampden, and Granby; Alexander MacDougall, transportation reporting, for ”A tale of two Main Streets,” which looked at the redevelopment of Main Street in Concord, New Hampshire, to contextualize Northampton’s own proposed Main Street redesign; and James Pentland, history reporting, for ”The Mill River Flood 150 years later.”

The judge’s note on the now-retired Pentland’s story said: “While much of the sourcing of this expansive look at one of 19th (century) America’s worst flood tragedies came from a knowledgable [sic] historian, the writer effectively combined those extensive interviews with historical reports, letters and other materials to deliver this deeply engaging and gripping retrospective. Pentland took pains to vividly detail the devastating horror through a crafted recounting of the debris-packed mayhem as it wreaked its havoc — while appropriately capturing the spirit of heroes who saved so many lives.”

Klein also won third place in obituaries for “‘Nothing will be the same’: A month after a car crash took her life, Easthampton’s Paula Garcia and her family-first message cherished.”

Photo editor Carol Lollis took home three awards: third place in feature photography for “Three County Fair”; third place in news feature photography for “New Hingham Music,” which a judge said was a “sweet generational moment and yet another reason why community journalism is so important”; and second place in general news photography for “UMass Student Protest.”

Former features reporter Steve Pfarrer, who retired last June, took home second place in arts and entertainment reporting for his story ”The Iron Horse Rides Again, which a judge called “a wonderfully complete story of a venerable music hall that makes this judge want to take a trip to Northampton. This story is both forward-looking and a glance into the past. Fingers crossed that The Iron Horse rides into the future.”

Reporter Scott Merzbach took home second place in education reporting for a series of stories about investigations into Title IX violations in the Amherst public school system.

Sports reporter Garrett Cote won third place in sports reporting for his story ” ‘Nice call, ref’: Pulling back the curtain in regard to the high school basketball officiating situation in western Massachusetts.”

“It’s great to see our reporters and photographers recognized by a group of independent readers in New England for their enterprising journalism,” Dan Crowley, the Gazette’s executive editor, said. “The range of subjects speaks to the diversity of issues our staff has covered in the past year, and this recognition highlights the seriousness of purpose they bring to their work.”