MARYSVILLE — For the eighth time in the past nine years, The Marysville Globe has been named one of the best weekly newspapers in Washington.

The General Excellence Award was presented to The Globe, Oct. 3, at the Washington Newspapers Publishers Association’s 121st Annual Better Newspaper Contest in Yakima. In addition to The Globe bringing home the first-place General Excellence Award for Group I (newspapers with circulations up to 2,500), staff members Tom Corrigan and Danielle Szulczewski each earned several awards.

In the General Excellence Award category the state’s non-daily newspapers were divided into four groups based on their circulation and judged in five areas including design, advertising, thoroughness of local coverage, photographs and graphics, and opinions.

Competing in circulation group 1, The Marysville Globe scored 440 points out of a possible 500, earning it the first-place General Excellence Award.

News reporter Tom Corrigan received a trio of awards in the annual competition.

Corrigan earned a second-place award for Best News Story, in circulation group 1, for his story titled “Local property tax hike biggest in county;” a third-place award for Best Breaking News Story, in circulation group 1, for his story “Train, truck collision closes State Avenue;” and a third-place award for Best Crime and Courts Story, in circulation groups 1-2, for his story “Help and healing in times of darkness.”

“I didn’t think I would like a tax story in this category but the writer really broke down the facts and made it easy for the reader to understand. This is an important story for the community,” were some of the comments the judges made about Corrigan’s award-winning story on the local property hike.

Sports reporter Danielle Szulczewski received two awards including the first-place award for Best Sports News Story, circulation group 1, for “M-P overcomes 13-point deficit to defeat powerhouse Lake Stevens,” and a first-place award in Best Sports Photo — Non-Action, Black and White, circulation groups 1-2, for her photo “Senior Sarah Dunn and her teammates reflect on their season.”

About her award-winning story, the judges wrote “Strong lead and a very crisply written game story that breaks the usual mold is good enough for first place in this category. Comprehensive game report that flows well and also radiates the tension of the come-from-behind victory.”