July 15, 2020

OGDENSBURG – The North Country Catholic has continued its long-standing tradition of award-winning work, earning a 2020 Catholic Press Association Award.

The NCC was awarded first place for “Finding Faith in a Fortress,” a two-page feature with photos highlighting inmates at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora celebrating the Sacraments of Initiation with Bishop Terry R. LaValley. The piece, written by Darcy Fargo, the newspaper’s editor, won in the category of “Best Reporting on the Celebration of a Sacrament.” (The original story can be found here)

Catholic Press Association Award judges described the piece saying: “The title is intriguing and draws in readers. The story is beautifully written and keeps readers’ interest from start to finish, accompanied by eye-catching photographs.

The North Country Catholic competes against diocesan weekly newspapers with circulations up to 25,000.

“Over the years, the North Country Catholic has continuously demonstrated excellence in telling the stories of how we are living out our Catholic faith here in the North Country,” said Bishop LaValley, also the publisher of the NCC. “While we have always recognized how blessed we are to claim the NCC as our own, it’s gratifying to see the high quality of our diocesan newspaper recognized by the Catholic Press Association. We are all proud of our North Country Catholic and its outstanding staff, led by Darcy Fargo, editor/general manager, Christine Ward, editorial assistant, and the many columnists, contributing writers and photographers. Well done and congratulations!”

Fargo said the piece on the inmates’ celebration of the sacraments and the opportunity to visit The Church of St. Dismas, the only Catholic church built behind prison walls in the United States, possibly the world, was a highlight of her career.

“After nearly 10 years of working for secular newspapers and two years in Catholic media, I’ve had a lot of exciting and interesting experiences,” Fargo said. “But visiting St. Dismas and interviewing the inmates who were trying to better their relationships with the Lord and better themselves was inspiring, and it was one of the most memorable moments in my career. I’m blessed to be able to share such moments with the readers of the North Country Catholic, and I’m blessed to work with a talented, dedicated and faithful NCC staff, as well as my outstanding colleagues at the diocese.”

The NCC has won a number of CPA awards in its history, with the most recent being a first place and an honorable mention in 2017.