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If you’re keeping score, Fort Worth Weekly rocked the house at the Houston Press Club’s journalism awards banquet over the weekend. In the small-newspaper division of the club’s statewide contest, Weekly writers brought home firsts in five of eight categories and former Weeklintern Sarah Perry from the University of North Texas tied for first place in the student news/feature category.

Staffer Peter Gorman came away with two key honors: print journalist of the year and the public service award. The public service win was for “Sacrificed to Shale,” his story about the gas-beleaguered town of DISH. The judges wrote that Peter’s “knowledge and breadth of reporting has helped change the public debate about the shale industry.”

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Here’s the full list for the newspapers-under-100,000-circulation division:

Print Journalist of the Year

First: Peter Gorman, Fort Worth Weekly

2nd: Kathy Swindle Cruz, Hood County News

3rd: Greg Harman, San Antonio Current

News or Feature Story

1st: Elaine Wolff, San Antonio Current

2nd: Jeff Prince, Fort Worth Weekly

3rd: Jim Molony, Pearland/Friendswood Journals

Investigative Reporting

1st: Betty Brink, Fort Worth Weekly (for “Taj Mahal on the Trinity,” about the Tarrant County College downtown campus fiasco)

2nd: Eric Griffey, Fort Worth Weekly

3rd: Greg Schwartz, San Antonio Current

Public Service

1st: Peter Gorman, Fort Worth Weekly

2nd: Kathy Swindle Cruz, Hood County News

3rd: Greg Harman, San Antonio Current

Politics/Government

1st: Jeff Prince (for “Copping a Comfy Retirement,” about the increasing pressure on city budgets from police and fire retirement benefits)

2nd: Peter Gorman

3rd: Eric Griffey and Betty Brink, Fort Worth Weekly

Business Story

1st: Dan McGraw, Fort Worth Weekly (for “Worth the Paper They’re Written On,” about gas companies backing out of royalty and bonus deals)

2nd and 3rd: Greg Barr, Houston Business Journal

General Commentary/Criticism

1st: John Browning, Rockwall County Herald Banner

2nd: Jimmy Fowler, Fort Worth Weekly

3rd: Anthony Mariani, Fort Worth Weekly

Sports Story

1st and 2nd: Bill Martin, Rockdale Reporter

3rd: Matt Samuels, Jewish Herald-Voice

Student/News, Sports or Feature

1st Place tie: Madeleine McCaleb of San Antonio Christian High school and

Sarah Perry, UNT/Fort Worth Weekly (for “Breeding Trouble,” about puppy mills in North Texas)

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