Staff at the Whidbey News-Times captured more than a dozen awards in the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.

The annual convention was held Oct. 13-15 in Wenatchee, with awards going to the best in news writing, design, editorials, sports, advertising and special sections in Washington state.

Co-editor Jessie Stensland was named 2016 news writer of the year — the third time in five years she’s earned that distinction. Stensland won first place in the Comprehensive Coverage of a Single Issue or Series category for stories about the Island County Jail being under scrutiny. She also received second place in the Best Crime and Court Story category for her story on a sheriff’s deputy who was fired for sexual harrassment but still got his job back.

Stensland earned another second-place award in the Investigative Reporting category for her story about the three deaths over nine years at Island County Jail.

Reporters Kate Daniel and Ron Newberry combined for five first-place awards with Daniel receiving three of them.

Daniel earned top honors in the Best Lifestyle Features category for the story “Saying goodbye to Lulu.” She also received first place in the Best Personality Short Profile category for her story about a woman penning memoirs of her childhood during World War II, and Best Story on the Arts for the story, “A family influence.”

Newberry received four total awards, including first place for his breaking news story on the brushfire at Fort Ebey State Park and in the News of the Weird category for a story about a boy reeling in a large squid reeled off a North Whidbey beach.

Sports reporter Jim Waller earned first place in the Best Sports Personality Profile for the story about a popular Oak Harbor coach being remembered.

Former reporters Debra Vaughn and Dan Richman each captured two awards for their stories. Vaughn also received third place in the voting for Feature Writer of the Year.

In the design category, Publisher Keven Graves won third place for Best Front Page Design for the entry, “Summer Sails.”

In advertising, creative artist Jennifer Miller received second place for an ad she created about the Quilters Workshop Yarn Sale.

The News-Times’ sister newspapers, The Whidbey Examiner and South Whidbey Record also received numerous awards, including second place in General Excellence for each publication.