An opinion piece written by a Niagara-on-the-Lake town councillor, several stories, photos and columns by community contributors, and the journalism of staff members of The Lake Report have been singled out by the Ontario Community Newspapers Association in its annual awards.
In all, submissions by The Lake Report earned 26 nominations, more than any other Ontario publication, in the association’s 2025 Better Newspapers Competition.
The awards, for items published between Oct. 1, 2024, and Sept. 30, 2025, are open to member publications of all sizes and aim to recognize the outstanding work produced week in and week out by community journalists across the province.
In April, at the association’s annual convention and gala in Collingwood, the first-, second- and third-place winners among the finalists in each category will be unveiled.
Richard Harley, the founder and editor-in-chief of The Lake Report, said he was proud to see the paper recognized for its professionalism and high-quality journalism — coincidentally amid a spat with the Town of NOTL over access to information.
“Our staff and contributors work really hard to bring real news and important feature stories about Niagara-on-the-Lake to readers every week in print and on our website,” he said.
“With government agencies, the police and civic institutions nowadays keeping a tighter rein on the information the public and media have access to, our jobs have gotten a lot more complicated,” Harley said.
“It would be easy to just follow the example of some media organizations and simply regurgitate government press releases and call it news. But that is public relations, not journalism, and it would be a disservice to our readers and the community.”
He credited the dedication of The Lake Report’s staff for the paper’s success, but also the dozens of contributors from the community who take time to help out.
“Every week, whether they’re writing letters or columns, submitting photos or passing along news tips or suggestions, people in town contribute to The Lake Report — because they really care about NOTL and want what’s best for the town,” he said.
Among those contributions was one from Coun. Wendy Cheropita, which earned her an award nomination.
“Niagara’s hospital system is in crisis,” a Nov. 27, 2024, opinion piece, documented her experience during two visits to the emergency department of the St. Catharines hospital after she fainted, fell and suffered a head injury.
The story is a finalist in the Best Guest/Freelance Column category.
A Jan. 16, 2025, photo submission from Jamie Slingerland of Pillitteri Estates Wineries depicting thousands of starlings feasting on frozen grapes awaiting harvest in a NOTL vineyard is nominated for Best Spot News Photo.
Staff photographer Dave Van de Laar, winner of the Ontario Photographer of the Year award in 2023 and 2024, is again a finalist in that category.
His entry consisted of a portfolio of four images: an action shot of NOTL native Kaleb Dietsch playing in an OHL game for the Ottawa 67’s versus the Niagara IceDogs, the mayhem of the Kinsmen Club’s annual Easter egg hunt at the community centre, a dynamic shot of two road cyclists and a series of photos of last year’s blood moon.
Van de Laar’s unique low-angle photo of Hilary Bellis and Liz Klose helping set up the poppy display at the NOTL Museum is nominated for the Most Creative Grip and Grin photo. That’s a category recognizing ingenuity in photographing what might otherwise be a boring or mundane image.
Reporter Paige Seburn’s lengthy in-depth investigative series on the “Wild West of Wine” was recognized in several categories.
The project outlines in-depth how some wineries skirt municipal bylaws and how the town doesn’t bother to enforce many of those same bylaws. Those instalments, plus a story about farm workers’ complaints about work and living conditions, earned Seburn a nomination in the Reporter of the Year category.
The Lake Report is a finalist in the General Excellence Awards in the largest circulation class, 8,001 and over. Judges grade submissions from February and July 2025 for overall achievement in more than 10 categories to determine each paper’s ranking.
Separately, The Lake Report is also a finalist for Best Front Page.
The paper’s annual International Women’s Day project, last year with an “elbows up” theme, is a finalist for the association’s prestigious Community Service Award.
And the summer 2025 edition of our twice-yearly glossy magazine, “NOTL: A Guide for Distinguished Explorers,” is nominated for Best Vertical Product.
The paper’s advance coverage of Remembrance Day 2025, with stories, photography and themed advertising, is nominated for Best Feature Pages.
Niagaranow.com, the paper’s news website, which is updated daily, is nominated for Best Community Newspaper Website.
The Lake Report’s creative advertising was also recognized.
An ad for Maple Leaf Fudge in “NOTL” magazine is finalist for both Best Creative Ad and Original Ad Idea. As well, the magazine ad for Art Space 106 is in the running for Best Use of Colour.
And “That’s a wrap for 2024,” our multi-page pre-Christmas feature with scores of images of festive artwork created by Crossroads Public School students, is nominated for Best In-House Promotion.
A cartoon depicting Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa as a caped crusader was nominated for Best Editorial Cartoon. Created by Harley with an assist from AI, the image highlights Zalepa’s new “strong mayor” powers courtesy of the provincial government.
The Lake Report receives tons of letters most weeks, making for lively and engaging opinion pages. The five-page opinion section from our Dec. 5, 2024, edition is nominated for Best Editorial Page or Section.
It features a strong mix of an editorial about town secrecy over public documents, several topical letters, plus columns by Brian Marshall, Garth Turner and New Democrat MPP Wayne Gates.
Seburn’s “Wild West of Wine” stories also are nominated for Best Investigative Series. The stories outline the conflict between Ferox by Fabian Reis winery and the town’s bylaws — and the town’s refusal to enforce those bylaws.
As part of the investigation, Seburn tracked Ferox’s social media postings going back a number of years outlining events it held that appeared to be in contravention of NOTL’s rules.
The series also examines the ongoing court battle among the town, Konzelmann Estate Winery and grape grower Ed Werner alleging that unpermitted events have been allowed on the winery property despite zoning rules that say otherwise.
Further instalments in the “Wild West of Wine,” published in January, March and July 2025, are also finalists in the Best Feature or News Series.
Former reporter Julia Sacco’s April 17, 2025, story about the massive fire that destroyed the historic Glencairn Estate on the Niagara River Parkway — and was later determined to be arson — is nominated for Best News Story.
One instalment of “Heartbeat of the Harvest,” a series of feature stories by Jill Troyer about the migrant workers who are so crucial to Niagara’s agricultural industry, is nominated for Best Rural Story.
The Oct. 31, 2024, episode follows workers Oral Walters and Wayne Blake as they care for the vines at Stratus Vineyards.
Three headlines by Harley — “Scoop Dogg drops it like it’s cold,” “There’s a new Ruller in town” and “Root of the problem: Neighbour’s tree is causing foundation damage” — earned him a nomination for Best Headline Writing.
Four stories by Kevin MacLean about court cases involving NOTL native Richard Moore are finalists for Best Police or Court Series.
The stories document the devastation felt by the family of Nestor Chemerika, an 84-year-old cyclist struck and killed by Moore in a hit-and-run in 2023.
Moore’s eventual guilty plea last June is covered along with his arrest in cottage country less than a month later after a work colleague is badly injured by a boat piloted by Moore.
He was sentenced to 11 months in jail in the Chemerika case but still faces charges in Bracebridge of impaired operation causing bodily harm, refusing to provide a breath sample, failing to stop at an accident causing bodily harm and failing to comply with a release order.
Two of our columnists also received honourable mentions. Garth Turner was recognized in the Columnist of the Year category and Ross Robinson received a nod for his humour writing.
Seburn received an honourable mention in Education Writing for her detailed account of student overcrowding at St. Davids Public School.
Since 2020, The Lake Report has garnered 170 provincial and national awards for its work, more than any other community news publication in Canada.
