Cartoonist of the Year nomination for Vukovich

Hamilton Community News has been nominated for two awards in the Ontario Community News Association’s (OCNA) Better Newspapers Awards.

Cartoonist Mike Vukovich is one of three finalists for the Cartoonist of the Year award.

The Stoney Creek News is one of three finalists for the Community Service Award for its work with the Riverdale Community Book Bank.

Vukovich’s nomination was based on three cartoons drawn during the competition period.

One cartoon from Jan. 20, 2011 depicted a beleaguered Hamilton taxpayer holding a Stadium Tax and Infrastructure tax bill about to be hit from behind by the LRT Money Train.

A cartoon from May 26, 2011 is flagged News Item: Winnipeg Gets NHL Hockey team and depicts a smiling Winnipeg player and a sad Hamilton player saying “This sucks…again.”

A  June 30, 2011 cartoon depicts Mayor Bob Bratina and councillor Sam Merulla looking at a clown suit labeled “City Council Now Controls HECFI” with the mayor saying “Somebody has to wear the clown suit.”

Vukovich, a part-time employee with the HCN production department, has been drawing cartoons for HCN  for more than 15 years.

He has been nominated before, but is looking for his first win.

His cartoons appear weekly in the Hamilton Mountain News, Stoney Creek News, Ancaster News and Dundas Star News.

The Community Service award nomination is for Stoney Creek News staff’s work in creating and running a Community Book Bank in the Riverdale neighbourhood and helping set up a book bank at the Community Access to Child Health.

News staff have collected more than 1,500 gently-used books and they run mobile book banks at least four times a year.

Winners will be announced at the OCNA’s BNC Awards Gala in Toronto April 27.