A feature story that appeared in the TIMES NEWS on November 10, 2010, has won two national awards, one for writing and one for photography, as announced late last week.

'The Amber Lantern Massacre' was a full page story recounting the gang-related, unsolved murders which took place exactly 73 years ago, June 14, 1938, on Lincoln Drive in Rush Township, then called Route 29, the Hometown-Hazleton highway.The story has been awarded second place in history writing, special articles, by the National Federation of Press Women (NFPW), Arlington, Va. It had automatically been entered into NFPW national competition after winning first place at the state level.In addition, the color illustration used in the story was awarded a national second place in daily newspaper feature photography after winning first place in Pennsylvania competition. The photo illustration portrayed what may have been a 1930s scene at the Amber Lantern Hotel and Restaurant after darkness. The photo featured Dave Mattson of West Penn Township and Andy Leibenguth of Tamaqua, and was taken in Hometown near the site of the massacre.The story and photo were produced by Donald Serfass, TIMES NEWS managing editor, features and human interest. The piece can be seen in its entirety at the TN online at

http://www.tnonline.com/node/149232 Web address.The work received recognition earlier this year by The Associated Press and Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.The NFPW awards will be presented in September in Council Bluffs, Iowa.