The Salisbury Post news staff received 14 awards from the N.C. Press Association in a ceremony Thursday in Chapel Hill.

Columnist Mark Wineka won eight awards and was largely responsible for another; Salisbury the Magazine, of which he is editor, won first place in the best niche publication category.

Reporter Josh Bergeron won two awards: first place in best news reporting for “Coal ash contamination in Dukeville,” and second place in news enterprise reporting for “The Sludge Report.”

Shavonne Walker won second place in news feature writing for “Heroin, a deadly epidemic.”

Andy Mooney won second place in news section design.

The Post’s website placed first in general excellence for newspaper websites.

Wineka’s awards included:

• Feature writing, second, for “Magic Shoebox,” the story of an Indian family who got to know a local family through the Operation Christmas Child shoebox.

• Business writing, second, for “One sweet fishin’ story”

• Lighter columns, second, for “It’s amazing,” “Dylan as teacher?” and “Sisters plant magic beans,”

• Sports columns, second, for “Our gritty girls were in a league of their own,” “Boys of summer” and “Bill Sides finally records his ace. ”

• General news reporting, third, for “Coming home: A voice from ‘so long ago, so far away”

• Business writing, third, “I just don’t want to turn it loose”

• Sports feature writing, third, “The kids from Shuford School”

• Beat feature writing, third, “For Salisbury, terrifying Stoneman’s Raid held a silver lining.”

The Post competes with other daily newspapers whose print circulation is between 12,500 and 35,000.