RALEIGH — The news staff of the Salisbury Post picked up 16 awards from the N.C. Press Association on Thursday.

Photographer Jon C. Lakey won first-place in three photo categories — feature, sports feature and general news. The winning photos showed a steam engine traveling down the tracks, Oak Park residents playing softball and the funeral of 7-year-old A’yanna Allen.

Other winners were:

• Rebecca Rider won first place in profile features for “There were no men to call: Survivor shares story of his male breast cancer.”

• Mark Wineka won second place in lighter columns for a collection of columns and third place in beat feature writing for “Photojournalist Ben Martin had life covered.” Also, Salisbury the Magazine, of which Wineka is editor, won second place in best niche publication.

• Deirdre Parker Smith won second place in business writing for “Grapes have brought a new kind of business to Rowan.”

• Josh Bergeron won first place in editorials for a collection of editorials and first place in city-county government reporting for “Fibrant talks under wraps.” He won second place in news feature writing for “Two different stories for locals at inauguration,” and third place in best video for “City responds to DA clearing of police officer in killing of Ferguson Laurent.” Bergeron is now editor of the State Journal in Frankfurt, Kentucky.

• Jessica Coates won third place in election/political reporting for “Residents take sides as commissioners decide to appeal prayer lawsuit.”

• Shavonne Walker won third place in spot photography for “Wrecker driver pinned.”

• Elizabeth Cook won third place in editorial pages.

• The Post staff won third place in appearance and design for the May 10 and 11, 2017, editions of the paper.

The Post competed with other daily papers with paid circulation of 15,000 to 35,000.