PORT HAWKESBURY: Reporter Drake Lowthers recently placed second in the Best Feature Series category (circulation up to 9,999) at the Canadian Community Newspaper Awards (CCNA).
Lowthers was nominated for his extensive work covering the Desmond Fatality Inquiry, which has taken place over the past two years.
“To see a feature series I’ve been writing over the past 33 months, particularly one of this content material, which is very close to my heart, receive national recognition was a tremendous honour,” he said. “I am extremely proud of the countless number of hours I have put into this 38-part feature series, most notably for the veterans from across the province and the country, the Desmond and Borden families, and the historically-Black community of Upper Big Tracadie.”
The Desmond Fatality Inquiry, which saw testimony from 70 witnesses over 56 days and sat for 306 hours over a span of 26 months, investigated what caused retired Cpl. Lionel Desmond, who was a former infantryman, to kill his mother, his wife, and his 10-year-old daughter before turning the gun on himself in Upper Big Tracadie on Jan. 3, 2017.
The inquiry started in Guysborough on May 21, 2019, with witness testimony beginning on Jan. 27, 2020. Along the way, the proceedings faced numerous challenges such as the global COVID-19 pandemic, including long adjournments due to public health restrictions, and a change in venue to the Port Hawkesbury Justice Centre, which was announced on Oct. 28, 2020.
The final day of the public hearings took place on April 20, 2022 and Judge Warren Zimmer’s final report and recommendations are expected to be filed with the provincial court in early 2023.
“This award demonstrates my deep commitment in delivering the highest-quality, public-interest journalism available to the Strait area,” Lowthers said. “It’s this kind of journalism that really makes a difference on the page and matters in the lives of our readers, because without our readers, I wouldn’t be able to do what I love, which is telling people’s stories in a creative way.”
Lowthers graduated from Holland College’s journalism program in 2016, and started at The Reporter in July, 2018.
This is Lowthers’ third journalism award after being named a Silver Finalist at the 2018 Atlantic Journalism Awards in the Best Community Newspaper News Story category for his reporting on the suspicious death of Cassidy Bernard. In 2019, he was a Finalist in the Outstanding News Photo category at the Better Newspapers Competition for a picture he took during the Cassidy Bernard rally at the Canso Causeway, shortly after her death.