Thats correct - Lake County Spelling Bee
Duane Aikman, far left, a fifth grader from Charlo elementary spells a word, as Troy Bontrager, Chloe Greenfield and Collin Hardy await their turn at the mic.
RONAN — This year’s Lake County Spelling Bee saw skilled participants at every level. The spellers spelled with precision, the judges judged with indiscrimination and the pronouncer pronounced with uncanny clarity.
Forty-four students from fifth through eighth grades from Lake County districts came together in the new performing arts center at Ronan Middle School. And master of ceremonies, county superintendent Gale Decker awaited a winner.
The spelling bee started at 6:30 p.m. and ended several hours later.
Sharidan Russell, a seventh-grader from Polson Middle School, took home the prize of first place in the seventh round. Anjeli Doty, an eighth grade homeschooler, brought home second.
Third place was determined in the eighth and ninth rounds. Baptiste Finley, a sixth grader from Mission Valley Christian Academy, and Joseph Dresen, an eighth grader from Ronan Middle School, tied for third place.
Winners received a thesaurus/dictionary and ribbons. Trophies were awarded to first and second place finishers.
Students did various things to prepare for the competition. Doty used word origin tips and Russell said her little brother helped her.
“I had my little brother pick out words from the dictionary,” Russell said of her preparation.
Cool, calm and collected, Russell was able to think through the words given her, and spelled every one correctly.
Doty misspelled the word “staccato.” She said the word is now drenched in irony, as she plays piano and should have known it.
“I just wasn’t thinking,” Doty explained, adding that her piano teacher, Mr. B, would be shocked at her slight slip of tongue.
This was Russell and Doty’s first trip to the county bee. Veteran judges Linda Trickey of Ronan, Susan Black of Arlee and Judy Shafter of Charlo used their knowledge to maintain the smoothness of the competition.
Pronouncer Marilynn Tanner of St. Ignatius is a retired school teacher and has pronounced for six county spelling bees in the past.
Before the spelling bee began, Tanner and judges debated about a few words.
“We go to great lengths to try and make things fair,” said County Bee director, Kate Ike.
She said bee officials met at 4 p.m. to review the words intended for usage during the bee, and decided to include “graupel” and “pundent” as the words should have been familiar to students as they are often used in local news coverage, Ike said.
Students are given access to the first 250 words used during the bee — words are given to the county a week in advance from the spelling bee state coordinators. One hundred tweny eight words were used at this year’s Lake County Spelling Bee.
“We try to give as many students a chance to spell,” Ike said, adding that enrollment numbers dictate how many students schools can send to the county bee.