By DANIELLE RUSH
Thirty-one local elementary and middle school students will compete Tuesday to represent the Kokomo area in the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee June 2 to 4 in Washington, D.C.
The annual Kokomo Tribune regional spelling bee will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Indiana University Kokomo’s Kresge Auditorium.
Debbie Downing, Kokomo Tribune event coordinator, said the students competing are already champions, having won their school spelling bees to qualify for the regional event. The spellers come from schools in Howard, Cass, Fulton, Pulaski and Tipton counties.
Adam Dinkledine, the 2009 champion, is back in competition, after correctly spelling both his words in the oral round of nationals in 2009. A student of Kokomo Area Schools at Home, Dinkledine finished just a few points shy of semifinal qualifying. This will be his fourth appearance in the regional bee.
The regional winner receives an expenses-paid trip for himself or herself and a chaperone to Washington D.C., sponsored by the Kokomo Tribune, along with a trophy, a Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and a savings bond in honor of Jay Sugarman, chairman and CEO of Star Financial. The second- and third-place finishers will receive $20 Amazon.com gift certificates and Encyclopedia Britannica.
Downing said the Tribune is proud to again be sponsoring the annual bee and “giving students such a wonderful opportunity to be a part of an excellent education program. ... To me, they are all winners.”
• Danielle Rush is the Kokomo Tribune education reporter. She can be reached at 765-454-8585 or danielle.rush@kokomotribune.com.
If you go:
• What: Kokomo Tribune regional spelling bee
• When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
• Where: Indiana University Kokomo’s Kresge Auditorium
• Why: Winner will advance to Scripps National Spelling Bee June 2 to 4 in Washington, D.C.
Bee spellers:
Contestants in the Kokomo Tribune regional spelling bee include:
• Mya Dunham, fourth-grade, Sycamore Elementary
• Alison Cochran, seventh-grade, Maple Crest Middle School
• Tristen Carlson, eighth-grade, Rochester Community Schools
• Kenny Burton, fifth-grade, Maple Crest Elementary
• Indiya St. Clair, fourth-grade, Pettit Park Elementary
• Kyler Spencer, sixth-grade, Caston Elementary
• Nolan Sharpless, fifth-grade, Galveston Elementary
• Hannah Jones, eighth-grade, Columbia Middle School
• Alexis Mentis, sixth-grade, Eastern Elementary
• Gabriel Abney, eighth-grade, Central Middle School
• Nathan Everett, sixth-grade, Howard Elementary
• Jastyne Jackson Burnett, eighth-grade, Lafayette Park Middle School
• Jeremy Hartman, seventh-grade, Redeemer Lutheran School
• Trevor Hummer, fifth-grade, Bon Air Elementary
• Minka Gill, fifth-grade, Western Intermediate School
• Jonathan Carter, fifth-grade, Lafayette Park Middle School
• Vinh Lee, fifth-grade, Boulevard Elementary
• Adam Dinkledine, eighth-grade, Kokomo Area Schools at Home
• Kady Whitehead, seventh-grade, Acacia Academy
• Ashlyn Lythgoe, sixth-grade, Lincoln Middle School
• Keegan Boring, sixth-grade, Northwestern Elementary
• Molly Peterson, seventh-grade, Taylor Middle School
• Ja’Lyn Thompson, fifth-grade, Wallace Elementary
• Max McHaney, fifth-grade, Washington Elementary
• Mikeal Lepper, fifth-grade, Taylor Intermediate School
• Michaela Gibbs, eighth-grade, Sts. Joan of Arc and Patrick School
• Elijah Hammel, eighth-grade, Bon Air Middle School
• Wesley Bennett, sixth-grade, All Saints Catholic School
• Audreauna Meyers, fifth-grade, Elwood Haynes Elementary
• Sarah Sharp, seventh-grade, Eastern Jr.-Sr. High
• Taryn Thor, eighth-grade, Northwestern Middle School
