FORT WAYNE – Lora Kuhaneck beat 13 other regional spelling bee contestants Saturday and will advance to the national bee in May. The 13-year-old Edgewood Middle School eighth-grader outlasted other county winners through 16 rounds at the 61st Touchstone Energy Regional Spelling Bee presented by The Journal Gazette at IPFW. She will represent northeast Indiana and Northwest Ohio at the 88th Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., in May. Kuhaneck, the daughter of Bill and Jamie Norris and Wayne Kuhaneck, won the Kosciusko County Spelling Bee Feb. 3, taking home a trophy and a $2,500 Richard R. Long Scholarship. With her regional win, she received a a plaque for her school and a $100 Samuel Louis Sugarman Award. Lora spelled words like “potentially,” “franchise,” “snaffle,” and ended with correctly spelling “patronizing” to win the regional contest, according to a release from Warsaw Community Schools. For fun, the commentators asked her to spell “Kosciusko” as they wrapped up the contest. “I want to thank my Mom for helping me study and Mrs. Eberhardt for encouraging me to read. I’m looking forward to going to Washington D.C.” Kuhaneck said when she returned to Edgewood Monday morning, according to the release. “We are so proud of Lora and believe she will be a real contender in the national competition. She will represent Warsaw Community Schools very well,” said JoElla Smyth, her Edgewood Middle School principal, in the release.
