Every time it was Loren Railsback's turn to spell a word during the Kosciusko County Spelling Bee Tuesday night, he asked for the language of origin, alternative pronunciation, definition, for it to be used in a sentence and for the word to be repeated.
The technique worked for the Eisenhower Elementary School sixth-grader as he won the fifth- and sixth-grade round of the 2009 Kosciusko County Spelling Bee in the Warsaw Community High School Performing Arts Center.
Thursday at 6:30 p.m., seventh- and eighth-grade school winners will compete to determine their champion. Railsback, 12, then will go head to head against the middle school winner. Thursday's spelling bee will be held at Kosciusko REMC in the Touchstone Energy® Room, 370 S. CR 250E, Warsaw.Railsback won Monday's spelling bee in just 13 rounds.
In round one, 11 of the 15 spellers were knocked out of competition on words like discipline, cauliflower and hominy. Another competitor went out in round three, and the 13th speller went out in round nine.
That left Railsback and Austin Trowbridge, 11, a sixth-grader at Leesburg Elementary School.
In round 13, Trowbridge misspelled 'jovial'. Railsback correctly spelled 'typhoon', and then won with the word 'rupture'.
Loren is the son of Cheryl and Ramsey Railsback. Austin is the son of Shelley and Chris Trowbridge.
Doris Lemert, marketing and communication manager for Kosciusko REMC, presented every speller with a medal and Railsback with a trophy.
Richard R. Long presented Railsback with a scholarship. Champions in each grade level receive the Richard R. Long Scholarship for future higher education. The scholarship is for $2,500 for the fifth- and sixth-grade champion and the seventh- and eighth-grade champion.
Other participants in Tuesday's spelling bee include Braxton Behny, Akron; Paige Conley, Mentone; David Yankosky, Milford; Madison Cooper, North Webster; Layne Davison, Pierceton; Madeline Birch, Syracuse; Ben Meulink, Warsaw Christian; Claire Haldewang, Sacred Heart, Diane Wack, Washington; Levi Hall, Madison; Daniel Messenger, Lincoln; Celia Heckert, Harrison; and Jesse Boal, Jefferson.
The middle school students scheduled to participate in Thursday's seventh- and eighth-grade round are Anna Bearss, Edgewood; Skyler Newsome, Lakeview; Emma Donahoe, Milford; Rowen Gingerich, Wawasee; and Elizabeth Shepherd, Tippecanoe Valley.
In 2008, Edgewood Middle School student Tim Ahlersmeyer withstood tough competition from Washington Elementary student Anna Bearss to become the 2008 Kosciusko County Spelling Bee Champ.
For the second consecutive year, Kosciusko REMC is participating as a presenting sponsor for the local and regional bees.
Because of cost increases for bee participation for area schools, REMC wanted to make sure that the increased costs didn't stop anyone from participating. As part of REMC's cooperative commitment to education and serving the community, REMC opted to continue to fund this great educational event, both locally and at the regional level. REMC is doing this in conjunction with the other Touchstone Energy® electric cooperatives.
The co-ops have covered half of the registration expense for local schools to participate, and in Kosciusko County, KREMC also provides participation awards and trophies for all participants and champions.
Kosciusko REMC is a Touchstone Energy® electric cooperative serving more than 17,000 customers throughout Kosciusko County and into surrounding counties.
