Hot Springs sixth-grader claims county spelling bee title
Sanders County Spelling Bee winners, from left, Elizabeth Knudsen, Ziah Hensrude and Avalynn Grimm. (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)
Sanders County Spelling Bee judges Michael Scharfe, Joanne Burk and Karen Dwyer. (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)
Sanders County Spelling Bee winner Elizabeth Knudsen with her parents. (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)
The top spellers from six Sanders County school districts took part in the annual county spelling bee last week.
The competition was open to grades sixth through eighth. Eighteen students came ready to show off their spelling skills at the county courthouse, with an audience of parents and grandparents.
Top honors were taken by Hot Springs sixth-grader Elizabeth Knudsen. Second place was awarded to Ziah Hensrude, also of Hot Springs. Third place was taken by Noxon seventh-grader Avalynn Grimm.
Elizabeth Knudsen will advance to the Treasure State Bee in Bozeman on March eleventh.
Each winner received a trophy and a Barnes and Noble book store gift card.
The annual event has been sponsored for the last 36 years by First Security Bank of Missoula and the Sanders County Ledger. Annie Wooden was the spelling bee director, with word pronouncer, Jeff Wheeler, a retired English teacher from Thompson Falls. Judges were Joanne Burk, an associate of First Security Bank, Michael Scharfe and Karen Dwyer.
