Local
Related Photos
Local youth going to national spelling bee
By PAUL LORENZ
paul.lorenz@mcleansborotimesleader.com
McLEANSBORO — Indeed, the fourth time was a charm.
Eighth-grader Andrew Wellen, representing Hamilton County Unit 10 School District for the fourth straight year, broke through to qualify Saturday for the 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
Wellen won the Tri-State Spelling Bee at Harrison High School in Evansville, Ind., to qualify for the national event.
Monday, his victory was announced at school and “quite a few people congratulated me,” Wellen said.
And people in the Hamilton County village of Dahlgren, where Wellen and his family live, are excited for him, too.
“We’ve had a lot of phone calls over the last couple of days from people congratulating him,” Andrew’s mother, Debbie, said Monday.
The Hamilton County Junior High School student’s Tri-State win returns the local school district to the national spelling bee for the first time since 1997. Aaron Karcher — for whom the county’s Aaron Karcher Memorial Spelling Bee is named — qualified for the national event in both 1996 and ’97.
Wellen won the regional spelling bee in the 20th round, correctly spelling the word jitney after runner-up Kate Marburger of Warrick County, Ind., stumbled on her word in Round 19.
“I didn’t know what it meant, but I thought I had seen it before,” Wellen said of the winning word.
Twenty-eight county spelling bee winners from Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky competed in the Tri-State Bee.
Wellen won the county spelling bee as a fifth- and sixth-grader at Dahlgren School, then again as a seventh-grader at the junior high here before making it four wins in a row Feb. 4.
With three years of experience at the Tri-State under his belt, Wellen said that although the words at the regional spelling bee may have been “a little bit harder this year, studying the previous three years made it easier to do the fourth one.”
At the Tri-State, Wellen said, more spellers — including himself — took advantage of the options to ask for a word’s language of origin or definition before trying to spell it.
“I think he’s figured out that certain languages don’t use certain letters, or use some more than others,” his mother said.
Wellen received several prizes after his Tri-State win, including a dictionary, trophy and savings bond.
In addition, the Evansville Courier & Press newspaper, sponsor of the regional event, will cover expenses for Wellen and one adult to accompany him to Washington, D.C., May 30 through June 6. The spelling bee itself is June 2 through 4.
But the Wellens — including Andrew’s father, John, brother Nicholas, 16, and sister Emily, 12 — intend to make a family vacation of it, Debbie Wellen said.
It will be Andrew’s first visit to the nation’s capital.
“I’m excited about it,” he said.
- Local
-
-
Reward increased to $50,000
Recent acts of vandalism against power substations and power poles in Hamilton and Franklin counties have forced Southern Illinois Power Cooperative to increase the reward from $10,000 to $50,000 for tips leading to the arrest of vandals.
-
Tillis to headline Fall Festival lineup
Country music legend Mel Tillis will be the featured entertainment at this year’s Kiwanis Fall Festival.
-
Extracurricular policy revised
A policy revision approved Tuesday night by the Hamilton County Unit 10 Board of Education draws the line regarding extracurricular athletic participation by its students.
-
County Board votes to put ‘concealed carry’ question on ballot
Voters in Hamilton County will have the chance to voice their opinion at the ballot box regarding “concealed carry” legislation.
-
Transformer vandals sought
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department continues to investigate a recent incident which had the potential to cost its victim — an area power company — up to $2 million, a company statement said.
-
Committee looks to add sidewalks at track facility
This spring, Hamilton County Junior/Senior High School hosted track meets for the first time in years thanks to a new all-weather track.
-
Audit: City finances in good shape
The city’s financial management got positive marks and its budget showed mostly positive balances for the recently concluded fiscal year, according to the annual audit report presented at the City Council meeting Tuesday night.
-
Home rehab help
Homeowners in Hamilton County who need major repairs to their homes may be eligible for help from Wabash Area Development Inc.
-
Mom charged with kidnapping
Kidnapping and child abduction charges have been filed against a woman accused of taking her son from a rural Hamilton County home in violation of an order of protection.
-
Festival to celebrate freedom
It’s called Freedom Fest — with an emphasis on free.
- More Local Headlines
-
Reward increased to $50,000
