'Compromise' was winning word for Harrisburg sixth-grader
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Saline County Spelling Bee lasted nine rounds as Eldorado eighth-grader Alex Jones and Harrisburg sixth-grader Darren Harrison spelled an increasingly tricky list of words correctly.
In the ninth round Jones incorrectly spelled "exaggerate." Harrison correctly spelled "fedora" and then became the Saline County Spelling Bee Champion with "compromise."
Eldorado fourth-grader Curtis Young missed "jubilant" in the first round, Harrisburg eighth-grader missed "accrued" in the third round, Galatia seventh-grader ReAnna Gallimore missed "frivolous" in the fourth round and Galatia sixth-grader Madison Mathews missed "matrimony" in the sixth round.
Pronouncer Kent Wheeler of the Regional Superintendent's Office -- sponsor of the bee -- bragged on all the contestants saying this year's was the most difficult word list he has seen.
He also thanked the crowd that took up nearly every seat in the Harrisburg Middle School library.
"It's so nice to see family and friends come to give their support. There are ball games and things to go to and this is an academic challenge. It's good to see you come out to support it," Wheeler said.
Harrison said he did not spend all that much time studying the lists of words and said when he did he realized he was studying the wrong list. His parents, Carolyn and Steve Harrison, attributed Harrison's spelling skills to being an avid reader and straight-A student.
"He missed one spelling word and that was because it involved an apostrophe," Carolyn said.
Harrison said he was fairly confident in his spelling abilities until he saw the competition involved older pupils.
"I was a little worried with an eighth-grader there," Harrison said.
Harrison was a good sport noting the difficulty of the word "exaggerate" Jones missed that opened the door for his own success.
The two will spell together again in Evansville, Ind.
The rules changed for the Tri-State Spelling Bee which is 10:30 a.m. Feb. 4 at Ivy Tech Community College. This year all top spellers in the schools advance to the Tri-State Spelling Bee. The county spelling bee -- that formerly determined the local competitor in the Tri-State Bee -- was for the sake of tradition.
Jones, Gallamore and Harrison all were top spellers for their schools so all three will compete again in Evansville, Ind.
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DeNeal receives e-mail at bdeneal@yourclearwave.com.</li>
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