At This Time

The final two standing at the District 65 spelling bee were John Lindsay-Ryan and Grace Nester-Detweiler. John, a seventh grader, won the districtwide event Thursday when he spelled the word “gibbon” in the 13th round at Chute Middle School. His secret: “I think separating words into parts, and then spelling each part helps me.” Said District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton: “I missed a lot of those words in full transparency, especially toward the latter rounds.” Lindsay-Ryan won a  trip to Maryland to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in late May. A district-wide spelling bee for Spanish words is scheduled for Thursday afternoon at Chute Middle School. (Photo by Richard Cahan)