EDITORIAL: Going all the way to the big event
Jun. 11—Last weekend, a student from Lawrence County took part in a major event and getting to do so was an honor in itself.
Joseph Keffer, who will be entering the sixth grade at Chesapeake Middle School his fall, traveled to the Washington, D.C. area, where he took part in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.
Getting to the bee first required Keffer to win his individual school bee, then to qualify, through a test for the regional bee, held in Athens, and then win that competition.
Along the way, he also won the county's spelling bee in December.
In the national bee, Keffer made it to the third round, tying for 100th place, putting him in the top half of the bee's 243 competitors.
It was an impressive showing for him and, with three more years of eligibility for the bee left, he has a good chance to do it again.
And this is the third time in the last 15 years that our county has had a student make it to the national event, with Felicity Jenkins and Meredith Dunlap preceding Keffer.
It is a testament, not just to their abilities, but of the education they received from our local schools.
We congratulate Keffer for his achievement this year and look forward to what else he accomplishes.
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Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
EDITORIAL: Going all the way to the big event
Jun. 11—Last weekend, a student from Lawrence County took part in a major event and getting to do so was an honor in itself. Joseph Keffer, who will be entering the sixth grade at Chesapeake Middle School his fall, traveled to the Washington, D.C. area, where he took part in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Getting to the bee first required Keffer to win his individual school bee, then to qualify, through a test for the regional bee, held in Athens, and then win that competition. Along the way, he also won the county's spelling bee in December. In the national bee, Keffer made it to the third round, tying for 100th place, putting him in the top half of the bee's 243 competitors. It was an impressive showing for him and, with three more years of eligibility for the bee left, he has a good chance to do it again. And this is the third time in the last 15 years that our county has had a student make it to the national event, with Felicity Jenkins and Meredith Dunlap preceding Keffer. It is a testament, not just to their abilities, but of the education they received from our local schools. We congratulate Keffer for his achievement this year and look forward to what else he accomplishes. You Might Like News Area students named to OU's Spring 2025 President's List Sports Pedro Bass Club names winners from Marina tourney News DeWine, mental health leaders unveil 988 license plate News Concert series returns Tuesday night
USA Today
7 days ago
- USA Today
Which word does Illinois, other states struggle to spell?
Which word does Illinois, other states struggle to spell? Show Caption Hide Caption Chippewa Local speller Zach Yeager prepares for national bee Zach Yeager, a student at Chippewa Junior/Senior High School in Doylestown, is busy preparing for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Oddly, "misspell," a not-particularly easy word to spell, is not on a recently released list of words Americans most often misspell. But as the Scripps National Spelling Bee gets underway, a study by an online tool for Scrabble players and others who play word games, finds that Americans have a hard time spelling a host of other words. Using Google Trends search data from the start of the year through May 19 for "How do you spell ..." and "How to spell ...," analysts found that we definitely can't spell "definitely." We can't separate our impulse to misspell "separate" from search engine inquiries. And we somehow find it necessary to Google the spelling of "necessary." Those are the top three hard-to-spell words, respectively, according to WordUnscrambler's analysis. You won't believe what else is on the list. Or maybe you will. What does a Google analysis reveal about spelling miscues? At least two words with the challenging i-e combination made the list of most-misspelled words: "believe," which came in at No. 4, and "neighbor," at No. 7. There were 33,500 searches for "definitely," 30,000 for "separate" and 29,000 for "necessary." "Through" seems to be a troublesome word, with 28,000 searches. But maybe we can also take some solace in a polarized nation in some other words on the list: We may be complimenting one another a lot, because "gorgeous" is No. 6 on the list. And we obviously care about our "neighbors," even if that e-i-or-i-e thing gives us fits. Google took root with a misspelling Google's own origin story includes a misspelling: Creators Sergei Brin and Larry Page originally called their search engine Backrub. But Page had a better idea (it might have been hard to think of a worse one): googol, or a "1" followed by 100 zeroes, or, if you're into exponents, 10 to the 100th power. Page misspelled it, and Google, the search engine, was born. The search engine's ubiquity, though, has made "google" a verb as well as a proper noun. And that popularity comes in large part because of its utility in helping us find some of our "favorite" (No. 9 on the list of most misspelled words) things. The things we search for most may be some of the things we misspell most often: "business" is No. 8 on the list and "restaurant" is No. 10 for misspelled searches. What do people in your state misspell the most? Alabama, Kansas, New York and Wisconsin all want to be "different," while Arkansans just want a good "quesadilla." Colorado, home to six U.S. military bases, seems to search "sergeant" a lot, and Delaware, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming are all looking for someone or something that's "beautiful." Californians and Washingtonians (of the state variety) are looking for "appreciation," and people in Montana and New Mexico want to "appreciate" whatever it is that they appreciate. Contrary to their prickly reputations, New Jerseyans like to say "Congratulations," as do the folks in Illinois. Floridians like to "compliment" people. And in Arizona, Kentucky, South Carolina and Virginia, they're just looking for, well, "people." Maine is concerned with "pneumonia," and who can blame them? In Alaska, they can't stop thinking about "tomorrow," and in Connecticut, they're apparently on a strict "schedule." North Carolinians are keeping a "secret," while they're merely "protective" in New Hampshire (and in Texas, where the spelling of "protect" is searched most often). They're evidently practicing their "crochet" skills in Ohio, but practicing "patience" in Oklahoma. No one should be running with "scissors" in Pennsylvania. But folks everywhere, including in Tennessee, should eat their "broccoli" to stay strong. Some states contributed to the top words on the list, including "definitely" (Idaho and Utah), "necessary" (Georgia), "through" (Iowa and Louisiana) and "business" (Oregon). In Indiana, they're wondering what's being "taught," while Nevadans are concerned with "school." Maryland is searching for "character," and Minnesota wants to be "successful." In Michigan, they're starting from "scratch" but feeling the heat in Missouri, where the "temperature" gets warm. Rhode Islanders are curious about what's been "cancelled" and in North Dakota, it's all about the "daughter" (because "son" is pretty easy to spell). It's hard not to envy the people of Hawaii, though, who are thinking about the next "luau." And what's up with you, Vermont? You just want to know how to spell "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." Don't we all? Do you want to share a slice of Americana with USA TODAY? Contact Phaedra Trethan by email at ptrethan@ on X (formerly Twitter) @wordsbyphaedra, on BlueSky @byphaedra, or on Threads @by_phaedra
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Yahoo
Chesapeake student competes in Scripps National Bee
Jun. 4—Makes it to third round of 100th anniversary event WASHINGTON, D.C. — It was long road getting there, but a Chesapeake student took part in the Scripps National Spelling Bee on the outskirts of the nation's capital over the weekend. Joseph Keffer, who just finished fifth grade, qualified for the event after winning the district bee for southeast Ohio in Athens in the spring. Prior to that, he won the Lawrence County Spelling Bee in December, for which he qualified by winning his school's bee. Keffer was one of 243 regional champions to make it nationals. The Scripps National Bee, which is in its 100th year, took place from May 25-30 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. "It was awesome," Joseph said of his experience. "And I made a lot of friends." At the national bee, Keffer made it through Round 1, correctly spelling "furan," then succeeded in Round 2. He then moved into Round 3, which was a written test to qualify for the event's quarterfinals. Keffer's mother, Laura, said he came only two points from that threshold. "He was close," she said, noting that he and those eliminated at that point tied for 100th place overall. "He was 100th in the 100th. Our goal this year was to make it through rounds 1 and 2 and we accomplished that." The spelling bee is open to fourth through eighth graders and, with three years of eligibility ahead of him, Joseph has the opportunity to try again. "Oh, yes," he said, when asked if he plans to compete again in the next school year. His mother summed up the family's experience. "Being here for the 100th spelling bee, being at the national spelling bee is something I never dreamed we'd do and it has been very special to be a part of it," Laura Keffer said. "We are very proud of Joseph and what he has accomplished." Keffer is the third Lawrence County speller to make it to the national bee this century. Last year, Meredith Dunlap, of Fairland Middle School, competed in the event as a seventh grader. (Dunlap came in second at this year's county and regional bees). In 2010, Felicity Jenkins, then a sixth grader at Symmes Valley, made the trip to nationals. The bee capped off a strong year for Keffer. He was also part of the fifth grade Quiz Bowl team, which won the Lawrence County ESC's talented and gifted tournament at the end of the school year, while, a year prior, he was on the winning team for the ESC's Math Pong event. You Might Like News Proctorville woman killed in WV crash Education FLE kindergarteners celebrate with Wyngate residents (WITH GALLERY) Business Azure Standard announces $9.3M investment in county News Ashland woman killed in UTV accident
