A familiar face is the 2008 Herald Bulletin Spelling Bee winner.
Austin Hoke, 14, Greenfield, captured his fourth regional spelling bee victory by correctly spelling “hibachi,” a Japanese cooking grill, during the contest Tuesday night. By besting 27 competitors, Austin’s earned the right to go to Washington, D.C., and represent the area in the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
“I’ve just been studying,” said Austin, an eighth-grader at Mount Vernon Middle School. “I think I have a photographic memory. I just see (the words) in my head.”
Austin cemented the victory after 14-year-old Meghan Christie misspelled “pochismo,” or “an English word or expression borrowed into Spanish,” according to Dictionary.com. He then correctly spelled “hibachi.”
Earlier spellers fell out of the bee after tripping up on words like “macramé,” “panglossian,” “ambivalent” and “empanada.” About 150 people gathered in the Anderson City Building auditorium to watch the bee.
Herald Bulletin Publisher Mike Casuscelli served as the bee’s emcee. Managing Editor Scott Underwood and Assistant Managing Editor Steve Dick were judges. Ball State University Telecommunications Professor Nancy Carlson was the event’s pronouncer, and the bee was directed by Judi Litsey, the newspaper’s Newspapers in Education coordinator.
It was Austin’s fifth appearance at the regional spelling bee. Last year, he finished second. Despite having competed several times previously, he admitted to being a little queasy.
“I was kind of nervous,” Austin said. “(I’ve) been here before, but being up here (on stage) with the lights. ...”
Austin will compete in the 2008 national spelling held May 29-30. Since he’s going back to the nation’s capital, he has some landmarks he wants to see again.
“Probably the White House and the Capital Building,” he said.
With his first-place finish, he received a trip for two to Washington, $500 in spending cash, $100 savings bond and a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
It’s the last time Austin can take part in the spelling bee. Children above the eighth grade are ineligible. He said his favorite subject was algebra, and he hoped to be an anesthesiologist when he gets older.
Austin’s parents, Roger and Diana Hoke, said he was a determined student who tackles his homework shortly after the school day is over.
“He’s studious,” Roger said. “He gets his homework done. He does have a lot of discipline.”
---------
First place:
n Austin Hoke, 14, Mount Vernon Middle School eighth-grader, Greenfield. Austin won a trip for two to Washington, D.C., to compete in the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee in May. He also received $500 in spending money, $100 gift certificate and a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Second place:
n Meghan Christie, 14, St. Mary’s School eighth-grader, Anderson. Meghan won a Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition; $20 Amazon.com gift certificate; and a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Third place:
n Jordan Hill, 12, North Side Middle School sixth-grader, Anderson. Jordan won a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate and a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Local News
Related Photos
-
Richard Sitler
Discussion
VIDEO: 1:35 a.m.: Three-timer wins 4th bee
- Local News
-
-
Former inmate sentenced to 18 years for role in prison riot
Joseph Martin was sentenced to 18 years at the Department of Correction for stabbing another inmate during a riot at a Pendleton prison.
-
Power restored to southern Madison County
Southern Madison County was without power Tuesday night after a motorist crashed into a utility pole. Power was restored about 9:20 p.m.
-
Mortgage-fraud settlement money could benefit low-income Hoosiers
Low-income families struggling to pay their heating bills may get some relief from an unexpected source: The multi-billion-dollar settlement from banks accused of abusive mortgage practices.
-
ACS taking a look at its dress code
The Anderson Community School Corp. dress code that many parents have argued against may see some slack in the near future.
-
Executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank will retire
Lois Rockhill will soon retire as executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana, but she’s not the only one full of memories of her 23 years there. Many other people have their own.
-
What's Where: Feb. 15
Local meetings and activities are scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 15.
-
Anderson’s Ivy Tech on list of measles exposure sites
Indiana state health officials are working to curb an outbreak of measles in central Indiana that has spread from two to 13 confirmed cases in less than a week.
-
Arrest Log: Feb. 15
Arrests made by Madison County law enforcement on Monday and Tuesday, based on Madison County Jail records.
-
McGhee sworn in as newest member of ACS board
New Anderson Community Schools board member Danny McGhee was sworn in with a group of community members there in his support Tuesday.
-
Local Briefs: Feb. 15
A compilation of news briefs as published in the Wednesday edition of The Herald Bulletin.
- More Local News Headlines
-
