Horton captures second Hodgdon Bee crown

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HODGDON — Students at Hodgdon’s Mill Pond Elementary School were given a lesson in the ABCs of spelling by their peers Friday afternoon for the 2011 District Spelling Bee.
    And when the dust had settled, seventh-grader Sam Horton stood triumphant
    Horton correctly spelled the word “jaguar” to claim his second school spelling title. Last year, Horton was also victorious at the school Bee.
    The Aroostook County Spelling Bee will be held Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. at Ashland District High School.
    “I want to congratulate all of our spellers,” Mill Pond School Principal Loreen Wiley said. “It’s difficult being here in front of your peers.”
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
GOOD SPELLER — Sam Horton, a seventh-grader at Mill Pond School in Hodgdon, won his school’s Spelling Bee title and the right to advance to the Aroostook County Spelling Bee on Feb. 9.
    Horton’s victory did not come without a little bit of suspense. Horton originally was eliminated in the fourth round for failing to correctly spell the word “chintz.” However, when the other two remaining spellers — eighth-graders Kyle Ramsey and Joe Silliboy both stumbled on their words — “apologetic” and “abbreviate” — Horton was brought back for the fifth round and made the most of his opportunity.
    “I didn’t really expect such an easy word for the championship,” Horton said. “I wasn’t too nervous, but there was some pressure to win again this year.”
    Horton said he didn’t practice too much for the school Bee, but anticipates putting in some extra time studying for the upcoming Aroostook County Bee.
    “I didn’t do very good at the County one last year,” he said. “I think I was out in the third or fourth round, so I want to do better this year. I’m going to try to beat that.”
    The battle for second place lasted three more rounds, but Ramsey captured the runner-up title when he correctly spelled the word “epitaph.”
    Ramsey said he was a “little nervous” for the upcoming County Bee and would spend a bit more time practicing his spelling words.
    Other students who qualified for the spelling bee were: sixth-graders Taylor Desrosiers, Jordyn Merritt Andrew Theriault, Jill Gough, Danny Gillotti and Taylor Schillinger; seventh-graders, Jasmine St. Peter, Jakob Britton, Madison York, Ethan Sewell-Berry and Dakota Brown; and eighth-graders, Ethan Bartlett, Devin Quint, Desiree Brewer and Audrey Miller.