web1_TTL030716havey.bdy_.jpg

Happy birthday to Rachel Elizabeth Havey!

Perdue Foods LLC recalls Applegate Naturals Chicken Nuggets due to plastic fragments

<p>When 12-year-old Peter Khoudary from Good Shepherd Academy in Kingston spelled the winning word Sunday during the Times Leader/Scripps Regional Spelling Bee, applause thundered through the Woodlands&#8217; Grand Ballroom.</p><p>It was similar to what you hear when an athlete wins the Olympics or a pilot lands a plane after a turbulent flight.</p><p>In our 35 combined years of helping to run the regional bee, four judges and our pronouncer agreed, we couldn&#8217;t remember such enthusiasm.</p><p>The lion&#8217;s share of the cheering, no doubt, was for Peter, the young word meister the Times Leader will send to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May.</p><p>But much of it, I&#8217;m sure, was for the 21 other spellers who also strove to do their best.</p><p>That includes Dominic Bernardi from Pittston City Elementary Center who, at 10, has years of growing ahead of him. The crowd seemed to hum its admiration each time he stood on tiptoe to reach the microphone and tackle such words as &#8220;fiery,&#8221; &#8220;loiter&#8221; and &#8220;tatami.&#8221;</p><p>When you were 10, had you ever heard that last word? Maybe if you knew someone who lived in a Japanese-style house, you&#8217;d be familiar with the woven-grass floor covering. Otherwise, probably not.</p><p>Livia Moore, 13, wearing her Wyoming Area Catholic School uniform, won sympathy when she reacted with stunned horror to the word &#8220;vivisection,&#8221; cheers when she spelled it correctly and pumped her fist in triumph.</p><p>After 10 rounds of spelling winnowed the field in half, pronouncer Jean Lynott jumped ahead to harder words. Soon &#8220;lustrous,&#8221; &#8220;escrow&#8221; and &#8220;trafficking&#8221; (darn that tricky &#8220;K!&#8221;) proved too much for several spellers.</p><p>Then, suddenly, about one hour into the bee, we were down to three.</p><p>Darlene Nunez, a 10-year-old fifth-grade student from Heights/Murray Elementary in Wilkes-Barre who had prevailed over &#8220;doctrinaire,&#8221; &#8220;herbivore,&#8221; &#8220;meticulous,&#8221; &#8220;libretto&#8221; and &#8220;lethargy,&#8221; correctly spelled &#8220;reluctantly&#8221; but finally fell to &#8220;remorseless.&#8221; Reluctantly, I watched her go.</p><p>Then there were two.</p><p>For a dozen rounds, 12-year-old Landon Wolk from Drums Elementary had impressed the crowd with his command of such words as &#8220;tortilla,&#8221; &#8220;harmonica,&#8221; &#8220;mikado,&#8221; &#8220;prattle,&#8221; &#8220;imam,&#8221; &#8220;alliteration,&#8221; &#8220;periphery&#8221; and &#8220;pangolin.&#8221; When he correctly spelled &#8220;tutelary,&#8221; I silently wrote &#8220;Wow!&#8221; on my copy of the word list.</p><p>Peter Khoudary, meanwhile, had triumphed over &#8220;souvenir,&#8221; &#8220;filament,&#8221; &#8220;nelma,&#8221; &#8220;aristocracy,&#8221; &#8220;enthusiasm,&#8221; &#8220;perpetual,&#8221; &#8220;stipple,&#8221; &#8220;alkali&#8221; and &#8220;piston.&#8221;</p><p>We were down to the hard-to-breathe portion of the proceedings.</p><p>Landon spelled &#8220;flamingo.&#8221; Peter spelled &#8220;contemplate.&#8221;</p><p>Landon spelled &#8220;tangential.&#8221; Peter spelled &#8220;ascertain.&#8221;</p><p>Then Landon stumbled over &#8220;penultimate.&#8221; Peter spelled &#8220;runic&#8221; plus one extra word, &#8220;valet,&#8221; to win the bee.</p><p>And the crowd went wild.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_TTL030716SpellingBee2-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Second runner up Darlene Nunez, left, of Heights/Murray Elementary School in Wilkes-Barre, and first runner up Landon Wolk, right, of Drums Elementary, pose with Peter Khoudary of Good Shepherd Academy, winner of the Times Leader/Scripps Regional Spelling Bee. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_TTL030716SpellingBee2-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Second runner up Darlene Nunez, left, of Heights/Murray Elementary School in Wilkes-Barre, and first runner up Landon Wolk, right, of Drums Elementary, pose with Peter Khoudary of Good Shepherd Academy, winner of the Times Leader/Scripps Regional Spelling Bee. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_marytheresebiebel-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"><strong>Beyond the Byline</strong> Mary Therese Biebel </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_marytheresebiebel-3.jpg</photo1><caption1><strong>Beyond the Byline</strong> Mary Therese Biebel </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Beyond the Byline: Cheers for all the spellers at the Times Leader/Scripps Regional Spelling Bee