By Staff
WINNER Alvin Edmonds won the first place trophy in the annual Meridian/Lauderdale County spelling bee, sponsored by The Meridian Star. Photo by Kelly Quackenbush/The Meridian Star
By Kelly Quackenbush/The Meridian Star
March 2, 2001
Ninety-five students from city, county, private, Christian and home schools gather at Mississippi State University-Meridian Campus Thursday for the annual Meridian/Lauderdale County spelling bee, sponsored by The Meridian Star.
The spelling bee took almost three hours to produce a winner in Albert Edmonds, who won with a correct spelling of "anaconda." Edmonds is a 12-year-old seventh-grader at Carver Middle School, and has six other spelling bee trophies.
Edmonds will represent Meridian/Lauderdale County this spring in Jackson at the state spelling bee. The winner of the state event will represent Mississippi at the national spelling bee, hosted by Scripps Howard News Service.
Derek Taylor, an eighth-grader from Clarkdale placed second. Jessica Moore, eighth-grader from West Lauderdale took third place. Deshunnica McClelland, a seventh-grader from Carver Middle School placed fourth, and fifth place went to Rebekah Allen, an eighth-grade home school student.
Students had to win their classroom spelling bees and school spelling bees to qualify for the Meridian/Lauderdale County spelling bee.
Case agreed.