Kinston High School defends Adult Spelling Bee title

Twenty-four teams gathered at King’s restaurant on Highway 70 East to take part in this year’s Adult Spelling Bee, an event organized by the Lenoir County Education Foundation, a component of the Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce.

Faculty and staff from Kinston High School defended their title, winning the $300 first-place prize. Faculty and staff from Northwest Elementary School came in second place, winning $200 and rounding out the top three were members of the Pink Hill Elementary School No. 2 team, who won $100.

Teachers from the top three schools can now apply for minigrants from the Lenoir County Education Foundation, used to further projects in the classrooms. As of Tuesday night, about $5,000 had been raised, with more expected during the following days.

“Now that we know the winning schools, teachers can apply to these minigrants,” Gram Spear, chairman of the Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, said.

The final round of words included: animadversion, isinglass, Thyestean, hauberk and embrasure.

The Adult Spelling Bee began during 1966 and was held annually through 2003.  Since then, it has been held semiannually.

This year’s event was sponsored by Progress Energy and Century Link.