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Jacksonville wins county spelling bee
eighth-grader won the Cherokee County Spelling Bee by correctly spelling that word. He edged out Edgon Huerta, also of Jacksonville, who misspelled "cynical" in the finals. Daniel will go on to the regional spelling bee on March 15 in Dallas. "It feels good," Daniel said. "Hopefully I'll win. It's all in God's hands now." Daniel is the son of Keri and Richard Southern. "I would read the words and he would recite them," said Mrs. Southern. "The teachers were a big help." Daniel and Edgon were coached by Linda Brown, who said she is elated her two contestants took first and second places. "We practiced 30 to 45 minutes per day," Daniel said. "Sometimes we practiced after school."
"We're the best," Edgon said. "We practiced the most together," Daniel said. German words are the hardest to spell, Daniel said. "They are just confusing in the way they are translated," he explained. In addition to fastidious spelling, Daniel enjoys playing football and being active in the Central Baptist Church youth group in Jacksonville. Nail-biting moments were plentiful during the competition. Jessica Lumkins hesitated on "hibachi," "pacifism" and "prosaic." Shakeyla Griffin of Alto stumbled on "xylophone," while Chelsie Berry of Wells was eliminated by "gardenia." The competition was pared down to Jessica, Daniel, Edgon, Ronnie Boyer of Jacksonville and Staceson Myles of Alto. The quintet jousted over words like "libretto," "hassock," "eponym" and "poi."
Daniel and Edgon then traded licks with words like "saffron," "predicate," "flamenco" and "enchilada." Both misspelled "tarragon" before Edgon missed "cynical." Daniel then correctly spelled "cynical" and "fastidious." The county spelling bee, which has been held in February in recent years, was moved to October to encourage greater participation, said Rusk Junior High Principal John Burkhalter. "The kids are still excited about school at this point," he said.
Competing in the county spelling bee were: Shakeyla, Staceson, Alexa Russo and Alanis Guinn of Alto; Jessica, Daniel, Edgon, and Ronni of Jacksonville; Jansen Applegate, Austin Tollison, Bryce Hoffman and Kyle Monk of Rusk; Chelsie, Hanna Watson, Laurie Carver and Carina Bonilla of Wells.
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