PAYNE – The Paulding County Spelling Bee was held on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at the Payne Elementary School Auditorium. Spelling Bee coordinator Sandra Freeman, from Western Buckeye ESC, welcomed parents, family and friends of the the nine competitors.

The contest began with two rounds of practice words, followed by 14 rounds of words such as "ductile," "knapsack" and "newfangled," drawn from the Scripps National Spelling Bee District Pronouncer Guide.

After 11 rounds, three spellers remained: Derek Reeb, Antwerp Local School; Kennadi Foy, Christian Home Educators of Paulding County (CHEPC); and Hannah Farr, Paulding Middle School.