North Panola Junior High student wins county bee
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Winners in the Panola County Spelling Bee January 15 were (from left) Sharonneshia Jackson from North Panola Junior High, first place; Taylor Spriggs from Pope School, second place; Dekelon Wooten, Como Elementary, third place. Sharonneshia and Taylor will advance to the Mid-South Spelling Bee in Memphis this spring. The Panolian photo by Rita Howell
By Rita Howell
You could say Sharonneshia Jackson, 11, has an innate ability when it comes to spelling. The adjective means “inherent, natural, inborn.”
At the end of 11 rounds at last Friday’s Panola County Spelling Bee, Sharonneshia calmly and correctly spelled “innate” to claim the 2016 championship and advance to the Mid-South Spelling Bee in Memphis this spring.
Sharonneshia is a sixth grader at North Panola Junior High. She lives in Crenshaw and is the daughter of Latoya Ruffin.
“We all are excited to share in Sharonneshia’s accomplishment,” said her principal, Valeree Ellis-Barnes.
Finishing second and also advancing to the Mid-South Bee was Pope School’s Taylor Spriggs, 12. Taylor will be making a return trip to the regional bee, having competed there last year.
She is the daughter of Aimee and Chuck Spriggs.
Seven students who’d won their individual school bees competed in last Friday’s contest at the Batesville Public Library, with supporters from their schools in attendance.
Claiming third place was Dekelon Wooten, a fourth grader at Como Elementary. Other spellers were Gariuna Williams from Batesville Middle School, Hannah Selvy from Batesville Junior High, Tyra Jones from Green Hill Elementary, Latalya Ruffin from Crenshaw Elementary.
The county bee was coordinated by Geneva Baird. Judges were retired teachers Linda Holland, Joy Tippit and Denise Benson.
The top three spellers received cash awards.
