Shelly Holbrook
On Friday, Jan. 12, at 9 a.m., the Madison County district-wide spelling bee was held at Madison Creative Arts Academy in the gym. Spelling bee winners from each division from each school were present for the district showdown. Divisions included a fourth-grade district division and a fifth through eighth-grade district division. There were five fourth-grade contestants in the competition including Eddie Ferguson, Harold Baxley, Gregory Taylor, Terrell Smith, and Sawyer Smith. Fifth-grade contestants were Lily Lowe, Hartley Westerman, Nate Davis, A'Niyah Ray, and Bailie Bradfield. Sixth-grade contestants competing this year were Aniayah Butler and Lynzee Douglas. Seventh-grade students, Ke'Andre Dobson and Tegan Hovland competed in the upper-level division of the spelling bee. And, Marvin Mattair and Kaylee Terrill were the eighth-grade students competing in the district spelling bee. Eddie Ferguson was the fourth-grade winner and Harold Baxley was the fourth-grade runner-up. Marvin Mattair (eighth-grade student) was Grand Champion from the fifth through eighth-grade division, with A'Niayah Ray (fifth-grade student) being the runner-up. Congratulations and a job well-done to all of the school finalists as well as the district finalists in this year's spelling bee!