GARRETT â Kaden Fordeckâs hopes to win the DeKalb County Spelling Bee were briefly dashed when he omitted a vowel in âimpenetrableâ in the fourth round, leaving fifth-grader Chloe Hunt from McKenney-Harrison Elementary the only contestant still standing.
However, Hunt misspelled âinauguralâ in the championship round, giving Fordeck, a DeKalb Middle School sixth-grader, a second chance. He rejoined Hunt, seventh-grader Reagan Ioor from Eastside Junior-Senior High School and Audrey Mullins, a sixth-grade student from Garrett Middle School at center stage for three more rounds in the Garrett High School Performing Arts Center before correctly spelling âpunctualityâ to become the county champion. Ioor was runner-up, having incorrectly spelled âscrawnyâ in the eighth round.