Spelling Bee winner:
Adam Kastler, an eighth grade student at West Oak Middle School in Diamond Lake Elementary District 76, was the winner of the Lake County Final Spelling Bee Competition, the Lake County Regional Office of Education announced in a news release Friday. Josh Smoron, a seventh-grader from Viking Middle School in Gurnee Elementary District 56, was the runner up. The competition was held March 20 at College of Lake County. Kastler will travel to Washington, D.C. to compete in the Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee on May 25 to May 31. All expenses for the seven-day trip will be paid cooperatively by the Lake County Regional Office of Education and the Jelly Belly Candy Company. In all, 12 students in grades 4 through 8 participated in the Lake County competition.