BIRTHDAY GIRL WINS SPELLING BEE

Schultz spelling bee champion Rebecca Thomas observed her 13th birthday Saturday by participating in the district spelling bee -- and winning.

"This will be a birthday to remember," said the Cape Girardeau seventh grader.

Thomas was one of 31 school spelling champions competing in the district competition at Sikeston Middle School.

Because of the large number of district contestants -- the largest in sponsors' memory -- Southeast Missouri is eligible to send three qualifiers to the state spelling bee in St. Louis in March.

"For each 15 participants, or portion thereof, we send one speller to state," judges announced Saturday. "So when we are down to three spellers, we will declare them our district co-champions."

Jenny Gardner of Ripley Co. R-3 and Adam Morris of A.D. Simpson School in Charleston shared the top honors with Thomas.

The Schultz speller's final word, which came an hour and a half into the oral bee, was hypnology.

This marks the 67th Scripps Howard national spelling bee.

State winners will meet in Washington D.C. in late May to determine a national champion.

The district and state bees in Missouri are sponsored by the St. Louis Post Dispatch, which will host the next round of competition at the St. Louis Art Museum next month.

Thomas is the daughter or Mr. and Mrs. Chris Thomas of Cape Girardeau.