A glimpse inside the community

Mono County Spelling Bee 

If you want to experience a little pressure, enter a spelling bee. For real pressure, however, watch one.

Lunch was on hand for the spelling championships held at Lee Vining Elementary on March 26.

Here’s the deal – you just can’t mess anything up. Once the spellers begin a word and say a letter, they can’t take it back. So the poor kid who got eliminated by starting “quarrel” with a ‘c’, backtracking, and then spelling it correctly. Forget it. You’re out. The kid who spelled “Monday” correctly but didn’t specify that the ‘M’ was capitalized. Out.

In the elementary school competition, Rachel Palisoc (Antelope) overcame quite a bit of adversity to place second (earning a trip to the State Championships in Sacramento).

After misspelling one of her early words, Pakisoc sat down … and then went overboard, off the stage as she had nudged the back legs of her chair in the process of sitting down.

Fortunately, she was not seriously injured and didn’t miss another word until there were just two contestants left.

4th grader Belle Dolan Carleton, finished 3rd. Forgive us for the plug. Ace Selters (Mammoth) spelled the word “absence” to seal the win.

If he’d asked me to use it in a sentence, I would have said, “The spelling bee offered no absence of drama.”

In the Junior High School competition, the top two finishers were Rhona McChesney (Mammoth) and Caelen McQuilkin (Lee Vining)

Alabama Hills Day

Come celebrate the 4th annual “Alabama Hills Day” on Saturday, April 11 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Lone Pine. Co-sponsored again by the Alabama Hills Stewardship Group and the Bureau of Land Management, the event showcases the rich history and unique landscape of the Alabamas.

“This year will be our most exciting event ever, with 17 unique activities taking place in the Alabama Hills,” said Kevin Mazzu, event leader and board member of the Alabama Hills Stewardship Group. “You can rock climb with Mt. Everest summiteer Kurt Wedberg, pan for gold with the Lone Pine Gem and Mineral Society, get a private VIP tour of the Lone Pine Film History Museum with executive director Bob Sigman, go on a grand auto excursion around the entire area with Doug Thompson, try your hand and GPS on geocaching, or meet legendary mountain climber Peter Croft.

“Kids (and their parents) can participate in one of our new Healthy Communities youth oriented ‘Kids Explorer’ hikes, complete with an on-the-go lunch from McDonald’s!”

The Alabama Hills Stewardship Group would like to invite the public to participate in this special event. Adults and children are welcome and attendance is free. Bring your family and friends and come out to show your support for the Alabama Hills and enjoy a unique learning experience!

For more info, call 760.784.5494.