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Ellen Hunter captures district spelling bee
0129 District Spelling Bee winner
Guyton Elementary School fifth-grader Ellen Hunter won the Effingham County district-wide spelling bee. - photo by Photo provided

Can you correctly spell “hinterland” and “manicure”?


At the district spelling bee on Jan. 17, Ellen Hunter correctly spelled those two words to become the countywide winner. Hunter is a fifth-grade student at Guyton Elementary School in Jennifer Crapse’s homeroom.


She competed in December against her fellow Guyton Elementary students to become the school’s representative. Joshua Hahn, another fifth-grade student, was the school’s alternate.


After the schoolwide spelling bee, Hunter began to study words and word origins along with her mother, Lenora Hunter. At the district spelling bee, she confidently survived several rounds of competition against not only her elementary colleagues, but also students from each of the middle schools.


During the final round of competition, she was pitted against Kiyah Adkins, a former Guyton student who is currently in seventh grade at Effingham County Middle School. Both students performed well, but Hunter emerged as the county winner.


“She competed against elementary and middle school students and won, so that’s not something that happens regularly,” said Brenda Barrow, instructional supervisor at Guyton Elementary School.

Effingham School Board Approves $203M budget with Potential Property Tax Increase
2026 budget
This chart illustrates how the Effingham County School District’s $203 million general fund is allocated for fiscal year 2026, including spending on salaries, benefits, transportation, health services, and safety and security. (Courtesy of Effingham School District)
The Effingham County Board of Education approved a $203 million fiscal year 2026 budget Thursday night, reflecting an 11% increase over last year. The rise is largely due to an $8 million spike in health and retirement benefit costs for employees. To help cover the shortfall, the district may raise the property tax millage rate, potentially increasing homeowners’ taxes by up to 12 percent.
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