Home-school student wins county spelling bee

Kyra Hutchison, an eighth-grader with the Flathead Valley Home Educators Association, won the Flathead County Spelling Bee on Thursday by correctly spelling the word “cynical.”

Earning second place was McKenna Dunham, a sixth-grader at Evergreen Junior High School. Whitefish Middle School eighth-grader Katie Benkelman took third.

The winners advance to the Treasure State Spelling Bee March 16 in Billings.

Two-dozen top spellers from schools throughout Flathead County competed in this year’s annual bee held at Glacier High School. Judges included Denny Olson, and retired school administrators Joel Voytoski and Renee Boisseau. Nancy Kimball was the pronouncer.