Ohio
Seventeen Ohio students at the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Skilled spellers from across the country are gathered this week just outside the nation’s capital for the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee.
What You Need To Know
- Of the 245 spellers at the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee, 17 are from Ohio
- The words at the bee are unique, much like the spellers themselves
- Several Ohio spellers are advancing to the quarterfinals round on Wednesday
The spellers this year, including 17 from Ohio, have a daunting task: to memorize the spelling of 4,000 words for a chance at a $50,000 prize and the title of national spelling bee champion.
The words at the bee, like “leberwurst,” “rennet” and “creaces,” are uncommon, much like the spellers themselves.
Even among the 245 spellers, Ryan Frazee of Wheelersburg, Ohio is unique. At age 15, he is the oldest contestant this year. However, he said he was just happy to meet other kids from around the country who also like spelling.
“I just like learning the words, vocabulary,” Ryan said. “I’m the mindset of all these other people. I kind of feel integrated with everybody else.”
The Wheelersburg Middle School eighth grader has only been a competitive speller for three years, mostly training on his own by reading the dictionary.
“He is constantly reading. That’s really what’s gotten him here, is his love for reading and his love for vocabulary. And he knows words that, you know, I’ve never even heard of,” said Ryan’s mom, Melissa Frazee.
Frazee said his favorite word was “boogie-woogie” because it includes repetition, rhyme and hyphenation.
Unfortunately, Ryan misspelled the word “obeisance,” meaning deferential respect, by one letter Tuesday in the preliminary round, knocking him out of the spelling bee.
His parents, though, said just making it to the national spelling bee was a win in itself.
“He’s very witty, very clever,” said Ryan’s dad, Sean Frazee. “We’re very proud of him.”
Several Ohio spellers are advancing to the quarterfinals round on Wednesday. The champion will be determined on Thursday night.
The last Ohio champion was Anamika Veeramani, who won with the word “stromuhr” in 2010.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol arrested online political writer D.J. Byrnes, also known as The Rooster, at the statehouse on June 1 on a misdemeanor warrant.
A patrol spokesman said Byrnes, who posts his stories to his Substack subscribers, was arrested on an outstanding warrant. He was booked into the Franklin County Jail, records show. The patrol did not provide further details.
Byrnes’ colleague, Max Littman, said he believes the arrest is related to Byrnes texting photos of cartoon character Shrek’s penis to a state senator. “If that is in fact true, that he was arrested over that, then it’s blatant targeting a political opponent and journalist,” Littman said.
The arrest warrant for telecommunications harassment came from the city of Kirtland in Lake County. The warrant alleges that Byrnes sent two photos on May 6 to “J.C.” with the intent to harass.
State Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, did not return messages seeking comment.
Byrnes routinely works the halls power at Columbus City Hall, Ohio State University and the Ohio Statehouse, looking for tips and ambushing officeholders for his Substack reports. He can be both charming and confrontational.
Recently, he posted a story based on one anonymous source who told him that Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy tried to get into the New York Knicks locker room after the Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA playoffs.
The story, and its spread, so bothered Ramaswamy that he posted a lengthy refute on X, calling it 100% fake.
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — A bird rarely seen in North America was apparently spotted in Northeast Ohio of all places recently.
A lesser frigatebird was seen flying over Sippo Lake near Canton, according to several bird enthusiasts and photographers.
A photographer named Alex Eberts was kind enough to share his photos with ABC 6. You can see them at the top of this page.
Another photographer named Austin Rice posted this photo on Instagram and shared the details of what he saw on the night of May 23 in Stark County.
If you don’t know much about the lesser frigatebird, a site called eBird.com offers this description:
The smallest of the frigatebirds, but note that the female is larger than the male. Adults are easier to identify than younger birds. Adult males are almost entirely black with a red throat and white spurs emanating outwards from the body onto the wing. Adult females have a black belly and throat, a white breast and hind collar, with similar white spurs on their sides. Juvenile and immature plumages are variable and are best separated from other frigatebirds by size when comparison is possible. Mostly silent except while breeding in oceanic islands. Strongly pelagic during non-breeding season but wind-blown or fatigued birds can be found from continental coasts.
Eberts said in his own Facebook post that the May 23 sighting in Stark County was only the seventh reported sighting of the lesser frigatebird in the contiguous United States. The bird is more likely to be seen near the Indian Ocean, the Southeast Asian seas, Northern Australia to Western and Central Pacific Ocean, according to birdsoftheworld.org.
-
World30 seconds ago
Movie Review: ‘Masters of the Universe’ does not have the power
-
News4 minutes agoMap: 3.7-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes the San Francisco Bay Area
-
Health30 minutes agoWhy Weight Loss Efforts Can Sometimes Lead to Constipation and Digestive Changes
-
Lifestyle45 minutes agoVideo: The Fashion References in ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
-
Education48 minutes agoVideo: Are These Portable Fans Worth It?
-
Technology53 minutes agoThe best Switch 2 screen protector you should buy
-
World1 hour agoFireworks reportedly trigger mass horse stampede through Rome streets, injuring several soldiers
-
Politics1 hour agoSEE IT: LA voters split on Pratt’s mayoral bid as one issue dominates Election Day
