BRUNSWICK — A eighth grade student from Washington County returned for a second crack at the Maine State Spelling Bee Saturday and booked a ticket to the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee in May. He’s also headed somewhere else special — his school’s spring dance.
“It feels really awesome, especially since I made the biggest bet on winning,” winner Tristan Singh said following the bee. “There’s a spring dance coming up at my school next week, and I said I would only (go) if I won.”
Singh, a student at Rose M. Gaffney Elementary School in Machias, beat out 13 other spellers from all over the state at Bowdoin College and took the final prize with the word “stratosphere.” Each student had won bees at the school and county level to win a spot at the state competition.
The bee, which was presented by the Maine Trust for Local News, went on for 18 rounds. It came down to Singh and the student representing Androscoggin County, Turner Elementary School sixth grader Grace Morris.
Spectators were biting their nails as Morris and Singh went back and forth spelling words for six rounds.
At round 14, Singh misspelled “cognizant,” giving Morris the chance to win. Then, Morris misspelled “millennial” — sending the final two into more rounds until a misspelling of “philosophize” ultimately took Morris out of contention.
The heated competition was all in good fun as spellers high-fived each other on stage and celebrated each others’ wins.
“We ended up chatting a lot, (and) cheering each other on,” said sixth grader Harmony Hoyt, the speller from Aroostook County.
And families in the audience were waiting with congratulatory hugs no matter their students’ place in the standings.
“(We’re) so proud of him. He’s worked really hard; he’s done a lot of hours of studying,” said Elizabeth Singh, Tristan’s mom.
Three members of a spelling bee family and the president of Thomas College made up the judging team for the state bee. For each word, students could ask the judges for its definition, origin, part of speech and to use it in a sentence.
Lily Jordan, of San Francisco, returned to her home state to judge this year’s bee after winning it twice as a middle schooler. Her dad, Glenn Jordan, a retired Press Herald sports writer, and her mom, Nancy Jordan, the lead content developer at National Geographic Learning, were also at the judges’ table. Meanwhile, their dog, Webster — like the dictionary — took a nap under the table.
“It almost feels like being a kid again, and feeling the nervousness of the moment, but it’s a lot of fun,” Lily Jordan said.
Jeannine Uzzi, the president of Thomas College, served as the word pronouncer Saturday, a role she’s been coming back to for more than 15 years.
“It’s a great way to reinforce academics in the state,” Uzzi said.
A bee afficionado, Singh plans on competing in the Maine State Civics Bee at Colby College in June — that is, after he appears at the nation’s largest spelling competition.
Craig Joseph Ahlemeyer
STANDISH – Craig J. Ahlemeyer, 48 of Standish, passed away unexpectedly, Saturday, June 13, 2026.A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, June 27 th at Standish Congregational Church, 25 Oak Hill Road in Standish. A reception will follow.To see Craig’s full obituary, share a memory or leave the family an online condolence, please visit http://www.athutchins.com.
“Do you ever think we could find some woods to walk in?” my outdoorsy 12-year-old asks me, every now and again. As a kid growing up in New York City, Anton appreciates all the skate parks and bagel shops, but he also really craves nature, like in his bones.
So, when school got out, I offered to take him for a weekend in Maine, a place with not only woods but also lakes and rocks and periwinkles that come out of their shells when you hum. We were both really excited.
The first night, we were lucky enough to snag a room at Aragosta, a beautiful small hotel in Deer Isle that Alison had recommended.
The chef-owner, Devin Finigan, is famous for her seasonal tasting menus, but we focused on the breakfast that came with the room, including these Maine blueberry pancakes. I don’t even usually like pancakes and these blew my mind.
We also played a LOT of chess on our little travel board.
After breakfast, we set out to hike up Blue Hill Mountain.
Here’s the summit!
In the afternoon, we explored the charming fishing village of Stonington…
…then joined my friend Julie (of Rudy Jude fame) and her family for dinner at the Burnt Cove Boil.
Basically, a crab gets plonked down in front of you, followed by a corn on the cob, then a lobster, then a classic ice-cream sandwich. Julie and her husband Anthony taught us how to get all the meat out. (Their kids were already pros.)
Afterward, the four boys scrambled around on the rocks, while the adults chatted. It’s always such a treat to hang out with people who live in the place you’re visiting, don’t you think? Julie and Anthony described how they brought their recently hatched chicks into their home to keep them warm, and all the peeping was sooooo loud — and then a cricket got into the house and added to the noise and no one could find it and everyone was going nuts, haha. Very different from city life!
The next day, Anton and I stayed at the lovely Asticou Hotel near Acadia National Park.
We drove to a couple trailheads but they were PACKED — you had to stand in a long line, just to start the hike! Luckily, we found a quieter area and took a long walk around Jordan Pond, playing Would You Rather and Categories along the way. Do you have any favorite travel games?
Finally, we skimmed stones on our last afternoon before heading back to Brooklyn.
Epic travel buddy
Oh, Maine, what a magical place! Not pictured, of course: traffic, grumpy preteen moments, locking our keys in the rental car, etc., but all that’s to be expected.
Have you been to Maine? Do you live there? What parts do you love? Any pro tips? I’d love to hear. xoxo
P.S. Our Maine trip — and another amazing hotel — when the boys were much younger, and a Maine home with a bedroom looking over water.
Matt Dunlap won the Democratic primary in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District after three rounds of ranked-choice voting, the state’s Secretary of State’s office announced Friday.
Democrats are seeking to hang onto a seat in a district that President Trump won in the last three presidential elections. State Sen. Joe Baldacci led after the first two rounds of ranked–choice voting, but Dunlap overtook him after challengers Paige Loud and Jordan Wood were eliminated.
Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, a moderate, is retiring after four terms. His decision not to run for reelection was a blow to Democrats’ efforts to retake the House majority.
In the 2024 election, Golden was one of 13 Democrats to win a House race in a district also won by Mr. Trump. Golden declined to endorse Kamala Harris in the 2024 election and has voted with Republicans on several issues, including measures to avert a shutdown and on reining in Mr. Trump’s war powers authority.
Dunlap, the state’s auditor, will face Republican Paul LePage in November’s general election. LePage is a former two-term governor who ran unopposed in the GOP primary. As of May 20, LePage had $1.2 million cash on hand while Dunlap had less than $100,000, according to Federal Election Commission data.
Dunlap’s win marks a defeat for House Democrats’ campaign arm. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee endorsed Joe Baldacci, a state senator, saying he “has never lost an election and has consistently overperformed Democrats up and down the ballot, including a 3-point overperformance of the presidential ticket in 2024.”
Baldacci was the runner–up, the Maine Secretary of State’s office said. The results were announced 10 days after voters went to the polls due to the ranked-choice tabulations.
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