Did you know that the word television (/ˈteləˌviZHən/; tele·vi·sion) is part Greek and another part originally in Latin? The word is a noun and means a medium of communication whereby images and sounds are transmitted.
It was also the winning word at the 2025 Knox County Spelling Bee on February 28 at Union Commonwealth University.
In the eighth round, Flat Lick Elementary’s Ian Partin was standing alone, and after spelling the winning word, raced into the audience to give and get a hug.
The spelling bee consisted of eighteen participants, winners and runner-ups, from Knox County’s elementary and middle schools. They previously participated in spelling bees or vocabulary activities to represent their school at the bee.
Participants started the bee with two practice rounds, giving them time to become familiar with the process from asking for the definition, using it in a sentence, repeating the word, to looking at the judges when spelling it.
Spelling her way to first runner up, second place, was Nola Beth Vandy (Lay), with the second runner up, a third place win, by Jerry Conn-Lemons (Lynn Camp Elementary).
The annual spelling bee is organized by the Knox County Public Schools, with community sponsorship from the Barbourville Junior Woman’s Study Club, Forcht Bank, and L&N Federal Credit Union. Partin will advance to the UK Big Blue Spelling Bee, which will take place on the University of Kentucky campus on March 29. The winner of this event will progress to Washington, D.C., to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Harrison Davis, Stacy Imel, and Carla Jordan, all current or retired Knox County educators, served as judges. Before the Bee began, Dr. Washington, President of Union Commonwealth University, gave a positive pep-talk to the students.
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Participants in this year’s bee were:
Central Elementary
Zayden Mills and Lilly Morris
Dewitt Elementary
Gunner Carnes and Daniel Brown
Flat Lick Elementary
Ian Partin and Landon Helton
G.R. Hampton Elementary
Jordan Powers and Alydia Miracle
Girdler Elementary
Ambria Mills and McKinley Honeycutt
Jesse D. Lay Elementary
“Carter “”Jase”” Smith” and Nolabeth Vandy
Knox County Middle
Reagan Coffie and Max McWilliams
Lynn Camp Elementary
Jerry Conn-Lemons and Bella Grubb
Lynn Camp Middle
Jayce Sears and Jeffery Mills