A Shawnee 8th grader is heading back to Washington, D.C., for her second straight trip to the national spelling bee. Ope Balogun was presented with a plaque today by Lima City Councilman Derry Glenn for her accomplishment of winning the Lima News spelling bee for the second year in a row. Ope and her family will be flying to Washington, D.C., on Sunday, May 26th, for a week's stay in the nation's capital for the National Spelling Bee.

Students from across Allen County schools tested their skills to be the top speller in the county.

The Allen County Spelling Bee was held Saturday at Shawnee Middle School. 20 students from Allen County area schools participated in the spelling bee.

Students from across the region tested out their spelling skills at the annual Allen County Spelling Bee. One by one students went up to the mic to spell a word presented by the announcer. Jaguar manicure and parmesan were just some of the words they were asked to spell.

After 16 rounds and successfully spelling the word "filament", Catherine Myers from Saint Charles was the last student standing. Although she won last year's regional bee, she says she was still surprised that she won this one.

More than a dozen students participated in the 30th annual Allen County Spelling Bee, an event that organizers said truly prepares kids for the future.

“Being a good speller is going to help them academically from now until college and throughout their whole life,” said Shannon Bowers, Allen County Educational Service Center director of gifted students. “Also I think it builds self-confidence and public speaking skills.”

Local middle schoolers put their spelling skills to the test Saturday morning, at the annual Allen County Educational Service Center spelling bee.

Local students spelled to the best of their ability Saturday morning for a shot at participating in the next level of the National Spelling Bee.