“P-O-R-T-E-N-T-O-U-S-L-Y” is what Alberton eighth-grader Molia Dao spelled to become the Mineral County Spelling Bee winner. Competition was held at St. Regis School on Monday, March 4. Molia beat out 30 contestants to take home top honors. Alternates were Skylar Knapp, an Alberton fifth-grader and Trizten Avila, sixth grade, from Superior.

The Treasure State Spelling Bee will be held in Billings on Saturday, March 16 at Rocky Mountain College.

“I’m nervous but also excited,” said Molia. She said she didn’t expect to win and will be practicing for the big event. If she cannot make it to state, either Skylar or Trizten will go in her place.

“It just depends on whose available to go,” said Sharon Bernard Patterson, who helped coordinate the event.

With words like piedmont, trenchant and consonants, contestants fell like spring rain. Twenty-three went down in the first round, and four in the second round. That left the final three for a chance at the title.

Individual spelling bees were held at each school for grades 4 through 8 with those finalists participating at the county contest.

Judges Irma Sansom, Chelsea Nygaard and Jessica Nagy held up a red or green card as each student stepped up to the microphone and spelled their word. The moderator for the evening was Diane Gingerich.

Though the words look difficult to spell, Patterson said, “If the students used their phonics they would be able to spell them.”

For those who suffer from agraphia or simply haven’t memorized the 600,000 words in the English language, portentously means “done in a pompously or overly solemn manner so as to impress.” Something someone may do when they spell that word correctly.