By Richard Bammer
They gathered Wednesday for the annual elementary and middle school spell-off in Vacaville, once again occasionally fidgeting, squirming, rolling their eyes and even using their palms and fingers to write out words. Generally, no sweat was detected during the nearly four-hour event.
In the end, at this year’s version of the Grace B. Powell Citywide Spelling Bee, Elizabeth Dibb-Islas, 11, a sixth-grader in the ACE program at Hemlock Elementary School, came out on top, besting 47 other students.
After 17 rounds — at about 8:10 p.m., two hours after the competition began and to the relief of all on and offstage — she correctly and confidently spelled “flexibility” in the nearly full Catwalk Theatre at Will C. Wood High School. Dibb-Islas, earned $100, a plaque, and bragging rights as the top elementary-level speller.