The best young spellers in town gathered last week for the school-wide bee, an hour-long alphabetical battle.

Fourth through eighth graders went up against each other for the school district crown. A single student from each elementary school and middle school competed, but only one could walk away with the district title.

When it was all said and done, eighth grader Brandi Burt of Dawson County Middle School won the bee, and Kilough Elementary fifth grade student Joshua Long was the runner-up at the Jan. 29 event, which was held at Dawson County Middle School.

Burt, a two-time Dawson County bee champ, spelled the word “chandelier” and took home the gold.

She said being a good speller comes from everyday habits like reading. “That’s what I do constantly, magazines, books, everything,” said the 14-year-old.

“That’s what helped me.”

Long said it was a tough fight against Burt. “Some of those words were really long,” said the 11-year-old. “I wish I would have won, but it was pretty cool to be in this.”

He will join Burt at the state district spelling bee as an alternate in case she can’t compete for any reason.

The district bee is scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb. 27 at Mabry Middle School in Marietta. This marks the second time Burt will attend the competition.

Burt competed when she was in fifth grade. “I made it about halfway through it before I was eliminated,” she said. “Hopefully, I’ll do better this time around.”

Rick Brown, Dawson County schools’ assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, said the system is proud of all who helped and those who competed in the bee Jan. 29.

“We’re proud of Brandi to get another opportunity to represent our district,” Brown said.

Other participants in the spelling bee included Grace Sheer from Black’s Mill Elementary, Cadey Ayers from Robinson Elementary and Aaron Lofton from Riverview Middle School.