High Points of the Valley (Graphic Illustration)

* Veritas Classical Academy’s Aadhya Adhikari advanced through two rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, missing the third-round cutoff and finishing in the top half of the national field last week. Even better than her performance was the experience and confidence she says she is gaining through the national event. Not yet a sixth grader, Aadhya said “I love being on stage and seeing all those people in the audience cheering me on,” and that she has a new study plan for next year that will focus more on root words and spelling drills. After placing first and second in this year’s Marietta Times Regional Spelling Bee, Aadhya and her younger brother, Aadhar, explored Washington, D.C., with the rest of their family in what Aadhya described as a “really fun” tour of the monuments and museums where she enjoyed learning a little history, too. Congratulations to Aadhya on her top-half finish in the national bee.

* A little thing like bad weather was not going to stop the DAV, AMVETS and the Marietta Elks Lodge from feeding more than 100 people last week, even if the annual Memorial Day Disabled American Veterans’ picnic had to be cancelled. “What better way than to feed the people who have to work on this day and don’t get to enjoy it like we do?” Washington County DAV Officer David Brown said. “We have prepared about 100 meals for every staffed fire department and police department in the area.” Teams of volunteers delivered the meals throughout the afternoon, as those who were working for the rest of us on Memorial Day got a meal they were not expecting. It’s a reminder that those who served often never stop serving. “We’ve got so many people helping that it’s not even stressful,” Brown said. “You know the phrase, ‘Many hands make light work.'” Thank goodness that, here in the Mid-Ohio Valley, there are, indeed, many hands willing to work.