[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 10095]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 502--CONGRATULATING ALL THE CONTESTANTS OF THE 2006 
                     SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE

  Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself and Mr. Mendendez) submitted the 
following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 502

       Whereas the Scripps National Spelling Bee is the largest 
     and longest-running educational promotion in the United 
     States, and is administered by the E.W. Scripps Company and 
     268 local sponsors, most of whom publish daily and weekly 
     newspapers;
       Whereas the 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee began with 
     275 competitors from across the United States, American 
     Samoa, the Bahamas, Canada, Europe, Guam, Jamaica, New 
     Zealand, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, each of whom 
     had qualified for the contest by winning locally-sponsored 
     spelling bees;
       Whereas Miss Katharine ``Kerry'' Close is an 8th-grade 
     student at the H.W. Mountz School in Spring Lake, New Jersey;
       Whereas the 13-year-old Miss Close first competed in the 
     Scripps National Spelling Bee as a 9-year-old, tied for 7th 
     place in 2005, and competed for the 5th time this year, 
     sponsored by the Asbury Park Press and the Home News Tribune;
       Whereas Miss Close has spent between 1 hour and 2 hours a 
     day looking up words and their origins during the previous 5 
     years, yet has still found time for sailing, playing soccer, 
     and going to the mall and the movies with her friends;
       Whereas Miss Close survived 19 rounds of fierce competition 
     this year and won the 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee in 
     the 20th round by correctly spelling ``ursprache'', which is 
     defined as ``a parent language, especially one reconstructed 
     from the evidence of later languages''; and
       Whereas the achievement of Miss Close brings an immense 
     sense of pride to H.W. Mountz School, her hometown of Spring 
     Lake, and the entire State of New Jersey: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) congratulates all of the contestants of the 2006 
     Scripps National Spelling Bee; and
       (2) respectfully requests the Secretary of the Senate to 
     transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the H.W. 
     Mountz School, located in Spring Lake, New Jersey.

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