Ascension School held a spelling bee last month for its fourth through sixth grade students to determine which one of them would represent the school in the annual Archdiocesan contest. This year's winner is the defending champion, Michael Karper.

Chelsea Brauns and Zachary Spitzler tied for the runner-up slot. Michael will now prepare for the Archdiocesan spelling bee which is scheduled for May 7 at Saint Pius X School. The remaining participants in Ascension School's 2003 spelling bee were:

Fourth Grade - Maureen Corbett, Kyle Hofman, Abraham Drude, Amanda Fowler, Sarah Frome, Melissa Karper, Michael Kick, Nicholas Kouvaris, Kaitlin Kreuger, Chandler Ladd, Andrew Larson, Zachary Makar, Alex Mitchell, Charles Mock, Andrea Penaloza, Dawn Philip, Kaitlyn Ryan, Gregory Schene, Lindsay Stanoski and Chris Wiley.

Fifth Grade - Megan Bahr, Joshua Brogan, Cody Chism, Jessica Cremen, Frank DiVincenzo, Eric Drechsler, Meghan England, Christian Evans, Samantha Fritz, Joseph Gangler, Jessica Kohlhaus, George Lang, Xavier Martin, ChichAnya Njeh, Christopher Peltz, Jesse Plummer, Lauren Pollock, Taylor Shriver, Matthew Stallings, Alexandria Stanoski, Amanda Tharle, Kendyl White, Gabriel Yuille and Kyle Zentz.

Sixth Grade - Devin Barnes, Melissa Carroll, Jonathan Cavey, Cecilia Delawder, Richard Dorsey, Alexander Drude, Jennifer Furletti, Diana Gumerov, Scott Holt, Darryl Jordan, Stevie Neighoff, Elizabeth Robey, Kohl Strauss and John Worthington.

Congratulations to the winner, the runners-up, and to all the contestants for a job well done!

Thanks to Dr. Barbara Dreyer for serving as the pronouncer for the spelling bee and to Robin Mason and Cheryl Wong for serving as judges.

>Arbutus Little League will hold registration for the upcoming baseball season, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturdays, Feb. 22, and March 1, 6-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27, in the cafeteria of the Arbutus Middle School. Baseball players ages 6-18 are eligible to register. The fee is $60 each for one or two players in a family or $150 for three or more siblings. A copy of the player's birth certificate and the parent's driver's license must be presented at the time of registration. Call Mike at 410-247-6838 with questions.

>Arbutus Girls Athletic Association will host registration for the fast-pitch softball season this week. Girls ages 6-17 are eligible to register in the Arbutus Middle School cafeteria, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., on Saturday, Feb. 22. Registration will also be held in the gym hallway of Arbutus Elementary School, 6-8 p.m., on Wednesday, Feb. 26, Tuesday, March 4, and Thursday, March 6; and 10 a.m.-noon on Saturday, March 1. The fee is $40 for one player, $60 for two, or $75 for three or more siblings. Call Debbie at 410-747-8959 for details.

>Arbutus Girls Athletic Association will host a Longaberger basket bingo on Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Arbutus Town Hall, 1349 Stevens Avenue-Bokman Way. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the games begin at 7. Tickets cost $13 in advance or $15 at the door. Twenty games, four specials, two raffles. Refreshments will be available for purchase. Call Kris at 410-536-5782 or Mary at 410-747-4476 to reserve tickets. Proceeds will defray the expenses of the Arbutus Fireballs Travel Softball Team.

>The Arbutus Recreation and Parks Council will meet at 8 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 24, in the activity room of Halethorpe Elementary School. The council meets monthly to discuss the recreational happenings in the community. The meetings are open to interested members of the community. Questions and suggestions can also be directed to the council by calling 410-887-1453.

>A dance to benefit the Arbutus Boys Basketball program will be held on Saturday, March 1, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. at the Arbutus Social Hall, 1338 Stevens Ave. (off East Drive). Music will be provided by Sound Advice. Admission covers beer and soda. Tickets cost $15 and may be obtained by calling Kim at 410-242-7988 or John at 410-242-0826.

Items for this column should be submitted to Theresa Spliedt at 922 Francis Ave., Halethorpe, MD 21227. Date sensitive press releases must be received at least 10 days prior to the desired publication date. Please include the name and telephone number of a contact person.