News briefs for May 30, 2002

Thursday, May 30, 2002 | 11:05 a.m.

Henderson girl goes to bee's 4th round

A 13-year-old Henderson girl was eliminated today during the fourth round of the 75th annual Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

WenHui Tan, an eighth grader at Bob Miller Middle School, incorrectly spelled "hierophant," substituting an "a" for the "o." The word describes a priest in ancient Greece.

Tan had made it through the third round of the two-day event by correctly spelling "flagellatory," relating to flagellum, the elongated, tapering appendages of plants or animals.

The event was to conclude today with the crowning of the champion from an original field of 250 spellers. Tan was the only Nevadan in the field for the event that was televised by ESPN.

Tan is an avid reader of historical fiction and the Harry Potter series. She also plays the violin and enjoys fishing, photography and traveling, especially to Taiwan and Malaysia, according to the National Spelling Bee website. Tan is a member of her school's honor club and student council among other activities.

Seniors await exam results

Clark County School District officials are awaiting results from last week's Nevada High School Proficiency Exam, which offered about 1,000 seniors a final chance to pass and graduate alongside their classmates.

Members of the class of 2002 who do not pass the latest round of testing will receive certificates of attendance at their commencement ceremonies instead of diplomas. The students will have the opportunity to take the exam again this summer.

This is the last Nevada high school class to be tested on academic standards set in 1998 for mathematics, writing and reading. Lawmakers voted during the 2001 Legislature to raise the bar for the proficiency exam and add a new section for science.

Nevada students have eight chances to pass the test.

The results of the mathematics portion of the exam were completed Wednesday and the scores from the writing and reading sections are expected by the end of this week, according to the School District's testing office.

Man killed on motorcycle ID'd

The 41-year-old Belgian tourist killed in a motorcycle accident Tuesday in Henderson has been identified as Dirk A. Vanacker.

Nevada Highway Patrol troopers said Vanacker was driving a rented motorcycle on Lake Mead Drive between Gibson Road and U.S. 95 about 3:15 p.m. Tuesday when he lost control and fell under the rear tires of a tractor-trailer.

The investigation into the accident is continuing.