EDITORIAL
Jasmine's a winner

C-o-n-g-r-a-t-u-l-a-t-i-o-n-s.

That's an easy one for the 14 spellers who took part in the 2005 Hawai'i State Spelling Bee on Sunday. And it's also fitting.

Special kudos goes to this year's winner, Jasmine Kaneshiro, 13, who correctly spelled "campanile" and "Anschluss" after a nerve-racking tradeoff of words with runner-up Jonathan Lee, 14.

Lee, who bowed out on "ghurry," promises to be back next year.

Jasmine, a seventh-grader at Hawaii Baptist Academy, will now go on to the 78th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., May 31 to June 2.

This is the 20th year The Advertiser has sponsored the Hawai'i Bee. We're proud of that association and the effort to help students better prepare for future endeavors.

So best of luck to Jasmine. And regardless of how she fares in the national competitions, she's already a winner in our eyes.