First place winners in each county will receive a $100 savings bond, and others will be recognized with a certificate.

The contest was sponsored by the Office of Student Services and Assessment, WV Dept. of Education. All winners were selected by a team of teachers trained in holistic scoring. The essays were numbered and judged by grade level, thereby, keeping anonymity during the contest.

Grade 3: 1st place, Barrett Evans (3rd place at State Level), Arnoldsburg; 2nd Amber Wilford, Arnoldsburg; 3rd Jordan Mace, Arnoldsburg; honorable mention, Kelcey Bourne, Arnoldsburg.

Grade 4: 1st Jacqlynn Snell, Arnoldsburg; 2nd Zachary Hanshaw, Arnoldsburg; 3rd Victoria Vineyard, Arnoldsburg.

Grade 5: 1st Kaitlin Carpenter, CCMS; 2nd Leslie Garrett, CCMS; 3rd Chelsey Ball, CCMS.

Grade 6: 1st Amber Verbus, CCMS; 2nd Dana Thomas, CCMS; 3rd Sarah Postalwait, CCMS; honorable mention, Kayla Eller, CCMS.

Grade 7: 1st Melissa Jarvis, CCMS; 2nd Matthew Houchin, CCMS; 3rd Vanessa McCormick, CCMS; honorable mention, Sarah Moore, CCMS.

Grade 8: 1st Tiffany Davis, CCMS; 2nd Breann Ford, CCMS.

CALHOUN HIGH SCHOOL WINNERS

Grade 9: 1st Hanna Law; 2nd Erica Wriston; 3rd Andrea Hardway.

Grade 10: 1st Heather Richards; 2nd Cynthia Wildfire; 3rd Amanda Lay.

Grade 11: 1st William Weaver; 2nd David Dodd.

Grade 12: 1st Mathew Bonar; 2nd Jennifer Thomas; 3rd James Bailey; Honorable Mention Kara Haymaker.