The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

The County Final Competition of the Miriam Lutcher Stark Contest in Reading and Declamation will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 21, at the Lutcher Theater. Classmates, parents and area residents are invited to attend the competition and support the local students as they compete for scholarships. This year's County Final competition features alternate selections submitted by students, which have never been read at competitions in the past. New selections will include works by Carl Sandberg, Russell Baker and T. S. Eliott.

The presenter of this year's Final Contest is Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School, represented by Stark Reading Contest Director Katherine Graham and hosted by the 2012 contest winners Zoey and Ivy Casteel. The school-level winners competing in the County Final Contest for 2013 are listed below:

Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School - Jace Roberston, Declamation and Triston Stringer, Interpretive Reading

West Orange-Stark High School - Amahri Finister, Declamation and Tyffani Hinson, Interpretive Reading

Vidor High School - Mercedes Springs, Declamation and Kaitlyn Medley, Interpretive Reading

Orangefield High School - Carrie Grace Henderson, Declamation and Kathryn Petry, Interpretive Reading

Bridge City High School - Nick Burch, Declamation and Alexis Morris, Interpretive Reading

The aim of the Stark Reading Contest is to enhance the literary and forensic quality and skills of the students. The Contest has continued annually since its inception in 1904 and offers educational opportunities and experiences for students at Orange County public schools. This year more than 128 students participated and since 2001, almost 1,800 students have competed in the Stark Reading Contest.

The first place winners from each of the Orange County schools will compete in the county-wide contest for scholarship awards totaling $15,000.00. All students in the County Final receive a gold watch commemorating the contest, as is tradition for the event since the early 1900s.

The Miriam Lutcher Stark Contest in Reading and Declamation is sponsored by the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation as part of its continuing mission to enrich the community and encourage education.

Pictured: This year's host of the county finals will be Little Cypress-Mauriceville, which will be represented by local-level winners Jace Roberston and Triston Stringer.