Young authors honored by Commissioners

The Crook County Commissioners honored the county winners of the annual Mary Hadley Memorial Young Author's Contest on May 7. The Crook County Library Foundation sponsors this contest annually, in memory of local author Mary Hadley.

Born and raised in San Diego, California, Mary grew up on the beach but always wanted to be a cowboy. That dream came true when she married Bob Hadley in 1949.

They spent their life together running ranches in Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming and raising seven children. Later in life, Mary found enough time to capture some of her experiences in stories and articles.

She especially liked to write -and read - children's books. "Children suspend disbelief," she said, "and follow a yellow brick road wherever it takes them."

All Crook County youth were invited to participate by submitting one of the following: 1. Cowboy Poetry, 2. Fiction story about a Crook County landmark, or 3. Nonfiction story about their family. Prizes were awarded in four age levels at each of the three libraries – the winners in each age level went on to the county competition, where prizes were again awarded in each age level. There was also an overall award winner and an award for the teacher with the highest percentage of her class participating.

Winners in Sundance were: Preschool through Kindergarten – 1st place Ella Ellsbury. 1st-3rd grade – 1st place Ronan Jones.

Winners in Hulett were: Preschool through Kindergarten – 1st place Colby Dennis. 1st-3rd grade – 1st place Lauren Heyer and 2nd place Lindsey Dennis, 4th-6th grade – 1st place Alicia Dennis and 2nd place Dylan Williams. 7th-12th grade – 1st place Kayla Dennis.

Winners in Moorcroft were: 1st-3rd grade – 1st place Hadley Hanson, 2nd place Avenlee Downey, and 3rd place Crimson Cook. 7th-12th grade – 1st place Kaytlynn McAllister, 2nd place Shania Miller, and 3rd place Delcey Williamson.

First place winners from each community were then entered into a county-level competition. Winners were Preschool through Kindergarten – Ella Ellsbury, 1st-3rd grade –Ronan Jones, 4th-6th grade – Alicia Dennis, and 7th-12th grade – Kayla Dennis. Each winner was presented with a certificate and a $25 check. The Overall County Winner was Alicia Dennis, who received a $50 award check.

This year we had two teachers who used this as a class assignment. The Teacher's Award goes to the teacher who had the highest percentage of class participation in the contest. This year the award went to Andrea Wood of Moorcroft, who participated with her 9th and 10th grade English classes.